Chapter 41: I Never Expected Him to Be This Strong
The sudden disappearance of his target left the Fourth Raikage utterly shocked.
However, his reaction was swift. Without hesitation, he changed his attack trajectory and lunged toward Uchiha Dali once more.
"An exceptional Body Flicker Technique... It seems you really are that man!"
The Fourth Raikage had yet to realize that what Uchiha Dali used was no ordinary Body Flicker Technique, but an advanced version—one that surpassed even Uchiha Shisui's mastery of the technique.
Yet, the Raikage did not let his guard down. Instead, he became even more serious, immediately unleashing his full strength by activating his Lightning Release Chakra Mode to its maximum output.
In an instant, his speed reached its peak, and in the blink of an eye, he closed the distance to Uchiha Dali.
His overwhelming speed even made Uchiha Dali inwardly impressed.
"This guy's Lightning Release Chakra Mode is truly extraordinary..."
Uchiha Dali had no intention of engaging the Fourth Raikage in direct taijutsu combat. He was well aware of just how formidable the Raikage's physical prowess was.
Instead, he activated his Advanced Body Flicker Technique once again and vanished.
But the Fourth Raikage was right behind him, his speed barely lagging behind Dali's technique.
"Clang! Clang!"
Uchiha Dali tossed two kunai backward, both of which hit their mark, striking the Raikage directly.
Yet, the Raikage simply blocked them with his arm. He made no other movement.
The moment the kunai struck, a metallic clang echoed, and the weapons were instantly deflected—without leaving so much as a scratch.
"Try this!"
Uchiha Dali suddenly disappeared from the Raikage's sight.
Before the latter could react, Dali's voice had already sounded from behind him.
The Raikage's expression changed slightly, filled with disbelief. As he abruptly turned around, he was met with the sight of a massive fireball hurtling toward him.
"Hmph!"
The Fourth Raikage neither dodged nor flinched. Instead, he clenched his fist and threw a powerful punch directly at the incoming fireball.
"Boom!"
The sheer force of his punch created a shockwave so strong that it obliterated the fireball in an instant. The flames that filled the air were also extinguished by the blast.
However, what the Raikage hadn't expected was that the space in front of him was completely empty.
His eyes filled with disbelief. He never imagined that his opponent could vanish so quickly—even he couldn't keep up.
And at that moment, a dreadful realization struck him.
Sure enough, agonized screams erupted from behind.
The Raikage spun around abruptly, only to see Cloud Village's ninjas falling one after another.
"Damn it..."
The Fourth Raikage erupted in fury.
But before he could act, Killer Bee had already made his move.
Up until now, Killer Bee had been observing the battle. He had already seen that his elder brother alone could not take down this opponent.
Moreover, the enemy was both cunning and ruthless—deliberately avoiding direct confrontation with the Raikage and instead targeting the weaker Cloud ninjas.
With his terrifying speed, Uchiha Dali had slaughtered Cloud's forces in mere moments. Within an instant, at least dozens of ninjas were dead or gravely wounded.
Fortunately, Killer Bee acted in time. At the last moment, he intercepted Uchiha Dali, who was in the midst of a killing spree.
"You sure don't hold back, huh?"
Killer Bee charged forward, delivering a lightning-fast kick toward Uchiha Dali.
His speed was astonishing.
However, by this point, Uchiha Dali was no longer using his Advanced Body Flicker Technique. Instead, he had switched to the upgraded version of the Flying Thunder God Technique, easily evading Killer Bee's sneak attack.
He reappeared twenty meters away, now facing off against both Killer Bee and the Fourth Raikage.
"If negotiations won't work, I'll just have to communicate with you in a way you can understand."
"But you don't seem to like this method of communication either."
Uchiha Dali cast an indifferent glance at the dozens of Cloud ninjas he had just taken down.
More than half were already dead. The rest were severely wounded.
Even now, many of the surviving Cloud ninjas had yet to fully grasp what had happened.
Everything had happened too fast—within the span of mere moments.
Only now did the enemy forces finally realize the true horror of the man before them.
"I never imagined his speed would be this fast... There was no time to react."
"No wonder he inflicted such devastating losses on Kirigakure's forces during the battle with Konoha... He even forced the Mist's main battalion to retreat."
"What do we do now? There's no way ordinary ninjas can withstand his attacks!"
The remaining hundreds of Cloud ninjas were now gripped by fear.
Their gazes flickered as they looked at Uchiha Dali.
No one dared to stare at him for too long, afraid that merely making eye contact would mark them as his next target.
Among those equally shaken by Uchiha Dali's power and ruthlessness were the Hyuga brothers—Hiashi and Hizashi—as well as the three Konoha Jonin who were merely civilians.
At this moment, they finally understood why Uchiha Dali had dared to show up alone and present his conditions to the Fourth Raikage and his army.
"I thought he was just another unremarkable Uchiha… I never expected him to be this strong."
Hiashi Hyuga couldn't help but take a few extra glances at Uchiha Dali, his heart now filled with admiration for this rising star of the Uchiha clan.
"In mere moments, he single-handedly killed dozens of enemy ninjas… This level of combat prowess rivals the 'Yellow Flash' Minato Namikaze himself."
Hizashi Hyuga muttered in a low voice.
"So… does that mean he can lead us out of here?"
A glimmer of hope flashed through Yamato Raimei's heart.
The other two Konoha ninjas also couldn't help but feel a tinge of anticipation.
Everyone's eyes were now fixed on Uchiha Dali, waiting to see his next move.
At the same time, they carefully observed the Fourth Raikage's reaction.
The Konoha ninjas assumed that the sheer shock from the previous battle might force the Raikage to compromise.
However, what happened next caught them completely off guard.
"Everyone, fall back from this battlefield! Leave this to me and Bee!"
"Take those five hostages with you! Bee, we're going all out!"
After issuing his command, the Fourth Raikage locked eyes with Uchiha Dali.
At this moment, his entire body radiated an intense blue lightning aura, and the sheer pressure of his chakra caused dust and debris to rise from the ground.
The sheer force of his presence reignited the morale of the Cloud ninjas.
Killer Bee's expression turned serious.
"The A-B Brothers of Cloud are invincible! Uchiha kid, you're about to pay the price!"
"Once we capture you, this war will be over! Let's do this, big bro!"
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