GSiN: Ch. 196

Reflected in his eyes was the colossal form of the chakra giant, yet A showed not a trace of fear.

Lightning still flickered dazzlingly around his body. Without hesitation, he leapt high into the air and swung his hand blade down, striking heavily at Obito, who was encased within Susanoo.

A full-power blow from the Lightning Release Chakra Mode pushed to its limits. This time it finally didn't hit empty air.

The moment the hand blade touched Susanoo, violent Lightning Release chakra erupted instantly. Centered on the point of impact, it surged outward madly, forming a powerful wave of electrical shock.

Yet only after A's attack had landed solidly did Obito seem to finally react, his gaze darting toward the struck area.

In an instant, countless fine cracks spread rapidly across the side of Susanoo's waist like a spiderweb, covering the entire region in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, he secretly broke into a cold sweat.

Good thing he didn't underestimate his opponent and immediately activated the third stage of Susanoo. Otherwise, if it had only been the skeletal form, it might not have held up.

---

On the other side beneath the dueling platform, B looked at the chakra giant surrounding Obito and was instantly reminded of the unpleasant memory of being beaten up by two similar giants on the battlefield of the Land of Hot Water.

What was even more coincidental was that the person who had beaten him up was present here today.

Thinking this, he covertly sneaked a glance at Shiori, who was standing beside Ryouma.

Come to think of it, she was probably Ryouma's girlfriend. After all, they had arranged to watch the fireworks festival together back then, and now Ryouma had even brought her along to participate in Kumo's festival. His guess shouldn't be far off.

Shiori was always extremely sensitive to other people's gazes. She instantly turned toward the source of the stare and found a normal passerby she didn't recognize at all.

Her expression chilled, and she spoke sharply. "Do you want something?"

"No."

B hurried to explain, then shot Ryouma a thumbs-up in admiration.

To even manage to land someone like that, as expected of the man who could make even his brother submit.

"What the hell?"

Ryouma had no idea what weird mood B was in or why he suddenly started gesturing at him.

---

At the same time, the situation on the dueling stage had become extremely tense.

Seeing that his full-force strike hadn't achieved the expected result, A decisively retreated.

Obito had finally regained the advantage, so there was no way he would let such an opportunity slip. He quickly manipulated Susanoo, swinging its massive arm and sending a powerful blast of wind pressure as its fist smashed toward A.

The force of the punch roared violently, as if tearing the very air apart.

Suspended midair with nowhere to brace himself, A couldn't dodge the attack at all. He was instantly sent flying.

He drew a long arc through the sky before crashing heavily into the solid rock wall, producing a dull thud and kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Hahaha! See that? This is the power of the Uchiha clan."

Standing within Susanoo, Obito looked at the destruction caused by such a casual blow and couldn't suppress the thrill in his heart, bursting into wild laughter.

Susanoo, the ultimate power of the Mangekyō Sharingan, possessed unmatched offensive and defensive superiority within the conventional ninja combat system.

If it had any drawback, it was simply that it consumed too much ocular power. Even with the enhancement of White Zetsu cells in his body, activating the third stage of Susanoo still placed a heavy burden on his eyes and body.

Just then, from the rising cloud of dust, A once again shot out like lightning, his entire body wrapped in crackling light.

"Lariat!" he roared, and along with his shout came the sharp crackle of countless electric sparks tearing through the air.

Wearing his Lightning Release Armor, the blunt impact from earlier hadn't caused him much damage.

Facing a fearsome ninjutsu like Susanoo, something so overwhelming that just looking at it could crush one's hope, he not only showed no fear, but grew even more excited. His eyes blazed with a burning desire to fight. Compared to the earlier frustration of being unable to land a blow, this kind of straightforward, head-on clash was the battlefield he knew best, his true comfort zone.

However, while A had entered his comfort zone, Obito was growing increasingly irritated.

He had confidently activated Susanoo, but aside from that first punch, he hadn't managed to touch A at all. What was even the point of using it?

Obito immediately stopped feeding chakra into his eyes, dispelled Susanoo, and returned to phasing with his right eye.

---

The Land of Lightning, being one of the northernmost countries in the shinobi world, always saw its nights fall quickly once the autumn equinox passed.

As the sun slowly sank westward, the sky deepened into a dark violet, and the outlines of the clouds grew clearer in the dusk.

Shukaku lay lazily on Ryouma's shoulder, mouth stretched wide in a long yawn. Its brass-colored eyes were half-open, half-closed, staring listlessly at the still-battling Obito and A.

"Why aren't they done yet? I'm getting sleepy."

It grumbled. This was its first time witnessing such a boring fight.

All A did was constantly attack Obito while he was phased out. When the timer ran out, Obito activated Susanoo to refresh the cooldown on his intangibility, then the exact same cycle repeated again and again.

What kind of fight was that? They might as well roll dice to decide the winner.

Hearing Shukaku's complaint, Ryouma raised a hand and gently patted its head, then asked Mabui, "Does this Summit Duel have a rule for draws?"

Mabui shook her head, looking somewhat helpless. "There's no such precedent."

But even though she said that, she was already wondering whether she should step forward and ask them to stop this record-breaking marathon duel.

As the Raikage's secretary, her schedule was extremely busy. Time was running short, and she still needed to organize the village festival. She had no time to keep waiting here.

If only someone more reliable than B could take over watching this mess...

Just then, Darui and C arrived, ambling their way toward her.

"Great, finally found you. Mabui, everyone's waiting for A-sama to start the festival. Speaking of which, where is he?" Darui asked while looking around, trying to spot the Raikage.

C patted Darui on the shoulder and pointed into the distance. "Hey, look over there!"

Darui followed his gaze. In the ruins not far away, a mass of lightning was flickering and bursting beneath the night sky. From time to time, he could even hear A roaring in anger.

No wonder they had been hearing thunderous noises on and off for a while now. But why was A fighting someone from Konoha? Weren't they getting along just fine earlier?

Seeing the two still confused, Mabui's eyes lit up. This was practically someone handing her a pillow when she was dozing off.

"Ahem. Darui, C, come here for a moment."

Hearing Mabui's voice, they walked closer at once after exchanging a glance. But before the two of them could even ask the questions bubbling in their minds, she swiftly tore a page from the notebook in her hand and stuffed it into Darui's arms without explanation.

"I know you two have a lot of questions. Everything is written there. Next, you'll be the witnesses to the Raikage's duel. I still have work to do."

She fired off her words at incredible speed, then gave Ryouma's group a small bow.

"I'll take my leave."

With that, she strode off toward the village square on her long legs. There was still a mountain of festival preparations waiting for her.

Once Mabui left, B's restless energy immediately flared back to life.

Since nothing serious was likely to happen with A anyway, rather than wasting time waiting around, he might as well seize this chance to set up a small impromptu stage at the festival and show off some more of his cool rap to the villagers.

Right. He had to bring Ryouma along too. Perfect chance to make up for the amazing tracks he missed while he was away.

Act now, think later.

He strutted over, suddenly popping into Ryouma's line of sight.

♪Yo yo, listen up! Ryo, check it out...♪

Before Ryouma could respond to his proposal, Shiori's eyes lit up first.

Sure, she liked fighting, but that didn't mean she enjoyed passively watching others fight.

Seeing Ryouma hesitate, she chimed in. "Sounds good to me. You said yourself that this idiot at worst won't lose, so what's there to worry about?"

Shukaku, lying across Ryouma's shoulder, nodded rapidly. "Yeah, partner. We stayed this long just to see the festival. That idiot can come find us himself once he's done with the duel."

"...Fine."

Ryouma agreed, casting another glance at Obito and A in the distance throwing empty moves at each other in their boring duel.

He had to admit, the scene was anything but inspiring.

One of them had White Zetsu cells for infinite chakra regeneration, the other relied on low-cost taijutsu. Who knew how long they'd drag this out?

After getting Ryouma's confirmation, B completely ignored the resentful stares from Darui and C, flashing them a huge grin.

♪OK OK! We're countin' on you two. Keep an eye on A, don't let the duel end too fast, oh yeah!♪

Ryouma walked over to Kura, handed him a storage scroll packed with Revita-Inject doses, whispered a few instructions, and then headed toward the festival with Shiori and B.

---

Under the night sky, a cool mountain breeze swept across the high-altitude village, perched over three thousand meters above sea level.

The central plaza of Kumo was already bursting with lively energy.

Around the blacksmith's forge, bare-chested strongmen swung their hammers. Each strike sent brilliant sparks spraying from the furnace, falling amid villagers' excited shouts like glittering golden snow.

Street vendors used magnetized kunai to suspend takoyaki grills in mid-air. The sizzling batter turned golden the instant it fell under the crackling lightning.

Girls in traditional Land of Lightning cloud-pattern yukata, combs tucked into their hair buns, danced along vibrantly to the drum troupe.

This exotic celebration, so unlike anything in Konoha, instantly stirred the spirit of exploration deep within Ryouma's heart.

"Not bad, B! I saw a lot of people setting things up during the day, but I didn't expect it to be this lively once it actually started!"

A proud grin spread across B's face. He bumped fists with Ryouma and bragged.

♪Yo, baby, this festival hits every autumn on the dot! Now that you're here, A decided this year's date is set for you, yeah!♪

The three of them arrived at the festival plaza together, and B enthusiastically introduced its main centerpiece performance.

"The Thunder Drum Dance."

Lightning chakra was infused into the strings of a specially crafted shamisen. Every pluck sent the thirty-six drums surrounding the plaza booming automatically.

Girls in yukata streamed into the square from every side street, clacking along in wooden geta, paper fans in hand, dancing gracefully between the thunderous beats.

The intense rhythm crashed like rolling waves, each strike full of infectious power, pounding straight into the heart.

Ryouma couldn't help being drawn in. His head nodded along to the tempo before he realized it.

B caught this, and the flames of performance roared instantly to life inside him. A bold idea exploded in his mind.

He suddenly wanted to invite Ryouma onto the center stage for a wild, exhilarating duo improv session.

♪Yo, I...♪

He had barely opened his mouth when a freezing-cold gaze stabbed into him like an ice pick, instantly dousing half of his enthusiasm.

At the same time, Gyūki urgently warned inside him. Hey, B! You're under genjutsu again!

B's sunglasses snapped upward as he widened his eyes, only to meet Ryouma's puzzled expression.

"Did you just call me?" Ryouma asked.

"No, not at all." B frantically waved his hands in denial.

From the corner of his eye, he snuck a glance at Shiori, who had been silent the whole time. For some reason, he kept feeling like this girl really didn't like him.

Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he slapped his head with a dramatic screech.

"Oh! I totally forgot something important. The festival's already started, but my stage isn't even set up yet. Really sorry, but our sightseeing trip is canceled. Byebye!"

His words were still hanging in the air, but he was already gone, taking off like a gust of wind, sprinting away at full speed.

Ryouma watched B's fleeing silhouette and turned back to Shiori with a helpless look.

"I'm just saying... what are you doing scaring off our tour guide?"

"Hmph!"

Shiori gave a soft snort, turned her head slightly aside, lips tightly shut, no intention of explaining. In her opinion, this was supposed to be a date for just the two of them. With the atmosphere, maybe things could even progress a little further.

But that annoying guy kept singing and dancing on the side.

Speaking of which, besides him, there were still two other unnecessary people she hadn't dealt with.

Thinking this, she shifted her gaze toward Shukaku on Ryouma's shoulder and Kurama in his arms.

Feeling her eyes, Shukaku's fur bristled a little. Its eyes darted rapidly, and then, ah, it had an idea.

"Partner, you've been holding that fox for a long time. You must be tired. And Shiori looks really jealous. Why don't you let her carry it instead?"