The "Water Dragon Flame Flow" came with a fierce momentum. The originally colorless Water Dragon turned light red after a large amount of fire was added, its speed increased, and the flames scorched the water flow, creating steam. This steam, in turn, strengthened the Water Dragon.
In less than two seconds, the Water Dragon's body had thickened by a circle. From above, accompanied by an extremely high-pitched dragon's roar, it crashed towards the rapidly approaching Raiga.
"Raiga, be careful!" Ranmaru's tender voice warned him.
Raiga let out a burst of wild laughter, laughing so hard that tears came to his eyes: "Look at the forehead protector, so it's a Ninja from Konoha Village. Don't worry, these guys don't have an ounce of courage for a direct fight!"
Raiga Kurosuki held the Hidden Mist Village's famous Ninja Blade, the Lightning Blade Raiga!
The Lightning Blade Raiga was a pair of twin blades; the left blade could attract lightning from nature, and the right blade could release it.
Raiga Kurosuki himself was a Ninja skilled in Lightning Release, fast and highly destructive. This Ninja Blade brought his strengths to their absolute maximum.
His figure was like lightning, accompanied by a wild laugh, he raised both hands high, and lightning gathered at the tips of his twin blades. He drew in natural lightning, then added his own Lightning Release Chakra, and with a loud shout, a bucket-sized electric snake stabbed towards the Water Dragon.
Lightning counters earth. In the original timeline, Sasuke's fight against Deidara benefited from this elemental advantage, but lightning has no counter relationship with water or fire.
The baring-fanged and clawing electric snake crashed into the massive Water Dragon. The lightning pierced the Water Dragon several times, but Ino, after releasing the Water Dragon Bullet, had not let go, firmly holding the final "unitary" hand seal. With her control, the Water Dragon still stubbornly charged in front of Raiga.
A controllable Water Dragon Bullet—Raiga encountered this for the first time.
His combat experience was also considerable; instead of clashing head-on, he used the control over lightning from his left Lightning Blade, relaxed his own control, and was instead pulled to the side by the lightning.
"Choji!" Asuma shouted loudly.
"Human Bullet Tank!" The next second, Choji transformed into a giant meatball, rolling down the mountain at lightning speed, carrying immense force, and crashing into Raiga.
"What the hell is that?!" Raiga had never encountered anyone from the Akimichi Clan during the previous Shinobi World War, and this was his first time seeing such a Secret Technique. It was too late to dodge, so he gathered his lightning-attribute Chakra at the tips of his twin blades and charged at Choji like a thrust.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Ball!"
A lightning ball of electricity, the size of an adult's head, appeared at the tips of his twin blades, then slammed fiercely into the meatball Choji had transformed into.
With a thunderous roar, this cliff was pierced by lightning about a third of the way down. A small portion of Choji's impact force also dissipated into the mountain, leaving spiderweb-like cracks all over the rather steep rock face.
The meatball Choji had transformed into was sent flying, but the Water Dragon controlled by Ino struck Raiga from the side, sweeping the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist into the sky.
Raiga Kurosuki's skill was impressive; facing the sudden Water Dragon, he subconsciously protected his body with "Ninja Art: Lightning Armor." He had just released lightning when he realized something was wrong and quickly tried to retract it, but Ranmaru, who was in the hood behind him, was still struck by the "Lightning Armor," letting out a wail. Then, a child, whose gender was indistinguishable, tumbled out of the black robe and was swept by the water current in another direction.
"Ranmaru!" Raiga Kurosuki retracted his "Lightning Armor," resulting in him being covered in burns from the flames within the Water Dragon. He didn't even look at his own injuries; he twisted his body, intending to retrieve the unconscious Ranmaru.
"Dream on! Choji!" Ino called out to Choji again. The fat boy had been badly shocked by the lightning ball earlier, but he still gritted his teeth, spread his arms, and caught Ranmaru, who had been swept over by the water current.
"Choji! Run! Don't stop! Remember, with great power comes great responsibility!"
After being encouraged by Ino, Choji, like a joyful wild boar, rushed into the forest, holding the unconscious Ranmaru.
"My Ranmaru! Give him back to me!" Raiga Kurosuki was going crazy. He wanted to chase Choji, but Asuma clung to him tightly, making it impossible for him to get away.
In the blink of an eye, Asuma used his Chakra Blade to cut three wounds on his back, shoulder, and arm. Fortunately, he reactivated "Lightning Armor" to reduce some of the damage and also significantly increased his own speed.
Ino released high-level Water Release Ninjutsu from the side to restrain him, and the cliff beneath their feet quickly collapsed, turning into a vast expanse of water.
"Konoha Village Ninja, do you think I'm afraid of you?"
"Ah! Do you Konoha Village Ninja really like to meddle so much?!"
"I really want to hold a magnificent funeral for you all!!!"
Raiga Kurosuki wanted to save Ranmaru, his expression frenzied. Many times, he would only attack and not defend, aiming for a trade of injuries.
Fortunately, he was up against Asuma.
Asuma was skilled in Taijutsu, and his own speed was also not slow. Most crucially, Asuma's Chakra attributes were fire and wind, with wind countering lightning.
He constantly released Wind Release Ninjutsu, piercing through the lightning storm, greatly delaying Raiga Kurosuki's speed in chasing Choji.
On the other side.
Raiga Kurosuki's seven subordinates also caught up.
They bypassed the forest and sped along the river, but as they chased, they noticed something was wrong. Where did this dense water mist around them come from?
The mist grew thicker and thicker, and visibility rapidly decreased.
A gender-neutral voice came from the mist: "Throat, spine, lungs, liver, carotid artery, collarbone, kidneys, and heart—which position do you think I should attack?"
One of the black-clad men was greatly startled, looking around nervously: "...Lord Zabuza?"
Ino's Shadow Clone used its sensory abilities to detect the locations of several people in the mist.
The dense mist affected both allies and enemies, but relying on sensory abilities, some traces could still be found.
The Shadow Clone transmitted the sensed locations to Shikamaru.
Shikamaru used the Nara Clan's Secret Technique, the Shadow Imitation Technique, to control the bodies of the seven. Ino's Shadow Clone rushed over, punching each one, knocking them all down, then tied them up and threw them aside.
With Raiga Kurosuki and Ranmaru separated, Ino's sensory abilities could once again cover the entire battlefield. The Shadow Clone quickly received information from the other side.
"We should be executing Plan B3 now. Choji is running towards the 9 o'clock direction, Asuma-sensei is in charge of the main attack, and my main body is providing restraint. The enemy is already injured, but his strength is still stronger than we estimated." The Shadow Clone Ino concisely explained the situation.
Shikamaru nodded lightly. The enemy was stronger than expected, but things had not spiraled out of control.
"Good, let's go set up an ambush in the 10 o'clock direction."
"Mm."
Ino's main body sensed that Shikamaru had already dealt with the miscellaneous enemies and was heading towards the 10 o'clock direction. She also informed Asuma, who was continuously inflicting wounds on Raiga Kurosuki, and then rushed to Choji's side: "Give me that child!"
Choji had been chased by Raiga the whole way, his chubby face covered in sweat: "I can still keep going, I can still keep going!"
"We're a team! Give him to me!"
At Ino's strong insistence, Choji tossed the unconscious Ranmaru to her.
Ranmaru had red lips and white teeth, and after being injured, exuded a fragility from inside out. Ino looked at him and thought, 'So cute, he must be a boy.'
She carried Ranmaru, waved to Raiga Kurosuki in the distance, then used the water currents spread across the battlefield, employing the Water Body Flicker Technique, and sped towards the 10 o'clock direction.
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