Iwa-nin Annihilated

The heaviness of stone was both the nature transformation of Earth Style and the Will of Stone of Iwagakure.

"Combined Ninjutsu, Earth Style: Earth Stone Dragon!"

Rumble!

The ground split apart as more than a dozen Iwa-nin shouted in unison. Their Earth Style ninjutsu summoned a massive earth dragon seven or eight meters wide and dozens of meters long.

"Iwagakure’s Combined Ninjutsu really is terrifying, but even this will probably still have a hard time threatening Amegakure’s leader, Senior Shikaku."

Watching and gathering intelligence from afar, Hyuga Homura spoke while desperately attaching Chakra to his feet to keep himself steady.

Every collision between the Iwa-nin’s Earth Style and the Rinnegan produced terrifying tremors.

Even from this distance, they could feel the ground shaking violently. Without using Chakra to cling to the ground, they would surely have been thrown off their feet.

Nara Shikaku raised an arm before his face to keep flying stones from striking him. "Homura, what ability is that short-haired Rinnegan user using?"

"What I can roughly confirm is gravitational pull and omnidirectional impact. It may differ from a Chakra shockwave; repulsion would probably be more accurate… Watch out, it’s coming again."

Hyuga Homura warned them with a shocked expression. His Byakugan saw the short-haired Rinnegan youth raise his hand once more.

"Shinra Tensei!"

Without forming any hand seals, the orange-haired youth merely lifted a hand. An invisible repulsive force erupted around him, like a wall of air in every direction, pushing outward.

A semicircular crater appeared in the ground as the repulsive force slammed directly into the Iwa-nin’s Combined Ninjutsu, the Earth Stone Dragon.

"Damn it, push it back!!"

The Iwa-nin Captain roared, veins bulging across his forehead. Then, together with his teammates, he continuously poured out Chakra, trying to maintain the Earth Stone Dragon.

Boom!

The Earth Stone Dragon did not last long before Shinra Tensei’s repulsive force shattered it. The overwhelming force did not weaken in the slightest as it swept toward the Iwa-nin behind the earth wall.

"Arghhh!!"

Mountains of stone collapsed and fragments flew everywhere. In that clash of ninjutsu, at least another four or five Iwa-nin died.

"Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"

Ōnoki seized the chance to fly into the air at the side. He formed a transparent conical barrier in his hands, which instantly expanded and blasted toward Deva Path Pain.

"Your timing was good. As expected of the Third Tsuchikage."

After seeing Ōnoki launch a surprise attack with Kekkei Tōta, Deva Path Pain spoke calmly. Yet there was no praise in his tone, only provocation.

The Naraka Path directly threw the Preta Path into the air. At the instant Dust Release struck, the Preta Path moved in front of Deva Path Pain.

Sealing Technique Absorption All!

The Preta Path absorbed the entire conical barrier of Dust Release. Even when Ōnoki increased his Chakra output, Dust Release could not break through the Preta Path’s Sealing Technique Absorption All.

"Damn it!!"

Ōnoki cursed bitterly, then ended his Dust Release and retreated through the air. The angle he had attacked from had clearly been a blind spot, yet the enemy had still reacted.

Seeing Ōnoki’s ambush fail, Kitsuchi on the ground immediately shouted an order. "The next team, keep going! Release your ninjutsu!"

The Will of Stone lay in steadfast endurance. Even with their comrades’ corpses right beside them, they could not give up!

That was how they had worn the Third Raikage to death. Although Amegakure’s leader possessed the Rinnegan, he would be no exception.

"It failed again, Senior Shikaku. Just as you predicted, the Rinnegan user who used repulsion didn’t look toward the Third Tsuchikage, but the other two noticed the Third Tsuchikage’s movements."

Hyuga Homura quickly relayed the intelligence he had seen. Nara Shikaku nodded with a certain look on his face.

"Just as I guessed. This gives us intelligence on the abilities of five Rinnegan users."

Nara Shikaku looked at the Iwa-nin’s miserable state. By now, over a hundred Iwa-nin had likely died, yet they had not even figured out all of the Rinnegan’s abilities. And even if they knew them, how could they deal with that repulsive force…?

"Combined Ninjutsu, Earth Style: Earth Mausoleum Style!"

Boom, crack!

A Combined Earth Style performed by more than a dozen people had not worked, so this time they used dozens. Even Kitsuchi joined them, his face twisted with ferocity as he released Chakra.

A colossal stone giant thirty meters tall condensed from the ground before the Iwa-nin. As long as their Chakra supply did not stop, even if this stone giant was destroyed, it would quickly restore itself.

"You keep supplying Chakra. I’ll control it!"

Kitsuchi shouted before leaping onto the stone giant.

"Roar, roar, roar!"

Under Kitsuchi’s control, the stone giant over thirty meters tall swung a massive palm at the five Pains.

The enormous force of the palm whipped up violent winds. Against an attack like this, even the Preta Path had no time to absorb ninjutsu.

Boom, crack!

The stone palm smashed directly into where Pain had been standing, but the stone giant was not particularly fast. The five Pains had already leaped away before the attack landed.

Boom, crack!

After slamming a massive crater into the ground, the stone giant’s palm shattered into seven or eight huge chunks under the fierce recoil. But after the Iwa-nin jointly supplied Chakra, it soon returned to normal.

"Alright, we blocked it!"

The Iwa-nin supplying Chakra cheered. This way, they could use their endless Chakra to wear down that damned enemy.

The distant Iwa-nin were also overjoyed. After suffering such enormous casualties, they had finally managed to block that damned enemy head-on.

"I’ll help too!"

"Me too! I can use Earth Style: Earth Mausoleum Style as well!"

Under the command of the squad captain, the Iwa-nin who knew this jutsu quickly formed another full team. They once again demonstrated the Will of Stone, joining forces to face every enemy!

"Earth Style: Earth Mausoleum Style!"

Rumble!

A stone colossus slightly smaller than the one Kitsuchi controlled condensed from the ground once more. Step by step, amid earth-shaking tremors, it arrived on the other side of Deva Path Pain.

Fortunately, this area was mostly plains, providing enough room for the stone giants to move. Otherwise, one giant over thirty meters tall and another over twenty meters tall would have been difficult to deploy.

"When ants gather together, they may indeed gain great confidence. But once you witness the true power of God, you will come to deeply understand pain."

Deva Path Pain spoke calmly as he flew higher into the sky.

At the same time, the other five Pains turned into smoke and were reverse-summoned back by Nagato.

When Konan saw Nagato summon back every Pain except the Deva Path, she immediately guessed one possibility. Frowning slightly, she asked, "Nagato, are you going to use that jutsu?"

"Don’t worry. In my current condition, it won’t consume my lifespan. I’ll recover after resting for a while."

Nagato said calmly, "If the great nations cannot experience the same pain, people will never be able to understand one another."

Deva Path Pain flew higher and higher until he reached a height beyond the reach of ninjutsu. Unless Ōnoki used the Light-Weight Rock Technique to fly up, but without the stone giants’ support, he alone might not be able to break the Rinnegan’s jutsu.

"Father, what is that guy trying to do?"

Kitsuchi frowned in confusion. First, five people disappeared, then the remaining one flew high into the sky. Was he planning to flee after realizing the situation was unfavorable?

Ōnoki shook his head. "This old man doesn’t know either, but stay alert."

From afar, seeing Deva Path Pain rise higher, Nara Shikaku immediately turned and asked, "Homura, what is that guy doing?"

"I can’t see, Senior Shikaku. This distance has exceeded my Byakugan’s range of vision." Hyuga Homura shook his head, then turned with Shikaku to look at Shibi Aburame beside them.

"Don’t look at me. My insects can’t fly that high either."

Shibi Aburame spoke in an even tone. Adjusting his sunglasses, he added, "But that guy should be preparing an extremely powerful ninjutsu. The insects in my body are becoming restless."

Once Deva Path Pain had gathered enough Chakra, he spread his hands. The Rinnegan seemed to bloom with dazzling light.

"Shinra Tensei!"

An invisible repulsive force burst from Deva Path Pain’s body. The air, dust, clouds, everything was pushed away by that terrifying force.

From a distance, it looked as though an invisible sphere was expanding in every direction from Deva Path Pain.

"It’s coming!!"

Ōnoki’s eyes widened as he formed the white cubic barrier of Dust Release in his hands. Yet before he could use this Kekkei Tōta, he sensed that this attack was unlike the previous ones.

Vast! Terrifying!

It was like helpless, insignificant humans facing a natural disaster. Any means of resistance seemed utterly powerless before such dreadful might.

"Father, watch out!"

Kitsuchi also sensed that this attack differed from the others. He hurriedly had the stone giant protect Ōnoki, but the instant he completed that action, the terrifying attack had already arrived.

Rumble!

A circular crater four or five meters deep instantly appeared in the ground, as though an invisible sphere had crushed it inward from thin air. Then the crater spread in every direction. Forest trees, rocks, clods of earth—everything was blown away by Shinra Tensei’s invisible repulsive force.

"Watch out—urgh!"

Before Shikaku could finish his warning, he was directly caught in the collateral damage. He, Hyuga Homura, and Shibi Aburame had no time to dodge or defend themselves. They were swept in all directions along with the surging earth and rocks, like a flash flood bursting downhill.

The earth shook and the mountains trembled. In just a few dozen seconds, this place had become a plain spanning several thousand meters, as though it had been plowed over.

No one could react, much less respond, resist, or defend themselves. Even Kitsuchi had only managed a single action. Everyone else was hit by Shinra Tensei before they could even react.

Only after seven or eight minutes did injured survivors gradually push away the soil, rocks, broken trees, and mangled corpses pinning them down, slowly rising to their feet.

When they saw the scene before them, their eyes were full of confusion.

Where was the ninja troop?

Where were Lord of Earth and Lord Kitsuchi?

What had just happened?

"Hiss… my arm is broken."

Nara Shikaku gritted his teeth against the pain wracking his body. He pushed away the tree trunk pressing down on him and barely managed to stand.

Seeing the devastation before him, Nara Shikaku froze for a moment. He murmured softly, "What just happened…?"

"Senior Shikaku."

Hyuga Homura’s weak voice reached him. Ignoring the pain in his body, Nara Shikaku immediately headed toward the source of Hyuga Homura’s voice and pulled him from the ruins.

"Senior Shikaku, where’s Shibi? I remember he was just—"

Before Hyuga Homura could finish, he saw Shibi Aburame’s body, severed in two and scattered elsewhere.

"Now isn’t the time to grieve. The enemy is still here!"

Nara Shikaku spoke in a deep voice. Looking at the figure in the sky, he felt both fury and a trace of fear.

With this level of strength, this jutsu, Konoha alone could never deal with him. Fortunately, Amegakure’s leader had targeted the Iwa-nin first. Otherwise, they would have had no choice but to join forces with the Iwa-nin.

"Homura, use your Byakugan to locate the Tsuchikage!"