The vast battlefield was unusually silent at this moment.
Although there was only one person standing in the open space, the more than two thousand Cloud Ninjas surrounding him in a circular formation didn't even dare to breathe. Their bodies were tense, their expressions wary.
Among all the people present, only the Fourth Raikage was completely at ease. He looked at Shimura Danzo, who had turned into a human puppet, and said with pity and disdain:
"The leader of Root, the former candidate for Hokage, the one once known as Konoha's 'Darkness'... has now become the puppet of a rebel from the Sand Village, even being used to perform the long-lost Flying Thunder God Technique. How ironic and disgraceful."
Shimura Danzo did not respond. He held a sword in one hand and, with the other, pulled out a kunai and hurled it toward the Fourth Raikage.
The Fourth Raikage sneered.
"I got tired of this trick back when I fought the Fourth Hokage."
In a burst of blue-white lightning, the Fourth Raikage's figure blinked to Danzo's left like he had used space-time ninjutsu, chopping down with his hand like a blade.
Shimura Danzo vanished, appearing instantly beside the flying kunai.
But in the next second, the Fourth Raikage appeared next to him again. His face was fierce with fighting spirit, grinning savagely.
"I've always been curious. Is the Flying Thunder God faster at close range, or is my Lightning Chakra Mode faster? The Fourth Hokage never gave me an answer—so you'll finish that battle for him."
"Thunderclap Level!"
With a roar, he chopped his hand down again.
This time, Danzo didn't dodge. Instead, he raised his wind-style-enhanced blade to clash directly with the Fourth Raikage's hand-chop.
Wind versus Lightning—if it were ordinary wind release, it wouldn't counter lightning. But Danzo was a master of wind techniques, and under Izayoi's control, he had mastered wind chakra to an apex level through the Rinnegan.
Unless the Fourth Raikage had a body as indestructible as the Third Raikage's, this sword would tear through his Lightning Chakra Armor.
As the blade approached, the Fourth Raikage didn't seem to dodge, as if he truly intended to take it head-on.
Just as the two were about to collide—
"Heavy Flow!"
A voice boomed from behind. A massive elbow, encased in metal, charged with lightning chakra, swung down toward the back of Danzo's head with force strong enough to shatter stone.
Danzo didn't turn. His stance remained fixed in mid-swing.
But looking closely, one could see wooden tendrils sprouting beneath his feet, marked with a special seal.
Just like the Raikage's sudden movement, Danzo blinked out of sight just before the elbow landed, reappearing at the Raikage's side and swinging his sword.
The speed was so fast the Raikage couldn't react in time. He instinctively redirected his elbow and used the metal guard to block.
Sparks flew.
The wind-style blade carved a mark into the guard, nearly slicing through. Just before it reached the Raikage's elbow, the latter vanished again.
Far away, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu had arrived.
White Zetsu murmured in awe:
"He used Wood Release to plant Flying Thunder God markers. If his Wood Release had a wider range, this puppet would be invincible. I wonder what Sasori would think if he saw this…"
Black Zetsu didn't respond. He released a massive wave of perception—powerful enough to detect even the chakra of Asura and Indra—searching for the mysterious controller hiding nearby.
Failing to find the source, he turned his gaze back to the battlefield. Sensing the Wood Release chakra from Danzo, he spoke darkly:
"This mysterious man is indeed connected to Orochimaru. Danzo's puppet body isn't just from Sasori's human puppet tech—Orochimaru's experiments are definitely involved. He likely kidnapped Konoha's Wood Release test subject to graft Wood Release onto other puppets… If every puppet can use Flying Thunder God via Wood Release—"
"That would be terrifying," White Zetsu said, imagining the scenario.
Back on the battlefield, Danzo and the Fourth Raikage's fight intensified. Black and blue flashes darted all over the field in seconds, but there were no earth-shattering collisions—only sharp, rapid exchanges as both sides probed for a killing blow.
Danzo would appear at kunai marks, or summon white seeds from his sleeves, which quickly grew into branches engraved with the Flying Thunder God mark, enabling him to teleport again.
And yet, the Fourth Raikage matched his rhythm, losing only once to surprise but otherwise staying equal.
At first glance, it seemed they were evenly matched.
But compared to the Fourth Hokage's fight against the AB combo, Danzo—controlled by Izayoi and relying on Wood Release—was clearly falling behind.
"Still too slow... too rigid…"
Hidden by Red Eyes' invisibility, the Wood Clone of Izayoi sighed.
"Even with Wind and Lightning Release, it's just a corpse. No vitality or flexibility. Against weak enemies, it's overwhelming, but against someone of equal strength, the flaws show clearly."
Then, a grin crept across his lips.
"But Flying Thunder God isn't my only trump card."
Almost as if reacting to this, Danzo's right eye—his Mangekyō Sharingan—suddenly flared crimson.
The Fourth Raikage, staring at him, saw the spinning tomoe swell into a massive illusion. For a split second, he blanked. Violent chakra flared as he attempted to break the illusion.
But in that gap, Danzo had already completed a one-handed seal. Darkness swallowed the light from the Raikage's eyes—
Genjutsu: Darkness Walking Technique!
Danzo lunged forward and pressed his palm onto the Raikage, leaving a Flying Thunder God mark on his body.
But in the next instant—
Whoosh!
A massive octopus tentacle suddenly wrapped around the Fourth Raikage, blocking the seal.
Danzo's hand landed on the tentacle instead, marking it.
As if knowing the technique's danger, the tentacle didn't linger. It flexed, then hurled the Raikage high into the sky.
Crack!
The marked tentacle snapped and fell.
A shadow soared up, catching the airborne Raikage with another tentacle charged with lightning.
"It's Master Killer Bee!"
"Great! The AB combo is here—we're sure to win now!"
"…"
The cheers from the Cloud Ninja forces confirmed the identity of the man with the tentacles. He was none other than the younger brother of the Fourth Raikage, and the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki of the Hidden Cloud Village—Killer Bee.
"There's no more room for delay. That mysterious man… is he finally going to make a move?" White Zetsu said with anticipation.
Black Zetsu once again unleashed his terrifying sensory abilities.
Uchiha Obito, who had also appeared at some unknown time, stared intently at the right eye of Shimura Danzo. "That Sharingan… is it Uchiha Shisui's Kotoamatsukami? That eye is extremely dangerous. We need to find an opportunity to recover it."
Though he possessed Kamui and was immune to most ninjutsu, Obito was still wary of powerful genjutsu. That was why he had no fear of Nagato, but deeply feared Uchiha Itachi.
It wasn't just that Tsukuyomi was powerful—Itachi might even uncover Obito's true identity: not the real Uchiha Madara.
If that happened, Itachi and Nagato would no longer be in awe of him.
Kotoamatsukami was even more dangerous than Tsukuyomi.
Compared to confronting the mysterious man, Uchiha Obito was now more focused on retrieving that eye.
Hearing this, Black Zetsu was speechless.
What an idiot. He can't even tell the difference between the king and the pawn. If Kotoamatsukami were really so powerful, would the mastermind have wasted it on a puppet?
A guy without the Eternal Mangekyō simply couldn't grasp the true power of ultimate ocular techniques.
On the battlefield, Killer Bee—after catching the Fourth Raikage—helped break through the Darkness Technique and mocked him in a rap tone:
"Yo! Stupid bro~ You almost got smoked~~
If I hadn't shown, you'd be toast~~
Game over, for real, no joke~!"
The Fourth Raikage wasn't angry at the taunt—on the contrary, he smiled with relief.
"Bee, you got here just in time. Help me hold that puppet in place, at the very least."
Having nearly died to the Darkness Technique, the Raikage had lost the will to continue fighting. All that remained in his heart was a deep desire for vengeance.
Too terrifying.
This Akatsuki Organization was beyond terrifying.
Just one puppet modified by the Red Sand Scorpion had pushed him to the brink.
The leader of Akatsuki, said to wield the Rinnegan—the Eyes of the Sage—hadn't even made a move yet.
Seeing how serious his brother was, Killer Bee also became serious. He drew two blades shaped like bee stingers, and his body surged with the red chakra of the Tailed Beast.
"In that case," he said in a low voice, "let this bastard taste the strength of the AB combo!"
Seeing how the aura of the AB combo had completely transformed with Bee's arrival, Shimura Danzo slowly sheathed his ninja sword. The Mangekyō Sharingan in his right eye faded back into a regular three-tomoe Sharingan.
Seeing this, the Fourth Raikage narrowed his eyes and growled, "You're trying to escape now? With Flying Thunder God, I can't stop you… but this attack today has already crossed the line!"
"Yes, we did send people to infiltrate Hidden Rain to gather intel—but this response? This is far beyond a simple warning."
"If you run without giving a proper explanation… then prepare for a Tailed Beast Bomb barrage on the Hidden Rain Village!"
Uchiha Obito: "…"
Black and White Zetsu: "…"
"…Isn't this just shameless!?" White Zetsu stammered. "Wait a minute—is that mysterious guy really going to pin this whole thing on us again?"
"We have to inform Nagato immediately," Black Zetsu said seriously. "Even though the Hungry Ghost Path can absorb chakra, the Hidden Cloud Village has two Jinchūriki… and they even have some sort of space-time jutsu. If they can air-drop a Tailed Beast Bomb, we're in trouble. We need to prepare a countermeasure now."
Uchiha Obito fell silent, ashamed of himself.
He had thought he was shameless—disguising himself as Uchiha Madara, pretending to be Tobi…
But now he finally understood how Itachi and Nagato must have felt.
Turns out I'm just an amateur at shamelessness!
But the next second, Uchiha Obito and Black Zetsu realized—
They had still underestimated the mysterious man.
"We are here on behalf of Akatsuki!"
A majestic and cold voice echoed from above.
Everyone looked up.
Under the starry sky, a figure in the signature black cloak with red clouds floated under the moonlight.
A pair of Rinnegan, rippling with divine power, gazed down emotionlessly.
The sheer force of his presence made every Cloud Ninja tremble in body and soul.
There were no words needed.
Everyone knew in their hearts—
Konoha's intel was correct.
The legendary Eyes of the Sage of Six Paths, the supreme among the Three Great Dōjutsu—the Rinnegan—were real.
All eyes were frozen on the descending god-like figure.
Izayoi.
Uchiha Obito turned to Black Zetsu and asked, "What's the result?"
"Too mixed," Black Zetsu growled. "The guy definitely got our intel. He absorbed so much chakra in advance—his chakra signature is now a fusion of hundreds, maybe thousands of people. We can't trace it at all."
"…He even accounted for that?" Uchiha Obito looked at the godlike Izayoi floating in the sky, face under the mask dark with seriousness.
This whole mission had never been about taking the mystery man head-on. They didn't have the strength nor the preparation for that.
The real goal had been to record his chakra signature through Zetsu's perception, then use the clone army of White Zetsu to find him and swarm him later.
But now… even that was useless.
He had scrambled his chakra beforehand.
A truly terrifying opponent!
Izayoi looked down coldly at the Fourth Raikage and proclaimed on behalf of Nagato:
"This time, we're using your Hidden Cloud Village as a warning—so that the entire ninja world knows: you cannot offend a god!"
"If you disagree… then go ahead."
"Whether it's mutual nuclear retaliation, all-out war, or the world uniting to attack Hidden Rain—we, the Akatsuki, will accompany you to the end."
"Of course… that's assuming you survive."
As his final words echoed through the night sky, Izayoi slowly raised both hands.
"Everyone scatter—be careful!!" the Fourth Raikage roared, panic on his face.
Without hesitation, Killer Bee instantly entered full Eight-Tails form, wrapping the Fourth Raikage in massive tentacles and opening his mouth to condense a Tailed Beast Ball.
The Cloud Ninjas, remembering the previous meteor shower's devastation, immediately scattered—some ran for the shelters, some flew toward distant mountain ranges.
Those who could still fight quickly formed seals: "Ninjutsu: Four Purple Flame Formation!!"
Others unleashed their Earth Release techniques to raise massive stone walls and fortresses.
But…
From above, came a cold voice:
"Feel the pain. This is your farewell gift—
Super Shinra Tensei!"
A burst of white light split the night.
The sky was torn open. The earth below was swallowed in blinding brilliance.
The terrified and desperate Cloud Ninjas below were erased—first turned into black-and-white silhouettes, like ink washed from a page—then vanished completely into a sea of pure white.
BOOM————!!
The explosion roared louder than any before.
While it didn't match the sheer area of the meteorite storm, its impact on Hidden Cloud was catastrophic.
A mountainous shockwave spread across the land—an earthquake that rocked the already unstable terrain.
Had the mountain not been significantly larger than the surrounding ranges, it would have collapsed outright.
But even so, the Hidden Cloud Village—its terrain, its fortresses, its legacy—could no longer be rebuilt here.
When the dust settled, what remained was no longer a village.
It was a crater.
No rubble. No ruins. Nothing.
All matter had been erased, repelled from the area by the overwhelming force of the Super Shinra Tensei.
One of the Five Great Ninja Villages—Hidden Cloud, the strongest at the time—had been completely obliterated.