Chapter 257: I Spit a Snake, the Snake Spits Me, I Spit a Sword! A Hand Piercing Through the Chest!
Five flaming arrows, as heavy and forceful as giant crossbow bolts, were fired in succession.
Whoosh!
The wind howled as the elder, streaking through the thunder, had his long, tied-up hair whipped into a frenzy!
At the very last moment—just before the fiery arrows and the crackling lightning clashed—
A fierce figure slammed into the ground and leaped up, one hand pointing to the sky, the other tucked behind his back, twisting his body midair!
The fire arrows shot beneath him, streaking past, striking the ground with a thunderous roar.
"—PONG!!"
The fractured rocky terrain was engulfed in a raging inferno, flames clawing wildly in every direction!
The earth trembled instantly, shattered stones flying in all directions—
Yet the thunder surged forward at an even greater speed, bearing down with a hair-raising force!
---
Amidst the lightning—
A, in an instant, took a quick glance at the explosion behind him, calculating its power with a simple assessment. His eyes flickered with contempt.
The next moment—
He flipped, landed, and moved forward in a low stance, his body pressing downward like an unstoppable thunder lance!
Against the remaining four fire arrows, he did not evade. Instead, he met them head-on—
With a single extended finger.
Stride forward, charge!
Whoosh!
His powerful form tore through the air, creating a violent storm!
At that moment, fire arrows met his lightning-clad fingertip in a clash as precise as the meeting of two needlepoints!
BOOM!!
The formidable fire arrows shattered instantly upon impact, exploding in a straight line—one after another—into four roaring streams of fire!
Flames erupted toward the sky, engulfing the battlefield!
"Now—"
Uchiha Setsuna's eyes gleamed coldly. His expression of solemnity twisted into something feral.
His left hand formed the "Tiger" (寅) seal, fingers rigid.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!!"
The aged body arched back, expelling a torrent of fire built up for a long time, almost all of his chakra condensed into an overwhelming sea of flames!
Amplified by his Mangekyō Sharingan, his chakra reserves swelled, transforming his jutsu into an ocean of fire!
Like a rabid beast, it surged forward, expanding into a massive fan shape nearly a hundred meters wide at its farthest point!
In an instant, everything before him was consumed!
At the same time—
Uchiha Setsuna's gaze sharpened. His right hand spread open, yanking back with force—
The silk threads attached to the barely breathing Uchiha Ci, still lingering at death's door, suddenly pulled tight—
And flung him directly toward the Third Raikage!
---
The sea of flames devoured everything.
Yet within the blazing inferno, a savage old man clad in lightning tore through it all with brute force, seemingly unaffected as he advanced!
The only hindrance—the sheer intensity of the fire momentarily obscured his vision.
"Trying to use this to cover your retreat?"
A's eyes flashed coldly.
It didn't matter. He had already memorized the Leaf's position. With his speed, he was confident he could rip through the firestorm before they fully escaped his sight.
But just then—
A shadow was flung directly in front of him.
It was none other than Uchiha Ci—the boy who had barely survived taking a direct hit from Hell Stab: Thunderclap Bomb and had been rescued by Uchiha Setsuna!
Seeing this, A was momentarily stunned.
"You rescued him… only to throw him back at me?!"
"Isn't this kid your clan's heir?!"
Yet—
The supposedly lifeless, mangled Uchiha Ci, with his neck grotesquely twisted—
Suddenly opened a pair of crimson snake-like eyes!
He was still alive!
Moreover—
"Beautifully done, Great Elder!"
With a sinister grin, Uchiha Ci stared directly at the Third Raikage—
And then—
Opened his mouth wide!
A thick, white snake burst out from the tattered corpse, lunging at A with terrifying speed!
The serpent coiled around him, its body instantly charred black by his Lightning Armor, yet it clung tightly to his chest—
The scene was absurd—like a stowaway hitching a ride on a speeding train,
With A as the train and the snake as the reckless passenger!
"Orochimaru's technique?!"
A had never imagined someone daring to hitch a ride on Hell Stab, much less in such an eerie fashion.
His scalp tingled.
And then—
The white snake opened its mouth.
A fresh, slime-covered Uchiha Ci was regurgitated!
This Uchiha Ci's skin was deathly pale. Purple markings stretched from his eyes. Upon closer inspection, his flesh was no longer human—it was covered in smooth, white scales!
An eerie, uncanny beauty.
Uchiha Ci's scarlet serpent eyes snapped open, locking onto A with a predatory gleam.
"Die, you old bastard!"
The sudden turn of events left A no time to alter his movements.
He couldn't shake free!
And then—
Uchiha Ci's eyes flared red, blood vessels bursting, streaks of crimson tears running down his face.
"Sage Art: Sharingan—White Shock Pupil!"
A powerful dojutsu—at a range A had no chance of dodging!
And with it—
Uchiha Ci opened his mouth once more!
A golden sword light surged forth!
The Kusanagi Blade, gleaming like molten gold, shot from his mouth—aiming straight for the temple of the battle-hardened Third Raikage!
"Composite Ninjutsu: Supersonic Vibration Vacuum Blade!"
At that moment—
A truly felt the presence of death.
A chill ran down his spine, every strand of his hair standing on end!
Normally—
With his Lightning Armor, Uchiha Ci's golden blade would take time to cut through.
But if he fell under a genjutsu, losing even an instant of awareness—
He would become helpless prey.
"Damn this vile Uchiha brat!"
A gritted his teeth, glaring at the blood-soaked, maniacally grinning Uchiha Ci, who watched him as if he were less than human.
His mind was yanked into the illusion—
Two crimson dragons coiled around him—
And then—
They devoured a dragon pearl, unleashing a blinding white shockwave that swallowed him whole!
---
His body still surged forward.
Yet for a brief moment, the lightning-clad elder lost consciousness.
Squelch!
The golden Kusanagi Blade plunged into the strongest Lightning Armor!
Sweat dripped down A's face. His body trembled as his consciousness flickered—
Uchiha Ci's serpent-like gaze burned with ecstasy.
"Now let's see—"
"Without that turtle shell, what do you have left, Raikage?!"
His throat trembled—spitting out more golden light, pressing the blade down inch by inch!
Cutting, tearing, ripping open his defenses!
But just as Uchiha Ci was about to complete the kill—
"HRAAAAAH!!"
A thunderous roar exploded beneath him!
Though his eyes were blank—A's rage ignited his muscles!
His left hand, held behind his back, surged with black lightning—
And with terrifying force—swung toward Uchiha Ci's face!
"Lightning Release: Black Spot Thrust—Lightning Tyrant's Chidori Dance!!"
The black lightning, deep and ominous, formed a leopard-like shape around A's hand blade.
With one swing—
A severed his own left hand—
But the remaining half of his palm smashed into Uchiha Ci's face!
CRACK!
Like a watermelon bursting—
Red and white fragments flew in all directions as Uchiha Ci lost his balance and tumbled off A's shoulder, crashing powerlessly into the ground!
In that instant—
The Third Raikage, A, jolted awake with ragged breaths, his heart still pounding in lingering fear. His eyes fixated on the Kusanagi Sword, which had pierced through his Lightning Cloak but was now embedded in his shoulder, no longer under the control of its wielder.
Before him, a group of Konoha shinobi stood frozen, their faces filled with shock at the sight.
A's gaze instantly darkened, his furious eyes cutting through the crowd like two sharp blades. Then, his lips curled into a cruel grin.
Without hesitation, he lifted the very finger that had been used in his deadly thrust, pointing it directly at the Konoha shinobi—
Then, he charged.
A mad sprint!
The storm of rage within him roared like a tempestuous sea!
To think that he, the Third Raikage, had been pushed to such a desperate state by this wicked little Uchiha brat!
To think that he had been forced into such a situation!
His fury reached its peak, marking the final note of this hellish thrust—
"In that case, you can all go to hell!!"
However—
"The one who's gonna die— is you!!"
At that very moment, a hoarse voice rang out—so familiar, so deeply engraved into A's bones that he could never forget it.
From his right, like a lingering specter that refused to fade, a blood-drenched Uchiha Ci suddenly reappeared, his crimson Sharingan burning with unyielding rage.
In his hand—
A massive, azure sphere!
With a ferocious roar, louder, angrier, and more savage than A's own, he hurled it straight at the old one-eyed man's right arm!
Snarling, he bellowed—
"Sage Art—Super F* Your Liver and Kidneys!!!"
(Support me and read additional chapters on my Patreøn: patreøn.com/craxxtranslation. Thanks for your support! Don't forget to send your Power Stones!)