Chapter 110: A Parting Gift

Chapter 110: A Parting Gift

The vast battlefield lay eerily silent.

Though only one figure stood in the open, the two thousand Cloud ninja encircling him remained frozen, barely daring to breathe, their bodies taut with tension.

Only the Fourth Raikage seemed unfazed. He gazed at Danzō Shimura, now a human puppet, with a mix of pity and disdain. “The leader of Root, a former Hokage candidate, the infamous ‘shadow’ of the Hidden Leaf—reduced to a puppet of a Suna traitor. And to have your strings pulled into performing our lost Flying Thunder God Technique? How bitterly ironic.”

Danzō said nothing. He gripped his sword, then hurled a kunai at the Raikage.

“Such tricks grew stale when I fought the Fourth Hokage,” the Raikage scoffed. His body crackling with lightning chakra, he vanished like a flash of space-time ninjutsu, reappearing to Danzō’s left with a slashing hand strike.

Danzō vanished too, reappearing beside the flying kunai.

But the Raikage materialized again at his side, his face twisted into a savage grin. “I’ve always wondered—up close, which is faster? The Flying Thunder God or my Lightning Release Chakra Mode? Since the Fourth Hokage never answered, you’ll settle this for him.”

“Lightning Release: Lariat!”

The Raikage’s arm blurred downward. This time, Danzō met it head-on, his wind-chakra-infused blade clashing against the lightning-wreathed strike.

Wind countered lightning. A lesser Wind Release would falter, but Danzō’s mastery—honed through Izayoi’s Rinnegan-awakened prowess—was peerless.

Unless the Raikage possessed a body as unyielding as the Third Raikage’s, this strike would cleave through his chakra nature.

The Raikage stood motionless, as if inviting the blade.

Then, as their attacks collided, he vanished.

“Lightning Release: Heavy Hail!”

A thunderous roar erupted from behind. The Raikage’s lightning-charged elbow, sheathed in metal armor, smashed toward Danzō’s skull with earth-shattering force.

Danzō remained still, blade raised—until a wooden vine sprouted at his feet, etched with a seal formula.

As the Raikage’s elbow neared, Danzō teleported, reappearing beside the Raikage’s arm. His sword arced downward.

The strike was blindingly fast. Sparks flew as the wind-chakra blade carved a gash into the Raikage’s armor. But the Raikage vanished mid-blow.

“Whoever controls Danzō is a genius,” White Zetsu murmured, arriving unseen. “Using Wood Release to create Flying Thunder God markers? If their technique were stronger, this puppet would be unstoppable. I wonder what Sasori would think of this.”

Black Zetsu said nothing. Their sensory ability, capable of detecting even Asura and Indra’s chakra, swept the battlefield. Finding nothing, they muttered, “This mystery man is tied to Orochimaru. Danzō’s body combines Sasori’s puppetry and Orochimaru’s experiments. He’s likely grafting Wood Release onto other puppets—turning them all into Flying Thunder God users.”

White Zetsu shuddered. “Terrifying.”

Back in the fray, the duel intensified. Danzō and the Raikage flickered like shadows, their movements silent yet relentless, probing for a fatal opening.

Whether Danzō reappeared beside a kunai or sprouted Wood Release vines mid-fall, the Raikage matched him.

Except for one surprise strike, the Raikage now held his ground.

Yet compared to Minato and the Raikage’s past clash, Danzō’s reliance on Wood Release marked his decline.

“Too slow… too rigid,” Danzō’s Wood Clone muttered, hidden by his Shōgan. “A corpse lacks the fluidity of life. Effective against weaker foes, but against equals? A fatal flaw.”

His lips curled. “But my ace isn’t just the Flying Thunder God.”

As if in response, Danzō’s Mangekyō Sharingan flared. The Raikage glimpsed a colossal Mangekyō illusion—just long enough for Danzō to seal his light.

“Genjutsu: Shadow Clone Technique!”

Danzō lunged, pressing his palm to the Raikage’s chest—only for a massive octopus tentacle to yank the Raikage aside. The seal branded the tentacle instead.

The attacker hurled the Raikage skyward, then severed the marked tentacle with a splash. Another tendril caught the Raikage mid-air.

“It’s Killer B!”

“AB’s together now—we’ve won!”

The Cloud ninja erupted in cheers. The savior was none other than the Fourth Raikage’s brother—Killer B, the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki of Kumogakure.

“It’s already too late. That mysterious figure must finally make a move, right?” White Zetsu said, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Black Zetsu, meanwhile, expanded his extraordinary sensory range once more.

Obito Uchiha, who had appeared just as silently, stared at Danzō Shimura’s right eye and spoke: “Is that the Kotoamatsukami in Danzō’s right eye? Uchiha Shisui’s Mangekyō? That eye is extremely dangerous—we need to find a chance to reclaim it.”

Obito, who wielded Kamui, feared no ninjutsu—but genjutsu, especially powerful ones, were his weakness. That’s why he held no fear for Nagato, yet deeply dreaded Itachi Uchiha.

The Tsukuyomi wasn’t just devastatingly strong; it could expose his true identity—not Uchiha Madara. Once that happened, neither Itachi nor Nagato would fear him.

And Kotoamatsukami was even more terrifying than Tsukuyomi.

Compared to that mysterious figure, Obito now prioritized reclaiming this eye.

Hearing this, Black Zetsu felt a surge of exasperation. What an idiot. Can’t tell who’s the bigger threat. If Kotoamatsukami were truly that powerful, the mastermind behind the scenes wouldn’t have embedded it into a mere Human Puppet. Someone without Eternal Mangekyō could never grasp the true might of the ultimate dōjutsu.

On the battlefield, Killer B caught the Fourth Raikage mid-fall, helping him break free from the Shadow Clone Technique. He then taunted with a rap rhythm: “Yo, bro, you looked like a total mess! If it weren’t for my timely arrival, you’d be toast—game over!”

The Fourth Raikage didn’t take offense. Instead, his face lit up with joy: “Bee, you’re right on time! Let’s team up—we must at least keep that Human Puppet here.”

The Raikage, nearly ambushed to death, now burned with pure killing intent.

Too terrifying!

Akatsuki was simply too fearsome.

This was just a Human Puppet from Sasori of the Red Sand, yet it had pushed him to the brink. And the Akatsuki leader, rumored to possess the Sage’s Eye, hadn’t even acted yet.

Seeing his brother’s seriousness, Killer B dropped his playful tone. He drew two blades resembling bee stingers, his body radiating crimson Tailed Beast Chakra as he growled: “Then let’s show that bastard the power of the AB combo!”

Watching the AB duo’s aura shift dramatically with just one addition, Danzō Shimura slowly sheathed his ninja blade. His right eye’s Mangekyō Sharingan reverted to the Tomoe Sharingan.

The Fourth Raikage’s voice deepened: “Trying to flee? You have the Flying Thunder God Technique—I can’t stop you. But this attack crosses the line. We admit our fault for sending spies to Amegakure, but this warning is way beyond proportionate. If you run without answers, prepare for Tailed Beast Ball bombardments on Amegakure!”

Obito Uchiha: “….”

White Zetsu: “….”

“…This is just too shameless!” White Zetsu stammered, uncharacteristically flustered. “So the mysterious figure’s trying to pin the destruction of Kumogakure on us again?!”

“We must inform Nagato immediately,” Black Zetsu said grimly. “The Preta Path can absorb chakra, but Kumogakure has two jinchūriki and space-time techniques like the Flying Thunder God. We can’t predict if they’ll launch a Tailed Beast Ball strike. We need countermeasures before it happens.”

Obito remained silent, feeling inferior.

He thought disguising himself as Uchiha Madara and appearing as Tobi was shameless enough.

But now he understood—it was a whole new level. He finally grasped what Itachi and Nagato had endured.

So this is what shamelessness truly looks like!

Yet the next moment, Obito and White Zetsu realized they’d still underestimated the mysterious figure.

“We of Akatsuki accept your challenge!”

A voice, cold and authoritative, echoed from the sky.

All eyes turned upward.

Under the starlit night, a crimson-clouded black figure stood in the moonlight, etched into the eyes of every Kumo ninja.

Those purple-ringed eyes, like a god surveying mortals, devoid of emotion.

The terrifying power of the dōjutsu within made everyone shudder involuntarily.

No need for words—they all confirmed one truth.

The Hidden Leaf’s intelligence was correct.

The Six Paths Sage’s eyes from myth—the legendary Rinnegan, the pinnacle of the Three Great Dōjutsu—was real!

All stood frozen, staring at the descending deity, Izayoi.

Obito turned to White Zetsu: “What do you sense?”

“Too chaotic,” Black Zetsu finally hissed through gritted teeth. “Our intel was compromised. He’s absorbed massive chakra beforehand—the fluctuations are a tangled mess, at least hundreds, maybe thousands of chakra signatures. Impossible to track.”

“He anticipated even this?” Obito gazed at the ‘Pain (Deva Path)’ above, his masked face tightening with grimness.

Their original plan was simple: use White Zetsu’s perception to record the mysterious figure’s chakra signature, deploy countless White Zetsu clones to hunt it down, and swarm the enemy.

But the opponent had already countered—absorbing vast chakra to mask their trail.

A terrifying foe indeed.

Izayoi loomed over the Fourth Raikage, declaring Nagato’s war: “We chose your strongest Kumogakure as our first strike to warn the entire ninja world—no one defies a god! If you resist, whether through strategic strikes, full-scale war, or a coalition assault on Amegakure, we of Akatsuki welcome it all!”

“Of course… only if you survive.”

With those words, Izayoi slowly raised his arms.

“Watch out—scatter, everyone!”

Though unsure of Izayoi’s intent, the Fourth Raikage’s face paled as he roared.

Killer B, without hesitation, fully transformed into the Eight-Tails, wrapping the Raikage in his massive tentacles and charging a Tailed Beast Ball.

The Kumo ninja, recalling the devastation of Celestial Flame Rain, fled instantly—some toward shelters, others leaping to distant peaks.

Quick-thinking ninja activated sealing techniques: “Four Violet Flames Formation!”

Others, versed in multiple nature transformations, unleashed Earth Release jutsu, erecting sturdy fortifications on-site.

As the multi-layered barriers and stone walls formed, a cold voice descended from above.

“Feel pain… this is the gift of parting… Super Shinra Tensei!”

Blinding white light tore through the darkness, engulfing Kumogakure. Every ninja, eyes wide with terror and despair, turned to monochrome silhouettes in a comic, then vanished like ink erased by an omnipotent hand.

Boom—

A deafening explosion.

Unparalleled to Celestial Flame Rain’s bombardment, yet for Kumogakure, the destruction was equally fatal. The dust cloud spread from the mountaintop, enveloping the peaks like daytime fog, concealing their heights.

The violent tremors shook the already crumbling mountains.

Had the mountain’s mass not dwarfed its neighbors, it would’ve collapsed entirely.

Even standing, Kumogakure could never rebuild atop this peak.

When the dust finally cleared, the once crater-pocked village—where a few structures had survived—was now a single, colossal crater.

No debris, no rubble—every object expelled outward by an absolute force.

One of the Five Great Villages, and currently the strongest, was gone.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end