Chapter 103: The Battlefield of Kage-Level Power
When Ishiro saw that his three temporary teammates were spacing out at such a critical moment, he was furious and shouted, "Be careful!" At the same time, he had already begun ascending at full speed into the sky the moment Nagato made his move.
Hearing Ishiro's voice, Nagato snapped back to attention. With a shout of "Shinra Tensei!" he sent all the incoming projectiles crashing to the ground.
The most frustrated person on the field was Hanzō. His meticulously set trap had utterly failed—not only had it lost him the opportunity to kill Konan, but it had also missed the best timing to attack Ishiro, who was now rapidly ascending. Given Ishiro's earlier display, it was clear his strength far surpassed Konan's, and he wouldn't be easy to kill.
Hanzō shifted his gaze back to the three Akatsuki leaders at the cliff's edge.
Using Konan as leverage to force Yahiko to commit suicide had been a spur-of-the-moment tactic. But with the ambush already set, Hanzō wasn't planning to let them walk away either way. With a wave of his hand, he ordered his men to attack.
At the same moment, Danzō issued the same order—but with an added directive: two squads were to pursue and eliminate Ishiro.
After Ishiro's sudden appearance and the use of Violent Water Wave, Danzō immediately understood that Uchiha Tō had not betrayed him. Clearly, he had fallen to this mysterious ninja.
The Light-Weight Boulder Technique was a well-known jutsu of Earth Country, and combined with the Water Release, Ishiro's identity as an Iwa-nin was all but confirmed. Most likely, he was also the one who had killed Danzō's two previous subordinates.
As attacks surged toward Nagato and the others, Ishiro had no time to care—because he was now the target.
A massive bird, as if painted in ink, was rising from the ambush zone and flying toward him. Four Root ninja rode on its back.
Simultaneously, a black swarm of Destruction Bugs surged toward him from another direction.
Ishiro cursed Danzō for being petty. "The Rinnegan is right there and you're chasing me?"
While dodging with Light-Weight Boulder, he used Great Fireball against the insects, but with limited effect. The bugs scattered instantly, and only a few were caught in the flames.
On the bird's back, the four Root ninja began forming seals. Knowing he couldn't afford to be surrounded, Ishiro quickly cast Camouflage Technique and vanished again.
He knew they likely had a sensor type onboard, so Camouflage would only delay them briefly—but even a brief delay could be crucial.
He shot upward at full speed.
One of the Root ninja indeed was a sensor, but before he could act, another ninja spotted Ishiro. Camouflage lost effectiveness the higher he flew, especially in the open sky.
These were all Root elites, and one of them quickly locked onto Ishiro's approximate location.
The bird shifted in pursuit.
Thus began a game of cat and mouse in the sky, a high-speed chase that wouldn't resolve quickly. Ishiro's half-visible figure constantly appeared and vanished, making it difficult for Root to catch him outright.
—
Meanwhile, on the ground, the battle had entered a brutal phase.
Both Hanzō and Danzō were self-preserving strategists, avoiding direct engagement.
But their elite subordinates? Useless in front of the fully awakened, Kage-level Nagato.
Wielding the Rinnegan's unparalleled power, Nagato easily crushed them.
A mass of projectiles? One Shinra Tensei cleared them all.
High-powered ninjutsu? Absorbed effortlessly.
As a member of the Uzumaki clan, Nagato's chakra reserves and vitality were top-tier. He had seal-less Body Flicker, and combined Shinra Tensei, Universal Pull, and taijutsu with incredible fluidity.
In just minutes, seven to eight Root agents were dead. The Rain-nin? Even more. Nagato could have done more if he wasn't busy protecting Konan and Yahiko.
On a nearby hill, Hanzō and Danzō watched grimly. Neither moved.
They were waiting—to see Nagato's limits, and whether his techniques had exploitable weaknesses.
"Earth Release – Ground Splitter Palm!" A Root ninja launched a wide-range attack on the trio. His partner followed up: "Earth Release – Rising Stone Spears!"
By now, Root had learned that elemental jutsu like Fire and Wind were easily absorbed by Nagato. But half-physical Earth techniques couldn't be.
So now, all long-range attacks used Earth Release.
Nagato grew anxious. Konan's chakra was still sealed, and Yahiko alone couldn't fully protect her.
To shield them, Nagato was forced to cast high-consumption, wide-area techniques.
"Earth Release – Earth Flow Rampart!"
A massive B-rank defense technique, only achieved through dumping vast amounts of chakra into the earth. The surge disrupted the enemy Earth jutsu, rendering the attack ineffective.
The terrain shifted drastically, throwing off a wave of incoming projectiles.
More importantly, Nagato reversed the battlefield's geography—raising himself above the enemy, gaining both sightlines and defensive advantage.
Now, both Root and Rain-nin had to climb the wall to reach him, giving up their previous positional advantage.
The Rain-nin switched tactics. No more suicide charges. They formed units and launched coordinated large-scale Water Release attacks atop the wall.
Nagato could absorb these, but the sheer area and volume of attacks made it difficult and time-consuming. Root agents then attacked from the opposite side, forcing him to split his focus.
They didn't attack him directly—they went after Yahiko and Konan.
Yahiko was only average among jōnin—still young and inexperienced. Surrounded by Root, he was soon in a sorry state.
Konan had partially recovered and fought defensively with Paper Release, but it wasn't enough.
Seeing them struggle, Nagato bit his lip—and made a decision.
One Body Flicker, and he stood in front of his friends.
Arms outstretched, he shouted: "Super Shinra Tensei!"
From his palms, twin hemispheres of force exploded outward. Every Rain-nin and Root agent in range was blasted into the air.
This wasn't a manga.
In fiction, no matter how much a character gets thrown around, they keep fighting.
But in reality? Those hit at close range had their bodies twisted mid-air. Some were torn apart before even landing.
Once they hit the ground, less than one in ten survived—and those who did were crippled.
Even the airborne battle was affected. Ishiro, having used Light-Weight Boulder, had no resistance to force and was flung the farthest. Thankfully, he had been in the air already and got tossed higher, not into the ground.
He was disoriented, but unhurt.
His Camouflage and Light-Weight Boulder both dispelled.
Mid-air, he recovered and recast both techniques before analyzing the battlefield.
No other flyers remained.
The artist-nin who had conjured the giant bird had vanished—possibly still alive, but his squadmates likely perished in the shockwave. Most Root agents couldn't fly, so they were probably dead from the fall.
The wave that had climbed the Earth Rampart to fight Nagato was completely gone. Those still below, who hadn't climbed yet, were mostly intact.
Rain-nin had rushed up first for combo jutsu—and now they were all dead.
Root had been more cautious. Only a few teams climbed, and at least seven or eight squads remained intact.
But none dared attack again—they were waiting for Danzō's orders.
Danzō, watching the carnage, looked like a gambler on the edge. He knew another charge would cost more lives—but he still signaled: Attack again.
His reasoning was simple: he had noticed a cooldown on Nagato's Shinra Tensei. The ability hadn't been used enough times to determine its interval, but the Super version surely had a longer delay.
Now was the time. Without Shinra Tensei, Nagato's power would drop a full tier.
Danzō wasn't foolish enough to fight himself—he sent his men in first.
But he had overlooked one crucial variable:
Hanzō.
While Danzō's Root still had nearly half their numbers, Hanzō had lost over 90% of his elite.
Even if he killed the three Akatsuki leaders, how would he control the Rain Country? How would he deal with the rest of Akatsuki?
What would he offer Danzō in future negotiations? As a man with no army, did he still have value?
Steeling himself, Hanzō gave his last subordinates a signal to retreat from his side—then subtly lifted his poison mask.
Hanzō's body contained deadly poison—his every breath lethal. Normally, he wore a mask to protect those around him.
Now, he no longer cared.
He intended to let Akatsuki and Root perish together. If he could kill Danzō in the process—even better.
After all, if he was going to fall, he was taking them with him.
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