Beep—Beep—Beep…
While Izayoi and Hinata were admiring the meteor shower, the Hidden Cloud Village, countless kilometers away, was suddenly engulfed by the blare of an emergency alarm.
It was just past 9 p.m., and most villagers hadn't gone to bed yet. Even those who had were only lightly asleep.
So the moment the alarm rang out, the villagers—who were well-practiced from annual evacuation drills—rushed out of their homes.
"What… what is that!?"
"Meteorites! It's a meteor shower! Run!!"
"Is the end of the world here!?"
Some villagers, just having stepped outside, instantly understood the cause of the alarm.
Looking up at the orange-red glow in the sky, they saw huge fireballs streaking downward.
These fireballs were meteorites, wrapped in atmospheric flames as they plummeted from above.
From a distance, the scene looked breathtaking—perhaps even worthy of making a wish. But for the Hidden Cloud Village, it was nothing short of an apocalyptic calamity.
One man, recognizing the meteor shower, collapsed on the ground in terror.
At that moment, figures darted through the village like blurs.
One of them stopped—a muscular, dark-skinned man wearing a vest.
He shouted at the stunned villagers, "What are you standing around for!? Follow the evacuation protocols and move to the shelters with the escort squads!"
Snapped out of their daze, the villagers scrambled toward the designated shelter locations.
Meanwhile, atop the Raikage Tower, the Fourth Raikage stood grimly watching the meteor shower.
Behind him, the dark-skinned woman with short white hair—Mabui—spoke urgently. "Lord Raikage! The sensory division has confirmed that in no more than three minutes, the meteor shower will strike directly. Please evacuate immediately!"
"Don't talk nonsense!" the Raikage snapped. "I'm the Raikage! Do you think I'll run from battle!?"
Then he asked knowingly, "Can the villagers reach the shelters within those three minutes?"
"The time is too short. Only the villagers on the outskirts have a chance," Mabui replied worriedly. "And we can't be sure the shelters and their barriers can withstand the impact."
The Fourth Raikage wasn't surprised and immediately issued orders: "Tell the command squad to gather the villagers and have the Barrier Corps deploy multiple layers of barriers. Even if the village is destroyed, we must ensure the people survive!"
Slamming his hand down, shattering the rooftop railing, he growled, "Damn it! This came too fast! I shouldn't have sent Bee to the Thundercloud Gorge. If he were here—with his Eight-Tails chakra and my strength—we might have been able to deploy the Four Red Yang Formation and block this attack."
"Sir, we've contacted the team delivering supplies to Killer Bee. He'll provide long-range support," Mabui said. "The Lightning and Earth Style Corps are also ready. As soon as the meteorites reach striking range, they'll attack to reduce impact damage and protect the mountain."
The Raikage's eyes narrowed. "Has the sensory division found the mastermind?"
"Not yet, but they've confirmed the enemy is hiding somewhere on this mountain," Mabui said darkly. "The strike was too accurate to be random. If this was a jutsu, then there must be an anchor point—otherwise, it's terrifying. It would mean the enemy can call down meteorites anywhere in the shinobi world."
"Only the Sage of Six Paths could do that," she added.
The Raikage's eyes flashed coldly. "So this is Akatsuki's revenge?"
"Not confirmed, but the likelihood is higher than any other village," Mabui answered. "No known kekkei genkai, secret technique, or even lost forbidden jutsu can summon this kind of meteor shower—not even Wood Style, which once brought peace to the world."
"But if the Sage of Six Paths and the legendary Rinnegan are real… then summoning meteors could be a Rinnegan ability. After all, it's said the moon itself was created by the Sage."
Looking up at the ever-growing—and nearing—blazing lights, Mabui's face turned pale.
If that theory were true, it meant an existence beyond anything the world had ever faced.
Compared to such power, even the "God of Shinobi" paled.
That being used force without hesitation—like a madman.
If Cloud was targeted again, rebuilding would be meaningless. The Land of Lightning might cease to exist as a major power.
This was the true doomsday crisis—one meant solely for the Hidden Cloud Village.
"Ninja Art: Four Violet Flame Formation!"
At that moment, voices rang out across the village.
Purple, transparent, rectangular barriers began to rise in the night sky.
Some had multiple layers.
Each one was cast by a team of a dozen or more ninja, protecting hundreds of villagers inside.
Several barriers also enveloped the Raikage Tower.
The Fourth Raikage looked up at the sky, now completely filled with fireballs and devoid of stars. His eyes reflected the flames—and a cold, murderous red light.
Behind him, Mabui had vanished—off to carry out some unknown task.
Then, just as the orange-red flames were about to engulf the village like a tidal wave…
A hole suddenly opened in the sky above several of the barriers. Bolts of lightning burst out like spears, shooting upward.
"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"
"Lightning Style: Black Panther!"
Dozens of ninjutsu shouts echoed into the night.
At the same time, a giant, purple-black energy sphere shot up into the sky from afar.
BOOM!
RUMMMBLE…
The detonation of a Tailed Beast Bomb shook the heavens. In the blink of an eye, the sound was so overwhelming that everyone's hearing was taken away.
Villagers shielded their ears in pain. Even many Cloud ninja did the same.
Colorful bursts of fire bloomed across the sky like a deadly fireworks show.
Shockwaves ripped through the area like hurricanes.
Mountains near the village quaked violently. Some had their slopes torn open by the blasts.
If it were daytime, one could have seen the massive mountain housing the Hidden Cloud Village cracking before their eyes.
Amid the deafening explosions and echoing shockwaves that spread through the valleys…
"Ninja Art… Heavenly Transfer Technique!"
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Rampart—hold it off!!"
Even more mountains erupted around the village—like stepping on landmines—widening the destruction, spreading the shockwaves and sonic booms even farther.
Even from a distant mountaintop, where Hinata leaned in Izayoi's arms to watch the stars, the fireworks could be seen blooming across the horizon.
Unaware that it was the Land of Lightning, Hinata gasped in awe, "Wow! So this is what meteors look like when they explode at night? So beautiful! Even prettier than the ones in the Land of Rivers!"
"Do you like it? How's that for a surprise?" Izayoi smiled, kissing her cheek.
"Mhm!" Hinata nodded happily, then shyly kissed him back. "This is the happiest birthday I've ever had. I'll never forget it."
"Same here."
Izayoi lifted her into his lap and held her close, watching the stars and fireworks.
But while Hinata basked in love and beauty, tragedy struck the Hidden Cloud.
The shockwave-driven storm lasted who knew how long before finally settling.
Mushroom clouds rose and faded into a massive dust cloud, covering several mountains around the village.
Even with high-altitude winds, the sheer scale meant it wouldn't disperse quickly.
Then, a small figure cloaked in red powder appeared in the air above the dust cloud.
Black cloak, red clouds, orange short hair, metal piercings, purple rippled eyes—Tendo Pain.
Or rather, it was Izayoi's wooden clone transformed into Tendo Pain.
Unlike regular transformation jutsu, Izayoi's Wood Clone combined with Wood Transformation—second only to the White Zetsu transformation.
Normal transformation dispels easily on impact. But Izayoi's golden-level chakra control allowed it to hold even while healing others.
If Izayoi were seriously hit, the transformation would fail. Hence why his main clone didn't play "ninja games" with Gaara.
But the Wood Clone had no such limits.
Even if the clone were destroyed, the Wood Transformation wouldn't dispel—like a wood sculpture, remaining intact unless canceled by Izayoi himself.
And if fueled by absorbed chakra, it could even match Zetsu's disguise jutsu.
Hovering in the air, the clone saw through the dust and transmitted the village's status to Izayoi.
Back on the mountaintop, still cuddling Hinata, Izayoi's eyes briefly flashed. He thought to himself:
"I expected them to survive, but didn't think the survival rate would be this high. As expected of the strongest, most united village today… But at least they haven't built a Chakra Cannon yet."
In this world of sealing scrolls, even Izayoi wasn't sure if the Hidden Cloud had developed a chakra superweapon.
So he had several Wood Clones summon a meteor shower using Tenseigan gravitational powers—from orbit—to greet the strongest village with overwhelming force.
The goal? To test the Hidden Cloud.
The result? They hadn't yet made a chakra cannon.
Satisfied, Izayoi sent his next command to the clone.
The clone, wrapped in red powder, vanished from the air.
Moments later, a Wind Style jutsu dispersed the thick dust cloud.
The Hidden Cloud Village reappeared—utterly devastated.
The city was in ruins. Barely one-tenth of the buildings were still standing, and most were damaged or barely holding up.
The ground was riddled with craters, surrounded by rubble and meteor fragments—likely burying countless bodies.
The shockwaves had penetrated the mountains themselves, leaving them cracked like collapsing towers.
A few rectangular barriers still stood—like translucent shelters—filled with wounded, dying, or already dead ninja.
Were it not for the layered barriers, the casualties would have been catastrophic.
But as the meteor shower ended, the chakra-drained barrier ninjas deactivated their jutsu, took soldier pills, and began tending to the wounded.
Medical ninja rushed to provide treatment.
Soon, all barriers disappeared.
Unknowingly, they had let the wolves in.
In the next instant, red powder appeared again.
Figures cloaked in black with red clouds emerged across the ruins—blades gleaming from their outstretched arms—slashing at the flak-jacketed Cloud ninja.
"Enemy attack!!"
"It's Akatsuki—sound the alarm!"
"Don't panic! Barrier and medical teams, protect the villagers! Everyone else, follow me—fight back!!"
Shouts and alarm whistles pierced the silent night.
After the apocalyptic meteor shower…
The Hidden Cloud faced the second wave of disaster.