In this era, the largest explosion that the ninjas and civilians of the five great ninja villages had ever witnessed was the Tailed Beast Ball—a terrifying force that could level several small mountains and shift the tides of war.
But now, whether it was the vest-wearing Chunin and elite Jonin, or the Akatsuki members who had the power to threaten the Five Kage, all of them felt—
The power of the Tailed Beasts… was nothing special.
Even Yugito and Killer Bee, who had become perfect Jinchūriki, for the first time, felt their own insignificance.
Before all three forces—
Orange-red mushroom clouds were rising one after another.
The rumbling explosions hadn't even reached them yet, but the terrifying shockwaves had already swept over like hurricanes.
Many Cloud Ninjas who thought they were far enough away to be safe were knocked to the ground by the howling wind.
Even those who managed to anchor themselves with chakra at their feet were still blown back, shielding their eyes from the violent wind.
Before they could see anything more, the dust clouds and earthquakes overwhelmed them completely.
The entire army was thrown into disarray in an instant.
On the Akatsuki side, Deidara and Sasori, who were flying on a clay bird, were also blown off course. They had to abandon the bird and land on a rocky outcrop to continue watching.
Though they weren't directly hit by the winds, dust, or quake—
The impact they felt in their hearts was far greater than that of the Cloud Ninja Army.
In an era without god-tier forces, these S-rank rogue ninjas had long seen themselves as the strongest in the ninja world.
Even the Five Kage might not win against them in one-on-one combat.
And if it came to escaping, they could disappear in a flash.
Just recently, Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame had entered and left Konoha—one of the five great villages—as they pleased.
But now, these prideful men felt… completely powerless.
Before those two monsters, they were no different from the Fourth Raikage or the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki—just toys in their hands.
They didn't even need to use such large-scale techniques.
The thought of being targeted by someone like that sent a chill down their spines.
Thankfully… one of those monsters was their leader.
With such power on their side, they were at least better off than the five great nations.
It was unclear how long the meteor shower lasted.
But in that time, the wind and dust had already swallowed up all three parties.
Except for Hinata, who was still unaffected more than twenty kilometers away—
Everyone else could see nothing but gray.
The shockwaves and tremors were so intense that even elite ninjas struggled to stay upright.
The violent shaking even reached the Hidden Rain Village.
Fortunately, most buildings in the village were made of reinforced steel and protected by barriers. Konan had already returned, and the villagers took shelter underground.
When the explosions and howling winds finally died down…
A gust of wind swept away the dust—
All three parties looked toward the battlefield between Izayoi and Nagato.
There, a thick sea of dust remained. So dense that stepping into it, one couldn't even see their own hand in front of their face.
It was like walking into a sandstorm in the desert.
Boom—
Just as a sensory ninja finished making hand signs to perform chakra detection on the two monsters—
The dust in front suddenly dispersed.
To be exact, the top layer was blown away by a terrifying gust.
But this wasn't repulsion.
"W-What is that?"
"Are you kidding me? Another meteorite?!"
"…"
Everyone stared wide-eyed, trembling.
It really was another meteorite.
But different from the previous ones, this one didn't streak down wrapped in flames—it wasn't burning like a fireball.
Instead, it dropped straight down like a falling mountain.
The shockwave it generated blew away the dense fog and even split open a hole in the dark clouds, revealing blue skies and the midday sun.
The sky trembled!
As the meteorite fell and stirred the dust again, a massive repulsion wave blasted it away—
It twisted into a swirling airflow, like the invisible hand of God, catching the falling meteorite.
The super meteorite, suspended in mid-air, cracked from the bottom up at visible speed.
Within moments, the mountain-sized boulder shattered into countless stones—
They shot into the sky like bullets, piercing the clouds like a hornet's nest.
As the repulsion wave faded, the hole in the sky remained.
Then… another meteorite fell.
All three parties were numb at this point.
RUMBLE…
The ground shook again. A massive wooden Buddha statue, hundreds of meters tall and covered in hundreds of giant arms, rose from the earth.
As soon as the statue appeared, it swung its arms—each punch capable of smashing mountains—
And struck the meteorite from below.
BOOM!
The falling mountain was smashed to pieces once more.
Many of the Buddha's arms were also broken and torn apart.
The debris poured down like a torrential rain of boulders.
And then… a third meteorite fell.
This time, the Buddha statue couldn't smash it in time.
But Nagato, standing atop the statue's head, remained calm.
The Buddha's head moved, lifted its gaze, and opened its mouth.
FWOOOOOSH—
Five-colored chakra flames blasted upward, merging into a towering five-element flame pillar.
It struck the meteorite mid-air—
BOOM!
A giant firework exploded in the sky.
The shockwave turned into another sweeping hurricane.
"It's over… this is another dimension entirely!"
"How many times have they cast jutsu like this? Aren't they running out of chakra?!"
"Is this how the Valley of the End came to be?!"
All three factions stood numbly in the wind.
Even a perfect Jinchūriki couldn't fire Tailed Beast Balls repeatedly.
Yet these two monsters were unleashing techniques stronger than Tailed Beast Balls—again and again.
Such chakra reserves… such mastery over ninjutsu…
The watching ninjas began to doubt themselves.
Are we really the elites of the five great ninja villages?
They were all ninjas—yet the gap felt immeasurable.
When the third meteorite exploded like a firework—
No more rocks fell from the clouds.
But…
A small black figure descended from the hole.
It was Izayoi—still in the form of the 19-year-old "Ōtsutsuki Toneri."
Even now, he maintained that arrogant air.
His Rinnegan, like the eyes of a god, surveyed all life below.
But on closer inspection—
Izayoi's breathing had grown slightly ragged.
Sweat glistened on his forehead beneath the white hair.
Even with vast chakra reserves, those earlier techniques had consumed a great deal.
Nagato was in the same boat.
If not for the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki's chakra, Nagato might've been worse off.
Super Shinra Tensei, Wood Release: Woodman Technique, Five-Element Flame Pillar…
All consumed unfathomable amounts of chakra.
Izayoi's gravity-based techniques—on par with Super Shinra Tensei—were similarly draining.
Without the Rinnegan's farsight, capable of locking onto meteors from outer space, he couldn't have summoned such an overwhelming meteor shower.
Even if he could drag down meteors by sheer chakra, without precise targeting, it'd be meaningless.
And with Nagato possessing the Hungry Ghost Path, Izayoi's usual trump card—Shinra Tensei—was ineffective.
Wood Release couldn't be exposed.
If it was, Nagato—wearing Afei's armor—would have the advantage.
Unless Izayoi had already mastered the Eight Gates and could open the seventh, he had no other option but to summon meteors.
To his surprise, Nagato and Afei could actually use Tree World Advent and Woodman Technique.
This meant the golden-level Wood Release had been fully integrated into their power.
Nagato, enhanced by Afei's armor, now stood on par with the Tailed Beast-powered Uchiha Madara at the Valley of the End.
Possibly stronger—
Because Madara at that time didn't have the Hungry Ghost Path.
Along with the Six Paths and Wood Release, Nagato also had the Outer Path: Gedo Statue.
His chakra dragons were like a fusion of the Hungry Ghost Path and the Human Path.
One above, one below.
Two Samsara Eyes gazed at each other—able to see through chakra flows.
They each noticed:
Their remaining chakra was nearly equal.
Nagato, thanks to the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, had slightly more.
But that slight advantage wouldn't change the outcome.
If Izayoi summoned another wave of meteors, Nagato would have to spend even more to defend.
Likewise, if Izayoi had more chakra, it wouldn't guarantee he could defeat Nagato.
Unless one of them found outside help or a fatal weakness… this match would not end.
At that moment, Izayoi subconsciously turned his head toward the Hidden Rain Village.
Nagato's face changed drastically.
If his gravity range weren't so limited, he'd have already tried to drag Izayoi down.
Just as Nagato poured chakra into the Buddha statue to prepare the Five-Element Combo again—
Suddenly, his expression shifted and his eyes widened.
Far away, Uchiha Obito and Black/White Zetsu—who had been watching with their Sharingan and perception—noticed something.
"Hiss…"
In the sky, Izayoi suddenly gasped, raising a hand to cover his eyes.
A second later, his lips curled into a grin.
He said with excitement:
"So you're finally coming? Not willing to stay sealed, huh?"
In the perspective of Nagato and Obito—and under Zetsu's perception—
Izayoi's brain began secreting chakra, rapidly gathering in his eyes.
His pupil power, which had been near exhaustion, was now flaring anew.
Izayoi felt his eyeballs writhing—like something inside was crawling, itching, and stabbing—making it impossible to fight properly.
Just like Uchiha Sasuke during his transplant recovery period.
Izayoi lowered his hand, closed his eyes, and pointed at Nagato.
With arrogance in his tone, he declared:
"The Outer Path: Gedo Statue will remain with you… for now, thief.
Our battle—no, the battle between Samsara Eyes—has only just begun."
As his words ended—
Izayoi vanished.
"Retreat!!"
All three factions snapped out of their daze.
They immediately issued orders and began fleeing the Rain Country in afterimages.
The visitor from the moon had vanished—leaving only the Akatsuki leader behind.
If he wanted revenge now, they'd all die here.
Even the self-important Fourth Raikage chose to leave.
From this moment forward, the strongest force in the ninja world…
Was no longer the Five Great Nations.
It was the return of the era of the Ninja God and the Ninja World Shura.
Or more accurately…
A new era had arrived.
The Raikage could not die.
He had to make sure the Hidden Cloud Village survived in this new age.
That was his duty.
"Izayoi-kun…"
Twenty kilometers away, Hinata looked at the sky with worried eyes.
The others didn't know that "Ōtsutsuki Toneri" was actually Izayoi.
But she did.
She was also the fourth person to see Izayoi's brain release chakra.
Hinata had seen it once—back in March last year.
She didn't know the exact "fetal movement" period of the Samsara Eye.
But she knew this state would leave Izayoi weak for a while.
She was worried that his Wood Clone might be affected—and his identity exposed.
"The war is over. Let's go back."
Izayoi's Wood Clone simply smiled at her.
Then turned to lead the team back toward the Land of Fire.
Of course… he knew exactly what she was worried about.
If it were just a Shadow Clone, it would've dispelled by now.
But the Wood Clone was different. As long as it absorbed chakra from others, it could remain active.
Even the abilities of the Samsara Eye during fetal movement could still be used by the Wood Clone.
The main body's weakness… had no effect on it.
Seeing this, Hinata finally relaxed.
She stared at Izayoi's back—her beautiful eyes full of admiration and love.
If Aburame Shino weren't nearby—
And if that weren't just a Wood Clone—
Hinata would've thrown herself into his arms already.
Her boyfriend had never looked more handsome.