"These guys are barely worth the effort. These are the ones who breached Konoha, the strongest of the ninja villages?"
Satori calmly hovered in the air, filled with contempt. He thought how easily he himself could wipe out all these intruders.
Konoha was in such chaos—it was almost laughable.
"Is that so?"
A cold male voice interrupted. Immediately, Satori felt a sudden pressure and nearly plummeted downward.
Struggling to stabilize himself midair, he looked up—only to find his entire field of vision blocked by a giant blue chakra figure.
Was he being stepped on?
Furious, Satori bellowed, "Who the hell are you?"
Madara Uchiha smiled slightly as his Susanoo drew its longsword and slashed straight down.
"Eh... Arghhh..."
Satori's body uncontrollably fell earthward while everything within his sight drifted farther away. Pain overtook every sense he had.
He watched helplessly as his body split apart and slammed into the ground below. Unable to struggle or do anything at all, he lost all sensation...
Without lingering, Madara cast a brief glance down before continuing his ascent.
Hovering midair, he looked down at the chaotic crowd below.
[Heavenly Obstacle Quaking Star!]
The clouds rumbled ominously, like thunder rolling through the sky.
Suddenly, a dark spot appeared in the distance.
Then it began growing larger and larger, eventually blocking the sun itself.
The daylight dimmed significantly.
Everyone below raised their heads simultaneously to look.
That rumbling sound grew increasingly intense. Something pierced through the clouds, drawing closer into view by the second, until finally they could see clearly—
It was an enormous sphere hundreds of meters across.
"...This big? Is it going to crash down on us?" One man swallowed hard, stunned as he muttered aloud.
"Could this be the end today..."
This was precisely what both Konoha shinobi and those from other villages were thinking at the same time.
"Hey! Do you have any idea what's happening up there? Was this caused by Kazekage?" A Rock Ninja asked the Sand Ninja next to him.
The Sand Ninja stood dumbfounded, shaking his head blankly.
"Don't just stand there staring! Run! As far away as you can!" Someone cried hoarsely, moving his trembling legs with great effort.
Although the Heavenly Obstacle Quaking Star wouldn't completely cover Konoha's territory, anyone with half a brain knew that such a massive object hurtling down from miles high would bring immeasurable destruction.
"We're pulling back too," Kakuzu said grimly. Along with the rest of Akatsuki, they loosened their encirclement around Hiroki and kept retreating further away.
After watching them disappear into the distance, Hiroki looked up at the sky again.
"So Madara Uchiha really came back to life. Still, something like this should be easy enough to slice through..."
Muttering to himself, Hiroki stretched his hand upward, mimicking a cutting motion toward the sky.
Below the surface of the earth, Black Zetsu's heart pounded fiercely.
Right now everyone—including Hiroki Hyuga—was focused on the Heavenly Obstacle Quaking Star above.
Perhaps this was the best chance to eliminate him...
Once he was gone, I'll be Mother's only support left—and then Madara Uchiha will no longer be useful either.
Holding onto these thoughts, Black Zetsu slowly approached from behind Hiroki Hyuga's back, aided by White Zetsu's sensor ability.
Closer. Even closer.
The first sphere of [Heavenly Obstacle Quaking Star] was now merely dozens of meters above ground.
In Hiroki Hyuga's hand, Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion had already fully materialized.
Fully charged.
Total concentration.
"Now!" Mentally rejoicing, Black Zetsu suddenly reached out a pitch-black hand from the ground, aiming straight for Hiroki Hyuga's heart.
A grin spread across his face, impossible to suppress.
Die! he snarled under his breath.
Disgusting little brat!
Shua!
At the very moment his fingers made contact, Hiroki Hyuga's body transformed into a swarm of crimson origami cranes.
Black Zetsu's expression froze instantly.
The red origami birds flew a short distance away before reforming into Hiroki Hyuga himself.
Hiroki Hyuga stared at the now-exposed Black Zetsu, lips curling in mockery.
"So it's you who's been pulling strings all along, Black Zetsu. Oopsie, Hiroki Hyuga almost got killed there. Too bad though—you just didn't have complete intel..."
Black Zetsu's heart immediately turned to ash.
Finished. Exposed. Would Mother sacrifice me for him?
Madara, I hope you can actually deliver this time!
"White Zetsu, and you too..."
Stared down by Hei, White Zetsu felt genuinely confused.
We're enemies, right? Isn't it fair play to use every means possible?
Thanks to this interruption from Black Zetsu, Hiroki Hyuga missed the timing to destroy [Heavenly Obstacle Quaking Star].
This colossal orb ultimately plummeted downward.
A sense of awe and dread gripped the hearts of all who witnessed it.
It was as if the heavens had shattered, light devoured by darkness.
Awaiting the arrival of doomsday.
At this moment, time appeared frozen.
A high-pitched buzzing filled everyone's ears.
Konoha would be destroyed...
Many clung desperately to that single thought before falling into endless darkness.
...
More than half of Konoha lay in ruins.
Centered around Hokage Building, practically every notable structure was obliterated.
Hokage Rock—the giant stone statues carved into the mountainside—alongside various administrative buildings, luxurious residences of prestigious clans, entire sections of commercial district shops...
Only the outer forest ring surrounding the village remained somewhat recognizable.
How many lives were lost? Hiroki Hyuga couldn't count immediately.
A massive crater formed upon the earth.
Most people became buried somewhere underground.
Even those whose limbs were intact, bodies unbroken, and who'd escaped being buried alive—
Still struggled to breathe, covered in dust, hovering near death.
Commoners and ordinary ninja who had mustered the courage to flee, even managing to move far from the epicenter,
Still couldn't escape Death's scythe.
Under a broken stone slab nearby, Hidan lay motionless on the ground, muttering softly: "I'm saying—we shouldn't go out yet. Madara doesn't give a damn about any of us..."
Not far away, several other figures also laid flat on the ground. These were Akatsuki Organization teammates. Silent, maintaining corpse-like positions.
Regarding Hidan's opinion, they offered no commentary, keeping still.
Madara Uchiha's [Heavenly Obstacle Quaking Star] was a devastating, non-discriminatory attack that left everyone shaken.
It wasn't just Konoha suffering heavy losses—his own forces, along with the allied Rock and Sand ninja, had also been severely weakened.
Even White Zetsu had lost quite a few of his clones, which frustrated him greatly.
Just as he was stewing in his annoyance, Black Zetsu pulled their fused bodies apart.
"Hey hey hey, Black Zetsu, what are you up to now…" White Zetsu grumbled.
"Quiet! Go check if Sasuke and the others are dead," Black Zetsu snapped, wanting him to stop fussing.
He completely detached from White Zetsu's body and randomly took over the corpse of a fallen ninja.
Right now, his mind was a mess, unable to figure out the next move.
Among the surviving ninjas on the battlefield, some were still struggling, while others simply pretended to be dead.
High above in the sky, Madara Uchiha still stood within his massive Susanoo.
His [Heavenly Obstacle Quaking Star] had originally summoned two meteors from outer space. So far, only one had been launched.
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