Chapter 185: The Final Funeral Dirge
The ninja of the Hidden Cloud Village were facing a full-scale invasion by the Akatsuki. Everyone was being put to the ultimate test of life and death.
As for the leaders of the smaller nations, they had originally believed the Fourth Raikage's claims—that the Akatsuki didn't actually exist, and that it was just a mysterious organization fabricated by the Leaf Village to deceive and intimidate others in an attempt to annex them.
But now, they were seeing a very different truth.
After leaving the Raikage's tower, the leaders of the small nations were met with a hellish scene outside.
At least dozens of enormous summoned beasts were rampaging through the Hidden Cloud Village with wanton destruction.
The once-mighty Hidden Cloud now seemed completely powerless in the face of this invasion.
In just a short span of time, the village was reduced to ruins. The ninja and civilians suffered heavy casualties.
They even saw the Fourth Raikage battling one of the giant summoned beasts.
He was fiercely powerful—one punch was enough to blow the beast apart.
But the strange thing was, even after being blown to bits, the creature didn't disappear. Instead, it split into even more identical summoned beasts, all of which swarmed the Raikage.
No matter how many times they were defeated, the beasts would immediately divide and multiply.
No matter how hard the Cloud ninja fought, the creatures didn't vanish. On the contrary, they only grew in number, posing an even greater threat to the village.
Just seeing this—seeing that even the Fourth Raikage couldn't handle a single summoned beast—made the small-nation leaders panic, their expressions filled with dread.
They began to doubt whether seeking protection from the Cloud Village had truly been a wise decision.
While the Hidden Cloud was undergoing a crisis of survival, Uchiha Dali's side had also reached a resolution.
After much inner turmoil, countless Iwagakure ninja began making their choice. One by one, they offered apologies to Kitsuchi, then turned and walked toward Uchiha Dali.
Within moments, out of the tens of thousands of Iwagakure ninja, fewer than a thousand still stood beside Kitsuchi.
These remaining few were the most stubborn diehards in the entire village.
They would rather die than submit, choosing to follow Kitsuchi to the grave rather than compromise with Uchiha Dali.
"You don't have to do this," Kitsuchi said, unable to bear it.
But he didn't stop them either.
"Lord Kitsuchi, no need to say more."
"If the Third Tsuchikage died here, then we, as Iwagakure ninja, would never shame ourselves by serving his killer!"
"That's right! If we must die, let's die together right here!"
"..."
Their voices rang loud and proud, united in purpose.
Even those who had chosen surrender couldn't help but admire their resolve.
But no one dared speak a word.
Everyone watched Uchiha Dali nervously and uneasily.
He smiled gently. "That kind of loyalty really is touching."
"I respect your courage and spirit. So, I'll give you a choice: you get to decide how you want to meet Ōnoki."
There was no need to keep these unyielding elements alive.
As soon as he finished speaking, Uchiha Dali raised his hand again, aiming at the Iwagakure ninja.
At that moment, a jōnin beside Kitsuchi stepped forward.
"We'd like to have a final showdown with you."
"Oh? A final showdown?"
Uchiha Dali looked at them with interest.
And in front of him, they began discussing their plan.
The jōnin who had spoken first whispered something to Kitsuchi, then explained it to the rest of the ninja.
Moments later, he turned back to Uchiha Dali. "All of us will now join forces to launch one final, deadly combined attack on you."
"The rule is: you cannot dodge or evade. You must face us head-on!"
"If we can't withstand your counterattack and die here, we'll have no regrets. But if we manage to hold on…"
At this point, he glanced at Kitsuchi and the others.
Uchiha Dali smiled faintly, not interrupting.
The man continued, "If we survive your counterattack, then you must spare us and stop pursuing this."
In the end, they were still afraid of death.
Uchiha Dali chuckled.
"Very well."
He agreed without hesitation.
The nearly thousand Iwagakure ninja on the other side immediately began preparing their formation.
Kitsuchi hesitated at first.
After all, he had resolved to die. But now that there was a chance at survival, he hesitated only briefly before joining in.
They stacked themselves up like a human wall. Kitsuchi stood at the very front, and behind him the ninja lined up in increasing numbers: two, four, eight… forming a precise formation. Each one placed a hand on the shoulder of the one in front.
Through this unusual method, Uchiha Dali could sense that they were combining and channeling their chakra into Kitsuchi.
Individually, their chakra meant nothing to him.
But now, with over a thousand people concentrating their chakra into one person, it became something truly terrifying.
Uchiha Dali began to feel a faint sense of threat.
His once indifferent expression turned much more serious.
"Earth Style: Mountainous Earth Technique!!"
Receiving a surge of chakra, Kitsuchi's eyes turned sharp with renewed resolve.
He launched a powerful offensive ninjutsu.
This technique was similar to one used earlier, but on a much greater scale.
Two massive, semi-spherical boulders appeared on either side of Uchiha Dali and began closing in rapidly.
With the massive amount of chakra injected into them, their strength and power were far beyond the previous attack.
"Uchiha Dali! If you've got guts, then don't dodge!!" Kitsuchi roared.
"Hmph…"
Uchiha Dali responded with a sneer.
Did they really think so little of him?
Why would he need to dodge something like this?
He neither dodged nor avoided—he simply stood still and let the attack close in on him.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE…
After the earth trembled violently, the two enormous hemispheres finally merged into one, perfectly sealed without even the slightest gap.
"Did we get him?"
Seeing that Uchiha Dali had really not dodged and had been crushed and sealed within the sphere, all the Iwagakure ninja stared intensely at the giant rock formation that looked like a mountain.
In their understanding, no normal human made of flesh and blood could survive being crushed by a jutsu of this scale.
It would be a miracle if even bones remained.
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