Nagato's decision to destroy Rain Village and sacrifice it as a base wasn't a reckless move—it was pure strategy. He gave up one village to shatter the morale of the united ninja forces.
It worked.
This wasn't just any group of shinobi—they were elite squads from the Five Great Nations, handpicked for a joint assault. And yet, they had fallen apart before even engaging the real enemy.
Mist Shinobi had fared better than others—mainly thanks to Terumi Mei's sharp judgment and the fact that her troops were gathered closely around Andrew, who had already protected many with his Susanoo.
But if it weren't for the poison attack earlier, which slowed down Raikage's and Tsuchikage's teams, and if Mist Shinobi had also scattered through Rain Village, the losses would have been catastrophic.
Even so, the other four villages had suffered greatly.
At least three-quarters of their troops were gone.
"DAMN IT! The Akatsuki would go this far?!" Raikage exploded with rage. He looked around—there was no one from the Akatsuki to fight, no one from Rain Village even. He had no enemy to vent his fury on.
Just then, something strange happened.
A Rock Shinobi, standing close to Tsuchikage Onoki as a guard, suddenly turned and lunged at Terumi Mei with a kunai. His eyes were blank—he wasn't acting of his own will.
"Sharingan: Suppression!" Andrew activated his dojutsu instantly.
Even though he was currently using Byakugan to monitor chakra flow, his Sharingan was still functioning alongside it, showing the unique blend of his visual prowess. With a sudden burst of Senjutsu chakra, a wave of pressure descended on the attacker, forcing the Rock ninja flat on the ground.
Andrew noticed something unnatural.
"A chakra thread... This is puppetry!" he muttered.
Only puppet masters like Sasori—or even his fallen relative, Uchiha Kamasu—could manipulate chakra threads with such precision. But controlling a living person? That was something only Sasori had perfected.
Then came a childish voice, calm and eerie.
"Your Sharingan is scary, but that was a slow reaction."
Everyone turned toward the source.
A boyish figure with a red Akatsuki cloak and pale face stood atop a rubble pile. It was Sasori.
The Sand Shinobi veteran Baki twitched at the sight. "He turned himself into a puppet... completely. That's just... inhuman."
Andrew narrowed his eyes. "He's not even hiding anymore. That means they're getting serious."
Raikage roared and lunged at Sasori, electricity sparking off his body in full Lightning Style Armor mode. He was fast—faster than most could even track.
But Sasori reacted calmly, yanking back his chakra thread and pulling out a scroll with his other hand. From it, a massive army of puppets flooded the battlefield.
Andrew's mind raced. "That's Sasori's Hundred Puppet Technique... he really is going all in."
Even though the Allied Forces were still recovering, the presence of the Three Kage made a huge difference. Their leadership brought clarity and strength to the battlefield.
Onoki's Dust Release disintegrated multiple puppets in one blast. Terumi Mei's Lava and Boil Styles melted entire groups. And Raikage broke through ranks of puppets like a bulldozer, his fists shattering wooden limbs and iron masks.
The puppet army was no match for this trio.
Soon, only a handful of puppets remained.
Raikage closed in on Sasori, fist raised, ready to smash the core of the puppet master once and for all.
But just as his attack was about to land—
"Shinra Tensei!"
A sudden violent repulsive force blasted Raikage backward, sending him flying through shattered steel and broken earth.
Everyone froze.
Six figures descended silently from the sky, their cloaks swaying, eyes glowing purple.
"Six... SIX pairs of those eyes?!" someone gasped.
Even though most had never seen them before, the sheer power of the Rinnegan was undeniable. Every pair of eyes stared blankly ahead, emotionless, filled with overwhelming power.
Andrew stepped forward calmly. "They're not individuals. These are Six Paths of Pain. Just clones controlled by the Rinnegan. Don't panic."
Onoki, clearly shaken, looked at him with wide eyes.
Andrew's voice grew sharper. "You're the Tsuchikage! You've got the Will of Stone, don't you? Then act like it! You're too old to panic like a genin."
His words struck hard—but they were necessary.
The allied forces could not afford to break down now.
One of the Pains—Tendo (Deva Path)—turned his head slightly toward Andrew. "Uchiha Andrew... Your insight is strong. But knowing what we are won't save you. Strength is what matters."
Konan descended next, her wings of white paper unfurling behind her like a divine figure. Then came Obito and Black Zetsu, appearing from a swirling space-time vortex.
The battlefield went dead silent.
The full force of the Akatsuki had appeared.
They wore their iconic black cloaks with red clouds, surrounded by ash, smoke, and ruin. The memory of the earlier explosion trap still haunted the coalition, and now, with their enemies fully present... fear crept in.
But Andrew wasn't backing down.
"Strength? Then why did you need traps? If you had absolute power, you wouldn't have hidden. You would've faced us directly."
Tendo didn't respond.
Andrew continued, "You're strong, no doubt. But if you were truly unbeatable, you wouldn't have spent years gathering tailed beasts one by one."
He remembered how, in the original timeline, Nagato and Konan were only able to invade Konoha because it was defenseless—Tsunade was unconscious, Danzo was manipulating things behind the scenes, and Kakashi was outmatched due to poor intel.
But this wasn't that Konoha. This was a battlefield with three active Kage-level powerhouses.
Raikage's speed alone made Tendo's gravity-based attacks harder to land. Dust Release could obliterate bodies entirely, making revival impossible. And Terumi Mei's acid mists would dissolve any puppet or clone it touched.
Andrew's analysis was clear.
"Rinnegan is powerful, but not invincible. And we're not the same shinobi you ambushed before."
Even Onoki nodded. "I don't like you, but you're right. Let's give them hell."
Raikage cracked his knuckles, glaring at Tendo.
"I'm not done with you."
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End of Chapter 138
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