Naruto: Growing Stronger Through Healing

Although they had successfully repelled the forces of Sunagakure and Iwagakure, the price Root paid was unimaginably heavy.

The total number of casualties had already exceeded half of their original strength. This reality made Danzō's heart ache unbearably.

When had he ever been reduced to such a miserable state?

In the past, it was always he who dispatched his subordinates to hunt others down from the shadows. He was the hunter lurking in the darkness.

Yet now, the roles had been completely reversed. He had become the prey.

The more he experienced this humiliation, the deeper and more twisted his hatred toward Hirakawa Aoshi and Sarutobi Hiruzen grew.

And the stronger that hatred became, the more violently the dark chakra within him surged.

Hatred nourished darkness. Darkness fed the Zero-Tails.

As Danzo's resentment deepened, the cultivation of the Zero-Tails accelerated at an alarming pace.

Rinne Path–Orochimaru sensed this subtle yet rapid growth. Outwardly, his expression remained calm and indifferent, but deep inside, he was secretly delighted.

Indeed, choosing Danzō as the vessel for cultivating the Zero-Tails had been the correct decision.

Swish—swish—swish! Suddenly, several streaks of lightning tore through the air at terrifying speed.

Both Danzo and Rinne Path–Orochimaru's expressions changed instantly, yet their reactions were swift.

They dodged without hesitation. However, not all Root ninjas were so fortunate.

Several who reacted even a fraction too slowly were struck head-on by the lightning and died on the spot, their bodies collapsing lifelessly to the ground.

The power of this Lightning Release was clearly extraordinary.

"Who's there?!" Danzō came to a halt and shouted coldly toward the front, his voice filled with fury and vigilance.

In the next instant, a group of ninja wearing Hidden Cloud Village forehead protectors appeared in full force.

At their head stood a towering figure radiating oppressive pressure.

It was the Third Raikage himself.

"It seems our luck isn't bad," the Third Raikage said calmly, his gaze sharp and confident. "Both Danzo and Orochimaru are here."

In his eyes, both of them were already mission targets.

In contrast, Danzō's expression darkened to its lowest point.

He had expected Kumogakure to dispatch people to capture him—but he had never imagined that the Third Raikage would personally lead the team.

Among the Five Kage, no one could definitively rank who was strongest.

But one thing was certain. The Third Raikage was absolutely among the very top—and was notoriously difficult to deal with.

This was a man who had once fought the Eight-Tails head-on in close combat.

A Tailed Beast was a monstrous existence, and the Eight-Tails was second only to the Nine-Tails in sheer destructive power.

That alone was proof enough of the Third Raikage's terrifying strength.

Thinking of this, Danzō subconsciously glanced toward Orochimaru. He didn't say a word, but his meaning was unmistakable.

Use Edo Tensei.

Summon the two Hokage.

Deal with the Raikage.

Rinne Path–Orochimaru naturally understood the severity of the situation. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately activated the Impure World Reincarnation Technique.

The moment Reanimated Hashirama and Tobirama appeared, the Third Raikage recognized the technique at once.

As a Kage, he possessed knowledge of such forbidden arts.

"I didn't expect someone else to have mastered this forbidden ninjutsu… the Impure World Reincarnation," the Third Raikage said slowly.

Blue lightning erupted across his body in response.

Lightning Release Chakra Mode!

As the saying goes, a man's reputation casts a shadow like a towering tree.

Having witnessed the First and Second Hokage with his own eyes, the Third Raikage knew better than to be careless.

Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence! Hashirama acted first.

Countless massive trees burst forth from the ground, surging toward the Hidden Cloud ninja like a living tide.

Those personally chosen by the Third Raikage were naturally no weaklings.

Though they could only evade under the overwhelming pressure, they managed to avoid casualties.

The Third Raikage, however, acted differently. He gathered a massive amount of lightning into one hand.

Hell Stab: Four-Finger Thrust!

Like the sharpest spear in the entire Ninja World, he pierced straight through the Wood Release without suffering the slightest injury.

Even when Reanimated Tobirama flashed forward and slashed down with his blade, the Third Raikage neither dodged nor blocked.

He endured it directly with his physical body.

Seeing this, both Danzo and Rinne Path–Orochimaru fell into brief silence.

Information surfaced in their minds almost instinctively. The strongest spear. The strongest shield.

The spear referred to his Hell Stab. The shield referred to his unparalleled physical body.

Aside from the mysterious wound on his chest—whose origin no one knew—he had never suffered another injury.

He could withstand nearly any attack.

Even space–time ninjutsu like the Heavenly Transfer Technique couldn't harm him in the slightest.

In a world where most shinobi were fragile, the Third Raikage was nothing short of a monster.

Tobirama failed to injure him and was instead impaled by the Hell Stab.

His body stiffened instantly, losing all mobility. Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Without slowing down at all, the Third Raikage continued charging toward Danzō and Orochimaru at terrifying speed.

Seeing this, both used the Body Flicker Technique to evade—but the Raikage closed the distance immediately.

Under Lightning Release Chakra Mode, his speed was already monstrous. And he could also use Lightning Body Flicker.

Escape was nearly impossible.

Rinne Path–Orochimaru, having prepared in advance, successfully substituted his body with mud.

Danzō, however, reacted just a moment too late. His arm was severed on the spot.

Blood erupted violently.

"Lord Danzō!" The Root ninjas rushed forward at once.

Some moved to block the Third Raikage, while others hurried to administer emergency treatment to Danzō.

Otherwise, he would have bled to death in moments.

But how could Root Ninja stand against the Third Raikage?

And worse—he wasn't alone. With his subordinates assisting, Root's already devastated forces suffered yet another round of heavy losses.

Many Hidden Shadow Snakes!

A swarm of snakes burst forth from Rinne Path–Orochimaru's sleeve, wrapping around the Third Raikage.

It was useless. He tore free instantly, shredding the snakes into bloody fragments.

Immediately after, Hashirama activated Wood Release once more.

Thick, massive trees coiled tightly around the Third Raikage's body.

Wood Release far surpassed the snake swarm in restraining power.

Unable to use Hell Stab, the Third Raikage was finally bound.

And because Wood Release absorbed chakra, he was forcibly knocked out of Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

To prevent him from breaking free, Hashirama had to continuously maintain the technique.

Yet Rinne Path–Orochimaru found himself facing a grim reality.

The Third Raikage's body was simply too strong. Aside from Hell Stab, almost nothing could harm him.

Even the chest wound he bore had been self-inflicted during training—something he had never spoken of out of shame.

Although Wind Release countered Lightning Release, even Wind Release: Rasenshuriken would be meaningless here.

It couldn't injure him at all. Thus, even restrained, the Third Raikage could only be delayed—not defeated.

Just as Rinne Path–Orochimaru pondered how to resolve the situation, several Hidden Cloud ninja rushed forward.

"Lord Raikage!"

They attempted to sever the Wood Release bindings to rescue him.

Naturally, Rinne Path–Orochimaru would not allow this. He immediately engaged them in combat.

On the other side—

Danzō, whose bleeding had finally stopped, assessed the battlefield and made a ruthless decision.

He ordered the remaining Root ninja to take him and retreat. He was abandoning Orochimaru.

Any ordinary shinobi would despise such an act. But Root Ninja were not ordinary.

They would carry out Danzō's orders without hesitation, without doubt, and without emotion.

Taking advantage of the moment while Rinne Path–Orochimaru was holding back the Hidden Cloud ninja—

Danzō and the remaining Root forces turned and fled into the distance.

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