_________ POV Narration _________
The Raikage huffed, compressed steam came out of his lips as his muscles flexed and relaxed repeatedly.
He now stood in front of what was likely going to be one of the most difficult opponents of his life.
None other than his very best friend, and someone he saw as family, Ken.
Unlike others, he didn't think of Ken as a contender for the title of the 'God Of Shinobi', he saw such titles as needless in front of his talent.
After all, Hiruzen was a holder of that title, and he, at least in the Raikage's eyes, didn't deserve it.
To the Raikage, Ken was simply 'The Strongest Creature'. And certainly, the Strongest Creature he had ever faced so far in his long life.
The 8 Tails paled in comparison to the pressure that the masked assassin could put on him, just with his mere presence.
'But that's what makes this all the more enjoyable...'
The Raikage looked at the arena surrounding them, although large, it felt as if it could barely contain the excitement of the warriors within it.
The people in the stands, the investors and the other leaders were all silent.
The contestants of the Chunin Exams, as well as many from the younger generations of Konoha, were also present, all looking in silence, anxiety and great anticipation.
The Raikage's eyes eventually landed on the very source of his excitement.
The cloaked and masked man that stood right in front of him, was unmoving like a statue, yet maddeningly intimidating.
Any lesser man would have had their hearts filled with fear at just the sight of him, the way that the blades of grass around him seemed to lean away from him...
"Well then... Let us enjoy this thoroughly." The cold and raspy voice also further accentuated that sight, but the Raikage was unshaken.
He knew that, in any battle, half of the fight was psychological. And it was obvious to anyone with a good pair of eyes that Ken was already a master of it.
But the Raikage was also no slouch, with a wide and crooked smile, lightning covered the entirety of his body, his fingers clenching, forming a tightened fist.
Looking at the scene and taking in the atmosphere almost made Minato, as well as the rest of the younger generation watching, take a few steps back.
Of course, the yellow-haired child was beside Kushina, so he wouldn't allow himself to take a step back under any circumstance, but it was still putting a lot of stress on him.
No blows had been exchanged yet. But the first one to move this time was surprisingly Ken.
He zoomed forward, his long sword drawn and slashing at the Raikage who recoiled back for a second, before moving his clenched fist to block the blade.
Sparks arose as the fist and blade collided, but for the first Exchange, it seemed that the Raikage was winning, as Ken was being slowly pushed backwards.
Ken immediately kicked out, his leg whipping the Raikage's side heavily, cracking the arena all around them, but not moving the Raikage in any way.
The Assassin was however able to use the Raikage's torso as a foothold to roll to the side, dodging a lightning spear which pierced the dirt at unbelievable speeds.
'I was somewhat hoping to test my base speed a bit more... But the Raikage isn't someone I can take lightly.'
The Red Dot's body immediately seemed to shift. his muscles underneath his coat expanded as his skin became covered with scales.
"Heh... Finally! That's what I wanted to see!" The Raikage immediately appeared in front of Ken, hand already outstretched.
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This time, however, Ken was able to react to his speed much better.
Before the Raikage even realized it, the assassin was standing on his fist, stopping there for a flicker of a second before his transformed leg moved.
The Raikage's head was immediately whipped backwards, as Ken's kick sent the Raikage flying.
The assassin followed that up immediately, reaching the Raikage's side and punching him hard towards the temple. This time, however, the Raikage managed to put his hand up and block it.
Regardless of him blocking that strike, the Raikage was still shot towards the wall of the arena faster than a bullet leaving the smoking barrel of a gun.
The Raikage immediately shot back out, appearing in front of Ken almost as if the wall of the arena was a spring. A wide smile could be seen on his unharmed face as he formed his infamous 'Hell Spear', pointing one finger at Ken's chest.
The Blind Assassin didn't allow himself to get hit that easily, despite being able to just regenerate. His entire body tilted to the side, the tip of the spear narrowly passing by underneath his armpit.
As he leaned to the side, he flexed his arm and slightly raised it, faking a punch as the tip of one of his clawed feet dug into the ground and immediately kicked upwards, sending a large rock directly at the Raikage's head once more.
The Cloud Village Leader headbutted the large rock, effectively disintegrating it. In doing so, however, he had left himself blinded for just a fraction of a second.
Ken immediately took advantage of that, his spiked tail piercing out, aiming straight for the Raikage's chest.
The tip of the tail crashed against the lightning-covered chest. The Raikage's eyes widened as he felt something unfamiliar...
The tip of Ken's tail pierced the skin and seemed to try and go deeper into the muscle, but the Raikage immediately jumped backwards, reaching the wall in an instant whilst stopping for a second, touching his now slightly bleeding chest.
Tatsukio and the rest of the children of the brotherhood were completely transfixed, seeing their father fight seriously for the first time.
It felt... Strangely enlightening, especially to the one-legged devil. They were seeing the very pinnacle of the fighting style they had been developing for such a long time.
The others of the younger generation could barely follow the battle with their eyes. The Uchiha and Hyuga had an advantage, but even they could not keep up with the fight.
Still, just from the cracked arena ground, and the sounds of wind and dirt breaking, they could tell that the battle was fierce.
Takehiko also couldn't help but sweat, as his eyes struggled to catch up with the afterimages of the movements of the monsters in the arena.
Still, he was good enough to somewhat understand the core of Ken's fighting style. And it was scary.
Efficiency, viciousness and non-standard attacks all combined into one, to form a beautifully efficient dance. A dance that would, against any normal person, lead to a perfect assassination.
But, as already established, the Raikage was the furthest thing from normal.
"Good... Great! I'll be going all out then!" A didn't even seem to care about the slight wound on his chest, solely focusing on Ken, whilst the lightning around his body took on a darker shade.
"Hmm? Didn't think you'd be using that in such a stage... Thought it was a secret technique or something." Although Ken's voice sounded relaxed, his entire body was tensed up, realising that he was going to have to deal with an opponent faster than himself.
"Hah! I never bothered to hide this form... It's just that no one had survived it previously to spread the word about it. The Tsuchikage was the first to live after seeing this, by sheer luck though. Shame, I had such a good track record till then."
The Raikage rolled his shoulder, his entire body now covered in rolling and crackling black lightning.
"... I must say, my blood is boiling!" Ken's feral excitement finally crawled to the surface, escaping the assassin's usual calm visage, as the two monsters both stepped forward turning into afterimages before clashing in the middle of the arena.
In that very instant, the entire arena shook, it felt as if an earthquake was trying to bury it in its entirety within a sinkhole.
But the two fighters were not focused on the ground, only on each other.
Only three moves were exchanged, but in those three moves, Ken's arm flew off, and the assassin rolled off to the side, avoiding yet another deadly sharp punch.
Ken immediately understood that he couldn't physically overcome the Raikage in that form. He could still react to his speed, but A's strength was enhanced to an inhuman level.
The Raikage immediately appeared behind Ken, as the latter was crouched on the ground, his arm still regrowing. The Assassin seemed to have anticipated that, his entire body already tilted to the side, in the process of dodging the strike.
A 'Dark Hell Spear' immediately pierced the ground where Ken had stood, grazing his leg slightly, but not causing any significant damage.
Ken used that opportunity to heavily strike the ground with his tail, raising a cloud of dust and completely covering the Raikage's view, at least for a second.
A immediately punched the ground underneath him hard, causing another small earthquake and pushing all of the dust away to reveal his opponent.
On the other side of the arena was the monstrous form of his opponent.
Ken's cloak was already down, his muscly scaled arm was regrown and he now stood at his full height facing the Raikage with confidence...
Grapsed within both of his hands was a thin and long blade, which sparkled with chakra, and the Assasin took on a stance and pointing the tip of the blade at the ground slightly.
'This... This is the first time I've seen him take up the blade in that form...' A bead of sweat appeared on the Raikage's forehead briefly before evaporating from the heat.
Sure, he remembered Ken playing around in his monster form against some cultists before, using their own weapons against them.
But this was the first time the Raikage witnessed Ken going all out, using his skills to the fullest with a legendary blade. The very prospect of it was enough to make the blood in his veins boil further.
"Show me how much you've grown!"