A Yamanaka's Trait System

Whoosh—

A sharp sound of something tearing through the air was followed by a thunderous crash, coming from the north.

Third Raikage leapt high into the sky, his entire body wrapped in the raging electric glow of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode. With a mighty force, he smashed down toward a spot less than ten meters in front of the Konoha crowd.

Judging by the terrifying momentum, he clearly intended to slam into the ground hard enough to crack it open, using the impact to intimidate everyone.

However, the wooden ground was several dozen meters thick. In terms of defense and toughness, it was far beyond what any ordinary ground could match.

He had only planned to make a dramatic entrance, not to attack enemies or burrow underground.

But with insufficient momentum...

Duang—

With his legs spread shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent to absorb the impact, his body bounced back like a toad, flipping midair and tracing an arc before landing again several dozen meters away.

The scene fell dead silent.

The Konoha crowd felt a strong urge to curl their toes in secondhand embarrassment. With his back facing them, the Raikage himself wasn't even sure whether he should turn around or not.

Damn it!

Which bastard made the ground like this? Do you think wood grows on trees?

Wait, never mind. In Konoha, wood actually does grow for free!

♪ Hard wooden floor, yo, surprisingly springy!

Third Hokage bounced so clumsily!

Floor was solid, didn't fall through, fool, ya fool!

That's how the Third Hokage rolls, yeah, WHEE! ♪

Killer B's bizarre rap echoed out.

Thump—

"You idiot! Be serious for once!" A smacked Killer B on the head, veins bulging on his forehead.

Was he trying to make Konoha die laughing?

Whoosh—

Another sharp air-splitting sound came from afar.

Ōnoki, maintaining flight, swooped down from the sky with a dark expression, aiming right at where the Third Raikage had first landed.

It was bad enough that he couldn't outpace the Raikage.. Now he'd even lost to his son!

But hey!

Third Raikage had just been bounced away, right?

Muscle-brained fool!

Watch how I make an entrance!

System, grant Ōnoki [Hard Landing].

Kei, watching Ōnoki gather earth chakra under his feet, frowned.

Good grief. The Third Raikage, who's never taken a real beating, still wants to pull this dramatic show in front of Konoha.

And you, after getting beaten into depression last time—you're trying to show off again so soon?

A gray light, visible only to him, flashed and instantly vanished into Ōnoki.

Next second...

Boom—Crack—Thud—

As Ōnoki slammed down with immense force, a clear sound of bones dislocating echoed from his waist.

Before he could react, the increased inertia from his technique caused his knees to buckle. He hit the ground hard, hands bracing the floor, kneeling right in front of the Konoha crowd.

"..."

The silence became deafening, more terrifying than before.

♪ Old man's back went snap, Stone's pride takes a fall!

First the Cloud, now Tsuchikage crawl!

Two Kage down on the floor, what a show, yo!

Rhymes are killer, just like me— ♪

Smack—

"Shut up!" A slapped the back of Killer B's head.

It was bad enough to mock Third Tsuchikage, but now he wanted to include their own Third Raikage too?

"Such spinelessness from the Tsuchikage." The Raikage turned around and instantly started mocking.

Damn! This was clearly a mutually beneficial alliance between Iwa and Kumo, yet he kept stalling, trying to force Kumo to take the lead before deciding whether to join in.

Served him right!

"I've already retired! If you want to mock someone, go find Kitsuchi!" Ōnoki, sweating from the pain, still retorted sharply.

Back when Fourth Mizukage hadn't even stepped down, he already caved under pressure. Their supposed alliance ended up screwing him over.

He, an already retired old man, had nothing to do with this.

Let Kitsuchi handle it—he wanted to be Tsuchikage, it wasn't his idea.

"Eh?! Pops! You..." Kitsuchi rushed over, trying to help Ōnoki up.

"Don't move! It's broken!" Ōnoki stopped his son immediately.

Judging by the pain and his years of back problems, being lifted would only make it worse.

"...I was going to fight you, but after that grand gesture, now I feel too awkward to make a move." Tsunade, silent for a moment, sighed in annoyance and stepped forward.

Facing Kitsuchi, who grinned sheepishly under the Tsuchikage's hat, she crouched down, medical chakra glowing in her palm, and smacked Ōnoki's lower back.

Crack—

The dislocated spinal disk snapped back into place.

Nearby damaged muscles also healed quickly under her palm's chakra.

"That was just a fluke! If you want a spar, after we finish business, I'm always ready."

Ōnoki, feeling the injury rapidly improve, relaxed visibly. But when he saw the two deep knee imprints on the wooden floor, he felt the strong urge to run back to Iwa.

Damn it, why now of all times? His years of glorious reputation...

"Mild bone fracture. This superficial treatment will keep you stable, but your body's too old for strain. Rest half a month when you get back." Tsunade stood up, the medical chakra fading from her hand.

She could've made Ōnoki good as new without affecting his lifespan.

But why bother?

She only healed him out of respect for Kitsuchi's sincere efforts toward uniting the villages.

"You want to fight too? Coincidentally, I was thinking the same thing." The Raikage cast a sidelong glance at Kei, who had remained silent this whole time.

He knew very well—legendary Wood Release was an insurmountable mountain.

Their strongest opponent.

But he had also heard the current Fourth Hokage was very close to Kei. If he could defeat her and use her as leverage, Iwa would surely be forced to act.

Ōnoki wasn't the type to willingly compromise.

With the Four-Tails, Five-Tails, Eight-Tails, Ōnoki, Gari, and his own son at his side... If they could find a way to defeat Konoha together, today might be their chance to overcome the Wood Release user.

As for the possibility of defeat… Kumo had always believed in strength. The strong have the right to decide everything!

As the Raikage, he would never knowingly send his subordinates to die in a hopeless battle.

As for Kiri, those damned high-ranking idiots. If even one of them had been sane, he wouldn't be taking such a huge risk today for one last gamble.

"Just you alone?" Tsunade's eyes lit up a little.

She nearly died from a single bite and gained her current strength through sheer struggle—but before she could enjoy the thrill of being strong, she'd been beaten senseless by her Hashirama's Wood Clone. And he had the nerve to say, "You won't die anyway, consider it training!"

Hell no! She just wanted to beat someone up now!

"My subordinates have long heard of Konoha's famous ninjas."

The Raikage frowned slightly, unsure why Tsunade seemed so... excited, but he gave a discreet signal to Killer B and the others.

"The Eight-Tails is mine!" Kushina cracked her knuckles, eyeing Killer B with open anticipation.

This was her first time seeing a jinchūriki from another village. There was no way she'd let this opportunity pass.

"YOUTH—"

"I—uh..."

Duy was about to yell a hot-blooded phrase when he saw Fugaku step forward and stopped himself, quickly pulling him back.

"The Hokage and Kei not only healed me but saved my youth! Such kindness must be repaid..."

"The Uchiha clan has long received the favor of the Hokage and Kei. As clan head, I've always wanted to repay them..."

The two stared at each other, each trying to persuade the other to back off.

"I'd like to test the Sharingan myself. Hokage-sama, would you permit it?" Rōshi, stepped forward, much to the shock of Ōnoki and Kitsuchi, and challenged Fugaku directly, who instinctively looked over at Kushina.

Earlier, when the Four-Tails, Five-Tails, and Eight-Tails were mentioned, Kei specifically pointed out his girlfriend...

"Take him, take him." Kushina waved generously, giving Rōshi to Fugaku without hesitation.

Fugaku's face lit up, mentally debating if he should gift her two shops in return. He heard she really liked collecting rent.

"Anyone else from Iwa want to spar?" Tsunade looked toward Ōnoki and Kitsuchi, gesturing to Kei.

"Kei'sstrength is far beyond mine. I'm too old for fighting, and Han's never liked violence. How about we go sit down inside and talk?" Kitsuchi grabbed his old man, subtly nudging Han with his hip to prevent him from doing what Rōshi did.

"My back! My back!" Ōnoki, feeling Kitsuchi squeezing tighter, quickly protested.

Those idiots from Kumo didn't know about the resurrection of the First, Second, and Madara—but he did!

Did they think he was as brain-dead as Rōshi?

"Hmph! This is my personal decision. It has nothing to do with the village." Rōshi, seeing Ōnoki's expression like he wanted to rip him apart, snorted coldly and stared at Fugaku.

"Let's go, let's all have some tea!" Kei waved to the trailing Murakumo, Hiashi, and others, taking the lead toward the building.

"Brace yourself!"

Losing patience, the Raikage narrowed his eyes. Lightning Chakra Mode flared around him as he shot toward Tsunade in a burst of lightning!

BOOM!

Tsunade blocked the attack with a punch, her feet dragging for over ten meters before halting the force. Looking at the slight cut on her knuckle... She grinned instead of frowning!

"Sage Art: Yin Seal – Sage Mode, activate!"

"Magical Girl Transformation!"

Tsunade's eye twitched as she heard Kushina shout her "move name" in sync with her.

Damn it!

She wouldn't have shouted just now if she knew this would happen!

Had Kushina been infected by Kei too?!

This was a fight, okay?! Shouting something like that really ruined the atmosphere! And she was twenty years old!

Not twelve! Calling herself a girl… was that really appropriate?