What Xu Fan used was not a true Shikai.
In the world of the Soul Reapers, if one knows the true name of their Zanpakutō, they can release its full power by calling its name—achieving Shikai.
However, if one deliberately calls an incorrect name, the sword can only be released in a partial or flawed form.
This is known as a pseudo-release—a semi-Shikai.
Thus, Xu Fan only uttered a portion of Thunder Dragon's true name, transforming his Zanpakutō into its incomplete form: a glove imbued with concentrated thunder chakra.
"Raging Voltage!"
The Fourth Raikage, Ay, wasn't interested in Xu Fan's fancy tricks. He instantly focused Lightning Release chakra into his elbow and drove it forward with brutal force.
Xu Fan had seen this technique before.
During the confrontation with Taka, Ay had used this very same elbow strike to launch Jūgo—who was under the full effects of his Cursed Seal—straight into a cliffside.
It was a devastating move.
Bang!
As Ay rushed in, Xu Fan raised his arm calmly and met the elbow strike with an open palm.
Two different types of lightning chakra clashed violently, creating an explosive thunderclap that echoed through the chamber. The raw impact blew through the remaining walls, ceiling, and floor, reducing the battlefield to rubble.
Rumble—!
Even Mifune, observing from a distance, instinctively took a step back.
Had he not known Xu Fan's identity beforehand, he might've mistaken this for a battle between two Kage.
And it wasn't just Mifune who was stunned.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, standing silently with his arms behind his back, watched with a grave expression.
He knew the Fourth Raikage's strength better than most.
During the Third Great Ninja War, Ay was one of Kumogakure's most fearsome powerhouses—alongside his brother, Killer Bee.
Even the legendary Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, had spoken highly of him after their encounter.
Since then, Ay had only grown stronger, faster.
And yet, Xu Fan—an upstart from Konoha—had just matched his strike.
"Lord Raikage!"
C, the Raikage's assistant, and Darui exchanged a glance. Both prepared to leap into action.
But before they could form seals, Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared before them, his posture calm but commanding.
"I advise you not to interfere." His tone was polite, even kind—but unmistakably threatening.
This wasn't a suggestion. It was a warning.
C and Darui froze. They understood the power gap all too well. If they moved recklessly, they wouldn't just lose—the Third Hokage might kill them before they got close.
Worse, their interference could distract Ay at a critical moment.
What was expected to be a one-sided clash now hung in delicate balance.
"Xu Fan…"
Mifune murmured the name, his hand tightening around his katana. An ominous feeling stirred within him.
Ay, despite focusing on his opponent, had clearly noticed the developing situation.
"Darui, stay out of this."
He growled without turning his head, his instincts honed through years of combat.
Yet no matter the distractions, he wasn't backing down. The opportunity to defeat a rising threat like Xu Fan was too great to pass up.
"Liger Bomb Level—Thunderclap!"
With a furious roar, Ay twisted mid-air, condensed lightning chakra into his opposite hand, and unleashed a devastating hand chop.
Crackle!
Lightning screamed around Xu Fan as his own energy surged in response.
Unlike Ay's pure Lightning Release, Xu Fan's thunder wasn't a jutsu—it was born from his Zanpakutō.
It didn't explode. It resonated.
Each spark sang, escalating in rhythmic pulses like a thunderous drumbeat.
Crackle… Crackle…
The sound of Ben Lei—"Raging Thunder"—grew louder with each second.
When Ay's hand chop was just inches from him, the count reached Ben Lei: Six Rings.
Boom!
Xu Fan closed his fingers into a fist and met Ay's attack head-on.
The resulting shockwave blew apart what little remained of the building's structure. Thunder rippled like a living beast, shaking the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Rampart!"
Hiruzen quickly raised a powerful barrier to shield the samurai and officials from the debris.
RUMBLE—!
The ground cracked beneath their feet, and the sunlight poured through the ruins.
Everyone stood frozen.
This—this was a battle between monsters.
Xu Fan stood tall, lightning coiling around his arms like serpents.
"You've truly mastered Lightning Release, Raikage."
He looked Ay in the eye.
"But tell me… can you go even further?"
Ay's gaze widened. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Was this… praise?
From a Konoha shinobi? A bodyguard, at that?
And yet… the worst part was that he couldn't shake the feeling—
That Xu Fan hadn't even gone all out yet.
That he was being tested.
"No."
Ay gritted his teeth. He was the Fourth Raikage—Kumogakure's fastest and strongest warrior.
There was no way someone else had surpassed him in Lightning Release.
With a roar, he activated his full-power Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Electricity exploded around him, his hair rising like a Super Saiyan, his speed reaching its peak.
In this form, not even a Mangekyō Sharingan could keep up with him.
He had once dodged Amaterasu in this state.
But—
Crackle!
At that very moment, the thunder around Xu Fan reached its final crescendo.
Ben Lei: Nine Rings.
The purple lightning surrounding him no longer simply danced—it flooded into his body.
It transformed his muscles, his skin, even his bones.
"Lightning Release Chakra Mode?!"
Ay's eyes widened in disbelief.
That technique had always been exclusive to the Raikage line.
But now, a Konoha ninja was using it.
"No."
Xu Fan shook his head slowly.
"I don't use lightning… I am lightning."
As his words fell, he clenched both fists and aimed them directly at Ay.
"Ben Lei Burial!"
The thunder around him surged into the shape of a dragon—visible, roaring, real.
It struck Ay square in the chest before he could even activate Body Flicker.
BOOM!!!
An explosion unlike any before shattered the battlefield.
Hiruzen's Earth Flow Wall was torn apart in an instant.
Ay—the Fourth Raikage, Kumogakure's immovable wall—was blasted across the arena and slammed into the ground with a thud.
Motionless.