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***
"Bang, bang, bang!"
A vast cloud of summoned beasts billowed before Shikaku Nara and the others.
"Roar!"
Immediately, a muffled roar echoed from the smoke.
A giant rhinoceros, no less massive than the building behind Kitsuchi and the others, charged forward with unbridled force.
Furthermore, as the giant rhinoceros burst through the smoke, other gigantic summoned beasts of various shapes and forms also rushed towards other directions within Kirigakure.
"Earth Style: Rock Fist!"
Kitsuchi, the strongest of Shikaku Nara's allies, formed hand seals and blasted out with his right arm.
His entire arm instantly transformed into rock, and his fist transformed into a rock fist several meters in diameter.
"Bang!"
The rock fist slammed heavily into the charging rhinoceros.
After a brief standoff, the two held their ground, and then, with an incredible burst of force, the rhinoceros was sent reeling backwards.
"Amazing!"
Choza Akimichi exclaimed in admiration.
"Could someone really have hired the Akatsuki to attack Kirigakure?"
The shinobi from various nations present were wondering this.
The words of the Animal Path had already made it abundantly clear.
"Shikaku."
Inoichi Yamanaka looked at Shikaku Nara, whose brows furrowed slightly beside him.
Shikaku Nara seemed to be lost in thought.
Looking at the various giant summoned beasts scurrying towards Kirigakure, Shikaku Nara said in a deep voice,
"Whatever their purpose, we cannot ignore this situation."
Although Konohagakure and Kirigakure had no close ties, Shikaku Nara and the others were still in the village.
If they remained isolated, relations between the two nations would undoubtedly deteriorate once this incident was over.
"Alright!"
Choza Akimichi was waiting for Shikaku Nara's words, and he immediately formed hand seals.
"Multi-Size Technique!"
Choza Akimichi's body rapidly expanded, quickly transforming into a giant the size of the summoned beasts.
This was a secret technique passed down through generations of the Akimichi clan, a technique that multiplied one's strength.
"Hah!"
Choza, now multiplied in size, swung his massive fist, striking once again at the giant rhino, which had just been repelled by Kitsuchi and then crashed back.
With Choza's strength, the rhino was sent flying, crashing heavily into the building behind it.
"Attack!"
Just as Choza attacked, Dodai of the Kumogakure shinobi gave the order.
Baki of Sunagakure nodded to the jonin behind him.
The shinobi immediately took action.
Facing a summoned beast of this size, ordinary jonin would be helpless.
Furthermore, the enemy at hand wasn't just the summoned beasts from the Animal Path, but also four other Pains.
"These Pains possess the ability to absorb ninjutsu, use various machines and weapons, connect with souls, and even resurrect other Pains. Therefore, do not attack rashly. First, understand their abilities!"
Shikaku immediately shared the information currently known about the Pains.
Although Minato Namikaze had previously announced this information to the entire ninja world, many were still unaware.
Furthermore, during that battle with Pain, Itachi had slain several of them.
Aside from the Deva Path, the bodies of the Preta Path and Human Path had all been recovered by Minato.
Therefore, the Pains before Shikaku and the others were all created from fresh corpses, and the exact abilities of each remained unknown.
"Shikaku Nara? How talkative!"
A Pain locked eyes with Shikaku Nara.
Before he could even move, two Kumogakure shinobi, wielding weapons gleaming with lightning, surrounded him.
One of them was Samui.
"What are those things?"
The sudden appearance of numerous summoned beasts in the village caught the attention of Mei Terumi, who was on another battlefield.
Her brows furrowed, and her expression suddenly grew heavy.
Just as Mei Terumi's attention was momentarily distracted, the humanoid puppet in front of her extended its left arm.
Inside the puppet's left arm was a machine gun.
Swish, swish, swish!
Numerous wooden cylinders, each pierced with long needles, shot out from the machine gun.
Whoosh!
The needles in the cylinder scattered, locking onto Mei Terumi's form.
Mei Terumi turned, staring at the impenetrable mass of needles, and formed hand seals.
"Lava Style: Melting Apparition Jutsu!"
From her mouth, a large amount of highly corrosive mucus erupted, forming a protective barrier above her head.
"Sizzle!"
The mucus coated the needles with a soft, subtle sound, completely corroding them and instantly dissolving.
Mei Terumi seized this opportunity and leaped free, appearing mid-air. Still maintaining her hand seals, she unleashed another stream of highly corrosive mucus.
The sheer volume of mucus enveloped the seemingly weak puppet, rendering it powerless to evade.
The mucus completely enveloped the puppet's form.
Its Akatsuki robes were instantly corroded and dissolved, and the puppet couldn't hold out for long.
With a swish, the puppet dispersed, and a figure emerged from within.
"Who are you?"
Mei Terumi immediately followed.
She hadn't seen the puppeteer's chakra strings on the puppet, so the puppeteer must have been hiding inside.
"A Lava Style kekkei genkai!"
The puppeteer, a boy with red hair, having shed his puppet disguise, muttered, retreating several meters before settling.
Currently, no one in Kirigakure, including the Fourth Mizukage, was stronger than Mei Terumi.
Her immense strength at such a young age was due to the fact that she possessed a rare kekkei genkai.
Moreover, she also possessed two kekkei genkai.
Mei Terumi immediately saw the puppeteer's true face.
Her eyes trembled slightly, because compared to the hideous puppet from before, the red-haired boy before her was exceptionally handsome, his face even more delicate than that of a woman.
However, it wasn't his appearance that caught Mei Terumi's attention.
Instead, upon seeing him, she finally understood his identity.
"Are you the traitorous ninja of Sunagakure, Red Sand Sasori?"
Among the S-rank criminals currently wanted by various nations, Red Sand Sasori was the most well-known by name and appearance.
The trigger for the Third Shinobi World War, more than a decade ago, was the disappearance of the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure.
And the person responsible for the Third Kazekage's disappearance was the red-haired boy before her.
At that time, he was only thirteen years old!
"Interesting! If I could make you into a human puppet, you'd have to be even more perfect than this one!"
Sasori's expressionless puppet eyes fixed on Mei Terumi, a fervent look surging within them.
Simultaneously, he unfolded a scroll in his hand.
"Bang!"
Smoke billowed from the scroll.
Sasori's ten fingers vibrated, condensing multiple chakra strands that connected to the puppet the scroll had just summoned.
Mei Terumi gazed at the humanoid puppet, pondering for a moment.
Then, with a trembling expression, she exclaimed in horror.
"Is this puppet the Third Kazekage!?"
...
"The rumors are true! You actually killed the Third Kazekage!"
Mei Terumi exclaimed in shock, for the puppet now controlled by Sasori bore the appearance of the Third Kazekage.
However, she hadn't yet confirmed whether Sasori's puppet was truly the Third Kazekage.
After all, he was a former Kazekage.
"Boom!"
As the two sides clashed, a loud noise echoed from the mountains surrounding Kirigakure.
Most of the people in Kirigakure heard the noise.
However, facing Sasori's true form, Mei Terumi dared not lose focus.
Regardless, this was the S-rank criminal suspected of having killed the Third Kazekage.
"Wow!"
Sasori's ten fingers flicked, controlling the puppet behind him.
From its mouth, a dense stream of black material erupted.
"Iron Sand!"
Mei Terumi quickly recognized the black substance gradually gathering around Sasori as the Third Kazekage's special ability: Iron Sand.
Now, she could finally confirm that the puppet beside Sasori was the Third Kazekage himself.
At the same time, Mei Terumi felt a deep sense of disbelief.
Because not only did Sasori kill the Third Kazekage and make a puppet, he also retained his abilities from when he was alive.
Unheard-of puppetry!
However, even when facing Sasori controlling the Third Kazekage's puppet, Mei Terumi did not panic.
She glanced at the Mizukage Building out of the corner of her eye.
The movement coming from the village, with the strength of the Fourth Mizukage, he still had no reaction until now?
"Bang!"
At this moment, in the Mizukage Building, a dark red chakra beam broke through the top of the building and appeared in Mei Terumi's eyes.
"Is this... the chakra of Isobu?"
Mei Terumi murmured.
The Fourth Mizukage was a perfect Jinchūriki, able to perfectly control the power of the tailed beasts.
"So, has the Mizukage-sama also been attacked?"
Her heart sank, and she cursed, "Damn it! Who leaked this information?"
The news of Kirigakure's joint Chunin Exams was already widely known throughout the ninja world, but the specific rules for this first Chunin exam were only finalized a few days ago.
To prevent the candidates from causing trouble within the Land of Water, Kirigakure had dispatched numerous shinobi, including elite figures like the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, during the preparations.
This was arguably the weakest Kirigakure's defenses had been in recent memory.
Mei Terumi's first thought was Shikaku and the others from the other four countries, but they had been staying in the same building for the past few days, and Mei Terumi was personally responsible for security.
So, she was puzzled as to who had leaked this information so quickly.
"Could it be Konohagakure!?"
The only possibility Mei Terumi could think of was Shikaku, the one who had proposed the exam plan.
Only the Konohagakure shinobi had the foresight to know all this before arriving at Kirigakure and pinpoint its weakness.
But she couldn't understand why the Fourth Hokage would do this.
During the Third Shinobi World War, Minato Namikaze, now the Fourth Hokage, had devoted all his efforts to preventing the conflict.
If attacking Kirigakure was his plan, it would simply be provoking war.
Furthermore, she couldn't understand why the Fourth Hokage would hire these individuals.
Having recognized Sasori as the Red Sand, Mei Terumi had also deduced his identity from the Akatsuki robes he wore.
The Fourth Hokage had even informed the ninja world of the specific abilities of Akatsuki leader Pain.
For a moment, Mei Terumi was unable to comprehend the sudden situation.
"Swish, swish, swish!"
Sasori had already manipulated the sand, forming countless long needles that shot towards her!
Meanwhile, led by the Kaguya clan leader, the entire Kaguya clan rushed through the weakly defended main gate of Kirigakure.
These battle-crazed warriors didn't consider why the defenses of the usually fortified Kirigakure were so weakened.
The battle erupting within the village, and the massive summoned beasts trampling buildings and civilians, only fueled their desire to fight.
Several Kirigakure shinobi spotted members of the Hyūga clan.
"Kill!"
The Kaguya clan leader, at the head of the group, shouted fiercely, and his followers rushed madly into the village.
The Kaguya clan members showed no mercy to the civilians who emerged from their houses upon hearing the commotion and saw expressions of terror.
In their eyes, everyone in Kirigakure was an enemy!
Within Kirigakure, a bloodbath erupted.
In the mountains outside the village, the killing spree erupted.
"Bang!"
The massive hand of the skeletal Susanoo was repelled by the immense force.
Even its massive body was repelled.
This did not surprise Itachi, who was in the Susanoo, at all.
Although Susanoo possessed both offensive and defensive capabilities, its current form alone was not enough to completely withstand the might of the Deva Path.
As Itachi and Susanoo were repelled, Konan, who had been in the air, and Kakuzu, who had been directly in front of Itachi, immediately attacked.
Their purpose was to kill Itachi, so they held back.
Kakuzu tore off his Akatsuki robe and raised his left arm.
On his left arm, three strange masks of different colors appeared.
Each mask had an open mouth, emitting chakra of different properties.
Konan, who was in the air, raised her right arm, and countless white origami pieces swirled around her, transforming into paper clones that resembled her, but with only the upper body.
Both shinobi's eyes were filled with cold indifference.
Swish!
Konan swung her arm toward Susanoo, and dozens of paper clones plummeted down.
Within the Susanoo, Itachi gazed at the clones.
These clones weren't just ordinary origami.
Each one held a vast array of detonating tags!
"Sizzle!"
"Boom!"
"Whoosh!"
At this moment, from the mouths of the three masks on Kakuzu's left arm, they unleashed Fire, Wind, and Lightning Style ninjutsu.
"Boom!"
The three chakras merged, the fire fueled by the wind, entwined with lightning chakra, transforming into a terrifying chakra shockwave that shot straight at Itachi.
The Deva Path held off attacking, as each use of his repulsion force had a brief five-second window of opportunity.
Even so, the combined attacks of Konan and Kakuzu were not to be underestimated.
Just as Itachi steadied his Susanoo, the two attacks descended.
"Boom!"
The explosion erupted instantly, engulfing the Susanoo's form!
....
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