Chapter 222: Give This Old Man Some Face
Sakumo Hatake and Onoki arrived at the island one after another, with Onoki flying ahead to subtly block Sakumo's path.
"Kid, you're pretty good. You've got guts! Which village are you from?"
Although Nagato wore sunglasses and had a sturdy build, it wasn't hard to tell he was very young. Onoki, who had recently become obsessed with nurturing the next generation, suddenly felt a pang of appreciation for this talent.
Nagato adjusted his sunglasses. "Just an ordinary mercenary ninja."
Onoki slapped his thigh enthusiastically. "Good, good, good! Want to come to Iwagakure? This old man will take you as his disciple!"
Nagato's eyes darted around behind his shades. "Sure! But I don't know if I'll live through today. Can the Tsuchikage-sama help me?"
Onoki knew full well the kid was up to no good, but he played along. "Stop causing trouble, and naturally, you will survive today."
Nagato feigned innocence. "Tsuchikage-dono, I created a custom Earth Release technique. Can you take a look and tell me if it's any use?"
Not even a dog would believe that, but Nagato's cunning lay in not giving anyone time to answer or think.
Before Onoki could speak, Nagato brought his hands out from behind his back. Floating between his palms was a small black sphere, no larger than a tangerine.
Nagato gently pushed the black sphere forward. Smartly, he didn't aim it at Onoki or Sakumo's faces but let it float to a spot equidistant between the three of them—a seemingly safe distance for everyone.
By now, the pursuit squads from the rear were also catching up.
Nagato glanced at them and said, "This black sphere automatically gathers surrounding rocks and soil to form a Rock Golem. Tsuchikage-sama, watch closely."
Sakumo, knowing just how slippery Nagato was, vigilantly retreated several meters. He wasn't about to waste words with these two and prepared to circle around from the side.
Onoki split his attention. Half of his mind watched Sakumo, ready to intercept if the Hokage tried to bypass them. The other half was driven by his pride in Earth Release—he wanted to see what kind of jutsu this was. Gathering rocks to form a golem? Sounds a bit like my Golem Technique.
And so, the strange little black sphere floated into the air unobstructed.
Under Onoki's cold, scrutinizing gaze, Nagato clasped his hands together.
In his heart, he whispered:
"Chibaku Tensei! (Planetary Devastation!)"
BOOM!
Suddenly, a massive, omnidirectional gravitational force erupted from the black sphere. Soil, boulders, massive trees—even the very skin of the earth itself—were ripped upward, drawn irresistibly toward the singularity.
"NANI?! What is this?!"
The suction grew stronger by the second. Both Sakumo and Onoki realized simultaneously that, in addition to the indiscriminate pull affecting everything, they were being specifically targeted. The gravitational force acting on their bodies was far stronger than on anything else.
Sakumo immediately tried to use the Body Flicker Technique to escape, but he found the sphere's gravity adapted to his resistance. Unable to break free, he stabbed his white chakra saber into the ground, trying to anchor himself. Even so, his lower body was lifted into the air, his fingers clawing desperately at the bedrock.
Onoki reacted instantly, using the Super-Weighted Boulder Technique to increase his mass drastically, crashing himself and the coral reef he stood on into the ground to resist the pull.
"What kind of Earth Release is this?! Where is the Rock Golem you promised?!"
Many of the pursuit ninja arriving late didn't have time to react and were sucked screaming into the sky.
The sphere in the air grew larger and larger, devouring everything around it. Layers of the island's surface were peeled away.
Having unleashed this technique, Nagato's stamina hit rock bottom. Cold sweat poured down his face, and he nearly collapsed onto his butt.
This was only the second time Nagato had ever used this jutsu, and the first time in actual combat. He hadn't mastered it. He didn't expect it to defeat two Kage at once, nor did he know what would happen next. He only hoped it would stall them for a while.
Just as he tried to stagger away, he heard Onoki's low growl from behind.
"Don't underestimate a Kage, brat! Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
A massive, glowing white cube expanded, enveloping the core of the Chibaku Tensei.
In an instant, the gathered soil, rocks, and trees were reduced to their atomic state. The black sphere inside, seemingly affected, detonated violently. It lost its gravitational pull, and countless boulders and shattered trees rained down from the sky.
The moment the gravity vanished, Sakumo made his move. An exhausted Nagato had no strength to resist.
In the blink of an eye, a cold blade was pressed against his neck.
"Game over, kid."
Sakumo didn't kill Nagato immediately; he intended to use him as a hostage to force Kushina back to the village.
"Huff... huff... Tsuchikage-dono, I didn't lie to you! It really was a Rock Golem! It just got interrupted by you before it could form! Save me!"
Onoki's face was dark. He had almost fallen for the kid's trick.
As the Konoha ninja swarmed in, Onoki didn't dare say much. He quickly flew back into the sky to avoid being ambushed by Konoha.
Yagura Karatachi led the Mist ninja onto the island as well. Born in the Land of Water, he was familiar with most islands in the archipelago, but he didn't recognize this one.
"This seems to be one of the nameless islands in the barbarian-inhabited waters to the east..."
For a moment, the situation returned to a stalemate.
Sakumo held his blade to Nagato's throat and ordered the Konoha ninja behind him, "The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is on the other side of the island. Go subdue her."
Sakumo himself didn't move. Instead, he stared up at Onoki and spoke coldly. "Tsuchikage-dono, Konoha is determined to retrieve the Nine-Tails. I advise you not to interfere with Konoha's business any further."
Onoki sneered. "Are you threatening me? If not for me, you would have been taken out by that kid just now."
Sakumo handed the exhausted Nagato to a teammate. "Whether it is a threat or not, you can judge for yourself. That is all I have to say."
Yagura stepped forward, his expression ugly. "Aren't you being a bit too arrogant? Do you think Kirigakure has no one capable of stopping you?"
Tension filled the air. Swords were drawn.
At the beginning of this incident, neither Sakumo, nor Onoki, nor Yagura expected it to evolve into a standoff involving three of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Sakumo flicked his short sword, the white chakra glow intensifying.
Yagura held his iron hook across his chest, and behind him, the new Seven Ninja Swordsmen drew their weapons.
Onoki rose higher into the air, his hands forming the starting seal for Particle Style.
Battle was imminent!
JUST THEN!
From the western horizon, three streaks of light shot across the sky. Pure white, spindle-shaped objects trailed rainbow-like afterglows, shining so brightly they outshone the rising morning sun.
BOOM! RUMBLE!
The three meteors tore through the atmosphere.
"That sound... Damn it!"
No one in the ninja world was unfamiliar with this. It was the Heavenly Transfer Technique.
The arrival of the Heavenly Transfer meant the thunder of Kumogakure was about to strike!
However, unlike usual, the white delivery pods didn't crash into the ground. Instead, they vanished suddenly above the crowd, leaving three figures free-falling from thousands of meters in the air.
The air itself screamed as they descended.
SHHHH-BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The three figures smashed directly into the earth, kicking up massive clouds of dust and debris.
From within the dust, three silhouettes slowly walked out.
One was incredibly muscular, with wild, untamed hair.
"I heard people from all the major villages are about to fight here? How can such a thing happen without this old man?"
One carried massive swords on his back, his hair split-colored black and white.
"A! It's been a while since we fought together! I wonder if we can enjoy ourselves today!"
One had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, looking handsome and dashing as the wind.
"Old Man, Blue Bee-senpai, you guys are being too obvious."
The arrivals were none other than the Third Raikage A, Blue Bee, and Yotsuki Dana.
Dana took a step forward, his voice righteous and booming.
"However! If anyone here wishes to fight, if anyone wishes to destroy the peace of the Ninja World, then we shall be your opponents!!!"
Dana spoke with such heroic justice that anyone seeing him would secretly praise him as the Vanguard of Peace in the Ninja World!
Then, while the dust hadn't fully settled, the three of them sneakily used their feet to kick dirt over the ground. They were frantically trying to cover up the veins of Chakra Metal ore that had been exposed by Nagato's Chibaku Tensei.
Hide it! Hide it quickly!
The Third Raikage kept a straight face but secretly exerted force, stomping a chunk of exposed Chakra Metal ore deep into the mud and grinding his heel over it.
On the surface, however, he spread his arms wide and laughed heartily.
"Everyone! Can you give this old man some face?!"