The air was thick with smoke and the stench of blood. The battlefield of the Allied Shinobi Forces looked more like a graveyard than a war camp.
"Medical ninja! Medical ninja, come quickly!" someone screamed, their voice hoarse with panic.
Another voice shouted, "Hokage-sama, something terrible has happened! One of the medical teams… the one in the center… they were blown up!"
"What?!" Uchiha Fugaku's voice cut like steel, disbelief flashing across his stern face. "Are you kidding me?!"
A squad leader rushed up, his forehead protector smeared with blood. "It's true, Hokage-sama. The explosion… it tore through the center camp. One of our best medical units was right there."
"Everyone, stop standing around!" Fugaku barked, his eyes scanning the chaos. "Lend us medical ninja from your villages—immediately!"
Ohnoki, the wizened Third Tsuchikage, crossed his arms stubbornly despite the blood trickling from his lip. "I can't spare a single one. We have more injured in our forces than you do."
"Damn it…" The Fourth Raikage, Ai, growled as he clutched his bleeding arm, the muscles beneath still rippling with tension. His voice was raw with rage. "The Akatsuki… they're insane! There had to be at least a hundred thousand explosive tags in that pile!"
The memory of the blast was still fresh—the deafening roar, the blinding flash, the wave of fire and shrapnel. In that single moment, every Cloud shinobi who had come with Ai had been obliterated. Every comrade he'd brought… gone. He alone had walked away alive.
Luo Sha, the Fourth Kazekage, clenched his teeth until his jaw ached. "We underestimated them."
They hadn't even come face-to-face with the Akatsuki's main fighting force, and yet… half of the thousands of ninja they'd assembled were already dead or too injured to fight.
The question gnawed at everyone's mind, though none dared speak it aloud: With the numbers we have left, can we really defeat Akatsuki?
The cries of the wounded filled the air. Many lay on the ground writhing, their arms and legs mangled beyond recognition. The soil beneath them had turned to mud, soaked through with blood. A leg here, an arm there—the explosive talismans had ripped bodies apart as if they were paper.
A few medical ninja moved between the injured, their hands glowing green as they worked desperately. But the truth was bitter—they were overwhelmed. Many could do no more than stop the bleeding and hope the patient would last long enough to be evacuated.
"Move the wounded, now!" Fugaku ordered sharply. "If they aren't treated immediately, they'll die!"
But Konoha had been hit the hardest. The blast's epicenter had been right where their medical corps was stationed. Most of their healers were dead—their bodies charred and broken—leaving their forces vulnerable. Without medical support, the injuries would quickly turn fatal.
It was an impossible choice, but Fugaku made it without hesitation. "Those uninjured or still able to move, carry the wounded and get them out of here. Now!"
Konoha shinobi who could still stand immediately began lifting their comrades, slinging them over shoulders or fashioning makeshift stretchers from torn cloaks and broken weapons.
Seeing this, the leaders of the other villages grew tense.
"Fifth Hokage!" Ohnoki's voice rose sharply. "You can't just pull your troops out now! If so many of your forces leave, there's no way we can beat Akatsuki!"
"That's right!" said Karatachi Shikura, the Mizukage's representative. "You can't be this selfish! Your retreat means the rest of our forces will be under even more pressure!"
Luo Sha hesitated, his eyes narrowing. He and Fugaku had been allies for years, and they shared the same mission. But the truth in the other Kages' words was undeniable—if Konoha's forces withdrew, their chances of victory would plummet.
And if they failed to beat Akatsuki, Luo Sha would never be able to save his own—Obito's fate was sealed. That was something he could not accept.
After a long pause, he finally spoke. "Fifth Hokage… to achieve our goal, sacrifices must be made."
Ohnoki's lips curled in agreement. "The Fourth Kazekage is right. Your shinobi may die… but so will ours. This isn't the time to think only of your own village."
"Exactly," Shikura added, her voice hard. "You must consider the bigger picture."
Inside, Fugaku sneered at their righteousness. He knew exactly what they feared—that without Konoha's numbers, the Alliance would crumble before Akatsuki. Still… they weren't entirely wrong.
If Konoha left… could they still win?
He was still weighing the grim reality when an icy voice shattered the air.
"Haha… since you refuse to leave, then I'll bury you all here. Shinra Tensei!"
The words carried such malice that every veteran on the field felt the hair on the back of their neck stand on end.
"Oh no—get down!" Luo Sha barked, instantly summoning a barrier of golden sand in front of him.
He didn't need to see the attacker to recognize the technique. That cold tone, that move—it could only belong to a member of Akatsuki.
He had seen Shinra Tensei before. He knew the scale of its destructive power. If they didn't defend in time, they were finished.
But not everyone reacted as quickly. Most turned toward the voice instead, searching for the source.
That single fatal glance cost them dearly. The air itself seemed to convulse, and in the next instant, a massive wave of repulsive force blasted outward. The ground tore, rocks and soil were flung like shrapnel, and bodies flew through the air like ragdolls.
Ninjas hit the earth hard, coughing blood.
Ohnoki staggered to his knees, his face pale and slick with sweat. "What… what kind of jutsu is this?!"
"Damn you, Akatsuki!" Ai snarled, forcing himself to his feet. In an instant, a sheath of blue lightning engulfed him, crackling and snapping with raw power. His Lightning Release Armor flared brilliantly, heightening his speed and strength to superhuman levels.
In the blink of an eye, Ai vanished, the ground cracking beneath where he had stood. He reappeared behind Nagato, blade arcing toward the man's neck with deadly precision.
The air burned with the scent of ozone as arcs of lightning danced along the blade. This was an execution strike—if it landed, Nagato would be incapacitated or worse.
But Nagato didn't flinch. His voice, cold and empty, echoed. "Shinra Tensei."
A crushing wave of force erupted from him, slamming into Ai mid-strike. The Raikage was hurled back like a ragdoll, but he twisted in midair, landing hard on his feet.
"Don't underestimate me!" Ai roared, vanishing again in a burst of speed.
"Lightning Release: Lariat!" His arm glowed with an even more intense light as he slammed into Nagato's abdomen.
The impact cracked the air like thunder. Ai's chakra surged into the blow, lightning raging violently against Nagato's body.
A grim smile crossed Ai's face. "This… is what you get for provoking me!"
For a moment, he believed he'd done it—that Nagato was finished.
But then, Nagato's voice came again. "…Hungry Ghost Path."
Ai's smirk froze. The lightning armor on his arm flickered, then began to fade entirely. He stared in shock. "What… what is this?!"
Not just the armor—his very chakra was being sucked away, pulled from his body into Nagato's hand. It felt like the life was being drained from him.
Panic surged through him. His skin went cold, his muscles weak. He tried to pull back, to break away, but Nagato's grip was like iron.
"Universal Pull," Nagato murmured.
A violent force seized Ai, yanking him back toward Nagato. His feet left the ground, his body dragged helplessly forward.
Nagato's hand shot out, slamming against Ai's chest. Then, with a slow, almost casual motion, he pulled.
A faintly glowing, translucent shape began to emerge from Ai's body—his very soul. The Raikage screamed in agony, his mind consumed by sheer terror..
He could feel himself slipping away, his consciousness fraying.
In desperation, his voice cracked as he shouted toward the distant ranks of the Alliance, "Don't just stand there—help me!"
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