At this very moment, aboard the aerial fortress named Ancor Vantiann."
Countless Sky Ninja were holding their breath, staring at the colossal, rock celestial body suspended in the air like a miracle in the distance.
"This, this is simply..."
A young Sky Ninja unconsciously muttered, his voice slightly trembling from the shock, barely finding the right words to describe the sight before him.
"Can this kind of power truly still be called a ninjutsu?" was all he could articulate.
Gulp!
A comrade beside him swallowed hard, his eyes vacant. He whispered as if in a trance: "This is something only a god could accomplish."
"Even our Lord Shinno, who now controls the power of the 'Zero-Tailed Beast,' probably..."
He was cut off mid-sentence by an experienced middle-aged Sky Ninja, whose face had changed dramatically. The latter quickly reached out and clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Shut up! Do you want to die?!" the middle-aged Sky Ninja hissed, lowering his voice. His startled gaze darted toward the Sky Ninja captain standing nearby.
However, the captain, usually known for his cold and strict demeanor, did not reprimand his subordinate for the slip of the tongue this time.
He, too, silently watched the distance, his hands clenched into fists behind his back, his expression profoundly solemn. A bead of cold sweat, barely noticeable, had even broken out on his forehead.
Clearly, even these Sky Ninja, who were arrogant and believed that technology and the power of the Zero-Tailed Beast were enough to overthrow the Five Great Nations, had to concede.
The cataclysmic power before them had far exceeded the limits of "human capability," reaching a height that inspired both despair and awe.
"Is Konoha finished now?" the Sky Ninja captain sighed.
Meanwhile, in the central control room of the fortress, a massive stone throne was placed in the center.
The one seated on the stone throne was not the fortress's original master, Shinno, but Nagato, who was currently controlling the Six Paths of Pain.
His eyes were tightly shut as he sat on the stone throne. A layer of shriveled, gray-white Spiral Zetsu, looking as if much of its vitality had been drained, tightly encased his body.
"Huu! Huu!"
Nagato's back was deeply hunched, his chest rising and falling violently. Each breath was heavy and labored, accompanied by a distinct wheezing sound, like an old bellows.
Although the presence of Zetsu, known as "Tobi," meant that using Chibaku Tensei no longer consumed his own life force, the excessive expenditure of chakra was still a heavy burden.
Konan stood silently before the giant observation window, watching the enormous Chibaku Tensei in the distance. She frowned slightly, her face etched with deep worry.
"Nagato," she turned around, her cool voice carrying an undisguised fear, "is it necessary to go to this extent?"
She knew very well that to use a Chibaku Tensei of this scale, even the current Nagato would have to pour all his power and concentration into the Tendo Pain.
The other Pains sent to assist other Akatsuki teams in capturing Tailed Beasts had likely lost control, and she worried about any potential negative consequences.
"Cough! Cough-cough!"
Nagato let out a weak cough, his voice hoarse like a broken bellows: "That fellow, Hyūga Kawa, his eyes are not right..."
He paused there, his profound Rinnegan slowly opening, still sensing some residual tremor.
"The Rinnegan sent a warning. This has never happened before. We cannot be careless," he continued.
"What?"
Hearing this, Konan's expression instantly changed, a look of shock and uncertainty flashing in her eyes: "That Hyūga Kawa's eyes, they can actually make the Rinnegan feel threatened?"
This was completely beyond her comprehension.
The Rinnegan, the "Eyes of God" that commanded life and death, had always been Akatsuki's greatest reliance.
But now...
Konan frowned deeply. After pondering for a moment, she decisively spoke: "To be safe, let Shinno drive the fortress and deliver a supplementary strike. Eliminate that threat completely!"
Nagato did not object, weakly nodding his head.
At this moment, he truly did not want to see any more variables.
Konan immediately transmitted the instruction via a black receiver rod.
Shinno was in the energy room right below them, the room originally meant to house the "Zero-Tailed Beast."
Soon, the entire fortress gradually began to tremble!
Oom!
A fierce fluctuation of chakra began to converge deep within the fortress.
The markings on the walls, which were previously only faintly glowing, suddenly lit up to their maximum intensity. Chakra was being directed towards the gigantic main cannon muzzle at the bottom of the fortress!
Feeling the forming chakra fluctuation emanating from beneath their feet, both Nagato and Konan unconsciously breathed a silent sigh of relief.
As long as this final strike landed, Hyūga Kawa, the biggest variable, would be thoroughly eliminated.
At that point, capturing the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki would be as easy as reaching into a pocket...
However, just as this thought arose,
Nagato suddenly sensed something and abruptly opened his eyes. A flash of unbelievable horror instantly crossed his exhausted Rinnegan!
He sharply turned his head, looking toward the scene outside the observation window.
"What..." Konan was startled by his sudden reaction and instinctively followed his gaze outwards.
Then, they saw it.
It wasn't just the two of them.
At this moment, on every observation window, every corridor, and every deck of the vast aerial fortress, all the Sky Ninja stood frozen in place.
Without exception, the depths of their widened pupils reflected that golden light.
A brilliant, sharp golden light, seemingly transformed into a single golden light sword piercing the heavens!
From the inside out, it effortlessly penetrated the dense rock layers!
From the bottom up, it shot irresistibly into the high-altitude clouds!
The next moment, the golden light slashed down...
Tsk!!
There was no deafening explosion, only a sharp tearing sound, as if space itself was being sliced smoothly!
With an almost unstoppable momentum, it cleaved the despairingly massive structure of the Chibaku Tensei in two, slowly carving out a gigantic, mirror-smooth cross-section!
Even the heavy clouds and smoke blanketing Konoha were split down the middle by this single strike, revealing the long-absent sky behind them.
The rising morning sun on the horizon shone its warm light through this gigantic rift, illuminating the ruins below, and also the deck of the distant aerial fortress.
Yet, the Sky Ninja bathed in this warm sunlight felt no warmth at all.
On the contrary, a chilling cold, as if it had pierced the distance of space, instantly plunged them into an ice cellar. The most primal fear seized their hearts!
"What is that?"
"Is it another god?"
Mutterings of confusion and terror rose throughout the fortress. All discipline was instantly replaced by the most primal fear.
But quickly, they watched as the golden light that had cleaved the Chibaku Tensei did not stop. It was heading straight for their fortress!
"Turn quickly!"
The Sky Ninja captain's eyes were bloodshot. His fear-crazed shriek echoed throughout the fortress, his voice twisted and distorted by terror.
"No! It's too late! Find cov—"
However, before he could finish his words, the golden light had already consumed all their vision, crushing down upon them like the sky collapsing!
Slice!
With a calmness that inspired despair, the golden light made contact with the aerial fortress's armor, emitting only a faint cutting sound.
There was no violent explosion, no clash of energy.
Like a red-hot dining knife slicing through butter, it simply swept through effortlessly.
The aerial fortress was smoothly severed through the middle. Broken pipelines spewed electrical arcs and flames...
RUMBLE!!
The delayed sound of a massive explosion finally roared out, deafeningly loud.
Countless metal fragments and human remains were scattered by the force of the blast.
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