The battle was still raging. On the fourth screen, the Wandering Inferno was defeated by Konohamaru using a spherical Muji ninjutsu, surprising everyone.
However, before they could process the shock, Konoha's Tendo had already pursued the fleeing Choji and arrived before Tsunade.
The Confrontation of Shadows!
The battle level instantly soared.
Countless people watched nervously as Tendo Pain and Tsunade faced off. Although Tsunade was the Fifth Hokage, she was surrounded by only four Anbu.
But anyone with a discerning eye could see that in terms of aura, she had already lost!
Compared to Pain's natural composure, the calmness shown by the Fifth Hokage of Konoha felt forced.
Because she was a Kage, she had to feign calm and composure!
> "The Fifth Hokage doesn't seem very strong…"
> "Why is she only showing up now? Is she really worthy of being a Kage?"
> "She's not worthy at all!
> If the Third Hokage were still here, he would've confronted the enemy at the very beginning. Our Konoha ninjas wouldn't have suffered so many casualties!"
A few Konoha villagers watched the video with tears in their eyes. The familiar scenes filled them with dread and a painful sense of helplessness.
In their hearts, the Hokage was supposed to be an invincible figure—a god!
As long as they appeared, any threat to the village would be suppressed immediately.
But Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, didn't seem to live up to that image.
She had timidly hidden behind Konoha's ninjas until Pain confronted her. She had done nothing other than summon her summoning beast.
How did someone like her become Hokage?
Was it simply because she was the student of the Third Hokage?
For a time, seeing Tsunade face Tendo Pain filled Konoha's citizens with anger and disappointment.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a long drag from his pipe, tapping the stem thoughtfully.
Unlike ordinary people, he understood the burden that came with the title of Kage.
What Konoha needed now was not just strength, but wisdom.
In this regard, Senju Tsunade had done very well. She was worthy of the title of Hokage.
But…
Hiruzen looked at the six figures on the screen and sighed, a trace of guilt flashing in his heart.
The battle had gone on for so long, and aside from seeing a few members of the Akimichi clan, the only other family ninja he noticed was Kakashi Hatake.
He knew well that there were thirty to forty clans in Konoha. With the strength the Six Paths of Pain displayed, even a single clan sending a few Jonin could make a significant difference.
But who would have thought these clans would let the Akatsuki rampage through the village?
Internal conflicts had affected their response to external threats.
Did all these clans think they were Shimura Danzo?
Fools!
A cold gleam flashed in Hiruzen's eyes. He no longer cared whether these clans opposed Tsunade's rise to power or why only Konohamaru had stepped up from the Sarutobi clan.
Some people needed to be taught a harsh lesson!
---
> "Calamus, do you think we should leave?"
Otsutsuki Ichiraku—no, the old man known as Teuchi, owner of Ichiraku Ramen—squinted at his beautiful young daughter and asked aloud.
He had brought Calamus to Konoha because it was the largest and safest ninja village. But now, it didn't seem very safe at all!
He had just seen how close his ramen shop came to being destroyed by a three-headed dog.
He could tell that Konoha had done its best to resist. But the Akatsuki clearly hadn't gone all out.
To get information on Naruto Uzumaki, they weren't killing indiscriminately—yet. But once they got what they wanted, they would surely eliminate everyone.
It wasn't impossible…
That a single jutsu could level all of Konoha.
No, this place was too dangerous. He'd better take Calamus and leave.
As if confirming Teuchi's fear, the video showed Tendo Pain asking Tsunade for Naruto's whereabouts—only to be firmly rejected.
In that moment, Tsunade embodied the very responsibility of the Hokage. She wasn't just protecting one person—she was protecting the entire village.
At that moment, countless people began to understand. They realized Tsunade hadn't appeared earlier because she was doing something more important. In truth, she was more pained than anyone.
Just as they came to understand her actions, the situation in Konoha changed drastically.
Human Path suddenly appeared behind Shizune and used a soul extraction technique to seize her memories and kill her instantly.
Now that Pain had the information he needed, he no longer cared.
He was ready to unleash Shinra Tensei and erase Konoha from the ninja world in one move.
> "At this moment, let the world feel pain!"
Glancing coldly at the stunned Tsunade, Tendo Pain turned around and slowly levitated into the air.
Tsunade looked up and saw a blinding light behind Pain. All she could make out was a dark figure in a cruciform pose with eerie Rinnegan eyes.
At the same time, all the images on the live broadcast merged into one. Everyone's attention focused on Tendo Pain.
What was he going to do?
Why was he flying?
Before they could answer those questions, the answer revealed itself.
> "Shinra Tensei!"
High in the sky, Tendo Pain unleashed his full power. An invisible repulsive force exploded outward from his body.
The shockwave expanded rapidly, and in an instant, the building below Pain crumbled and vanished under the immense pressure.
Boom!
Boom! Boom!
As the repulsive wave continued to spread, explosions erupted. Konoha's buildings vanished—not collapsed, but disintegrated.
There were no ruins, no wreckage—just erasure.
As the force swept through, everything in its path was reduced to ash. In its wake was a barren wasteland, solid and lifeless like iron.
Countless people died—civilians and ninjas alike, Genin and Chunin alike—unable to resist such divine power.
Only the Jonin, and even then only a few, managed to avoid the blast with their speed.
Outside the broadcast, viewers looked at the Hokage Rock—five carved faces representing the proud legacy of Konoha—being destroyed one by one.
Everyone fell silent.
Each Kage's expression turned grim. Every village was enveloped in despair.
They thought they had taken the Akatsuki seriously, but it still wasn't enough.
Not even close.
Raikage A's face was covered in bulging veins. When Konoha was first destroyed, he had chuckled and even exchanged jokes with the Druid.
But now…
Even though his prediction came true—Konoha really was destroyed by Akatsuki in a single jutsu—he felt no joy.
In fact, he wanted to slap himself.
That damn crow's mouth.
This kind of power, this godlike force—if Konoha couldn't withstand it, how could Kumogakure? How could any other village?
This wasn't the power of a ninja anymore.
Though he didn't want to admit it, he couldn't help thinking it:
This power did not belong to humans.
Clink.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe slipped from his gaping mouth. He didn't bother to retrieve it, and the two Anbu behind him didn't either, letting it fall from the rooftop and hit a passerby on the head.
Hiruzen's eyes were blank. He wanted to slap himself in the face.
Was this a movie?
Was this the kind of "shadow" that a Jonin could defeat?
He'd been such a fool!
One man—erasing a ninja village from the map. Was that something a mere Kage could do?
Even a Super Kage couldn't pull this off!
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt like his entire life had been wasted.
And to think he kept blaming Danzo for being short-sighted.
Now, it turned out, he was the blindest of them all.