Raiga arrived at the center of the explosion with two chunin in tow. The blast had left a massive crater spanning dozens of meters in width.
But as Raiga approached the edge of the pit, his eyes caught sight of three shimmering golden water spheres at the crater's center.
"What are those?" one of the chunin asked in confusion.
A sense of unease crept over Raiga.
"Be cautious. That brat isn't so easy to deal with," he said with a grave expression, suspecting that the earlier explosion hadn't killed Yoruha.
"Impossible! With an explosion like that, even a Kage wouldn't survive!" the two chunin exclaimed in disbelief.
After all, they had planted thousands of explosive tags in the area. An explosion of such magnitude would be enough to obliterate even a Kage-level shinobi.
Raiga drew his Thunder Blades.
Without responding to the chunin, he kept his eyes locked on the three golden water spheres at the center of the pit.
When the spheres remained motionless after a while, Raiga could no longer contain himself. He immediately launched an attack.
"Lightning Release: Thunder Strike!"
Raiga crossed his Thunder Blades, causing blue arcs of lightning to dance across their surfaces.
As he channeled chakra into the blades, the arcs grew larger, transforming into a thick beam of lightning that he directed toward the golden water spheres.
This was a Lightning Release technique enhanced by the Thunder Blades.
The blades allowed Raiga to easily unleash Lightning Release techniques while consuming far less chakra than normal.
The powerful lightning beam shot toward one of the water spheres, its destructive energy capable of pulverizing a massive boulder.
Yet, the moment the lightning struck the water sphere, it was completely absorbed.
The golden water sphere behaved like a black hole, swallowing the lightning beam entirely as though it had never existed.
This eerie sight left Raiga and the two chunin utterly stunned.
"W-What is that thing?"
"Even Raiga-sama's Lightning Release got absorbed. What in the world is that thing?" the two chunin stammered, their voices filled with panic.
Raiga's expression darkened as he began to piece things together.
Scanning the surroundings, he roared, "Brat, stop hiding! I know this is your doing."
Raiga was furious. He was certain Yoruha was responsible. The fact that Yoruha was still alive, despite his meticulously planned death trap, left him both shocked and enraged.
Not only had Yoruha survived, but he had also left behind these strange objects to mock him. Raiga couldn't stand it.
The charred and desolate area was eerily silent.
Raiga's expression grew even more serious. The sensation of being watched unnerved him deeply.
He wasn't used to being the one under surveillance—he was always the predator in the shadows.
"Damn it, you troublesome brat. Even a death trap couldn't kill you. What kind of monster are you?" Raiga muttered grimly.
"Raiga-sama, you don't actually think that kid survived an explosion like that, do you? Don't joke about something like that," one of the chunin said, his voice trembling.
The mere thought of Yoruha surviving the explosion sent shivers down their spines.
If Yoruha could survive such a devastating blast, just how terrifying was he?
They were terrified of the monster.
After all, they were merely two chunin. Even if they teamed up, they were not confident they could defeat Yoruha.
Over the past few days, they had followed Raiga, keeping an eye on Yoruha.
They were fully aware of just how fearsome Yoruha's strength was.
Ignoring the two chunin, Raiga fixed his gaze on the three water spheres in the center of the crater.
"If you won't come out, I'll force you out."
With that, Raiga unleashed another Lightning Release jutsu: "Lightning Release: Thunder Fang."
As Raiga completed the jutsu, a massive amount of lightning began to gather in the sky.
The lightning rapidly condensed into dozens of blue arcs, which surged outward in all directions.
Countless lightning arcs obliterated everything in their path, leaving nothing intact.
The destructive power was terrifying.
This was the strength of the Thunder Blades—they amplified the user's Lightning Release jutsu severalfold.
"This is the power of the Thunder Blades! Haha, Raiga-sama is finally going all out! That brat wasn't killed by the explosion earlier, but now he'll definitely die by Raiga-sama's hands," one of the chunin exclaimed excitedly.
The two chunin, who had been afraid Yoruha might still be alive, felt a surge of confidence at the sight of Raiga's overwhelming Lightning Release jutsu.
In their minds, even if Yoruha had survived earlier, there was no way he could withstand Raiga's onslaught.
After all, Raiga was a former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, a powerful elite jonin.
There was no way a mere child like Yoruha could defeat him.
The surrounding area was ravaged by the unrelenting lightning, which continued to pour from the Thunder Blades in an awe-inspiring display.
Yet Yoruha still did not appear.
Instead, the three water spheres at the center of the crater began to gradually dissolve.
The sound of glass shattering made Raiga halt his actions.
His eyes were fixed on the three golden-glowing water spheres in the crater.
As the golden substance covering the water spheres slowly peeled away, what was inside was finally revealed.
When Raiga saw the face emerging from within one of the spheres, he froze in shock.
"She… she's alive?! That girl is still alive? What kind of joke is this?"
"If that brat survived, fine. But why is that girl still alive too? I clearly stuck over twenty explosive tags on her—enough to blast her into pieces!"
"Damn it! What's going on?"
Raiga couldn't believe it. The person revealed beneath the water sphere was none other than Sakura.
What shocked him even more was that Sakura was completely unharmed.
As the glass-like material covering her body fell away, Sakura's entire figure was revealed, completely intact without a single scratch.
It was utterly unbelievable.
Raiga couldn't fathom it. After all, he had attached so many explosive tags directly to Sakura's body.
How could she possibly have survived?
He refused to believe it.
"This is impossible. Absolutely impossible! This must be genjutsu. It's that brat's genjutsu!"
"No way…" Raiga muttered, his hands trembling. He couldn't believe such a bizarre event was even possible.
"Those explosive tags were stuck directly onto that girl. There's no way anyone could have removed them all in such a short time."
Raiga's understanding of the world was completely shaken.
As the water sphere around Sakura completely dissolved, the other two spheres began to dissolve as well.
Sakura herself was utterly bewildered.
For a moment, she had thought she was dead.
She had even regretted dragging Yoruha down with her in her final moments.
Sakura shook her hand, and the sharp pain snapped her back to reality.
"It's not a dream… I'm alive. I actually survived. Even with so many explosive tags going off at once, I survived."
"Wait, what about Yoruha? I wonder how Yoruha is doing!"
Read Advanced Chapters at:
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