Chapter 92 092: I, Taiga, Declare You the Strongest
"No, no, no." Uchiha Taiga shook his head with a smile. "You have been underestimating me this whole time."
He raised an eyebrow at Raikage A. "Knowing my intel, you actually only brought this handful of people. Should I praise you for being overly confident?"
Hearing this, Raikage A's cheek twitched, unable to hold back his anger any longer.
Out of the dozens of people he brought, fewer than ten were still alive, and that included himself and Killer Bee. Those who died were the elites of Kumogakure, handpicked by him, brothers who had braved life and death with him for years.
But now they were dead, not even leaving behind a corpse.
As the son of the Third Raikage, he had lived on the battlefield since childhood and witnessed countless deaths. But he had never experienced a defeat like this. Dozens of men, wiped out in a single instant. Since taking power, he had never suffered such a loss.
At this moment, it felt as if a fire was burning in Raikage A's heart, turning his eyes red, making his fists tremble, and causing his mind to buzz.
"You Konoha brat!!!"
His voice was low, squeezed from the depths of his throat.
As soon as the words left his mouth, his body transformed into a streak of lightning. A thunderclap exploded.
His speed was astonishing. With a powerful stomp, the ground cracked beneath his feet, sending gravel and dirt flying backward. His body shot toward Uchiha Taiga like a cannonball.
He clenched his right fist, which was coated in Lightning Style chakra. It crackled sharply as the force of his punch tore through the air with a piercing howl.
Seeing this, Uchiha Taiga grinned. Instead of retreating or dodging, he mirrored Raikage A's movement, turning into a streak of lightning and charging straight at him.
Lightning flickered across his legs and feet, pushing his speed to the absolute limit. He stomped the ground, shattering it just the same and kicking up a trail of debris.
Their current states were strikingly similar. Only two streaks of lightning could be seen colliding in midair.
Boom!
A massive explosion rang out, like two mountains crashing into each other.
The shockwave expanded outward from the epicenter of their collision. The resulting blast of air sent the surrounding trees swaying wildly, while dirt and gravel were swept up and scattered in all directions.
Their fists clashed, producing a heavy, muffled thud.
Raikage A's fist was as large as an iron hammer, enveloped in Lightning Style chakra and packing an astonishing amount of power.
Uchiha Taiga's fist was more than a size smaller, but it was equally coated in Lightning Style chakra and carried just as much devastating force.
The next moment, both figures were sent flying backward simultaneously.
Raikage A's body skipped across the ground like a stone on water, crashing into the earth dozens of meters away. He bounced several times, leaving a crater with each impact, before snapping several thick trees in half and finally coming to a halt.
Uchiha Taiga spun through the air, also thrown back dozens of meters. He adjusted his posture mid-flight to stabilize himself before landing on both feet. However, the immense impact made it impossible to stand firm. His feet plowed two deep trenches into the ground, kicking up dirt and rocks to the sides as he skidded for over a dozen meters before finally stopping.
He looked up, a bright smile blossoming on his face.
"Hahaha..."
His laughter echoed through the forest.
"What power! As expected of you, Raikage! I acknowledge you! In terms of pure strength, I, Taiga, declare you the strongest!"
His eyes shone like two stars. In that last strike, he had used the Senju Monstrous Strength technique, combined with his SS-rank Sage Body constitution, yet he had only managed to fight his opponent to a draw in pure physical power.
He originally thought he was strong enough, but he hadn't expected Raikage A to be completely equal to him in strength. Truth be told, he truly lived up to his reputation as a muscle-bound powerhouse; that physique wasn't just for show.
Right at that moment, Killer Bee moved, turning into a blur as he charged at Uchiha Taiga.
At the same time, the Kumogakure ninjas behind him also sprang into action. However, they didn't charge at Uchiha Taiga; instead, they dashed toward Yugito Nii. Their goal was clear: to take the Jinchuriki away.
Killer Bee arrived in front of Uchiha Taiga, his right hand reaching for his waist as a short sword left its sheath. The blade was neither long nor wide, but its edge gleamed with a cold light.
Killer Bee's body twisted as he moved rapidly, like a fish swimming through water.
"Yo, yo! Watch my swordplay, gonna make you cry! Gonna make you remember, Kumo ain't a village you can defy!"
His mouth was rapping, but his hands didn't stop. The short sword thrust from various angles, slashing and sweeping at an astonishing speed. His body spun, his wrists flicking as the short sword moved in his hands like a living snake. It darted left and right, up and down, making it impossible to defend against.
Behind him, several other short swords were flipping through the air.
Killer Bee kicked, kneed, and shoulder-bumped the blades, changing their trajectories midair and sending them hurtling toward Uchiha Taiga from different angles.
Six short swords, plus the one in his hand—seven blades attacked simultaneously in an airtight barrage.
Uchiha Taiga's eyes lit up.
His Byakugan was already active, its three-hundred-and-sixty-degree vision capturing the trajectory of every single blade. His body weaved and dodged through the flurry of swords, every movement executed with perfect precision.
The short swords flew past him—some grazing his ears, some brushing against his shoulders, some passing right under his armpits—but not a single one managed to hit him.
His eyes darted rapidly, tracking the ninja swords tumbling through the air.
Once, twice, three times...
While dodging, Uchiha Taiga was also observing.
Killer Bee's swordsmanship was indeed impressive, especially when paired with that unique taijutsu. It looked like a dance, dazzling and disorienting. But no matter how flashy the swordplay, it still had an underlying pattern.
Under Uchiha Taiga's keen insight, those patterns were quickly exposed.
Another short sword struck from the left.
Uchiha Taiga didn't dodge. Instead, he reached out, spreading his five fingers, and grabbed at the blade.
Killer Bee's pupils shrank slightly.
Uchiha Taiga's hand accurately caught the hilt of the short sword, as if he had known exactly where it would fly. His fingers locked around the grip, snatching the blade right out of the air.
Killer Bee's movements paused for a fraction of a second.
That was all it took.
With his right hand gripping the short sword, Uchiha Taiga used his left hand to draw the ninja sword from his own waist.
With dual blades in hand, his fighting style drastically changed. He was no longer dodging; he was attacking.
His blade was astonishingly fast. It wasn't the flashy style of Killer Bee, but a simple, ruthless technique. Every strike aimed straight for the vitals, leaving no room for error, carrying an aura of absolute finality.
Clang, clang, clang, clang...
The sound of clashing blades was as dense as falling rain.
Killer Bee's short swords danced through the air, attempting to block Uchiha Taiga's assault, but his rhythm had already been disrupted. His original swordplay relied on multiple blades flipping through the air, attacking from various angles to confuse the opponent and overwhelm their defenses.
But now, Uchiha Taiga had shattered that rhythm, forcing a gap in Killer Bee's blade formation.
Uchiha Taiga's strikes grew faster and faster.
The silver-white ninja sword in his left hand launched frontal assaults, while the black short sword in his right hand executed sneak attacks from the side. The two blades coordinated flawlessly, as if they were being wielded by two different people simultaneously.
Clang, clang, clang, clang...
A few more crisp rings echoed out.
The short sword in Killer Bee's hand was struck so hard he nearly dropped it. He took two steps back, trying to reorganize his offense, but Uchiha Taiga's blades were already pressing in on him.
His swords were too fast—so fast that Killer Bee's eyes couldn't even keep up.
The short swords flipping through the air lost their control, falling to the ground one after another with a series of clattering sounds.
Killer Bee was left with only a single blade in his hand.
"Not enough! Not nearly enough!"
Uchiha Taiga's voice rang out from amidst the flashing blades, carrying an uncontrollable excitement.
"There's no pressure! I'm not having fun!"
The tempo of his attacks accelerated once more. Lightning began to crackle around his body, pushing his speed to a point where not even afterimages could be seen—only the relentless flashing of his blades.
At this moment, Uchiha Taiga's swords were like a violent storm, endless and impenetrable.
Killer Bee shut his mouth. There was no time to rap anymore. All of his energy was focused on defending, but the blade in his hand felt heavier and heavier, his wrists grew increasingly sore, and his breathing became ragged.
In just a few breaths, beads of sweat seeped from his forehead, and the eyes behind his sunglasses were filled with shock.
This youth's swordsmanship was incredibly strong.
Terrifyingly strong.
A furious roar echoed from the distance.
Raikage A charged out of the crater he had been smashed into. Lightning flickered across his body, his hair standing on end. He looked like a burning mass of thunder and fire.
Wherever he passed, scorched black marks appeared on the ground—the remnants of his Lightning Style chakra burning the earth. His clothes were covered in dirt and shredded leaves, making him look a bit disheveled, but his gaze remained as sharp as ever.
Raikage A hadn't suffered any serious injuries; in fact, it looked like he hadn't even sustained a light wound.
"Bee!" he shouted loudly. "Together!"
Killer Bee instantly responded. Without any more nonsense, he simply gritted his teeth, tightened his grip on his short sword, and crouched slightly, assuming an offensive stance.
He knew that there was no room for error in this battle.
The youth standing before them was anything but simple.
Uchiha Taiga looked at them, his smile growing even more radiant.
"Bring it on!"
He crossed his dual blades in front of him, their edges gleaming with a cold light.