Cough, cough…
Outside the massive meteor crater lay a colossal wall of debris, or perhaps more accurately, a circular mound of rubble.
That mound was full of the rubble, wooden shards, metal fragments, and corpses—everything that had been blasted out of the meteor crater…
At that moment, a broken piece of wall shifted slightly. A hand reached out and pushed it aside.
Then someone emerged—covered in injuries and dust, so discolored by debris that the dark skin underneath now looked almost gray in the nighttime gloom.
Pulling out his upper body first, he coughed violently. Before he could free his legs, his pupils contracted as he stared ahead in a daze.
"Th-the village… It's gone!"
"Where's…where's Lord Raikage?!"
"We need to find our sensor-nin—hurry and locate both Lord Raikage and Lord Killer Bee!"
"Is the shelter all right? Are the civilians safe?!"
One after another, surviving ninja struggled out from the rubble as well, similarly stunned by the sight of the gigantic meteor crater. Many voiced urgent concern for the Fourth Raikage and the villagers.
Unless there's some special summons, a village is never fully manned. Just as the Two-Tails Jinchūriki had been gone, plenty of ninja were away on missions or stationed to protect the Daimyō and border strongholds. Those still in the village amounted to at most half—or even less—of their total shinobi force.
Even if the village lay in ruins with high casualties, so long as they still had their core members, Kumogakure would remain one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
More than the losses, what mattered most were the lives of the Fourth Raikage, the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, and the villagers. They were the village's backbone, its strategic deterrent, its bedrock.
Thus, the jōnin and elite jōnin—people of extensive experience and strong mental fortitude—fought back their grief over the destroyed village and dead comrades, leading those still alive.
The sensor-nin were tasked with scanning for chakra signals. Those with Earth Release, despite feeling like every move would break their bones, used jutsu to excavate the rubble for buried teammates and bodies.
Luckily, the shelter was intact, though dangerously on the verge of collapse—and they'd lost some barrier specialists who'd protected it.
The medics and most villagers, however, were safe. On receiving word, the medical teams rushed over at top speed to treat the gravely wounded.
Because the crater was so "clean," they even had to shift inside what used to be the downtown area—finding or creating some flat surface there and beginning surgeries on the spot.
In no time, agonized wails and tortured screams sounded incessantly, a stifling and miserable atmosphere pervading everything.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Raikage—battered but merely disheveled, thanks to Killer Bee's protection—sat on a chunk of broken wall. He gazed silently at the seemingly endless meteor crater.
"What carnage…"
Up on a cliff near the shelter's mountain, two other figures—Black and White Zetsu, along with Uchiha Obito—were unscathed, looking down.
Seeing the scene below, White Zetsu murmured in awe. Black Zetsu stayed silent; inwardly, he thought it could have been much worse.
Ultimate ocular power was on a whole other plane. That caster had only used a fraction of the force. If it had been all-out, this "strongest of the Five Great Villages" would be no more than a bit of extra hassle.
Push and pull forces were just the foundation of that ultimate dōjutsu. Even that huge-scale technique which converted massive chakra into a shockwave was only a fundamental move.
The mysterious foe hadn't even revealed his personal eye-technique. Moreover, Black Zetsu suspected the figure with the disguised chakra might have been just a clone. A true wielder of the "ultimate ocular power" would have far more chakra than that.
Of course, Black Zetsu had no intention of sharing all this. Obito was already rattled by the single "Shinra Tensei: Seiatsu (Full Throttle)." He stood there with trembling eyes, then turned to Black Zetsu:
"Could Nagato do something on this scale too?"
"If Nagato were at his prime, he could exceed this," Black Zetsu replied honestly.
After all, Nagato was someone Uchiha Madara had chosen personally, a hybrid of the Uzumaki and Senju lines.
His chakra and vitality surpassed most, enabling him to transplant the Rinnegan as a child and grow strong enough to summon the Gedo Statue or use the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique.
According to Madara's plan, Nagato should by now have been invincible, capturing all nine Tailed Beasts and eventually activating Madara's fail-safes—or letting Madara possess Nagato's body and use the Rinne Tensei Jutsu to revive himself.
Who'd have guessed Nagato would end up a wreck, forcing Akatsuki to proceed so cautiously? While his Six Paths of Pain were strong, they weren't on par with Nagato's direct power.
Still, so long as they stayed careful and the Five Great Nations didn't unite, Nagato remained "unbeatable." Yet an even more formidable foe from the "moon" must have arrived to oppose the Rinnegan's user.
Black Zetsu noted at least a silver lining: that mystery man, though fully aware of Akatsuki, was taking a cunning and shameless approach, seemingly uncertain of beating Nagato in a head-on fight.
He wanted to incite a ninja world war, letting the Five Great Nations weaken Akatsuki. This implied that his own "ultimate ocular power" might be transplanted as well, leaving him unable to fully use it. Otherwise, he wouldn't rely on such manipulations.
Even so, Black Zetsu mentally cursed:
"Damn you, Hamura!"
Obito had no clue what Black Zetsu was thinking. Hearing his confirmation, he pondered, then said:
"What if we graft Hashirama's cells into Nagato to restore him to his prime?"
Obito couldn't hide his awe over the Rinnegan's power. That scope of destruction was on par with a Tailed Beast Bomb. He'd just witnessed how Bee's Tailed Beast Bomb was scattered—literally "shattered"—by that law-like force.
If he didn't reclaim his other Rinnegan, he couldn't match them. Yet he wasn't about to retrieve that eye from the person he'd given it to. And so the Eye of the Moon Plan now depended on Nagato's might.
But with Pain being formidable yet obviously crippled, that left a weakness the enemy could exploit. He or she knew of Nagato's existence and might exploit that.
The Rinnegan and the Gedo Statue could fall into that person's hands. Even if they didn't seize his Rinnegan, they could wrest control of the statue.
Thus, yes, strengthening Nagato might create an obstacle, but at least he was "on their side"—someone simpler than that cunning rogue.
Black Zetsu's eyes lit up but then shook his head:
"In theory, combining Hashirama cells with the Gedo Statue might indeed restore him to form, or at least get him off that wheelchair. But if we suggest that, Nagato would become even warier of us. He'd never let us touch him. Plus, with his current mindset, he wouldn't accept our help anyway—he wants Yahiko to be the god-savior, not himself."
Obito fell silent, then said:
"Then we'll wait for him to face reality, and extend him a warm hand."
Gazing down at the wreckage, Obito felt a rare pang of regret. Maybe he'd gone too far. Had he not pushed Kirigakure so hard, the Three-Tails wouldn't have died, and they could already have begun capturing tailed beasts. Then he recalled Rin's death, and that regret vanished.
"Let's go inform Nagato."
He activated Kamui, taking Black and White Zetsu away.
Down below, Mabui—who had helped guard the villagers via Tension no Jutsu—now reported to the Fourth Raikage:
"Lord Raikage, we have the casualty figures: 3,654 dead, with 85% of them being ninja. And 65% of the bodies are missing. The wounded are countless."
"Understood," the Raikage rumbled. "Check the rubble for the sealing scroll containing our 'chakra TV' feeds. If it's gone, we'll have to notify the Daimyō tomorrow. He must allocate funds so we can compensate all the fallen families. They died as heroes."
"Yes," Mabui nodded sadly.
Just as she turned to leave, the Raikage spoke coldly:
"Send envoys to the other four major villages. I'm calling a Five Kage Summit!"
Mabui hesitated, but recalling that nightmarish meteor storm and the enemy's utter disregard for all boundaries, she nodded firmly:
"Yes, Lord Raikage!"
…
Back on the mountain summit where the couple had cemented their feelings…
Izayoi, who had watched the entire "show," did not immediately check his spoils. Instead, he smiled at Hinata:
"It's getting late. Let's head back."
"Mm-hmm…"
Though she felt a bit reluctant, still wanting to hear more of Izayoi's sweet talk, she'd been "used as a grip trainer" all evening. Now her body felt weak, almost feverish—so in a way, it was a relief. She nodded quickly.
Once Hinata's temperature returned to normal, Izayoi let her cast one more wistful glance at the stone bench. Then he destroyed it, and, using the Flying Thunder God Technique, they reappeared in the Hyūga clan's head-family home.
"Izayoi-kun, Hinata—you're back."
They had hardly emerged before Karin, sensing them with Kagura's Mind's Eye, came over with Hanabi in tow.
"Onii-chan, you and Sis went out on a date, huh?"
Hanabi jumped into Izayoi's arms, clinging like a sloth around his neck, eyes sparkling. "That way you left with Sis earlier… was that the legendary Flying Thunder God?"
"You really are sharp," Izayoi teased, tapping his little sister-in-law's nose. "But that's a forbidden jutsu from the Scroll of Seals, which I… 'borrowed.' Don't tell anyone until it's officially allowed."
"Mm-hmm. Hanabi will keep it a secret for you, Onii-chan."
She raised a hand to her mouth as though zipping her lips.
"Good girl."
Smiling, Izayoi set Hanabi down and addressed the sisters: "It's late, so Karin and I will head home now."
"Eh? Why not stay with Karin-neechan here?" Hanabi asked.
"Not yet—the time isn't right."
Izayoi shook his head, casting Hinata a mischievous smile:
"Anyway, from now on I can visit here anytime I like."
Hinata's cheeks instantly reddened. Hanabi, thrilled, said:
"Then you have to come often, Onii-chan! You promised to train me."
"Of course."
Izayoi pinched Hanabi's cheek one last time before waving goodbye to the sisters. Then, carrying Karin, he flew away from the Hyūga compound. From above, they could see the banquet had ended and everything had been tidied up.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 100 Chapters Ahead of Others!