A roaring sound came from beneath their feet.
The terrifying chakra fluctuation sent a shiver through the three figures standing a thousand meters in the air. They hurriedly looked down toward the source of the noise.
On top of a massive fissure, dozens of meters in diameter, a figure enveloped in a pitch-black glow was rapidly closing the distance between them, accompanied by a piercing screech as it tore through the air.
Though Kei's hair color and chakra aura had changed significantly, and his body now carried an unpleasant senjutsu energy, Black Zetsu, who had forcibly taken over Yagura's consciousness, still recognized him at a glance.
"This guy's sensory range is even greater than the intelligence suggested!"
He quickly realized where the problem lay.
Based on his gathered intel, Kei's sensory radius was five kilometers. Judging by the distance at which he had engaged in battle with Rasa and Pakura just now, he should never have been able to sense their presence.
Moreover, since Kei had exposed his abilities in front of Rasa and Pakura just to minimize Konoha's casualties, logically, once the battle ended, he should have immediately used the Flying Thunder God Technique to head to the main battlefield.
Even if he sensed their presence afterward, he wouldn't have disengaged so easily, as he would have prioritized ensuring more Konoha ninjas survived until reinforcements arrived.
Yet he suddenly appeared here.
The only explanation was that he had detected them first. He must have judged that their presence posed a greater threat than the Iwa and Suna forces below.
And his previous actions weren't to minimize the thousand casualties—but merely to ensure they could hold out until reinforcements arrived, preventing a total collapse.
He should have realized this sooner.
A man capable of killing an elderly Madara—if he had joined Root, how could he possibly remain subservient to Danzō?! For all he knew, Danzō had already become his puppet! Even the list of a thousand ninjas used as bait—who knew how much weight those names carried?!
"Those who are good at hiding always like to reveal half and conceal the other half." Ōnoki spoke in the tone of an experienced veteran, lecturing the Yagura beside him.
Glancing sideways at the battlefield near the Konoha encampment, he sneered internally.
A few days ago, he had already learned from Yagura that these one thousand Konoha ninjas were merely bait thrown out by Konoha. Agreeing to let the clueless Suna forces ambush the Konoha encampment, was simply because he believed he could devour the bait in one bite without suffering too many losses.
Even if Konoha's reinforcements arrived, as long as the numbers were evenly matched, the worst-case scenario would be a prolonged stalemate.
The dead from Konoha and Suna wouldn't come back to life.
Now, this unexpected enemy had chosen not to reinforce the battlefield, but instead, came straight for them alone.
Since the Mizukage was also here, why not take this chance to keep him here? Even if they failed, they could at least gauge his strength.
Ōnoki's figure hovered midair, arms extended before him. Between his palms, chakra frantically gathered, and a translucent cubic structure, glowing faintly white, swiftly formed.
He aimed at the rapidly approaching Kei.
"Do you have any abilities to restrict his movements? Against an enemy like this, the best strategy is to unleash our strongest techniques and finish him in one strike!"
"Leave it to us." Yagura nodded slightly after a brief silence and signaled to the blindfolded masked man beside him—Tobi, who floated downward beneath them.
Forming hand seals, chakra smoke billowed upward.
A Kiri ninja, blindfolded and covered in eerie black rods, appeared beside him. Without any communication, the newly summoned ninja immediately spread both arms downward.
A terrifying gravitational force erupted from him.
Kei's already immense speed suddenly doubled, rendering him unable to control his movement!
At the same time, after briefly gathering chakra, Tobi forcefully pushed both hands downward. He compressed the chakra into a highly condensed black sphere and launched it directly at Kei, who was now less than a hundred meters away.
A terrifying gravitational force erupted from the black sphere.
Kei, moving at extreme speed, quickly clapped his hands together in midair as the howling winds roared around him.
A surge of powerful senjutsu chakra burst forth.
From the rising chakra mist, countless roots and branches erupted from his body.
With Sage Mode amplification, even though he was high above the ground, away from the earth, by using only a small number of cells as seeds, he could still wield the power of Wood Release!
The vast sea of trees surged and expanded at an incredible rate.
The terrifying pull of Chibaku Tensei, which absorbed everything in its vicinity, rapidly sucked in the wildly growing roots and branches!
In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a massive wooden sphere with a diameter of dozens of meters!
Kei clapped his hands again.
One after another, Sage Mode-enhanced wood clones emerged from the surface of the wooden sphere. They all clapped their hands in unison, further enhancing the power of Wood Release.
In an instant, the already massive wooden sphere expanded several times larger.
A wood clone standing at the very top of the sphere was now less than ten meters away from Ōnoki and Yagura.
"Wood Release?!" Ōnoki's face was filled with sheer horror.
He had been on guard against the Kiri ninja controlling the gravitational pull and summoning the unknown black sphere.
But the moment he saw Wood Release, his mind was overwhelmed by pure dread. Having personally witnessed the monstrous power of Prime Hashirama and Prime Madara, he knew exactly what Wood Release represented.
It was the might that had once dominated an entire era!
"Quick!" Black Zetsu, who had taken over Yagura's consciousness, spoke urgently.
With a swift motion, he slapped a storage seal on his left arm, causing chakra mist to rise as he gripped a staff adorned with green floral decorations. His chakra flared wildly, and he subtly shifted his body, half-hiding behind Tobi.
His eyes locked onto the massive wooden sphere and the wood clone's delighted expression.
"!!!!"
Ōnoki, suddenly jolted awake by Black Zetsu's warning, didn't have time to think. The white cube that had been gathering energy in his palm for so long, was hurled straight toward the wooden sphere ahead!
Buzz—
The white cube shot forward.
In the blink of an eye, it positioned itself between the wood clone and the group, now only a breath's distance away.
A terrifying vibration, akin to a spatial tremor, resonated through the air, as the white cube instantly expanded into a massive cube with a diameter of dozens of meters, engulfing the Chibaku Tensei core.
Everything within its range was disintegrated into atoms!
However, the Wood Release sphere was simply too massive.
At the edges of the cube's range, large chunks of wood remained intact, along with two wood clones still grinning brightly.
Tobi quickly formed hand seals.
From the rising chakra mist, five identical puppets—each resembling the previously summoned Kiri ninja—appeared by his side.
Meanwhile, behind him, Black Zetsu, controlling Yagura's body, activated the Three-Tails' chakra, instantly entering a half-tailed beast state, his body glowing with an ominous red aura.
Swoosh— Swoosh—
Two wood clones, enveloped in black senjutsu chakra, launched themselves forward in a blur.
In an instant, they reached the six obstructing puppets.
Each of them unleashed a massive senjutsu-enhanced Big Ball Rasengan, each one several meters in diameter, and smashed them straight toward the puppets.