Choji had just been seriously injured by Raiga Kurosuki. The Rogue Ninja from Hidden Mist Village had left a long gash from the chubby boy's belly to his left ribs in the final moments. Due to the Lightning Blade, the wound also had a tearing effect, and the chubby boy was in excruciating pain, but he gritted his teeth and didn't utter a sound.
This was only because the chubby boy's fat layer was quite thick, and he was big and round. If Ino's A4 waist had taken such a hit, she would have been down by now.
Choji was thick-skinned and tough. He had been chased and slashed by Raiga all the way, looking covered in wounds and with a scorched face, even his hair smelled burnt. In reality, he could recover after two barbecue meals. Ino, however, was a 'squishy' character. As soon as she received Ranmaru, she used Body Flicker Technique three times in a row, pulling a distance of several tens of meters.
"I'm going to bury you alive! Put Ranmaru down!" Raiga Kurosuki was filled with rage. He abandoned Choji and, like a madman, turned to chase Ino.
He constantly used lightning to accelerate himself. The 'Lightning Blade: Slash,' which was quite stamina-consuming, became a displacement skill. Lightning crisscrossed, and stray electric snakes flew in all directions. Trees, rocks, and even rivers were cut open. He was like a rampaging Thunder God, disregarding Chakra consumption, forcefully catching up to Ino.
"Die!"
He unleashed a move named after himself: "Lightning Release: Raiga!"
He crossed and raised his twin blades, and after a brief charge, lightning blasted in all directions!
Asuma once again carved a deep, bone-visible wound on his back, but the lightning storm still descended.
Ino bore the brunt of it. Seeing the dense falling lightning, she could only put Ranmaru down, quickly form hand seals, take a deep breath, and spit out a waterfall-like water curtain. Under her control, the water curtain rapidly rotated around her body and absorbed external water to reinforce the defensive wall.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
As soon as she finished her seals, lightning as thick as a bucket struck the water wall one after another, and electric arcs rapidly jumped on the circular water wall.
Ino was still observing the consumption of the water wall when Raiga Kurosuki had already transformed into a sharp arrow, fiercely pouncing forward.
He charged through the water wall, letting the lightning randomly striking on the water wall hit his body.
It was true that he released the lightning, but he was not immune to it. These things could also cause him harm.
His shoulder, lower abdomen, forehead, and teeth were struck by lightning in several places. He merely used the Lightning Blade in his right hand to deflect the lightning to the side, diverting most of the lightning energy. Then he lunged forward, using his shoulder to shatter the already extremely weakened water wall.
"Die!!" His eyes were bloodshot, truly looking as if they were about to split. He stared intently at Ino inside the water wall, not dodging at all, letting Ino stab him in the shoulder with a reverse-gripped Kunai. The Lightning Blade in his left hand fiercely pierced Ino's heart.
A "bang" of white smoke rose, and he was furious. He resentfully pulled the Kunai from his shoulder and looked at the retreating figure: "Shadow Clone? Konoha Village rats!"
Ino became more and more proficient with Shadow Clone. Naruto actually hadn't even developed one-tenth of this technique's potential. Tenten could only rely on sheer numbers to brute force it. In Ino's hands, it had many uses.
She left a Shadow Clone to buy time, while her main body continued to run in the 10 o'clock direction with Ranmaru. When Raiga exchanged blows to defeat the Shadow Clone and caught up again, she would send out another Shadow Clone to block him.
Asuma was also seizing every opportunity to attack fiercely.
His strength and Raiga's were actually similar. The defensive power and speed boost provided by the "Lightning Armor" were getting weaker and weaker. In the Ino–Shika–Choji's operation of taking a hostage and then running all over the place, Raiga was covered in wounds, while Asuma only had some of his clothes torn by the "Lightning Armor" and had expended some stamina and Chakra, but he himself had no injuries at all.
The cooperation of Ino–Shika–Choji was one aspect, and the opponent's mental issues were another. A normal enemy would not be led by the nose like this.
"Shadow Imitation Technique!" Shikamaru, who had been ambushing in the 10 o'clock direction, jumped out from the side. A shadow as black as ink drilled under Raiga Kurosuki's feet, forcefully controlling this enemy.
Shikamaru would be able to restrain the Tailed Beast-transformed Kinkaku in the future, but he was far from that level now. The internal competition initiated by Ino made him slightly stronger than in the original timeline, but whether he could control Tayuya was still unknown. Controlling Raiga Kurosuki? One could only say the difference was immense.
He only maintained it for two seconds before he was drenched in cold sweat. The opponent struggled too violently, and Shikamaru's already limited Chakra was rapidly depleting.
"Hurry! You two help too!" he shouted.
Ino quickly formed hand seals and released a genjutsu, "Hell Viewing Technique," on Raiga Kurosuki. This was a very ordinary D-rank genjutsu. Even though Ino's Yin Release level was high, the genjutsu itself was too low-ranked, which limited her effectiveness.
However, this genjutsu also distracted Raiga Kurosuki, and his struggling intensity was reduced by about half.
"Nice job!" Asuma made a decisive move, injecting a large amount of wind-attribute Chakra into the Chakra Blade in his hand. His Chakra directly manifested, turning into two sharp blades emitting a faint blue light.
He dashed a few steps, clenched his right fist, enduring the damage from the "Lightning Armor," and brought the Chakra Blade in his hand across Raiga Kurosuki's neck.
Shikamaru gritted his teeth, maintaining the Shadow Imitation Technique, and Choji, panting as he caught up, also stared with wide eyes, ready to assist at any moment.
Just as Asuma's Chakra Blade was a hair's breadth from Raiga Kurosuki's neck, Ranmaru's tender voice rang out. He braced his hands on the ground, his eyes glowing with an enchanting red light: "You're not allowed to hurt Raiga! Raiga, wake up! I need you!"
Ranmaru's Red Eye directly broke through Ino's mediocre genjutsu and also helped Raiga forcefully break free from Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation Technique.
Facing a life-or-death crisis, this elite Jonin from Hidden Mist Village unleashed his full potential. He leaned his body backward, narrowly avoiding Asuma's beheading strike.
Seeing all his companions' moves miss, Choji disregarded his own injuries and once again used "Human Bullet Tank" to ram into Raiga Kurosuki.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon Tornado!" Raiga Kurosuki was now fighting like a madman. He used his Lightning Blade to summon a huge lightning bolt, completely abandoning his own defense. All remaining energy from the "Lightning Armor" was converted, and his twin blades spun, quickly creating a giant lightning dragon.
A buzzing sound was incessant. Just as Choji's Human Bullet Tank was about to collide with the lightning dragon, Asuma saw that this move was quite dangerous for Choji. He swept through the air, exerted force with both arms, and shouted loudly, using a wind blade to cut through the lightning dragon. Choji, transformed into a human bullet, rushed out from the gap and slammed heavily into Raiga Kurosuki.
With a muffled "bang," Raiga Kurosuki took a solid, heavy hit. His muscles, internal organs, and bones were severely damaged. Continuous injuries finally pushed his body to its limit. Like a dying wolf, he let out a sharp howl, raising the Lightning Blade in his hand, preparing to stab Choji's heart.
At this moment, a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating Choji's young and tender face. Ino quickly used the impact of a water wave to push Choji to the side.
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