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Ōnoki was utterly stunned.
Rasa could at least use his Magnet Release to save people—but what was he supposed to do?
He couldn't just disintegrate all the buried explosive tags with his Particle Style. There was no way he could manage that, and a large-scale Particle Style technique would risk harming his own allies.
The entire Amegakure was completely surrounded by explosive tags. As a chain of explosions erupted, everyone was left in shock.
The intelligence-gathering shinobi stared blankly at the village, now engulfed in flames. Aside from the deafening blasts, the agonized screams of injured ninja echoed through the air.
With countless explosive tags detonating, the entirety of Amegakure—save for its central district—was reduced to a living hell.
Countless buildings were flattened, and few shinobi caught in the explosions could withstand the devastation. Some of the stronger ninja attempted to save themselves or their comrades, but their abilities were limited. Under Konan's relentless bombardment, almost no one could endure such an assault.
The Allied Shinobi Forces hadn't been completely wiped out, but at least half had been either killed or severely injured.
In essence, Konan's "gift" of explosive tags had single-handedly annihilated the military forces of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
"This… can't be real…"
The survivors stared in disbelief at the near-flattened ruins of Amegakure, as if trapped in a nightmare.
No one could fathom how, in just a few minutes, the entire village had been reduced to rubble.
Even more horrifying was the fact that countless comrades had perished in the explosions. Those who survived were left battered and covered in dust. Among the Five Great Villages, the shinobi of Iwagakure fared slightly better—their Earth Release techniques had provided some protection at the critical moment.
The other villages weren't so lucky.
Was this the Akatsuki's plan all along?
Remaining silent, luring the Allied Shinobi Forces into Amegakure, then sacrificing the village to blow them all to hell?
There was no denying it—Akatsuki's methods were ruthless, and they had no qualms about sacrificing their own stronghold.
Since Amegakure couldn't be saved anyway, why not use it as bait? Let the enemy flood into the village, then detonate everything beneath their feet.
Konan's scheme had been flawless.
And as fate would have it, the Allied Forces had walked right into it. None had anticipated that Konan had stockpiled such an insane number of explosive tags. Their reckless charge into the village had played directly into her hands.
Surveying the devastated battlefield—collapsed ruins, corpses of both enemies and allies strewn everywhere—the Five Kage felt their hearts turn to ice.
They had managed to protect themselves from the explosions, but there was little they could do to save others.
Rasa's Gold Dust had shielded a handful of shinobi, but the rest… well, there was no point dwelling on it.
Hundreds of billions of explosive tags had wiped out the majority of the Allied Forces' elite.
On paper, it seemed like a terrible trade—after all, the cost of that many explosive tags was astronomical.
But to Konan, it meant nothing. If it meant dealing a crippling blow to the enemy, a few hundred billion explosive tags were a small price to pay.
She was, after all, a walking explosive tag printing machine.
As long as she had enough materials, she could produce more whenever she wanted.
"Since you Five Great Villages dared to attack Amegakure, consider this my gift to you."
"Damn it!!!"
A snapped, entering a furious rampage—but it was nothing more than impotent rage.
With no target to vent on, he could only stomp the ground in frustration, nearly choking on his own fury.
The Third Hokage and Yagura stood in grim silence, staring at the obliterated battlefield, unable to speak for a long time.
Ōnoki and Rasa, hovering in the air, wore expressions so dark they seemed carved from stone.
"Good… very good!!!"
Unlike A's mindless fury, Ōnoki was grinding his teeth so hard they might shatter.
Just minutes ago, he had been fantasizing about gathering intel and interrogating Amegakure's shinobi.
Now, in mere moments, all those delusions had been reduced to ash.
Rasa and Yagura were equally furious, but they at least retained some semblance of control.
As for the Third Hokage, he felt like he wanted to die.
He had led his clan's elite into Amegakure, only to deliver them straight into the enemy's trap.
A hundred elite clansmen—
Now, barely any remained standing.
If Danzō had given him two hundred instead of just one, the Sarutobi Clan might have been crippled beyond recovery.
Even for a major clan, losing nearly a hundred elite shinobi in one blow was a devastating blow.
These weren't just ordinary genin—they were the clan's finest.
"Rescue the wounded!!!"
Rasa landed, the words hissing through clenched teeth.
Sunagakure was already poor—now, things had gone from bad to worse.
After this unprecedented catastrophe, the Five Kage's focus shifted entirely from Akatsuki to damage control.
Their priority now was saving as many lives as possible, minimizing the losses.
But Akatsuki had no intention of giving them that chance.
Just as the medics moved to treat the injured, the ambush began.
Kakuzu sneered as he crushed a medic's heart in his grip, laughing maniacally at the blood staining his hands.
Following his lead, black-robed enemies surged forward, slaughtering the remaining Allied shinobi—with medics as their primary targets.
"Bastards!! Finally showing yourselves?!"
A, already seething with rage, instantly activated his Lightning Armor.
He punched straight through the chest of an oncoming enemy—only to freeze when the cloak fell away.
The face was familiar.
Not long ago, he had personally sent this man to infiltrate Amegakure.
Now, he had become the enemy—or rather, a modified puppet.
"AKATSUKI!!!"
Consumed by fury, A charged through the battlefield like a raging bull, smashing every puppet in his path into scrap.
As the faces of the fallen puppets became visible, Ōnoki, Yagura, and Rasa felt their blood boil.
Even the Third Hokage's veins bulged on his forehead when he saw the face of his own son, Shinnō.
Akatsuki deserved nothing but death.
More and more puppets appeared, and soon, Sasori himself took the field, accompanied by several rogue ninja Akatsuki had recently recruited.
In the past, Akatsuki had strict recruitment standards.
Now? They'd take anyone—after all, they were just cannon fodder.
And now, that cannon fodder was being put to use.
"Kill them all!!!"
Even with the Five Kage leading the charge, even with Sasori's army of puppets, it wasn't enough.
The power of the Five Kage was beyond ordinary shinobi.
Puppets shattered into pieces under their assault, littering the ground like broken toys.
If left unchecked, even a single Raikage would be enough to crush Sasori.
Puppet masters feared enemies like A—thick-skinned, impossibly fast, and capable of reducing any puppet to splinters with a single strike.
And right now, all five Kage were out for blood.
*****
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