Whoosh!
A moment later, the raging air currents slowly subsided, and the billowing smoke and dust gradually dispersed.
The Fourth Raikage stood in the center of the massive crater, slowly raising his heavily muscled arm. He casually brushed the dust from his Raikage coat, scanning the devastated battlefield around him.
The area surrounding the crater was densely covered with shattered rock fragments—the remnants of the stone soldiers completely pulverized by his single blow.
"Hmph!" The Fourth Raikage let out a cold, disdainful snort, his voice echoing like dull thunder across the silent battlefield. "Is that all you've got?"
However, the instant his voice fell, a sharp whistling sound suddenly came from high in the sky.
The Fourth Raikage subconsciously looked up and saw Deidara standing on the back of a giant bird molded from white clay.
His long blonde hair whipped wildly in the wind, and a sickly, fervent smile of excitement was plastered on his face as he violently swung both hands downward!
Swish! Swish!
Dozens of thumb-sized, miniature spider-shaped white clay bombs rained down densely from the sky, scattering among the groups of stone soldiers that hadn't been completely destroyed.
"Art is an explosion!"
Deidara let out an excited, strange yell, forming a hand sign and shouting: "Katsu!"
Boom!!
A continuous chain of explosions instantly erupted in the stone soldier ranks. Blinding firelight consumed a large area, and fragments of rock and smoke spread everywhere once again!
The Fourth Raikage's figure instantly leaped out of the firelight, landing a short distance away. Although his reaction was swift, he was still covered in dust and ash, his face turning an instant, sooty black.
"Hey! Ōnoki!"
He looked up at Ōnoki, who was flying mid-air using 'Earth Release: Added-Weight Rock Technique,' and couldn't help but curse: "Are you people from Iwagakure trying to blow me up, too?"
Hearing this, Ōnoki looked at Deidara in the sky and feigned a shout: "Brat, be a little gentler! That's the Kumogakure..."
"Shut up, old man!"
Before Ōnoki could finish, Deidara impatiently interrupted: "You promised me that if I came with you, you'd let me explode to my heart's content!"
With that, he hurled a few more clay birds, triggering another fierce explosion. The terrifying power caused the onlookers to narrow their eyes slightly.
Though they had heard of a person named Deidara in Iwagakure, they mostly knew him by his reputation as an explosive terrorist.
It was rumored that the guy dared to bomb the Tsuchikage's own office building in Iwagakure, leading the dust-covered Ōnoki to curse him out more than once.
They hadn't expected the secret jutsu he wielded to be so potent, and he possessed the mobility of flight.
If this guy suddenly flew over their village, dropped a pile of bombs, and immediately left, no one would likely be able to stop him.
Ōnoki withdrew his gaze from Deidara, looked down at the grim-faced Fourth Raikage, shrugged, and smiled: "My apologies, Lord Raikage, but as you can see."
"Alas, the youth of today are like this. They just won't listen to an old man like me."
Ōnoki's tone was entirely one of boasting, devoid of any genuine anger.
The Fourth Raikage's temple throbbed with a popping vein. Just as he was about to erupt, he was interrupted again by the arrival of Rasa.
"Stop arguing," Rasa's voice carried a hint of solemnity. "Haven't you noticed? Your attacks are ineffective against those stone statues."
Hearing this, the Fourth Raikage and Ōnoki simultaneously looked toward the areas affected by the explosions.
They saw the stone fragments that had been shattered and blasted away trembling and converging as if drawn by an invisible force, re-forming into complete stone soldiers.
"Huh?" Deidara frowned in annoyance, looking at the restored statues. "These damn things aren't artistic at all!"
"These stone statues cannot be destroyed by brute force alone," Yagura Karatachi commented, looking up at Ōnoki politely. "Lord Tsuchikage, I'm afraid I'll need your help."
"Tch."
Ōnoki grumbled with dissatisfaction, raising his hands in front of him. He slowly opened his clasped palms, and a glowing, transparent cubic barrier formed between them.
"Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
With Ōnoki's low roar, the transparent cubic barrier shot out, enveloping a group of stone soldiers.
Hiss!!
A plume of smoke rose within the barrier. When the smoke and the barrier dissipated and vanished, the stone soldiers were completely gone, leaving only a deep, neatly edged cubic pit.
"It works!"
The tense expressions of the people present eased at the sight.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! What's with those expressions?" Ōnoki immediately complained. "You're not planning on making an old man like me disintegrate all these stone statues, are you?"
"Who knows how many of these things there are? I couldn't kill them all even if you worked me to death!"
Hearing this, everyone looked at the seemingly endless ranks of stone statues and realized that relying on Ōnoki alone was indeed unfeasible.
'Dust Release' was a Kekkei Tōta (Bloodline Limit/Selection) formed by combining Wind, Earth, and Fire nature transformations, which transcended Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline Limits).
While its power to reduce an opponent to an atomic state and turn them to dust was terrifying, each use consumed a significant amount of chakra.
"Father!"
"Lord Raikage!"
The voices of Kitsuchi and Yugito Nii rang out almost simultaneously, drawing the attention of everyone present in their direction.
Kitsuchi's posture was solid. In his hand, he tightly gripped a large single-handed axe with an ancient design, its edge glinting with cold light.
His arms were heavily muscled, and he swung the massive axe with powerful force. The whistling wind, accompanied by a heavy slicing sound, struck several stone soldiers.
Crunch! Crack!
The hard rock bodies shattered like rotten wood before the axe's edge, sending fragments flying.
At the same time, Yugito Nii, agile and quick, gripped a long truncheon, entirely black and wreathed in Lightning Release Chakra!
With a skillful flick of her wrist, the truncheon-like ninja tool extended into a long whip, tracing a sharp trajectory through the air, striking several stone statues with an ear-splitting snap!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The stone soldiers struck by the whip instantly exploded under the savage Lightning Release Chakra and immense force, scattering fragments everywhere!
The fragments of the stone soldiers shattered by the massive axe and blasted by the whip did not tremble, converge, or restore themselves as before.
Instead, wisps of faint, purplish mist, emitting a cold aura, emanated from the broken rock pieces.
As if drawn by an unseen force, the mist drifted toward Kitsuchi's giant axe and Yugito's whip, being silently absorbed by the two strangely shaped ninja tools!
The edge of the giant axe seemed to shine even colder after absorbing the mist, and the electrical arcs dancing on the whip appeared brighter and more violent.
"Hmm?"
"What's going on?"
Yagura Karatachi and Rasa frowned, clear confusion on their faces.
Conversely, the informed Fourth Raikage and Ōnoki exchanged glances, their eyes sparkling with realization, a look of barely suppressed excitement flashing across their faces.
The Fourth Raikage did not hesitate. He tightly gripped his right fist, which was encased in a heavy arm guard. Savage lightning surged around his body again, and he violently smashed toward the surrounding stone statues!
Boom! Boom!
Every punch from the Fourth Raikage contained terrifying power, instantly shattering large numbers of stone soldiers under the brutal assault.
Similarly, wisps of purplish-black mist emanated from the shattered rocks and were sucked into his arm guard. The patterns on the arm guard seemed to faintly glow.
"Hahaha!" The Fourth Raikage couldn't help but laugh. "I knew it!"
Kitsuchi's giant axe, named 'Kusanagi Sword,' Yugito's whip, named the 'God-Striking Whip,' and his own arm guard, named the 'Arm of Thunderclap'...
All three ninja tools were obtained from that mysterious underground palace in the Land of Hot Water!
After all this time, Kumogakure and Iwagakure had long figured out the characteristics of these ninja tools, knowing that killing and absorbing souls would enhance the tools' power and abilities.
After realizing this, they had attempted to kill criminals and enemies to absorb their souls and reinforce the tools, but the power gained was insignificant.
The souls of ordinary criminals and ninja were of little use and could not significantly enhance the tools' power.
Unless they engaged in wanton slaughter to gain quantity, but they weren't madmen like Hidan, who indiscriminately killed enemies and allies alike. Where would they find so many people to kill?
They had thought it would take a long time to fully unearth the hidden power of these tools.
But to their surprise, killing these stone soldiers, which were powered by Mōryō's energy, yielded a similar effect!
The enhancement provided by a single stone statue was comparable to that of a skilled Genjutsu ninja!
This was an absolutely delightful surprise!
"Yugito!"
"Kitsuchi!"
The Fourth Raikage and Ōnoki roared in unison, their voices filled with barely concealed excitement.
They realized that the reason the stone soldiers were immortal was that wisps of Mōryō's power animated them.
That energy was actually Mōryō's spiritual energy!
Bang! Bang! Bang!!
The Fourth Raikage, Yugito Nii, and Kitsuchi leaped without hesitation, their eyes burning with fervor, into the dense ranks of the stone army!
In their eyes, these troublesome 'unkillable' things had now transformed into the perfect nourishment to nurture their ninja tools and enhance their power!
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kakashi Hatake instantly appeared at the edge of the battlefield.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned by the sight on the battlefield. But seeing the three Kage allies fiercely cutting down the stone soldiers and the purplish-black mist being absorbed by their ninja tools...
Knowing the characteristics of those ninja tools, he instantly realized what was happening. He looked at Kakashi beside him and said solemnly, "Kakashi, you go 'help' as well!"
Hearing this, Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly. He immediately drew the short sword 'Envy' slung behind his waist.
The moment the blade left its sheath, a cold flash of light seemed to cut through the air. He flashed forward, a swift streak of silver, joining the harvesting feast against the stone soldiers!
The atmosphere on the battlefield instantly shifted from grim and tense to one of almost frantic competition!
"What are they doing?"
"What is that purple mist?"
Only the six individuals from Sunagakure and Kirigakure frowned, utterly confused by the scene.
However, just as the four individuals were eagerly attacking and absorbing the spiritual energy!
Two figures, like ghosts, appeared without warning behind Yugito Nii and the Fourth Raikage, respectively!
The Fourth Raikage's sharp, beast-like combat instincts were triggered the moment he sensed the presence behind him.
"You're asking for death!!"
Sensing the killing intent, he roared, not even pausing to think. His body snapped back like a coiled spring!
His left arm, wreathed in savage lightning and not covered by the arm guard, swung with terrifying, mountain-shattering force and a screech, smashing without reserve toward the figure that had suddenly appeared behind him!
However, upon seeing the face beneath the figure's hood—seeing that pale, bone-like mask with its bizarre smile—he paused momentarily.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who noticed the anomaly and sharply turned his head, saw the familiar figure and felt the familiar aura. He instinctively called out the name of the long-missing Sannin:
"Orochimaru?!"
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