At the Hidden Leaf Village frontline.
The earth suddenly tore open as if ripped apart by some colossal beast, with roaring sounds echoing continuously.
One tree, then another, and soon a tidal wave of trees erupted violently from the ground, twisting, stretching, and coiling.
These trees did not grow naturally but seemed forcibly extracted from the earth's veins by some ancient power.
Sakumo Hatake and Might Duy halted simultaneously, staring intently ahead.
"Is that... a tree?"
"No, not a natural growth... This resembles the Wood Release power of the First Hokage."
Before they could finish speaking, the sky was abruptly torn open by a dark rift.
All Hidden Leaf ninjas paled at once.
Because emerging slowly from the rift was a massive dark bird.
Its wings resembled scythes of eternal night, each flap tearing new gashes in the sky.
Darkness spread across the firmament, swallowing all light in an instant.
The next moment, an elegantly shaped, almost divine multicolored giant deer leaped from above the distant mountains.
It tread on light, shifting the earth's colors with each landing.
Light of life and death intertwined in the sky.
"What in the world is happening in the Land of Rain?"
Sakumo Hatake did not respond.
The border of the Land of Rain seemed to form a massive barrier circle.
The earth cracked into bottomless fissures, as if the world's skin was peeling away.
Numerous bubble-like orbs of light seeped from the ground, like fragments of a different dimension, being dragged away by tree roots.
An Anbu ninja rushed over, face ashen:
"Lord Sakumo, should we investigate? If a disaster strikes the Land of Rain, the Hidden Leaf must gather intelligence!"
But Hatake showed no hesitation, his voice unusually stern for the first time: "No."
"Whatever is happening inside... can no longer be explained by ninjutsu."
Hatake stared at the sky simultaneously shrouded in eternal night and multicolored light, his throat tightening.
"All forces retreat three kilometers and establish a defensive line."
"Until we fully understand the situation, no one is to set foot in the Land of Rain!"
Inside Amegakure.
"A god?!"
Shiroishi's declaration struck like thunder over Amegakure.
The village leadership fell into stunned silence, struggling to process the words.
But before anyone could react.
BOOM!!!
A pillar of blazing flames erupted from the horizon.
The fiery column pierced the clouds, distorting the air.
From within the flames, a half-human, half-dragon figure emerged slowly, draped in dragon wings and crowned with dragon horns.
Yahiko.
His body blazed with cyan-gold flames, each step scorching and deforming the ground beneath him.
A draconic bloodline's pressure swept through Amegakure, the intense heat flooding the streets like Dragon Breath.
He landed beside Shiroishi, looking down upon the entire village.
Under this overwhelming power, the Rain Ninjas involuntarily knelt, struggling even to breathe.
The next moment, paper fragments drifted down like snowflakes from above.
Konan.
Her form materialized above the Rain Shadow building, paper wings unfolding behind her like a descending angel.
Instantly, the paper transformed into tens of thousands of Armed Talisman Papers, suspended in Amegakure's sky!
Anyone who dared to move would face her simple gesture reducing the entire village to rubble.
BOOM!!!
Swirling Chakra erupted from the ground.
Nagato stepped out from the rain and mist, six White Zetsu appearing behind him - each implanted with Sharingan.
Within the range of his power, he could sense every flow of Chakra throughout Amegakure.
Three figures surrounded the village.
"I never imagined... you were the one pulling all the strings behind everything?"
Hearing these words, Shiroishi revealed a brilliant smile.
It was sunny, peaceful, yet sent chills down everyone's spine.
"Yes, it was me."
He admitted without hesitation.
"This has nothing to do with Hidden Leaf, Sand, Cloud, or any of the great shinobi villages."
"Everything that happened in the Land of Rain."
Shiroishi spread his hands gently.
"Was all my planning alone."
Hanzo finally laughed in extreme anger, his laughter filled with killing intent.
"The Flame Gym... that was just your distraction too!"
Shiroishi nodded: "Yes."
Hanzo's killing intent surged like tides: "You're insane! You'll trigger a Ninja World War! You'll plunge the entire Land of Rain into the abyss!"
Shiroishi's expression remained unchanged: "The Shinobi World is already an abyss. As for the Land of Rain, it will become the headquarters of the Pokémon League. The five great shinobi villages and the entire Shinobi World will become history."
He spoke too calmly, so calmly it made people shiver.
Pokémon League?
What was that!?
Shiroishi slowly extended his hand.
The air throughout the Land of Rain instantly trembled.
At that moment, Hanzo snapped his fingers.
Hundreds of Beedrill burst forth from around Hanzo!
Dense enough to blot out the sky, they all charged toward Shiroishi.
Hanzo growled deeply: "Did you think you were the only one preparing?!"
Clearly, Hanzo had also discovered that Ninja Beasts could infect ordinary creatures with Chakra, transforming them into similar Ninja Beasts. Beedrill reproduced particularly quickly.
But Shiroishi's expression never changed from beginning to end.
"As expected, Beedrill do have the fastest breeding speed. It was worth giving you all those Weedle back then."
He waved his hand gently.
CRACK!!!
The air seemed to tear apart.
A rift to a different dimension appeared beneath Shiroishi's feet, opening like a dark, gaping maw.
All the Beedrill that charged into range were instantly sucked into the dark rift.
Then transferred by Shiroishi to another area.
One hundred Beedrill... vanished into thin air.
Hanzo's eyelids twitched violently, unable to believe his attack couldn't even last one second.
"...You!"
Before he could finish speaking.
Shiroishi's figure disappeared.
When he reappeared!
He was already behind Hanzo.
Holding only the most ordinary kunai, resting quietly in his hand.
Every hair on Hanzo's body stood on end.
His survival instinct forced him to arch backward violently!
The kunai sliced through the air, barely missing his throat.
Hanzo flipped and landed, but before he could form hand signs!
BOOM!
The ground suddenly erupted, countless bubbles surging forth.
Hanzo teleported away, trying to escape the encirclement, but the attack came too fast!
Just as he leaped into the air, azure-gold dragon flames split the sky.
Yahiko had arrived.
His speed was unimaginable, dragon flames trailing behind him.
Yahiko's palms burned with Dragon Release flames.
"Smash him down!!!"
BOOOOOM!!!!!
Hanzo took the flaming palm strike directly to his chest.
His iron chestplate instantly shattered.
Hanzo spat blood, sent flying dozens of meters and crashing through a wall!
The blood made Hanzo's face turn ugly as he staggered back several steps.
Today, the entire Land of Rain was sealed off by the strange giant trees controlled by Shiroishi.
Mount Kikyō stood as one with the city.
Hanzo coughed several times. "What exactly are you trying to accomplish?"
Without much thought, Shiroishi repeated his answer: "As I've said, I intend to establish the Pokémon League in the Land of Rain and create a comprehensive Trainer assessment system."
Gazing at the sky of the Land of Rain, Shiroishi calmly and steadily explained, "I promised my companions to transform this world into a peaceful one. Therefore, establishing the League, replacing the name Ninja Beast with Pokémon, and building a complete system—this is my dream."
At this point, Shiroishi extended his hand with a smile. "Lord Hanzo, will you join us in building this new world?"