"I'm sorry, Lady Tsunade, the barrier set up by Fujiwara Kirito is too powerful. It's completely different from the one released by the masked man at the Uchiha base. Unless Kakashi uses Kamui, otherwise..."
At the end, Karin's voice gradually weakened.
The scene suddenly became quiet.
Everyone knew Kakashi had sacrificed himself.
Just at this moment, an abrupt voice suddenly sounded, "It seems that you still don't understand what's going on."
The Uchiha Flame Formation gradually dissipated, and with a bang, the smoke cleared, revealing Fujiwara Kirito standing before them.
"Fujiwara Kirito." The Anbu were shocked. Without hesitation and ignoring the difference in power, they all drew their blades and charged toward Kirito.
Kirito pursed his lips into a smile. His right hand symbolically formed a seal. Countless petals floated from Kirito's body, wrapping the Anbu mid-air. One by one, they fell unconscious.
"Kirito, what are you doing?" With the Anbu down and no outsiders around, Tsunade stepped forward, teary-eyed, grabbed Kirito's collar, and asked angrily.
At that moment, he felt completely unfamiliar to her.
It was one thing if he ignored Pain's attack on Konoha.
After all, he owed Konoha nothing. On the contrary, Kirito had secretly protected the village for years.
It was understandable that he set up a barrier to prevent others from joining the battle. He was protecting his wife and daughter and didn't want them to get hurt.
Even if Kirito had simply watched from the sidelines, she would have had no complaints.
But he attacked and severely injured Might Guy, one of Konoha's strongest.
If not for that, with Guy's support through the Eight Gates, perhaps Kakashi would not have…
"What am I doing? You'll see soon." Kirito released Tsunade's hand, turned toward the direction Tendo had flown, and said, "Follow me."
He flew toward the Konoha gate.
Tsunade, Chinatsu, Hinata, and Karin exchanged glances before quickly following.
On the way, many surviving Konoha ninjas saw their Hokage chasing an Akatsuki member. Trusting their leader, they joined the pursuit.
"A bag of rice has to bear several floors (feel the pain);"
"A bag of rice has to bear two floors (think about the pain);"
"A bag of rice has a lot of fatigue (accept the pain);"
"A bag of rice has a lot of fatigue (understand the pain)."
Floating in the sky, Deva Path kept muttering.
Under the influence of the Kyōka Suigetsu, Deva Path was unknowingly drifting away from Konoha.
When Kirito and the Konoha ninjas led by Tsunade arrived at the village gate, Deva Path had already moved far enough away.
"It's about time." Kirito looked to the sky, smiled, and purple cloud wings emerged from his back. With a flap, he shot into the sky and disappeared like a streak of light.
As this happened, Tendo raised his arms and roared, "There is mud in your mouth, who gave you a bag of rice Shinra Tenxing! (Let the world feel pain, Shinra Tensei!)"
In Kirito's view, the ground beneath Deva Path split at the center, spreading destruction in every direction.
Wherever it passed, everything was repelled. A massive wave of wind, dust, and rubble forced Konoha's people to raise their arms in defense.
As the ruins approached them, Fujiwara Chinatsu quickly used Sage Chakra to release a giant earth wall in Kakashi's likeness, nearly fifty meters high—almost level with Konoha's own walls.
Even then, it couldn't block all the debris. At the critical moment, Karin used the Diamond Seal to create a barrier, saving the villagers from being buried.
Everyone stood in shock. Was this really the power of Akatsuki's leader, Pain?
Such destructive force had far surpassed ordinary ninjutsu.
Even Chinatsu, who always considered herself a genius and held no ninja in high regard except her father Kirito, was stunned.
Others may have only seen the surface, but her Observation Haki allowed her to see the whole truth.
Like a monochrome image, the area of destruction was dozens of miles in radius—Konoha's entire size—completely flattened.
No, more accurately, hollowed out. The land itself had been excavated, forming a crater hundreds of meters deep.
In terms of destructive power alone, it rivaled the Super S-rank Lightning Release Kirito once used while chasing Sasuke and disciplining him.
"Karin." Tsunade was the first to recover. "Dispel the barrier."
"I know." Karin controlled the diamond chains to push away debris. Tsunade stepped onto the earth wall.
Chinatsu, Karin, Hinata, and several Anbu followed her closely.
When they saw the massive crater with their own eyes, their jaws dropped.
Only then did Tsunade understand what Kirito had done.
If Pain had cast that jutsu inside Konoha, the entire village would have been destroyed.
"Karin, quickly locate Pain."
"Teacher, Pain's chakra suddenly dropped by more than half. It seems using this jutsu came at a great cost."
"Pain is still in the air."
Without needing Tsunade's prompt, Karin had already begun sensing. She stopped her seals and explained.
Suddenly, Karin's face changed. "Wait."
"What is it?" Tsunade asked with a frown.
Before Karin could respond, Chinatsu answered, "Naruto is back."
There was one more person she didn't mention—Jiraiya.
Although Kirito had sealed Jiraiya's chakra, Chinatsu could still sense it with her Observation Haki.
"Where is this?" Jiraiya's first words after being released by Kirito.
"Konoha. More precisely, the main gate," Kirito answered from beside him.
They were standing atop a massive rock, invisible to the naked eye.
Even the Byakugan wouldn't detect it without intentional searching.
"Then… what is that crater?" Jiraiya stared wide-eyed at the endless, dust-filled pit.
"That was your disciple with the Rinnegan," Kirito said, arms crossed and tone playful. "Pain is in Konoha to capture the Nine-Tails. He's already killed many people—Kakashi too."
"So… Nagato has come to this point…"
Jiraiya covered his face, voice heavy with regret and guilt.
Kirito added, "Your other disciple Naruto has returned. Looks like he's learned Sage Jutsu from Mount Myoboku. He's planning to avenge you. How about it interested in watching the fight between the two 'Children of Destiny' the Great Toad Sage mentioned?"
(End of this chapter)