In the core area of the Hidden Leaf Village, near the Hokage Tower.
"These despicable fiends!" Chōza Akimichi, a man of imposing build, smashed a flying rock with his fist. He looked up angrily at the Sky Ninjas circling overhead, constantly bombing and harassing them, and said heavily.
"Flying ninja tools, huh?" Beside him, Shikaku Nara frowned deeply, his eyes scanning the Sky Ninjas' gear. "It seems they've just injected Chakra into those specialized flying tools, creating a precise air pressure differential on the wings' surface and underside, generating lift and propulsion..."
It was an ingenious and opportunistic design. The ability to fly was extremely rare in the Ninja World, and these invaders had apparently mass-produced this tool, allowing them to retreat and advance freely due to high mobility.
But...
"They can only retreat and advance freely," Shikaku thought. "They can't be foolish enough to think these tools alone can breach the Hidden Leaf, can they?"
Everyone's Chakra was limited. Though the attackers' offensive seemed fierce now, they were constantly expending Chakra. Unless they had some unrevealed ace up their sleeves, it wouldn't be long before they had to retreat due to exhaustion.
So, where exactly did these guys come from, and what was the purpose of their attack on the Hidden Leaf? Was it just a show of force or an attempt to gain notoriety?
Swish! Swish! Swish!
As he pondered, several Sky Ninjas, having spotted the two figures below who posed a greater threat than ordinary Leaf Ninja, swooped down. Their kunai guns once again fired kunai! Simultaneously, several black explosive tags were thrown!
"Hmph!" Chōza Akimichi rapidly formed hand seals. "Multi-Size Technique!"
His right arm violently inflated and expanded like a balloon, turning into a massive, colossal hand that swung upward, brazenly meeting the onslaught of kunai and explosive tags!
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
The falling kunai and explosive tags violently collided with the giant hand, setting off deafening explosions!
"Do you think this is enough to defeat us?" Chōza's angry roar was still clearly audible amidst the sound of the blasts. His gigantic arm swung continuously, creating strong gusts of wind that knocked the annoying, fly-like Sky Ninjas out of the air!
Though the Leaf Ninjas were initially caught off guard by the sudden first wave of the attack and fell into brief chaos, their training quickly kicked in. Surviving ninjas organized themselves, and large numbers of ninjas rushed out from various shelters, homes, and posts, leaping onto the streets, flying across the tops of shattered houses and buildings!
However, just as the Leaf Ninjas began to breathe a sigh of relief.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several slender, spindle-shaped metal devices were precisely dropped from the air by the Sky Ninjas, landing in the centers of a few of the most concentrated areas of Leaf Ninjas!
Having learned from the painful lessons of previous blasts, the Leaf Ninjas below reacted instantly!
"Scatter! Quickly scatter!"
"It's an explosive! Take cover!"
The ninjas instantly scattered in all directions, seeking cover, their movements swift and orderly.
However, a few seconds passed, and the expected massive explosion didn't occur. The spindle-shaped devices simply stood still, their metal casings glinting coldly in the firelight.
"What is that thing?" A ninja hiding behind a broken wall couldn't help but whisper, looking at the motionless, bizarre device with extreme caution and confusion.
But the very next second after he spoke.
The casing of the spindle-shaped device suddenly blossomed outwards like a flower, revealing a dense, honeycomb-like array of launch ports inside!
Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!!
In the next moment, countless cold, flashing kunai were violently launched from those ports with a terrifying density and speed far surpassing the previous kunai guns! They swept out in a fan shape, indiscriminately covering all the directions the Leaf Ninjas had fled!
An ear-piercing shriek tore through the air. The bright kunai blades reflected the faces of several ninjas, twisted in shock and despair, who had no time for any effective defense or evasion.
We're finished! This thought arose simultaneously in the minds of several ninjas!
Yet, in this split-second crisis.
Bang!
A figure descended abruptly from the sky, crashing heavily between the onslaught of kunai and the Leaf Ninjas. A mane of untamed white hair billowed in the wind!
"Ninjutsu: Needle Jizō!!"
Jiraiya's white long hair instantly grew and hardened into steel needles, weaving together in dense layers to form a shield of white spikes in front of the Leaf Ninjas.
Cling! Clang! Ding!
The torrent of kunai that rained down upon it exploded in a rapid, deafening cascade of metal on metal, with sparks flying wildly!
All the kunai were deflected by the incredibly hard hair, failing to scratch the ninjas behind him.
Having blocked the fatal attack, Jiraiya's eyes hardened. He didn't dispel the jutsu but changed his hand seals!
"Ninjutsu: Needle Hell!!"
The shield of white spikes violently exploded outwards. Countless strands of hardened, steel-like white hair shot towards the Sky Ninjas in the air with astonishing speed and coverage!
The attack was sudden and wide-reaching. The Sky Ninjas clearly hadn't anticipated someone on the ground could easily block their assault and instantly launch such a massive counterattack. Large numbers of Sky Ninjas were too slow to dodge, their flying gear or bodies pierced by the dense rain of needles. They screamed and plummeted from the sky!
When the choking smoke slowly cleared, the surviving Leaf Ninjas stumbled to their feet, their faces still pale with shock.
"It's Jiraiya-sama!" The saved ninjas shouted in surprise.
Jiraiya turned, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. He called out loudly, "Don't panic! Hold your ground! The enemy is just a bunch of buzzing flies relying on the ability to fly!"
"Medical teams work with Katsuyu to rescue the wounded. The rest of you maintain defensive formations, prioritize the evacuation and protection of civilians. Form three-man squads and shoot those flies down from the sky!"
Tsunade's Katsuyu clone had also arrived. Under Jiraiya's command, the remaining Leaf Ninjas quickly stabilized, displaying high tactical proficiency. They stopped fighting individually and quickly formed three-man, back-to-back teams, relying on broken walls and ruins as cover, pooling their Chakra together!
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Although the Sky Ninjas held absolute air superiority, the Leaf Ninjas, using their familiarity with the terrain and coordinated teamwork, re-established effective defense and counterattack! The combination of fireballs and wind blades expanded the attack range. Earth-Style Walls blocked the descending kunai barrages!
More and more Sky Ninjas were struck by the well-coordinated Ninjutsu, falling from the sky with screams and plumes of black smoke. The tide of battle seemed to be turning, little by little, at a visible pace!
The Sky Ninjas also clearly noticed the rapid consolidation and tactical shift of the resistance force below. They seemed to receive a unified command, controlling their flying tools to collectively ascend to a higher altitude, circling far above.
At this height, most Leaf Ninjas' Ninjutsu couldn't reach them, losing their threat. However, it also made it difficult for the Sky Ninjas' kunai guns and explosive tags to accurately hit the targets below.
Both sides seemed to be in a brief standoff. It was clear that these invaders had excellent intelligence on the Hidden Leaf, having prepared targeted strategies against its Ninja Clans.
But if things continued like this, the invaders would soon be completely wiped out.
"Phew..."
Jiraiya sighed in relief, his strained nerves relaxing slightly. As the acting Hokage, he should have been coordinating the overall situation from the Hokage Tower. Against an enemy whose full strength was unknown, he should never have risked himself.
However, the Hidden Leaf had been stunned by the sudden, intense dawn offensive by the Sky Ninjas. If no one had stepped forward to stabilize the situation, it was unclear how long it would have taken to recover. Thus, at Tsunade's strong insistence, Jiraiya stepped out of the Hokage Tower, and the effect was immediate, stabilizing the situation instantly.
However, the Hidden Leaf was now segmented into several battle zones. Apart from the Hyūga Clan, where the situation was unknown, the other areas were all under various forms of unknown attack. Many elite ninjas had already been dispatched to the Hyūga Clan to investigate, allowing Jiraiya to break away and head to the next critical area.
However, just as he was about to move.
Several strong, distinct Chakra signatures, like a tsunami, suddenly swept in from the distance! Sensing this destructive, explosive aura, every hair on Jiraiya's body instantly stood on end. Warning bells violently rang in every nerve!
He violently raised his head, his gaze shooting towards the source of the Chakra, towards the smoke-filled, fire-lit skyline in the distance.
Several strangely shaped, unique flying ninja tools, each piloted by several Sky Ninjas, appeared in the air over the central battlefield of the Hidden Leaf, escorted by a formation of more Sky Ninjas!
In the center of those flying tools, a black, urn-shaped device opened, and a platform slowly descended and extended.
On the platform, a figure sat cross-legged. His face was covered by a long cloth, his bare upper body was muscular and bronzed, covered in scars. His muscles bulged like cast iron, and his two fists were pressed together against his chest.
"Aaaaaah!!!"
Several special Sky Ninjas, modified by Shinno, suddenly tilted their heads back, letting out screams of pain and madness that echoed throughout the Hidden Leaf! With their screams, the vast, long-accumulated Chakra within their bodies began to churn and resonate madly!
Visibly, Chakra converged onto the platform where he sat. Highly compressed Chakra collided and condensed around his body! Below him, it formed a spherical ball of Chakra, emitting a terrifying aura comparable to a small Tailed Beast Ball...
"Earth Release: Descent of Clay!"
"Earth Release: Descent of the Lid!"
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
"Secret Technique: Insect Sphere!"
Almost simultaneously, in other areas where bombing tools appeared, quick-thinking ANBU and Leaf Ninjas immediately launched specialized anti-air Ninjutsu! Giant, lid-shaped objects plummeted, large amounts of mud rained down, fiery dragons and destructive insects surged high into the sky... Their response was correct and timely.
Boom! Boom!
The charging process of several bombing tools was interrupted. They exploded into massive fireballs and crashed! However, in areas with fewer combat personnel or slower reactions, two bombing tools managed to complete their charge.
The distance was too great; there was no time to reinforce those areas.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Bomb!"
Jiraiya, having already destroyed two bombing tools, rapidly formed hand seals again. He exhaled a highly condensed ray of fire from his mouth, shooting straight towards a distant bombing tool that had nearly finished charging!
But, just one second before his searing line of fire could hit its target, the Chakra beneath those bombing tools erupted.
Two searing beams of light, like the Cero of a Menos Grande, brazenly shot down from the sky! They brutally tore through the rising smoke and slammed into the ground below!
BOOM!!
The Earth-Style Walls hastily erected by the Leaf Ninjas disintegrated like paper the instant the beams descended, offering no resistance whatsoever. Centered on the beams' impact point, a terrifying shockwave expanded outwards in a circle. The ground beneath was riddled with countless massive cracks. Huge chunks of rock and soil were effortlessly ripped up and tossed into the air. Trees, as if brushed by an invisible giant hand, were flattened in the same direction, igniting into a sprawling inferno!
Flames, mixed with soil and debris, exploded and spun, forming a towering, fiery tornado that connected the earth and the sky! The ground shook! The noise was deafening!
Beneath the smoky flames, the vast, burning conflagration completely illuminated the entire Hidden Leaf, making every corner visible, as if daylight had returned!
Bang! Bang!
Jiraiya's belated Great Flame Bomb struck the two bombing tools, exploding them into brilliant fireballs mid-air.
But he stood rooted, feeling the scorching heat blast towards him even from a distance. His pupils reflected the horrifying scene in the distance, his expression grim and dark.
This kind of power was far beyond the scope of conventional Ninjutsu. It possessed genuine destructive power that threatened the Hidden Leaf. If there were a few more of these...
"Damn it!" Jiraiya thought to himself. "Where in the world did these guys come from?"
Vwoom!!
Just then, an incredibly familiar aura emanated from the distance.
Jiraiya violently turned, his eyes widening in disbelief. This Chakra signature was...
"Sage Mode?!"
Before Jiraiya's realization, the residential area had been eerily silent.
Kakashi Hatake looked at the 'image' he had summoned, but it wasn't the stern, mysterious, or powerful figure he had imagined. The person seemed to have just been summoned and was still confused.
"Huh?"
The person raised a hand and scratched his short orange hair, looking around the utterly leveled ruins with a baffled, yet somewhat easygoing, voice. "Where is this place? I thought I was supposed to be..."
His words abruptly cut off as his gaze fell on the figure in front—Tendō Pain, who wore a black cloak with red clouds, had the Rinnegan, and possessed a face identical to his own, yet was terrifyingly cold.
His expression instantly froze, his pupils contracting uncontrollably.
"Wait a minute!"
Kakashi stared at the confused, somewhat foolish-looking person scratching his head on the wall, who had no aura of a strong fighter and seemed a bit unreliable. Kakashi was stunned and blurted out, "Who are you?"
This was too far from the 'image' of the enemy he had anticipated!
Hearing Kakashi's question, the orange-haired youth suddenly turned and looked at Kakashi. When his eyes met the Leaf Headband on Kakashi's forehead, his eyes lit up.
"An excellent question!" The youth seemed to instantly cast aside the bizarre situation before him. He flipped agilely, lightly jumping onto a nearby half-collapsed wall. He looked down at Kakashi below, clasped his hands together, and in a theatrical tone, as if announcing something incredibly important, he shook his head and loudly proclaimed:
"I am Yahiko, of the Village Hidden in the Rain, of the Jiraiya Squad, disciple of Sage Senso Dōjin, the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku! I am..."
It seemed too long, so he took a breath, puffed out his chest, and his voice boomed: "Yahiko!"
"..."
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
Kakashi stared dumbfounded at the figure on the wall, who was striking a strange pose and calling himself "Yahiko." His brain struggled to process the flood of information.
Mount Myōboku? Toad Sage? Master Jiraiya's Squad? Hidden Rain Village? Yahiko?
In the distance, Tendō Pain and Jigokudō Pain remained in their unnatural stillness. Especially Tendō Pain, whose Rinnegan eyes were fixed on the orange-haired youth on the wall, who wore a radiant smile as if he had never experienced any hardship or darkness...
Finally, he looked at Kakashi Hatake. A chilling wave of killing intent slowly surged out of the Rinnegan that should have been emotionless.
"Kakashi Hatake!" Tendō Pain's voice was trembling and hoarse. "What did you do?!"
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