In the end, Nagato stepped onto the battlefield.
Though he found the old Tsuchikage Ōnoki irritating, the urgency of the situation—especially with the rampaging Nine-Tails—compelled him to act.
Moreover, the sudden appearance of Jiraiya introduced an unpredictable variable. If Jiraiya had managed to relay information back to Konoha, their plans could be compromised. Time was of the essence—they needed to revive the Ten-Tails as quickly as possible.
Upon entering the battlefield, Nagato, bearing the Rinnegan, immediately became the center of attention. Without hesitation, he flew toward the Nine-Tails and struck it with a powerful Shinra Tensei.
Despite its mountainous size, the Nine-Tails was slammed into the earth. Before it could recover, a swarm of shinobi unleashed a barrage of attacks.
Seizing the opportunity, Ōnoki, ever the veteran, delivered his own blow using Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu. Even he couldn't ignore the sheer power Nagato had demonstrated. What entire squads struggled to do, Nagato had accomplished alone: suppressing the Nine-Tails.
But admiration bred caution. In Ōnoki's eyes, Nagato instantly became a major threat.
The Nine-Tails growled lowly, fury burning in its crimson eyes. To be humiliated and pinned by the very humans it despised—it was intolerable. Despite the searing pain, it endured the assault, and a dense, overwhelming chakra began to swirl within its maw.
"It's forming a Tailed Beast Ball! Kid, stop it—quickly!" Ōnoki shouted toward Nagato.
Nagato's expression darkened as he gave Ōnoki a cold glance. Was the old man ordering him?
Ōnoki realized his mistake but didn't take it back. This was no time for pride. The threat was real.
Nagato, however, wasn't inclined to obey. He had his own judgments. Letting the Nine-Tails fire off its Tailed Beast Ball would help reduce the number of enemies. If it took Ōnoki down with it, all the better.
He knew, of course, that Ōnoki wouldn't fall so easily. But the other shinobi—especially those from Iwagakure and Kumogakure—were another story.
Just as Nagato anticipated, the Tailed Beast Ball launched—an immense sphere of black and white energy that detonated with devastating force.
The shinobi who had surrounded the Nine-Tails were obliterated. Iwagakure and Kumogakure forces suffered heavy losses. Even Ōnoki, despite his speed-enhanced flight, narrowly avoided a direct hit.
As the dust settled, Ōnoki's eyes blazed with fury. He didn't care about Kumogakure's losses—but nearly a third of the casualties were Iwagakure's own. That was unacceptable.
Nagato had underestimated the Nine-Tails' durability—and so had Ōnoki. Unlike the Four-Tails or Five-Tails, the Nine-Tails possessed a level of chakra and hatred far beyond the norm. Believing it could be restrained with numbers alone had been a grave miscalculation.
But what stung the most was Nagato's inaction. With his power, he could've prevented the Tailed Beast Ball, yet he did nothing.
When confronted, Nagato replied simply: "The Shinra Tensei has a cooldown period."
Technically true—but misleading. The delay between uses was short enough that he could've acted in time. Ōnoki understood the implication: Nagato had chosen not to intervene.
Yet what could he do? Confrontation would be meaningless. Nagato was too powerful, and unity was needed now more than ever.
Reluctantly, the two resumed their uneasy alliance to subdue the Nine-Tails once more.
Elsewhere, the sight of the Tailed Beast Ball had stunned the shinobi of Sunagakure and Kirigakure. They halted their advance, silently thankful that their leaders had not sent them to confront the Nine-Tails directly.
If not for Jiraiya, who had drawn the beast's wrath, they might have faced annihilation.
Taking advantage of the moment, Jiraiya shouted, "You see that?! That's the power of the Nine-Tails! If I hadn't shown up, you'd all be charcoal right now!"
"So, considering that, how about we call it even and let me walk away?"
His words were persuasive. Some shinobi began nodding in agreement, their attitudes toward Jiraiya softening.
But not everyone was fooled.
"Don't be ridiculous!" barked a furious voice. It was Pakura of Sunagakure, her green eyes blazing.
Clad in light armor, the Scorch Release kunoichi stepped forward and pointed at Jiraiya. "You shameless old man! If you hadn't disrupted the sealing of the Nine-Tails, none of this would've happened!"
Her outburst made the others pause. She was right—if Jiraiya hadn't interfered, they wouldn't have been forced into this deadly clash.
The Nine-Tails would've already been sealed into the Gedo Statue, and dozens of lives might have been spared.
Still, not everyone saw it that way. Among the more pragmatic shinobi of Sunagakure and Kumogakure, some viewed Jiraiya's actions as oddly beneficial. Without the Ten-Tails being revived, their chances in the power struggle had unexpectedly improved.
Of course, such sentiments could not be spoken aloud.
"You wanted thanks?" Pakura snapped. "Then here's my thank-you gift!"
She launched a scorching attack in Jiraiya's direction.
"Let's see if you can catch it!"
Clusters of scorching, superheated orbs launched from Pakura's hands—a signature of her deadly Scorch Release—rained down like meteor fireballs, bombarding Jiraiya's path.
The Sannin narrowly evaded them, though his hair and robes were singed, and his expression was hard to read. Was he genuinely flustered—or just putting on a show?
"Hey, hey, no need to get so fired up!" Jiraiya called out, waving his hands. "I'm not asking for a thank-you or anything. And I promise not to interfere with your next move, okay? Fair deal?"
Even as he shouted, he retreated at full speed. Despite being a Kage-level shinobi, Jiraiya understood the danger of confronting a similarly ranked enemy plus their backup. Tactical retreat was the only option.
But Pakura, resurrected via Edo Tensei, had no intention of letting him off the hook. Her relentless Scorch Release attacks forced Jiraiya into a desperate, defensive scramble.
In contrast, the other kunoichi present—one from the Hidden Mist—displayed an entirely different demeanor.
That woman was undoubtedly Mei Terumi, the future Fifth Mizukage.
Though not as renowned as Pakura due to the latter's martyr-like legacy in Sunagakure, Mei's strength was beyond question. Still, in this chaotic chase, she seemed unmotivated, her presence overshadowed by Pakura's aggressive onslaught.
Even her loyal subordinates from Kirigakure appeared hesitant, pursuing Jiraiya with minimal effort. Given Jiraiya's earlier disguise as a Hidden Mist shinobi, it wasn't hard to suspect some deeper understanding between them.
In truth, while Mei did not openly support Jiraiya, she subtly aided him. Her reasons were not sentimental but grounded in growing suspicion—suspicion toward the current Mizukage: Yagura Karatachi.
Though a fearsome shinobi and the Three-Tails Jinchūriki, Yagura's actions as Mizukage had become increasingly erratic. First, he doubled down on the Bloody Mist policies of his predecessor. Then, without warning, he reversed those policies and advocated for alliances with other villages—particularly against Konoha. And strangest of all, he had recently begun speaking of the Ten-Tails, a being most considered a myth.
Such wild fluctuations might have been dismissed as political strategy—or madness. But Yagura's final move shattered any doubts: as the host of the Three-Tails, he willingly had it extracted, ensuring his own death.
If this was a self-sacrifice for Kirigakure's benefit, there should have been contingencies. At the very least, he could have arranged for a Mist shinobi to become the next Jinchūriki. But Yagura left no such plan. It was as if his death only served an external agenda.
Having witnessed his demise herself, Mei could no longer remain complicit. That's why she turned a blind eye to Jiraiya's sabotage of the sealing ritual.
Moreover, she had been warned.
Before departing the village with Yagura's forces, Gengetsu Hōzuki, the reanimated Second Mizukage and respected elder, entrusted her with a final message.
---
> "I witnessed the founding of the Hidden Mist—from the Warring States to the era of villages. I've seen clans vanish, nations fall, and ideals collapse.
Some things are meant to be left behind by history. Even the mighty Uzumaki clan fell to the system they once supported.
This old man may not know if the world is changing again—but if it is, then the future belongs to you.
Remember, Mei: People matter most. So long as the people endure, the village can be rebuilt."
---
The weight of those words rested heavily on Mei's shoulders.
BOOM!
Suddenly, the ground trembled violently.
Everyone—Jiraiya, Pakura, Mei—froze and turned toward the source: the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
In their shocked gazes, the grotesque giant moved. With a rumble that shook the battlefield, it stepped forward—its gaze locked on the Nine-Tails.
The most stunned among them was Ōnoki, the elderly Tsuchikage.
No—"stunned" didn't begin to describe it. Ōnoki had always believed the Demonic Statue was inert, just a container for the Tailed Beasts—useless until the Ten-Tails' revival.
But the truth was now laid bare: the statue had always been active. Worse still, eight of the nine Tailed Beasts had already been sealed within it. Only the Nine-Tails remained.
Ōnoki's heart twisted in rage. He had been a pawn in someone else's game all along—Nagato's game.
Unforgivable.
"If I kill him now," Ōnoki seethed, "the Ten-Tails can still be mine."
Fueled by fury, Ōnoki launched himself at Nagato, heedless of the risks. It didn't matter whether Nagato was the only one capable of completing the sealing.
It was a desperate move. And too late.
"Hmph." Nagato scoffed, evading Ōnoki's assault with ease.
Though Ōnoki's Dust Release—a rare Kekkei Tōta—was a legitimate threat, even Nagato was cautious. Absorbing it with the Preta Path was too risky.
Still, Ōnoki, even in his fury, was no match for Nagato now. Especially not when the Rinnegan wielder was pouring his chakra into awakening the Ten-Tails.
Soon, the world would tremble—not from war, but from the return of a god.
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