The street was blocked by rubble. Clouds of dust engulfed figures that failed to escape in time, and blood quickly stained the ruins and the road beneath. The destruction spread in every direction.
In the air, the three attackers from Sky Ninja Village who had finished their bombing watched coldly. One of them reported through a communicator, "Target Barrier Technique successfully destroyed." Without hesitation, they turned their flying Ninja Tool and rejoined the formation, heading deeper toward the most important areas of Konoha.
Before dawn's chill had fully faded, thin mist lingered among the trees and along the tall walls of Konoha. The quiet carried a sense of false calm.
At the village entrance, four Konoha Chunin on night duty struggled to stay alert. Two leaned against the gate and scanned the fog-covered forest, one sipped warm tea to fight drowsiness, and another checked entry records with his head lowered.
Boom!!
A dull explosion like rolling thunder erupted from deep within the village. More blasts followed, continuous and violent. The shock made the ground tremble beneath their feet.
"What's going on?" one Ninja straightened abruptly, shouting in alarm. His face filled with confusion and fear.
"Enemy attack!" another dropped his teacup, staring at the chaos inside the village. His voice shook as firelight and smoke rose into view. The others followed his gaze, stunned by the scene and the golden pillar of light they could not understand.
"Move!" the leader reacted fastest and turned to give orders.
Before he could finish.
A voice with clear mockery and amusement sounded behind them. It came from the misty forest shadows that should have been empty. "You four should worry about yourselves first."
The final syllable had barely fallen.
Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!
Several piercing shrieks tore through the air. The four Konoha had no time to turn or defend. In the next instant, arrows formed from highly compressed Chakra punched through their chests from behind.
They felt muscles tearing, ribs shattering, and organs rupturing. The pain stripped all strength from their bodies. Four fist-sized, clean-edged holes appeared over their hearts as warm blood sprayed out in violent streams.
"Uh…"
Their mouths opened, but no words came. Only broken blood foam spilled from their lips as they fell forward one by one, hitting the ground hard. Blood spread beneath them, pooling into a shocking red stain.
Their eyes remained wide open in death. Fear, confusion, and disbelief froze in their pupils. None of them closed their eyes.
Soft footsteps followed. Three figures walked out from the forest shadows and through the thinning mist, stepping onto the blood-soaked Konoha Gate.
Homura Mitokado lowered a longbow that gleamed with cold silver light. With a casual, mocking smile, he glanced at the twitching bodies at his feet. "Looks like Shennong and his people made quite a scene. They really pulled it off."
He raised his head and looked toward the distant chaos in Konoha. "But boss, this doesn't seem quite like what we expected, does it?" His tone stayed light, almost playful.
In the direction of the Ryoma Clan, a brighter and more sacred golden pillar of light stood out. It contrasted sharply with the explosions and smoke around it.
Nagato and Jigokudo looked at the pillar that pierced sky and earth. Though it was already weakening, it remained impossible to ignore.
"It seems we are not the only ones targeting Konoha." Nagato spoke calmly, his voice low and cold. "That makes things better."
"We proceed according to plan," he continued. "Split into a feint and a search." His gaze fell on Homura Mitokado. "The feint goes to Shennong and his air unit, and to you."
"Create as much chaos as possible. Draw in the attention of Konoha."
"The search is our responsibility," Jigokudo said. "We will identify the exact identity and location of Naruto Uzumaki." His tone was firm and precise.
"Remember, our objective is to take Naruto Uzumaki away. Once we succeed, we leave immediately and do not entangle ourselves with Konoha."
As soon as he finished speaking, the figures of Nagato and Jigokudo vanished from where they stood.
Homura Mitokado remained behind and shrugged with a helpless smile. "What heartless bosses," he muttered, the grin on his face widening as a thought crossed his mind.
If memory served him right, one of the Three Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, was currently in Konoha. According to the information he had gathered, his boss seemed to share a teacher-student bond with that man.
"Things just got interesting," Homura Mitokado said with a quiet laugh. "Let's see how the others are doing."
This was a desolate world separated from the Shinobi World by Obito, with laws entirely unlike those of any living land. The ground looked as if it were paved with ash, forming a pale desert that felt cold and dead underfoot. Above it hung an eternal black sky, broken only by a single Moon that radiated a miserable pale glow, shadows churning within as it gazed down upon this realm ruled by Obito and Zetsu.
Across the land stood countless withered forests twisted into grotesque shapes, their jagged branches bare and lifeless. Wandering through the pale sand were endless malformed, terrifying beings known as Crimson giant, howling as they drifted without purpose. Driven by raw instinct, they slaughtered and devoured one another whenever they met, trying in vain to fill the hollow within their own souls.
At the same time, new souls were constantly drawn into this world and eroded by the negative spiritual energy that filled it, quickly transforming into fresh Crimson giant that joined the endless killing and feeding. In this place, the rule was simple and absolute. The weak were eaten by the strong.
Yet all of these mindless creatures avoided the center of the desert, keeping far away from the towering pale palace that stood there. It was as if something inside made them tremble with fear from the depths of their souls. That fear kept them from ever approaching its gates.
Deep within the palace called Box of Ultimate Bliss, inside a vast side hall built entirely from pale bone, a violent battle raged in sharp contrast to the dead silence outside. A deafening explosion slammed into the hall, the shockwave crashing against the hard walls and spreading out in ripples that failed to leave a mark. The palace itself remained unmoved.
"Even if this is a recognized Huanwei Xuezhan approved by that lord, still," Ryoma said lazily, arms crossed as he leaned against a pillar. He glanced toward Naruto Uzumaki and added, "Is it really fine to let them keep fighting like this? These two have been at it for a full day and night."
Behind Naruto Uzumaki, countless black chains stretched out and sealed the entire hall, turning it into an arena completely cut off from Obito. He did not answer his question and simply watched the two figures clashing in the distance. His expression remained calm and unreadable.
Inside the hall, two inhuman figures smashed into each other again and again, separating only to collide once more. One was a tall, slender figure over two meters in height, his limbs covered in smooth, hard bone that traced the explosive strength of his muscles. Crimson bone arms extended from his body, fingers twisted and heavy with pressure, while rib bones wrapped around his torso to form a moving barrier of offense and defense.