Chapter 186 – The Fall of the Hidden Cloud
"Boil Release – Skillful Mist Technique!"
"Lightning Release – Grateful Wave!"
"Lava Release – Dissolving Monster Technique!"
"Lightning Release – Black Spot Difference!"
At the same moment Kitagawa Gen faced off against the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails, Mei Terumi and Deidara were also forced down by the Hidden Cloud ninja.
It wasn't entirely their fault—caught in the shockwaves from the battle between Yugito Nii and the Eight-Tails' host, they lost control.
And then, Darui's Storm Release finished the job, sending them crashing down!
Of course, Deidara had already been itching for action.
He'd had his fun with explosives, so naturally, it was time to try a different approach.
"You bastards… you really deserve to die!"
Darui cursed bitterly as he pressed the attack.
"Attacking another village so recklessly—you will pay for this!"
"Oi, oi, oi… pretty sure you guys were the ones who attacked Konoha first, yeah?"
Deidara rolled his eyes and, with a sneer, tossed a handful of clay.
The next moment—BOOM! Several Hidden Cloud shinobi who had been rushing to help were blown away in an instant.
"And what's it to you? You from Konoha?"
C countered coldly, attacking in sync with Darui.
"And do your villages even know what you're doing? This will only bring disaster on your own people!"
"Save your pointless chatter."
Mei Terumi dodged an incoming strike, her hands forming seals mid-movement.
"Kirigakure and Iwagakure are now allies with Konoha. How we act is our choice. If you want someone to blame, blame your own arrogance."
Lava Release – Dissolving Monster Technique!
A stream of thick, yellow, highly corrosive acid spewed from her mouth, hurtling toward the Hidden Cloud shinobi.
"Scatter!"
Darui, now deadly serious, ordered his men to split apart. His eyes then flicked to the other battlefield.
Chakra surged through him as he locked his gaze on Deidara and Mei Terumi.
"No matter your reasons, your fate is sealed. Whether it's you… or that Wood Release user, Kitagawa Gen—"
"If you dared to cause trouble in the Hidden Cloud, you must die!"
"Tch… you're not just arrogant—you're in a league of your own. No wonder the old man despises you lot."
Deidara dug at his ear, clearly annoyed. Mei Terumi nodded in agreement.
"Big talk. When you steal others' Kekkei Genkai and secret scrolls, do you ever care what they say?"
"They don't matter. You do. And we will kill you."
Darui's voice was cold, and his men tightened their encirclement.
"The Two-Tails and Eight-Tails will crush your village and slaughter every last one of you!"
BOOM—
Before Darui could finish, an overwhelming wave of chakra exploded skyward. The ground trembled violently beneath everyone's feet.
"What is that?"
"What's happening?"
"Such powerful chakra!"
"What… in the world is going on over there?"
The sheer magnitude of it stunned everyone. In disbelief, they turned toward the source.
Amid swirling dust, an oppressive aura seemed to weigh upon the world itself. Through the haze, a voice rang faintly:
"As expected… Two-Tails, Eight-Tails—you're strong. Strong enough that I'll have to go all out."
Going all out?
The Hidden Cloud shinobi exchanged puzzled looks. There was no question that the tailed beasts were powerful—but what did "going all out" mean here?
The answer came an instant later.
Through the rising smoke, with chakra roaring like a storm, a colossal shadow loomed overhead.
A giant Buddha, towering into the clouds, slowly emerged.
Its face was serene, almost compassionate—but the chakra radiating from it crushed all hope.
The statue grew higher and higher, blotting out the sky. Even the mountain peaks of the Hidden Cloud seemed ready to crumble beneath its weight.
Shrouded in drifting clouds like auspicious mists, the thousand-meter-tall Buddha looked as if it would suppress the entire world.
Silence fell. The sheer sight left many trembling.
Clang!
A kunai slipped from a Cloud ninja's fingers. His eyes were empty, his face pale.
"This… this is a joke, right? No one can be this monstrous…"
The fear was contagious. Shock, despair, and hopelessness rippled through the ranks.
Darui's forehead was beaded with cold sweat.
"This… this is the power to pacify the world? With strength like this, how can the current ninja world even exist?"
C and Samui stood frozen. They couldn't comprehend why someone so powerful would allow the Five Great Villages to coexist—why he hadn't already united the world under his rule.
But right now, one thing was clear—they were staring death in the face.
"Oi… we should run."
Mei Terumi's voice was oddly calm, though her eyes betrayed her astonishment.
"Yeah… I think so too."
Even Deidara, usually fearless, nodded blankly.
Every Cloud ninja stood paralyzed. The Two-Tails and Eight-Tails themselves began to doubt.
They had once fought Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju, but—
"Was it ever this bad before…?"
Their tails bristled. Inside them, Killer B and Yugito Nii were pale as ghosts. They didn't even understand what kind of monster they were facing.
"First time using it, so forgive the lack of polish."
Kitagawa Gen's voice drifted through the air. Standing atop the Buddha's head, his figure looked tiny—but his chakra blazed like the sun.
He almost sounded regretful. Indeed, he was—he didn't know how to use Susanoo.
A Susanoo wrapped around this Buddha… now that would have been something.
"But no matter… are you ready?"
Ready?
The question was like a death sentence. In an instant, the colossal Buddha moved.
Its massive arms—dozens of them—swung down, every strike brimming with sage chakra.
BOOM—
BOOM—
BOOM—
The blows fell like the end of the world.
The Eight-Tails and Two-Tails roared, fighting desperately, trying to charge Tailed Beast Bombs.
But just as they released them—CRASH!—the Buddha's fists shattered them instantly.
The explosions rippled outward, but against this giant, they were nothing.
Even when a few arms were destroyed, more replaced them instantly, and the broken ones regenerated at terrifying speed.
The fists rained down endlessly, the ground splitting and cracking beneath the onslaught.
The tailed beasts screamed. Without Susanoo-like armor, every hit struck flesh and bone—pure agony.
Mountains collapsed, the earth crumbled, and the beasts' chakra rapidly dissipated.
With one final, earth-shaking blow, the mountaintop disintegrated.
Stone fell like rain. Smoke billowed skyward.
And the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails… were utterly annihilated.
At the border of the Land of Lightning, the assembled ninja forces felt the ground shudder violently beneath their feet, and the air above was thick with an overwhelming surge of chakra.
A wave of confusion and unease rippled through the ranks — they had no idea what was happening.
"My lord, it's bad—!"
Inside the command post, several jōnin were in the middle of a strategy meeting when a messenger burst in, pale and breathless.
"Something terrible has happened!"
"What is it? Konoha?"
The commander shot to his feet, his expression dark and heavy.
The Chūnin Exams had already cost them their Raikage, and now they stood on the brink of war.
Being a militant people, they didn't shy away from conflict — war thrilled them.
Even so, they knew this war was different. They faced a coalition of the Three Great Villages. Reckless enthusiasm could get them destroyed, so every move had to be made with the utmost caution.
"No… it's not Konoha," the sensory ninja stammered, shaking his head. His gaze was fixed on the horizon, horror in his eyes.
"The chakra surge… it's coming from the village. From Kumogakure itself!"
"What?!"
"Impossible!"
The command post erupted in disbelief. The commander lunged forward, grabbing the sensory ninja by the collar. His dark skin flushed red with rage.
"Do you even hear yourself? How could the village be in trouble? Don't forget — there are still two of our lords there!"
"They… they…" The sensory ninja's voice faltered, but he forced the words out through clenched teeth.
"Their chakra flared too… but they failed."
"What?!"
Shock froze the room. They didn't know the details, but one thing was certain — Kumogakure was in grave danger.
And they weren't the only ones who noticed.
On the border of the Land of Hot Water, Konoha's own forces had sensed it as well. Unsure of the cause, they quickly relayed the news back to the Leaf and tightened their defenses.
---
Inside Kumogakure
A suffocating haze of dust and smoke hung over the village, shrouding the ruins in silence.
After the rampage of the True Several Thousand Hands, only desolation remained.
The land itself was scarred beyond recognition. Towering peaks had crumbled to rubble, and the once-bustling streets lay in ruins.
Ninja lay scattered like broken dolls — some dead in the wake of the overwhelming shockwaves, others so obliterated that not even their bodies could be found.
Those who still drew breath stared blankly at the colossal wooden Buddha looming above them, their fighting spirit completely crushed.
"What… what kind of power is this?"
Darui knelt among the wreckage, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon. C, Samui, and the others stood beside him, equally numb.
What they were witnessing was far beyond anything they had imagined.
"Tch, tch… I suppose you could call this a form of art," Deidara muttered from above, though his voice carried an edge of unease.
That earth-shattering power had made even his skin crawl. He was starting to wonder if such a force could even be real.
"Enough chatter. Let's regroup with Gen," Mei Terumī cut in sharply.
Her voice was calm, but inside, she too was shaken to her core. This level of destruction was utterly demoralizing.
In that moment, she had only one resolve — no matter what, the alliance between Kirigakure and Konoha must remain unshakable.
---
"So, you're here."
The voice came from behind them. They turned to find Kitagawa Gen standing there as if he had simply appeared out of thin air.
"Eh? Gen!"
Deidara brightened immediately, while Mei blinked, still dazed, before asking:
"You're not hurt?"
"Relax, I'm fine," Gen replied with a faint smile. Then, after a pause, he added, "Though I did burn through a lot of energy. I'll need some proper rest."
Of course, by "rest" he meant replenishing the God Tree's Source within him — not sleeping.
Pushing the Source to its limits worked beautifully, he thought, but the drain was massive. Still…
[Side Mission Complete: Hidden Cloud Collapse]
[Punch first, ask questions while punching]
[Reward Calculation in Progress]
Looking over the aftermath, he nodded in satisfaction.
The game might change with every new "version," but in this one — and in any era — the True Thousand Hands was a force that could dominate the battlefield.
"Oh, right," Mei spoke up hesitantly, "those two you fought…?"
Deidara perked up.
"Yeah, what about them? Don't tell me they're dead?"
"Them? Nah," Gen said casually, glancing toward the shattered land as if he could still see them.
"Not dead — but they won't be getting up anytime soon. Anyway…"
He turned back to them with a faint grin.
"Congratulations. Mission accomplished."
"Kumogakure… has fallen."