On the semicircular high wall of the arena, Jiraiya, having entered Sage Mode, stepped over to join Might Guy and the others. Beside him stood Orochimaru, his robes partially disheveled from the earlier confrontation.
"Lord Jiraiya, this is…?" Seeing Orochimaru's somewhat familiar profile, Might Guy asked hesitantly, his expression shifting slightly.
Hearing this, Jiraiya glanced sideways at Orochimaru but said nothing. At this moment, everyone's attention was focused on the Akatsuki members outside the high wall, and on Suijin and Kagutsuchi, who had suddenly appeared.
The Divine Court! This mysterious and powerful organization was actually on Konoha's side, and had even intervened to save Naruto, Yuhi Kurenai, and the others. Many were still struggling to process this sudden, unexpected turn of events.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
And just then, from the direction of the village in the distance, a colossal, mountain-like Wood Golem rose from the earth. Simultaneously, countless massive arms extending from the Wood Golem's back slammed down towards the ground below. The sight was utterly terrifying. A continuous series of deafening explosions thundered, and an immense cloud of dust and smoke billowed upwards, slowly obscuring the lower half of the Wood Golem.
Gazing at the Wood Golem, which, shrouded in the dense smoke, looked like a true Buddha calmly surveying the ravaged land, many felt a profound sense of fear and awe. Under such a powerful, saturation-style attack, who could possibly survive? Was this truly a power that mere ninja could possess?
Not only were the Konoha ninja aghast, but even the members of Akatsuki were all momentarily stunned into silence.
"That is Hashirama's technique!" Perched on Jiraiya's shoulder, Fukasaku, the elder toad sage, suddenly exclaimed. Hearing this, both Jiraiya and Orochimaru turned to look at him. Although Jiraiya and Orochimaru had lived through that era, they had been too young at the time and had never personally witnessed a battle between Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. Konoha possessed records of the Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands technique, but its true, devastating power was unknown to them. Without having witnessed it firsthand, who could have imagined that Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha of that bygone era were so incredibly, overwhelmingly powerful?
Opposite them, Tendo Pain, Obito, and the others had also heard Fukasaku's words. Tendo Pain, in particular, turned his head and looked at Obito with a deeply meaningful expression. This fellow had always claimed to be Madara Uchiha, but judging from his reaction to seeing the True Several Thousand Hands, there was no hint of familiarity whatsoever. Indeed, he was an impostor.
Thinking this, Tendo Pain formed a hand seal, then slammed his right hand onto the ground.
Poof!
A cloud of white smoke erupted, and the withered, colossal, and terrifying form of the Gedo Statue appeared in everyone's sight.
ROOOOAR!
The Gedo Statue, having absorbed a large amount of Tailed Beast chakra, let out a deafening roar, and a terrifying, oppressive aura instantly swept across the entire battlefield.
"What is that?!" Seeing the Gedo Statue, the Konoha Genin exchanged bewildered glances. Sasuke was about to leap forward and re-engage in battle.
On the high wall, a white figure floated upwards. It was Suijin. At this moment, Suijin had entered his Tenseigan Chakra Mode.
"Such immense chakra!" Seeing Suijin float into the air, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Guy, and the others all wore grave expressions. The Tenseigan—this was the first time they had ever witnessed such a miraculous power. Not just the Konoha contingent, but even Tendo Pain, Obito, and their cohorts had never seen it before.
However, at this moment, neither Nagato nor Obito had time to dwell on it. The situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable for them. They had to capture the One-Tail, Seven-Tails, and Nine-Tails, and then immediately revive the Ten-Tails.
Tendo Pain manipulated the Gedo Statue to launch an immediate attack. In the air, several Truth-Seeking Orbs materialized, then rapidly coalesced in Suijin's hand, forming a giant, golden chakra sword. The sword of light pierced towards the heavens, its sheer scale terrifyingly exaggerated.
Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!
Suijin let out a low cry, and the golden sword of light slashed down towards the Gedo Statue.
"Get back, quickly!" Seeing Suijin engage the Gedo Statue in battle, Jiraiya shouted a warning and quickly leaped away to a safe distance. In this kind of battle, even someone as powerful as Jiraiya didn't dare to get too close.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The sword of light flashed continuously, and the Gedo Statue's roars of pain and rage echoed incessantly. At this moment, the entire area at the edge of the Forest of Death had become a veritable forbidden zone of life; most people couldn't even approach within a hair's breadth of the cataclysmic clash.
Not far away, Kakashi, having just witnessed the True Several Thousand Hands, was now once again stunned by the golden sword of light that pierced the sky. Looking at that golden sword, the intelligence report Asuma had relayed back then about the battle in the Land of Rivers involuntarily flashed through Kakashi's mind. The mystery was solved!
Thinking this, Kakashi's gaze couldn't help but shift back to Fujin. By now, Fujin had leaped down from the head of the towering Wood Golem, his white and gold-trimmed Divine Court robe billowing in the fierce wind. Landing beside Kakashi, Fujin turned to him and offered a faint smile. "Let's go!" With that, Fujin took the lead, heading towards the Forest of Death.
Behind him, Kakashi, the Third Hokage, Tsunade, and the others, their expressions complex, all quickly followed. Now, everyone had realized it. In this battle, although Konoha was still the main force resisting Akatsuki, the true main force… was not them.
The Divine Court! That mysterious shadow that had once loomed over the ninja world seemed, at this very moment, to have completely dispersed.
Whoosh~
In the air, a spatial vortex suddenly appeared, and Obito's figure emerged from within. Taking advantage of the opportunity while Suijin was engaged in battle with Tendo Pain, Obito prepared to lead the other Akatsuki members to capture the Tailed Beasts first.
However, at this moment, the only ones still steadfastly standing by Obito's side were Kisame Hoshigaki and Uchiha Hiroomi. On one hand, the other Akatsuki members were primarily loyal to Nagato, and Obito couldn't directly command them. On the other hand, Sasori, Kakuzu, Hidan, and Deidara had all been somewhat intimidated by the True Several Thousand Hands and the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion. The power of these two ninjutsu was simply too outrageously exaggerated. Coupled with the fact that their opponents also had numerous skilled individuals, they were temporarily unwilling to act rashly. Although these individuals were usually arrogant and unruly, when faced with members of the Divine Court who were clearly stronger than themselves, they too would proceed with caution.
Shlick!
Just as Obito and his two remaining followers were about to make their move, figures flashed before them. Jizo and Kagutsuchi appeared, blocking their path. The Mangekyo Sharingan in Jizo's eye sockets was already activated. Outside his body, the ribs and arms of his Susanoo had already materialized.
Seeing this, a grim look flashed in Obito's eyes. From Jizo, he sensed an ocular power no weaker than his own. Why did the Divine Court keep producing an endless stream of incredibly powerful individuals? And why were they so persistently and specifically opposing their Akatsuki?!
Tatsuya Akimichi! All of this… it was all related to that kid!
Thinking this, Obito asked, "Where is your leader, Ryujin?"
Hearing this, Jizo replied indifferently, "To deal with the likes of you, there is no need for our leader to personally intervene." As he spoke, Jizo, still protected by his Susanoo, directly performed a summoning technique.
Poof!
A cloud of white smoke billowed, and several non-permanent clone bodies appeared beside Jizo. They too were all dressed in the standard Divine Court robes. With this, the Divine Court was no longer at a numerical disadvantage.
"The situation doesn't look good, does it? It seems he will have to make a move after all!" Watching this scene from afar, Black Zetsu, who had reappeared in the spectator stands, murmured softly to himself. As his words fell, Black Zetsu's figure slowly sank into the ground, disappearing from sight.