"Earth Blast!"
With a roar, a small black sphere struck Black Zetsu's waist from behind, and a terrifying suction force began emanating from it.
Black Zetsu stared in astonishment at Raiden, who had disappeared before him. But when he turned around, he saw Raiden standing behind him.
"Shadow Clone Technique? When?" Black Zetsu's horrified voice rang out. In the next second, countless chunks of earth were sucked from the ground by the black sphere, covering him completely. The black core at the center of the Earth Blast swallowed Black Zetsu's body and launched into the sky.
As the sphere ascended, an even more terrifying suction force radiated from it. The entire area was enveloped by this force, causing cracks to form on the ground. Countless pieces of earth and rock were torn away, pulled skyward.
"I've been preparing for this ever since that blond brat used Blast Release."
"Black Zetsu, you're confident in your perception, but it just so happens that I am just as confident in my sealing techniques!"
"Black Zetsu, this time, I finally caught you!"
Raiden looked at the massive stone sphere in the sky, grinned, and quickly retreated to Fugaku and Kisame's side. Golden chakra surged from his body, surrounding the two of them and shielding them from the Earth Blast's overwhelming suction force. With a flash, they vanished from the battlefield.
"Come on!"
"Shinra Tensei!"
Seeing this, the Deva Path shouted and stretched out his hands, using Shinra Tensei to resist the Earth Blast's force. Then, his body dissolved into a white mist and vanished, having been recalled via summoning technique.
Deidara hurriedly molded a clay bird, pulling Sasori aboard to escape, but the immense suction force made it impossible for the bird to take off.
"Deidara, you won't get away like this! Use the explosion's shockwave to break free of the suction range!" At the critical moment, Sasori remained clear-headed and immediately gave the instruction.
Deidara didn't hesitate. He shoved his hands into his pockets, pulled out a large chunk of clay, and quickly molded it.
"C3: No.18!"
Deidara shaped the clay briefly before hurling it skyward. The clay rapidly expanded, attaching itself to the Earth Blast sphere. In the next second, a massive explosion erupted in the sky. The Earth Blast's structure cracked, and its suction force suddenly faltered.
Taking advantage of the momentary reprieve, Deidara commanded his clay bird to take flight, frantically pulling more clay from his ninja pouch to craft bombs. He hurled them at the Earth Blast sphere.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A series of explosions rocked the sky as the clay detonated, allowing Deidara to escape over ten kilometers on his clay bird. He finally slumped onto the bird's back, panting heavily.
"Who is that guy?!"
"I've never heard of such a person in the ninja world!"
Deidara looked at the massive stone sphere in the distance, patted his chest with lingering fear, and sighed in relief.
"Konoha's Fourth Hokage, Raiden Uzumaki. I've heard of him, but this is the first time I've seen him in action."
"His strength is on a completely different level from ordinary ninjas."
"Akatsuki may have provoked someone they shouldn't have. The leader should have escaped safely. We should lay low and find an opportunity to regroup."
Sasori's voice was heavy, and he was beginning to entertain thoughts of leaving Akatsuki. Originally, he had joined to escape the pursuit of Sand Shinobi and to fulfill his dream of completely transforming his body. But now, there were powerful ninjas targeting Akatsuki.
Staying in the organization was becoming less worthwhile.
Deidara didn't grasp Sasori's full meaning, but after glancing again at the distant stone sphere, he quickly left with him.
The suction force of the Earth Blast gradually weakened, and after a while, a stone sphere nearly a kilometer in diameter was fully formed. It then slowly began descending.
At that moment, Raiden, Fugaku, and Kisame reappeared beside the stone sphere.
Kisame looked at the sight before him and couldn't help but exclaim, "With a technique like this, no one can escape Lord Raiden's grasp."
Fugaku opened his mouth slightly, then shook his head with a bitter smile. "Raiden, you could have handled this mission alone."
"We came along, but instead of being helpful, we only held you back."
Raiden remained silent as he sensed Black Zetsu sealed inside the Earth Blast sphere. After confirming its presence, he smiled and reassured them, "Don't belittle yourselves. Your power is formidable, and your presence alone deterred them from acting rashly."
"Akatsuki is still strong, but your deterrence prevented them from revealing their full hand."
"That Uchiha clan member fears you."
Raiden lightly patted Fugaku's shoulder before raising his hands. The massive stone sphere levitated once more.
"Maintaining this jutsu consumes a tremendous amount of chakra. What's the next move?"
"Should we go after the ones who escaped?"
Fugaku adjusted his mindset and asked about the plan.
"There's no rush. The ones who fled don't pose an immediate threat to Konoha."
"I want to completely seal this thing first; otherwise, I won't feel at ease."
Raiden shook his head slightly. The purple rhombus on his forehead glowed as he fully released the Yin Seal, unleashing a torrent of chakra. Then, the Sakegari no Tachi in his hand began to undergo a drastic transformation, shifting into a spiritual form.
"What is that?" Kisame was stunned upon seeing the true form of Sakegari no Tachi for the first time. He had always assumed Raiden's sword was just an ordinary chakra weapon, never imagining it had a different form.
"This is the true form of Sakegari no Tachi, also known as the Sword of Sealing."
Raiden explained before piercing the stone sphere. The sword precisely impaled Black Zetsu's body. As Black Zetsu attempted to liquefy and escape, its form was immediately drawn into the blade.
In Raiden's left hand, the Sake Gourd appeared. With precise control, he sealed Black Zetsu within it. As he completed the process, his immense chakra began to settle, and the cursed markings on his face retracted into the Yin Seal.
With everything done, Raiden exhaled in relief and chuckled.
"Finally caught that guy."
"With this, the biggest underlying crisis has been neutralized."
"Let's go, let's meet my good nephew."
Both Uchiha Fugaku and Kisame didn't understand the meaning behind Raiden's words, but they understood the last sentence. The person with the Rinnegan had called Raiden "Master Uncle," and now, he was going to find that person.
Raiden didn't waste any more chakra. He waved at Fugaku and Kisame before dashing toward the central tower of Amegakure.
As they drew closer, Raiden's expression grew increasingly grim. By the time they arrived at the central tower, his face was as dark as coal.
"Who are you?!" Two Amegakure guards shouted angrily when they spotted the three of them.
Raiden ignored them and disappeared in an instant.
Kisame and Fugaku exchanged glances, uncertain about what had caused Raiden's drastic shift in mood. After Fugaku subdued the two guards with a genjutsu, he quickly followed Raiden, leaping toward the top of the tower.
Raiden arrived at the top floor alone. The air was thick with the scent of preservatives. The room was large, devoid of furniture, and scattered with several pale corpses—White Zetsu clones that had already been there before his arrival.
However, Raiden could still sense a familiar chakra from them—the chakra of Nagato and his companions.
Before he arrived, Nagato and the others had already fled, leaving behind a decoy.
"Using the seals of Earth Blast and Sakegari no Tachi must have limited the perception range of my Kagura Mind's Eye."
"Did they use this opportunity to escape?!"
"Spatial ninjutsu is truly troublesome… Letting them get away this time means I don't know when I'll have another chance."
Raiden frowned, frustrated.
What he had feared the most had finally happened. If Nagato and his allies were determined to hide, even he wouldn't be able to find them easily. The Uchiha clan had mastery over space-time ninjutsu, making escape far too easy.
Letting them escape now meant he would have to wait for them to make another move before attempting to capture them again.
"Raiden, what's going on here?" Fugaku and Kisame arrived at the top floor, their eyes scanning the White Zetsu corpses in surprise.
"As you can see, they slipped away."
"But it's not a complete loss. At the very least, the most troublesome problem has been sealed."
"And I left a mark in their dimension. If they dare to open that space again, I'll know immediately."
"They've suffered a major defeat. They won't show themselves for a while."
Raiden unfurled a scroll and began sealing away the White Zetsu corpses—valuable research material. He wasn't particularly skilled in that field, but Orochimaru would undoubtedly make good use of them.
After spending a few days in Amegakure to confirm that there was nothing more to uncover, Raiden and his team finally departed.
"Master Raiden and the others… have they already left?"
In a hidden base within the Land of Rain, Nagato looked up and smirked at the masked man before him—Uchiha Madara. There was clear sarcasm in his expression, as if he was reveling in the other man's frustration.
"Hmph. They've left the Land of Rain."
"This time, why didn't you use your full strength?!"
"Do you not care about the lives of your two companions?"
The masked man's tone was filled with anger and dissatisfaction.
"Full strength? You think I could've made a difference against that level of power?"
"This outcome isn't bad. I only sacrificed Hidan and Black Zetsu, and I got to gauge the strength of our opponent."
"In terms of gains and losses, the trade-off was worth it."
Hearing the masked man's veiled threat, Nagato's expression darkened, and he snapped back.
"Hmph!"
"You don't understand the price we've paid!"
"Hidan was the key to our plan to kill Raiden Uzumaki. Now that he's sealed, how do you expect us to take him down?!"
"With just you?!"
"Nagato, I'm out of patience. If you want your companions to live—"
"Use the Rinne Rebirth Technique. Exchange your life for theirs!"
The masked man's voice was cold and unforgiving, his patience clearly exhausted.
"The Rinne Rebirth Technique…?"
"Using it to bring back Konan and Yahiko?"
"Fine."
"But you should know the conditions for performing this jutsu, right? I have to meet the person I'm resurrecting first."
Nagato raised his head slightly, his Rinnegan gleaming with curiosity. He was aware of Raiden's strength—so much so that even this so-called "Madara Uchiha" couldn't deal with him.
But that left Nagato wondering: who exactly was powerful enough to push the masked man into accelerating his plans?
He was well aware of his own value. He couldn't imagine what kind of individual could be more crucial than his own Rinnegan.
"Hmph, I'll make the arrangements."
"For now, begin preparations to capture the Tailed Beasts!"
The masked man snorted coldly, turning to leave. But before he could, Nagato stopped him.
"Raiden Uzumaki's attention is still on us. Should we really act now?"
"I'll divert his attention. Begin the preparations—"
"Soon, he won't have time to focus on us anymore."
The masked man's lips curled into a sinister smile before he vanished from sight.
As soon as he left, Nagato lowered his gaze, murmuring to himself.
"Can it really go that smoothly…?"
Meanwhile, as Raiden and his team left the Land of Rain and headed back to Konoha, the Ninja Village Joint Chunin Exam, hosted by Konoha, had officially concluded.
The final battles had been thrilling, drawing widespread attention.
One of the standout fights featured Gaara from Sunagakure against Konoha's renowned genius, Uchiha Sasuke. However, against Gaara's fully matured Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai, Sasuke's incomplete mastery of the Sharingan and Chidori wasn't enough, and he ultimately lost.
Another highly anticipated match was between Neji Hyuga, the prodigy of the Hyuga branch family, and Naruto Uzumaki, son of the Fifth Hokage.
In this battle, Naruto showcased incredible resilience and demonstrated excellent chakra control. In the end, by tapping into a portion of Chomei's (Seven-Tails) power, he managed to defeat Neji.
Meanwhile, Shikamaru Nara put on an impressive performance despite losing to Temari of Sunagakure. His strategic brilliance earned him recognition from all who watched.
Senju Karin, hailing from one of Konoha's most prestigious clans, completely dominated her opponent, securing an overwhelming victory.
Rock Lee from Konoha also delivered a spectacular performance, displaying astonishing taijutsu talent.
The final stage of the Chunin Exam wasn't solely based on battle outcomes when selecting new Chunin. While all victors were promoted, even some of the defeated participants from Konoha—Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Neji—were also granted Chunin status in recognition of their capabilities.
(End of this chapter)