Amidst the nervous speculation of countless viewers, the broadcast continued…
Tendō (Deva Path) stood behind Shuradō (Asura Path), and thanks to the shared vision of the Rinnegan, he easily avoided all of Hatake Kakashi's subsequent lightning-style attacks.
With a single raised hand, Tendō activated an invisible gravitational pull—Banshō Ten'in—drawing Kakashi helplessly into the spinning saw embedded in Shuradō's mechanical arm.
BOOM!
CRASH!
Just then, two massive palms crashed down from the sky and slammed into the ground like meteors.
Kakashi's hastily erected Earth Release defense crumbled like a fragile eggshell. Earth erupted outward in waves, swallowed by the descending palms, shaking the entire battlefield.
Tendō's eyes narrowed. The moment the impact trembled through the terrain, he activated Shinra Tensei, the repulsive force blasting away the crushing earth wave just in time to narrowly evade the titanic palms.
The massive hands shrank instantly—revealing the deformed, broken body of Shuradō beneath.
Then two figures leaped down from above—two bulky figures, one large, one slightly smaller.
"D-Dad?! Wait—is that...me!?"
Back in Konoha, Akimichi Chōji froze mid-chew, eyes locked on the screen in disbelief.
"Is that what I look like when I grow up?!"
"So cool…"
"Incredible…" muttered Yamanaka Ino, stunned as her ponytail swayed behind her. "Chōji… you'll be that strong in the future?"
Despite needing a surprise ambush and the help of his father, Akimichi Chōza, the fact remained: they'd smashed a high-level Akatsuki member—Shuradō—into scrap in less than ten seconds.
Even the commentators watching the interdimensional broadcast were shaken.
"D-dead… He's really dead!"
In the Akatsuki's private dimension, Hidan gaped exaggeratedly. "No way! That guy exploded just 'cause he took off his cloak?!"
A long silence followed.
The rest of the Akatsuki members subtly pulled their cloaks tighter around themselves. None spoke… but the coincidence was disturbing.
From detonation to disintegration, Shuradō had lasted barely ten seconds.
"Angel… uh, do we have any extra uniforms left?" grumbled Kakuzu, gesturing toward his four ghost-faced masks. "They'll need replacements too."
The clones silently nodded.
Konan looked at them, unamused.
"Hey, Lady Angel… I've been in the Akatsuki for half a year," Deidara chimed in, one palm's tongue sticking out and muttering, "+1…"
"We're out," Konan responded flatly.
Her gaze fell on the mangled corpse of Shuradō. She made a mental note: once they left this dimension, she'd requisition more cloaks for future emergencies. She'd clearly been spending too much on explosive tags…
Meanwhile, Hidan, ever the opportunist, strolled toward Obito, who was pinned under rubble.
"Hey, what are you doing?!"
Obito had regained some composure, only to be horrified as Hidan began cutting away at his Akatsuki cloak.
"Relax! The leader's gonna kill you anyway. Might as well salvage the outfit—waste not, want not. It's just a little dusty."
---
Back in the battle, Tendō remained expressionless as three shinobi relentlessly attacked him—Kakashi, Chōza, and Chōji. To him, their efforts were no more threatening than ants biting a tiger.
"Shinra Tensei."
BOOM!
A shockwave exploded outward like a mushroom cloud, flinging the trio across the battlefield.
But they got up.
Again.
And again.
They noticed something—a weakness.
Every time Tendō used Shinra Tensei, there was a brief cooldown.
Five seconds.
They pressed the advantage, testing and confirming it with coordinated attacks. The once-distant gap between mortals and god began to shrink.
Working together, the trio managed to pin down Tendō. Kakashi charged in, his hand sparking with a concentrated Chidori—Raikiri—aiming straight for the enemy's face.
The world watching held their breath.
"Finally… Payne will fall."
"Kakashi Hatake! What a genius—he figured it out mid-battle!"
"That five-second window… It's real!"
"That's two bodies down. Akatsuki isn't as invincible as we feared!"
But then…
Someone descended from the sky—slamming into Kakashi mid-attack.
"No!"
Kakashi was stunned.
It was Shuradō.
But he had already been destroyed. The broken mechanical body, the ruptured shell—he was dead!
Now here he stood again—fully repaired, fully armored, clothes pristine.
"W-what?!"
"Impossible!"
The ninja world watching the feed erupted in disbelief. Had their eyes been deceived?
Kakashi's Chidori was absorbed effortlessly. His Sharingan flickered.
He had used it twice now—once to save Chōji and once to confirm the interval in Tendō's jutsu. That strain, compounded by damage and fatigue, pushed him over the edge.
He collapsed.
The feed flickered with silence.
Even Kakashi… couldn't stop him.
"Tsunade-sama said the Akatsuki were targeting Uzumaki Naruto."
"Then… you mean they haven't even started fighting seriously yet?"
The idea chilled everyone.
If this wasn't Akatsuki at full power, then what was?
Surely such absurd power couldn't exist in this world.
Could it?
Everyone stared at Tendō's calm, unreadable face… and a dark suspicion began to grow.
---
Elsewhere, Chōji relayed the battle intel—Kakashi's final gift—to Fifth Hokage Tsunade.
Tsunade didn't hesitate. She summoned Katsuyu, and the massive slug clone dispersed to transmit the information across Konoha.
At the same time, in another part of the battlefield, Konoha's Interrogation Division appeared on-screen. They had captured Chikushōdō (Animal Path) and were attempting to seal her.
Everyone watching celebrated. A moment of hope.
But it was short-lived.
Ibiki Morino hadn't expected this: Animal Path didn't feel pain—and wasn't bound by human limitations. Before they could finish the seal, she crushed Ibiki with a single palm and broke free.
She summoned another massive beast and stormed back into the fray.
Konoha was descending into chaos.
The scale of battle exploded, with giant beasts clashing, explosive jutsu flying, and cries of war echoing through the village.
Ninjas and civilians across the world watched in awe, their hearts pounding. The hidden power struggles of their world were now laid bare.
The mystique of shinobi warfare—once hidden behind shadows and veils—was now exposed to all.
And everyone knew:
This was only the beginning.