Chapter 72: Super · Shinra Tensei
After Konoha retreated, Hanzō stepped to the very front of the Rain ninja army. He frowned as he watched the sudden withdrawal of Konoha forces, lost in thought.
"Lord Hanzō, Konoha has retreated. What should we do next?"
At that moment, one of Hanzō's subordinates ran up from behind and asked respectfully.
Hanzō turned and scanned the condition of his Rain ninja. Because of Ling Yu and the two girls' sudden intervention, Rain's casualties weren't much lighter than Konoha's. Pursuing now would be pointless.
"So decisive… They had such a clear advantage earlier. And even after Konoha retreated, why isn't that kid running?"
Then he looked up at Ling Yu, who was still flying in the center of the battlefield. His intuition told him the boy was extremely dangerous, so he immediately ordered his subordinates:
"Shoot him down. See if we can get that flying ninjutsu from him."
Hanzō was extremely envious of Ling Yu's flight technique. If he could obtain it, his own survival would be greatly assured.
"Attack! Bring him down!"
With the command given, hundreds of long-range ninjutsu—along with kunai, shuriken, and other projectiles—immediately rained toward Ling Yu from all directions.
"Want to hit me? Not even close!"
Ling Yu activated Space Power and flashed dozens of meters away, easily dodging the massive barrage.
"That technique… Flying Thunder God? Such talent… what a pity."
Looking up at the technique Ling Yu had just used—which closely resembled the S-rank space-time ninjutsu developed by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju—Hanzō shook his head inwardly and sighed:
Konoha truly produces geniuses one after another. The three who fought me evenly not long ago, and now this unknown kid with Flying Thunder God… If the Land of Rain had talents like this, rising as a small nation wouldn't be a dream.
Though he felt some regret, Hanzō still had to prioritize the bigger picture. He continued giving orders to his subordinates:
"Increase the intensity! Kill him if necessary. My intuition tells me the longer we delay, the more dangerous this becomes."
"Yes, sir!"
The Rain ninja's attacks immediately became even fiercer. All techniques were unleashed without restraint—even large quantities of explosive tags were thrown skyward, as if trying to completely seal off Ling Yu's escape routes.
Seeing this, Ling Yu could only continue dodging while gathering chakra. He waited until all Konoha forces had safely retreated from the battlefield before making his move.
Meanwhile, on the path of Konoha's retreat—
"Tsunade, what's going on? Weren't we winning just a moment ago? Why retreat so urgently? And Ling Yu is still in there!"
Jiraiya, walking beside Tsunade, pointed at Ling Yu—who was still dodging attacks in the sky—and asked in confusion.
He felt that if the battle had continued from the earlier momentum, Konoha's victory would have been certain.
Now that they had retreated, the Rain ninja would definitely be on high alert against Ling Yu and the others in the future. Recreating such an effect next time would be much harder.
"It's fine. We're retreating now, but victory is still guaranteed. The reason we pulled back so quickly is to protect Konoha's ninja. Otherwise, if Ling Yu unleashes his big move and accidentally hits us, that would be a disaster."
Tsunade kept glancing back at Ling Yu while calculating the distance between their position and the battlefield as she explained.
"Yeah, yeah! We've seen it with our own eyes—Ling Yu's big move is insane!"
Kushina exaggeratedly gestured toward Jiraiya.
Because the three of them had disobeyed Tsunade's orders and joined the fight on their own, Tsunade had grabbed them during the retreat.
Since their timely intervention had turned the tide of the battle, Tsunade didn't scold them—instead, she brought them along as they withdrew.
"That kid's big move is really that strong? Strong enough to worry about friendly fire?"
Jiraiya looked at Ling Yu—who had now stopped dodging—and still had trouble believing Tsunade and the girls.
"Sizzle—"
Holding his black blade, Ling Yu sliced apart another incoming attack. Seeing that Konoha's ninja had retreated to a safe distance, he finally prepared to unleash his ultimate technique.
Closing his eyes, Ling Yu gathered chakra and began charging for his final move.
"What's happening?"
Staring at the now-motionless Ling Yu, Hanzō suddenly felt an intense sense of unease. He urgently shouted to the Rain ninja:
"Quick! Kill him now while he's still!"
The moment his words fell, Ling Yu's eyes snapped open. The pupil power of his Rinnegan had reached its absolute peak.
Then, spreading both arms wide, his low, resonant voice echoed across the entire battlefield:
"Pitiful mortals… feel pain!"
"Super · Shinra Tensei!"
In an instant, an invisible repulsive force exploded outward from Ling Yu at supersonic speed.
BOOM—BOOM—
The sky itself seemed to collapse. Dark clouds were instantly blasted away, revealing sunlight that the Land of Rain hadn't seen in a long time.
The earth shook violently. With Ling Yu at the center, the ground began collapsing outward in all directions.
In just a few seconds, the entire battlefield was flattened.
When the aftermath faded, the once chaotic warzone had become a barren wasteland.
The multi-kilometer battlefield had sunk several meters deep. The Rain ninja closest to the center had vanished without a trace—as if erased from existence.
Ling Yu also used Space Power to leave the battlefield immediately after the technique ended.
"Pfft… what… what kind of power was that…"
Moments later, Danzo crawled out from underground, spitting out a mouthful of dirt.
Looking at the devastated battlefield, he finally understood why Konoha had retreated so urgently.
When he first sensed something was wrong, he had prepared to escape immediately. Fortunately, he had been far enough from Ling Yu to only suffer minor injuries.
But the Rain ninja closest to the center weren't so lucky. Except for those on the very edge, the rest had been buried alive.
After taking stock, only three or four hundred Rain ninja remained alive—and even their other Kage-level fighter had been gravely injured.
In an instant, the Land of Rain's forces had suffered catastrophic losses. They wouldn't be able to appear on the battlefield again for a long time.
On the Konoha retreat path, every Konoha ninja stopped in their tracks and stared blankly at the completely transformed battlefield.
They were incredibly grateful they had retreated when they did—otherwise, they would have been buried under the earth as well.
"So… so powerful…"
Jiraiya swallowed hard. He finally understood why Tsunade had ordered such an urgent retreat.
If a technique like that had been used on a Konoha battlefield, they wouldn't have fared any better than the Rain ninja.
"Ling Yu really wasn't exaggerating… If he unleashed that in Konoha village, the entire place would really be wiped off the map."
Though Tsunade had known Ling Yu's technique was powerful, seeing it with her own eyes still left her deeply shocked.
"Mm mm!" Kushina and Mikoto nodded vigorously in agreement.
"Stop staring—the battle's over. Let's go."
Just as they were still reeling from the shock, Ling Yu's voice suddenly came from behind them.
Ding! Host defeated Hanzō of the Salamander. Reward: Exquisite Chest ×2, Exchange Points +200.
"Ling Yu!"
Hearing his voice, the group quickly turned around.
"Holy—! You're insane, kid! What the hell was that technique just now? It's ridiculous!"
Jiraiya was the first to react. He slung an arm around Ling Yu's shoulders and grinned at him.
But every time Jiraiya smiled, it always looked so perverted that Ling Yu couldn't help but feel a little disgusted.
"Jiraiya—get off him! Only I can hug my little brother!"
At that moment, Tsunade shouted. With one kick, she sent Jiraiya flying. Then she scooped Ling Yu into her arms like a treasure and walked happily toward the Konoha camp.
"Come on—let's head back to camp. We're throwing a massive victory celebration for our great hero!"
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