Let's turn back to the present.

As he watched the thunderclouds getting closer and closer, and the pale blue sea of ​​trees that had appeared out of nowhere, the Fourth Raikage, who knew that the Wood Release ninjas who had been mentioned in the intelligence reports had appeared, clenched his fists.

The God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju!

It must be said that although his actions seem a bit naive, suffocating, and overly idealistic to many modern people, to the people of the ninja world, this guy is indeed almost like a god.

Although many people disdain his act of distributing tailed beasts, everyone who faces him has to be impressed. What else could be the reason for this but his power that only one person in the world can rival?

Although the historical records of that period have been destroyed beyond recognition due to the passage of fifty or sixty years and the ninjas' so-called secrecy, the power of Wood Release has been deeply ingrained in the souls of the leaders of the various hidden villages.

Even the Third Raikage, who was the father of the current Fourth Raikage A, only heard about it from his clan elders. By his time, there were only scattered records. However, it is undeniable that Hashirama Senju created a myth for Wood Release, a Wood Release secret technique that was invincible in the world.

Even though everyone knew that the truly powerful one wasn't Wood Release at all, but simply Hashirama Senju! But…

"The myth of Wood Release? Today, I will shatter this so-called myth of Wood Release!"

With a battle cry, the Fourth Raikage's speed increased even more, transforming into a bolt of lightning and heading towards the forest emitting a faint blue glow. As for whether doing so was too reckless...

Didn't you see that he had two huge creatures behind him who, if pushed to the limit, could directly transform into tailed beasts? Even if Wood Release really can suppress tailed beasts, if he stood on the edge of the forest and fired a Tailed Beast Ball, how many trees would he have left?

And is it really true that the physique that can fight the Eight-Tailed Gyūki is fake?

"They're here."

His eyes, which had been slightly closed, opened, shooting out two beams of blue light that, while not dazzling, were very bright.

He sprinted in that direction, and after a few days, his monstrous fist, crackling with lightning, collided with the Fourth Raikage's lightning-infused blade, which was clashed with the Raikage's armor and his entire body crackling with lightning.

boom!

A terrifying wave swept through the entire forest, but apart from causing the Blue Silver Trees to sway and dissipate the force on their own, not a single tree fell. At the same time, the thunderclouds gathering in the sky continuously struck down bolts of lightning, turning the entire forest into an incomparably terrifying lightning domain. Anyone below the rank of Jonin who entered would die.

"Boy, is this the confidence you have to hold off my entire Hidden Cloud Village all by yourself? You're strong, but aren't you being far too disrespectful to me?! Four-Handed Spear!"

With my right hand, I unleashed a torrent of endless lightning, a casual strike that rivaled the terrifying power of Kakashi's Lightning Blade, truly demonstrating to Lin Nian what it meant to be the strongest Kage of our time.

only…

"Using only four strikes, isn't that underestimating me?!"

The golden light that had been hidden within his body instantly gathered on his skin, forming a thin layer of armor. After protecting his right fist, it was followed by a loud boom.

This time, it was the Fourth Raikage, A, who retreated.

"Such powerful punches, such a terrifying physique and lightning-style ninjutsu, and..."

With his right hand slightly numb, he unleashed the terrifying power of his monstrous punch at the Fourth Raikage. As he looked at the trees that were constantly gathering lightning energy and clearly displaying sealing techniques, the Fourth Raikage seemed to see the shadow of the legendary God of Shinobi in Lin Nian.

"Today, you must die here!"

His battle-ready gaze instantly sharpened, his killing intent locked on the target. The white lightning around him, amplified by the lightning domain and his own Lightning Release ninjutsu, began to shimmer with black light.

"Kid, use Wood Release! Otherwise, you'll die."

After saying that, his right hand, which had originally extended four fingers, instantly became just a single fingertip filled with endless sharpness and black lightning. At this moment, Lin Nian truly sensed a real threat from the Fourth Raikage.

"Hell Thrust, One-Hit Kill!"

A flash of black lightning instantly appeared in front of Lin Nian, who was already on high alert. However, his originally confident move was now blocked by a faint golden light. Only then did he hear a chanting sound, like a Zen sutra recitation.

The mysteries of heaven and earth, the root of all energies.

Through countless eons of cultivation, I will prove my supernatural powers.

Within and beyond the Three Realms, only the Dao is supreme.

My body is enveloped in golden light, protecting me!

The forest covered in blue fluorescence suddenly burst into golden light, and at this moment, the Fourth Raikage finally saw clearly what had been surrounding and covering Lin Nian.

Countless golden rays transformed into ribbons, intertwining to form the most comprehensive armor. The combination of armor pieces, along with the rapidly flowing Qi, rendered almost all attacks ineffective.

Even he himself was tightly bound by countless golden lights, which kept pulling him backward.

"I have shattered the myth of the strongest spear today, and now it is time to shatter your strongest shield."

"What?"

Clang!

Mars emerged from the Fourth Raikage's Thunder God Armor. Although it still left some shallow wounds on the Fourth Raikage's body, the fact that it broke through the skin demonstrated the strength of the Fourth Raikage's defenses.

However, Lin Nian, who had anticipated this, after tightly binding the Fourth Raikage with countless golden threads, raised his hand and pointed lightly. The twelve willow-leaf throwing knives that had just pierced the Fourth Raikage's skin instantly converged and interlocked under the control of Lin Nian's true qi. As they spun continuously, they directly formed an illusory shuriken on the outside.

"Fourth Raikage, I hope your strongest shield truly lives up to its name."

The shriek that pierced the air brought a deadly crisis to the Fourth Raikage. He mobilized his chakra to the limit and, after forcibly breaking free from the golden threads of light that Lin Nian had deliberately weakened, looked at the illusory shuriken that was getting closer and closer and could pierce him in an instant. He used the One-Hit Punch, which had previously failed, once again, wrapped in endless black lightning.

Boom!!!

A terrifying roar echoed throughout the entire forest and its surrounding area. The explosions from the two terrifying attacks directly destroyed half of the forest. When the dust settled, Lin Nian, who had already retreated several miles using the Flying Thunder God Technique, finally saw the Fourth Raikage, Ai, whose right hand had been destroyed, his body swaying, and his face as pale as paper.

The intense heat from the flying knife slicing through the air instantly sealed all the wounds and blood vessels at the Fourth Raikage's severed arm. Combined with the Fourth Raikage's terrifying physique, even though this guillotine strike directly and brutally severed the Fourth Raikage's entire right arm, aside from consuming almost half of the Fourth Raikage's chakra, it didn't actually cause much damage to the Fourth Raikage's true combat strength.

However, such a brutal ninjutsu completely changed the way the Fourth Raikage looked at Lin Nian.