I'll Play With You
"A genius memorizes the battlefield in a single glance."
The Liger Bomb could be considered one of the most lethal techniques in the Raikage's arsenal.
By coating his entire body in Lightning Release chakra and charging with blinding speed, the Fourth Raikage—A—uses his monstrous physical strength, particularly his wrist strength, to deliver a devastating blow.
Even Uchiha Sasuke, with his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, would have been killed by this attack had it not been for Gaara's last-second intervention during the Five Kage Summit.
BOOM!
A thunderous crash echoed through the room. Even the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, couldn't follow A's movements with his trained eyes.
By the time anyone reacted, the Raikage's arm was already slamming into Xu Fan's chest.
CRACK!
Xu Fan was hurled backward like a ragdoll, crashing through the wall as if he were a kite with a severed string.
The samurai of the Land of Iron immediately assumed formation, ready to subdue the Raikage if necessary.
"Stand down!" Mifune ordered sternly, raising a hand.
He knew very well that although the Land of Iron prided itself on neutrality, its strength didn't come from its samurai alone—it came from the agreements forged with the great shinobi villages.
In short, if a conflict broke out between the Hokage and the Raikage here, the Land of Iron wouldn't intervene.
"Take him." A's deep voice echoed, commanding Yugito Nii and C to retrieve Xu Fan.
He had held back intentionally, aiming at Xu Fan's chest rather than his neck—hoping to keep the boy alive for study. A was curious about the secrets behind Xu Fan's unique Kekkei Genkai.
Still, the force of the Liger Bomb was immense. Xu Fan lay on the ground, blood pooling from a gaping wound in his chest, as though a large piece of flesh had been carved out.
"Yes, Lord Raikage."
Yugito stepped forward quickly, reaching to apprehend Xu Fan. Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't move—A had already made it clear any resistance would be crushed.
But just as Yugito's fingers were about to brush Xu Fan's motionless form… his body changed.
Breath. Heartbeat. Chakra—everything vanished.
Even his skin lost its color and became dull.
By the time Yugito and C realized what was happening, Xu Fan's "corpse" had transformed into a wooden dummy.
"Wood Release Clone?!" Sarutobi gasped, stunned.
He had watched the blow land. His mind had gone blank at that moment, thinking Xu Fan was truly dead. And now this?
Despite not being a top-tier sensor, Hiruzen's skills far exceeded most elite jōnin.
But not only had he failed to detect the clone—he hadn't even noticed when Xu Fan had swapped himself out.
How fast is this kid growing?
Just five years ago, he couldn't even mold chakra, and he wasn't admitted to the Academy.
What in the world happened to him in that time?
While Hiruzen's mind flooded with questions, Xu Fan's counterattack had only just begun.
Yugito's expression turned from confusion to surprise. Her arm remained suspended mid-air as Xu Fan's wooden clone swelled in size and density.
Vines erupted with explosive speed, wrapping around her wrist like a snake striking its prey.
In the blink of an eye, the clone grew into a towering tree. Yugito found herself pinned in the grip of a wooden giant.
"What the hell—!" C gasped, instantly expanding his sensory field to its limit, searching for the real Xu Fan.
Yugito responded by flaring her Tailed Beast Chakra, attempting to break free—but she quickly realized something was wrong.
The wooden giant wasn't ordinary—it suppressed her Bijū chakra.
"Wood Release itself is a sealing-type nature transformation. Not just you—even the Nine-Tails can be restrained by it."
A calm voice echoed through the room.
Everyone—A, Mifune, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Darui, Yamazaki, and the samurai—looked up.
There, seated nonchalantly on the branch of the massive tree, was Xu Fan himself, one leg swinging idly.
"When did he get up there?" C's brows furrowed.
Aside from medical and genjutsu, sensory skills were C's specialty.
Even with the Yamanaka's support, C hadn't dropped his guard for a second. Yet Xu Fan had completely slipped past his senses and created a Wood Clone without a trace.
"Impressive perception." Xu Fan said softly, scanning the room from his perch.
"Maybe during the Five Kage Summit, you would've caught me. But we're more than ten years away from that moment. Back then, your skill still had a long way to go."
"The Wood Clone," Xu Fan continued, "isn't like an ordinary Shadow Clone. Even Byakugan and Sharingan can't easily tell the difference—let alone your sensory jutsu."
C clenched his fists, silently acknowledging the gap in skill.
Below him, Raikage A tensed.
"I don't care whether you're the real one or a clone—if I can't tell, I'll just destroy everything!"
A deep breath. Lightning erupted from his body once again.
Lightning Release Chakra Mode!
Crackling bolts danced around his body as muscle, speed, and reflexes surged to superhuman levels.
"The armor of lightning," Xu Fan murmured, watching calmly. "Enhances durability, accelerates reflexes, and sharpens combat focus."
In high-level shinobi combat, intelligence gathering was crucial.
A less experienced shinobi facing A for the first time might freeze entirely. You could see him coming—but you wouldn't be fast enough to react.
Just like Uchiha Sasuke against Rock Lee: even if the Sharingan perceived every movement, the body couldn't keep up.
"In that case… I'll play with you, Raikage."
Xu Fan rose from his perch, drawing his Zanpakutō from his side.
A scoff escaped A's throat.
"You think this is a game?"
"Wait…" C suddenly tensed, eyes widening.
He had seen Xu Fan before, on the street. At the time, Xu Fan's sword—a Zanpakutō—had already left a deep impression on him.
But the weapon Xu Fan now held…
It was far more powerful.
"What happened to his sword…?"
"No," Xu Fan responded coldly, his voice dropping into a growl. "I'm the one playing with you."
He thrust the blade forward.
"Blast, Benrai." (Benrai = Thunderquake)
A low, rumbling chant accompanied the sudden release of power.
Purple lightning burst outward, surrounding Xu Fan in a crackling aura.
His sword—no longer a blade—had transformed into a pair of glowing, silver-white gauntlets.
"The sword… vanished?!" Mifune and the others were speechless.
They had expected an elegant duel—sword against fist.
Instead, the divine weapon had changed form entirely.
Heavy Impact.
Path to Ascension.