Le Troisième Raikage : le Kage le plus résistant de Kumo

The Third Raikage: The Toughest Kage of Kumogakure

1212 words | Reading time: 7 min

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Alone against ten thousand ninja, for three days and three nights. A, the Third Raikage of Kumogakure and father of the Fourth, embodies the most impenetrable defense in Naruto — so much so that only his own Hell Stab could pierce it. A profile of a Kage with a lightning spear hand, where fewer fingers means more power, able to hold his own against the Eight-Tails until exhaustion. And along the way, the truth about his death and about his clash with Naruto.

The most indestructible Kage in all of Naruto, the one man only his own attack could wound: meet the Third Raikage of Kumogakure.

Contents

The Greatest Raikage of Kumogakure

The Third Raikage, named A (Ê) like his son, is the third military leader of Kumogakure, the Hidden Cloud Village. The story presents him as the greatest Raikage in the village's entire history.

His reputation rests on a near-impenetrable defense, colossal strength and legendary stamina. He would pass the title on to his son, the Fourth Raikage.

Portrait of an older dark-skinned man with long pale blond hair and light eyebrows, wearing a black headband whose plate bears the cloud symbol; his face is stern.
The Third Raikage, military leader of Kumogakure: the forehead plate bears the village's cloud.

Black Lightning and the Hell Stab

His chakra nature is Lightning Release (Raiton): he wraps his body in a Lightning Armor, a technique his son would push to the extreme. Above all, he masters Black Lightning, a unique variant whose color turns black.

He established a tradition: the best student of each generation could attempt to learn it. Only one ever succeeded, Darui, the future Fifth Raikage. His signature technique, the Hell Stab, is a lightning-charged spear-hand strike — fewer fingers, more power.

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The same man, bare chest and heavily muscled arms, crossed by blue electric arcs running over his whole body; a lightning-shaped mark runs across his chest.
The Lightning Armor he wraps himself in, the foundation of his close-quarters fighting style.

The Man Against Ten Thousand

His most famous feat: he held off an army of ten thousand ninja on his own, for three days and three nights, to cover his comrades' retreat. He ultimately succumbed to exhaustion.

Beware a common confusion: he is not the one who died facing the Kinkaku Force. It was the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, who was killed by that unit.

Sepia-toned image: seen from behind, a massive man with a thick mane stands alone in the rain facing rows of fighters lined up on a plain, mountains on the horizon.
Alone against an army, for three days, to cover his own men's retreat.

His One Weakness

His defense is so absolute that only one thing has ever pierced his body: his own Hell Stab. He wounded himself in the chest while facing the Eight-Tails (Hachibi) on a rampage — a lightning-shaped scar he considered the shame of his life.

Ever since that fight, he had sworn to face the Eight-Tails every time its host, Killer Bee, lost control of it.

Sepia-toned image: the same man lies face down in the dust while a colossal creature with long appendages looms over him, eye narrowed.
The fight against the rampaging Eight-Tails, where he ran himself through the chest.

Defeated by Naruto

Reanimated by the Edo Tensei (Reanimation Jutsu) cast by Kabuto during the Fourth Great Ninja War, he crashed into the division led by Gaara and even dodged, twice, a Rasenshuriken from Naruto.

It was Naruto who defeated him. Having entered Sage Mode, he knew his one weakness: with a Rasengan to the Raikage's arm, he redirected the Hell Stab back onto his own vital point, finally breaking his defense.

Surrounded by a blue halo, the Raikage has his arm folded back against his own chest; behind him, a blond boy in orange pushes that arm with his hand.
Naruto does not pierce the defense: he turns the Raikage's own arm against his one weakness.

Summary Table

Aspect Details
Identity A (Ê), Third Raikage of Kumogakure; father of the Fourth Raikage
Element Lightning Release (Raiton); Lightning Armor and Black Lightning (mastered only by Darui, the future Fifth Raikage)
Signature technique Hell Stab (lightning spear hand; fewer fingers = more powerful)
Feats Held off 10,000 ninja ALONE for 3 days and 3 nights; fought the Eight-Tails to exhaustion
Weakness and death Only his own Hell Stab pierces his defense; died of exhaustion (and NOT against the Kinkaku Force)

FAQ

  • Who is the Third Raikage?
    He is A (Ê), the third military leader of Kumogakure, the Hidden Cloud Village, and the father of the Fourth Raikage. Presented as the greatest Raikage in the village's history, he is famous for his near-impenetrable defense, his colossal strength and his Black Lightning.
  • How did he really die?
    He died of exhaustion after holding off an army of ten thousand ninja on his own for three days, long enough for his comrades to flee. Careful: he did not die facing the Kinkaku Force — it was the Second Hokage, Tobirama, who was killed by that unit.
  • What is Black Lightning?
    A unique variant of the Lightning Release nature, black in color, specific to the Third Raikage. He established a tradition allowing the best student of each generation to attempt to learn it, but only Darui, the future Fifth Raikage, ever succeeded.
  • What is his one weakness?
    His defense is so absolute that the only thing capable of piercing it is his own Hell Stab. That is how Naruto defeats him as an Edo Tensei reanimation: with a Rasengan to his arm, he redirects the attack back onto his vital point.
  • What is his connection to Killer Bee?
    He fought the Eight-Tails, the beast sealed inside Killer Bee, to the point of exhaustion, leaving himself a scar on the chest. From then on he made it his duty to face the Eight-Tails whenever its host lost control of it.

In summary

The living wall of Kumogakure, the Third Raikage embodies absolute defense — a wall that only his own spear could break through.

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