"That's… Chibaku Tensei!"
Dragged helplessly toward the sky, every hair on Uchiha Fugaku's body stood on end as a powerful sense of danger engulfed him.
He knew Nagato possessed this terrifying jutsu—and he also knew how deadly it was.
If possible, he would have stopped Nagato from casting it. But against a super-Kage-level opponent like him, that was a fantasy.
Since it couldn't be prevented, there was only one option left: break free.
He had anticipated this technique and devised potential countermeasures. Whether they would succeed, however, was uncertain.
But now—he had no choice but to try.
"Complete Body Susanoo!"
The hundred-meter giant erupted around him, shielding him completely.
With furious wingbeats, the armored colossus generated a massive thrust of wind, struggling against the gravitational pull of Chibaku Tensei.
But the pull was overwhelming. Even with Susanoo's immense power, Fugaku couldn't break free—his body was still being dragged upward, only slightly slowing the pace.
"Just as I thought—it won't work!"
Realizing brute force alone was futile, Fugaku immediately switched to his second plan.
Boom!
A massive black spear formed in Susanoo's hand, hurled with all its might toward the forming sphere in the sky.
Destroy it before it fully takes shape—that was his strategy.
"Useless."
Nagato sneered coldly. His hand swept through the air, and countless boulders already being drawn into the sphere shifted, intercepting the spear.
Thud, thud, thud!
The black spear pierced through layers of stone, but its momentum waned, shattering before reaching the core.
Though the sphere trembled from the impact, its growth was barely hindered.
Boom!
Another spear hurtled upward, only to be buried beneath another tide of earth and stone under Nagato's control.
Worse still, the sphere's mass continued to grow—its resilience increasing with it. Soon, even a direct strike would not be enough to shatter it.
In the original timeline, Naruto and Itachi had broken Chibaku Tensei together. But Nagato had clearly been holding back then.
Now, he was fighting with lethal intent, determined to kill Fugaku.
Thud, thud, thud!
Another spear was intercepted. The sphere was now colossal—too vast and too dense to break.
At last, Susanoo and Fugaku himself were wrenched upward and pinned to its surface.
Tons of earth crashed down, burying him within layer after layer until he was sealed inside.
"Finally… it's done."
Nagato exhaled in relief, gazing at the massive rock sphere floating in the sky.
Chibaku Tensei—his strongest technique. A sphere of gravitational force wrapped in stone, sealing anything inside. Once captured, escape was nearly impossible.
Fugaku's resistance had been fierce, but the seal held.
Now Nagato could turn his attention elsewhere. Akatsuki's members were being pressed hard on other battlefields, but with him free, the tide would shift.
Boom!
A thunderous crash shattered the calm, sending tremors through the battlefield like war drums.
Nagato's eyes darted upward—the sound came from the very sphere he had created.
"He's still alive?!"
Understanding dawned instantly. Fugaku was not dead—he was still struggling, trying to tear his way free.
Boom!
Another explosion shook the sphere violently.
Boom, boom, boom!
Like a heartbeat, the pounding echoed from within, growing stronger—closer to the core.
Nagato's stomach tightened with dread.
Boom!
One final, earth-shattering impact erupted from the center. The sphere's gravitational field vanished.
With its binding force gone, the mass of stone crumbled apart.
Crack—
Jagged fractures spread across its surface. Then—
Crash!
The sphere shattered completely, raining debris to the ground like a shattered glass world.
Chibaku Tensei—broken!
Whoosh—
Through the falling rubble, a blood-soaked figure surged forward.
It was Uchiha Fugaku.
He was clad in shattered bone armor, once white but now stained crimson with his blood.
The Shikotsumyaku: White Bone Armor—a super-Kage-level technique he had created himself, inspired by Han, the Five-Tails' jinchūriki.
Han's Steam Armor enhanced strength many times over. Fugaku's White Bone Armor, driven by his kekkei genkai, amplified power by dozens of times.
Its high-density bone plating rivaled even Complete Body Susanoo in defense.
Trapped inside Chibaku Tensei, he had withstood the crushing pressure with the armor's defense and burrowed deep into the core, destroying the gravity sphere from within.
Now, he charged through the falling stone, sprinting through the sky like a beast unleashed.
In an instant, he was upon Nagato.
Boom!
His fist, encased in bone armor, struck like a cannon.
Crash!
Nagato plummeted like a meteor, slamming into the ground and carving a hundred-meter crater.
"Ghkk—!"
Even with Shinra Tensei cushioning him, the impact was brutal. Blood burst from his mouth—Nagato was injured.
Fugaku's punch hadn't been stronger than Susanoo's blows, but it carried terrifying penetration, bypassing defenses the way Nagato's Asura Path beams cut through Susanoo earlier.
It struck true, and it hurt.
Thud!
But Fugaku, too, fell from the sky, smashing into the earth and leaving a crater of his own.
Escaping Chibaku Tensei had taken its toll. He was wounded.
Both men—bloodied, battered, and wary—rose slowly, staring each other down.
There was no triumph in their eyes, only wariness. Each recognized the other's terrifying strength.
Hum—
A swirling vortex of darkness opened beside Nagato. From it emerged Uchiha Obito.
"The Five Kage Summit was a trap. We've walked right into it. The situation isn't in our favor—we're retreating."
"So it really was a trap… What about Konan?"
Nagato had suspected as much earlier, but Obito's words confirmed it.
"I had her and Zetsu withdraw in advance. We're leaving."
Obito grabbed Nagato, pulling him toward the vortex.
Before leaving, Nagato summoned the blood he had spat, pulling it into his hand with Banshō Ten'in. He knew Fugaku possessed Hidan's curse technique—he couldn't leave his blood behind.
"Shikotsumyaku: Thorn Rain!"
Bone arrows erupted from Fugaku's body, firing in a deadly storm toward the two Uchiha.
But before the arrows struck, both vanished into the vortex.
"Lord Hokage!""Fugaku-sama!"
Dozens of figures rushed in: the Kage of the other villages, their elite, and Konoha's strongest—Kakashi, Jiraiya, and more.
Kakashi moved quickly to support the injured Fugaku.
"What's the result?" Fugaku asked, voice heavy.
"We only managed to kill Hiruko and Deidara. The others were pulled out by the Mokuton ninja's space-time jutsu," Kakashi replied grimly.
Despite their overwhelming numbers—the combined might of the Five Great Villages—they had only eliminated two enemies.
"Was it that Wood Release ninja who rescued Pain just now?" Jiraiya asked.
"Yes. He used space-time ninjutsu to take him away." Fugaku nodded.
"Damn it! If only we'd arrived sooner, we might have finished them here!" the Fourth Raikage snarled.
"With the Hokage and all of us together, it could've been done."
But the Third Tsuchikage shook his head."Against space-time ninjutsu, it's never that simple."
"Enough. The Fifth Hokage's injuries are severe. She needs treatment immediately. We head to the temporary base!" Mifune ordered firmly.
With the Iron Fortress destroyed, they had no shelter there. Under Mifune's lead, the coalition turned toward their fallback location.