Chapter 116: This is All the Dragon Vein's Fault!
On the Moon.
Inside the temple, the three Elders sat in solemn meditation, instructing Toneri in his studies.
Although Toneri had been born without eyes, his potential was boundless. To these three Elders, he was the last, best hope of their lineage. Even though he lived in darkness, he had been raised with strict discipline, never allowed the slightest bit of laziness.
"Toneri," the Great Elder said, watching the boy gasp for breath, "I know things are difficult now, but once you obtain your eyes, you'll be able to wield the power of the Tenseigan."
"Endure a little longer. Work hard. The will of our ancestors—and the future of the world—rests upon your shoulders."
"I understand. I won't let anyone down," Toneri replied with a firm nod.
He had grown up hearing these words. And he had been working toward that goal all his life.
Even though being blind meant his efforts cost him far more than others, he had never once complained.
"Good."
All three Elders nodded in approval, clearly pleased with his mindset.
But just then—
"Hm?" the Great Elder muttered.
All three suddenly sensed something… even Toneri noticed the shift.
They turned toward the Tenseigan, which had always floated in quiet slumber—but now it surged with activity. Golden chakra pulsed through it, rolling like ocean waves. It had been activated again!
It had been over a month since the Tenseigan was last disturbed. Since then, they had largely recovered their strength and had been patiently waiting for whoever had stolen its power to make another move.
And now, it seemed, that moment had finally come.
"Is it that person again?" asked the Third Elder, the most radical of the three. He quickly stepped forward, voice low and tense.
"He's finally here?"
"Don't rush," the Great Elder said calmly. After a moment of contemplation, he raised his hand, letting his chakra begin to circulate.
"Help me. I need to observe the situation more closely."
"Understood."
The Second and Third Elders nodded and quickly formed hand seals to assist him in synchronizing with the Tenseigan.
In an instant, aided by their support, the Great Elder's consciousness extended through the giant eye's power, gazing down upon the ninja world below.
Distance ceased to matter. In just a few breaths, his vision had crossed from the Moon to the battlefield in the Land of Wind.
But what he saw there left him stunned.
"What is it?"
"What did you find?" the Second and Third Elders asked, noticing his hesitation.
"That place…" the Great Elder said, frowning deeply. "Something strange is happening. A massive surge of natural energy has suddenly appeared and is shrouding everything. I can't see a thing."
"That's never happened before. And the Tenseigan's power—it's not being channeled into a person this time."
"This is bad!"
His expression suddenly darkened.
"That person... they're using the Tenseigan to attack a location completely saturated in natural energy. Have they gone mad!?"
"The Forbidden Lands?" the Third Elder's eyes lit up. He lowered his voice. "Why don't we help him? This could be a good opportunity to figure out what those places really are."
"No!"
Before the Great Elder could respond, the Second Elder immediately cut in.
"Did you forget what our ancestors wrote in the records? Even if we want to look… haven't you noticed?"
"The Tenseigan is consuming far too much power. It's affecting us. And more importantly—our control over it is slipping!"
As the chakra surging into the giant Tenseigan grew more intense, the eye's rotation had already begun to exceed safe limits.
Even though this chakra wasn't enough to overwhelm the eye directly, such erratic operation was bound to cause serious consequences.
Worse still, their control over the Tenseigan was weakening. It felt as if some higher authority was forcefully stealing the reins.
If not for their proximity and mastery of secret techniques, they would have lost all control already.
"Enough arguing—we need to take back control," the Great Elder said grimly after a long silence.
"We don't know what's really happening down there. All we can do now is wait for further developments.
But we must stop the Tenseigan's rampage. And we absolutely cannot lose control of it.
We cannot allow a second Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to appear!"
"Damn it, what the hell is going on?!" the Third Elder cursed, glaring at the still-surging Tenseigan, but none of them had a viable solution.
None of them noticed the subtle change in Toneri's expression.
He had always been deeply attuned to the Tenseigan, and he was destined to master it one day.
Now, he could feel it—there was another chakra present. A familiar force, incredibly close to his own, was subtly influencing the eye.
That chakra flowed silently, yet surged with terrifying power, descending upon the desert of the Land of Wind with the light of the moon.
---
BOOM—
BOOM BOOM—
A violent explosion of chakra tore through the landscape.
What began as faint starlight suddenly burst outward with terrifying intensity, an unstoppable wave of power engulfing everything in its path.
The ground quaked under the pressure. Sand erupted into the sky. Cracks split open the earth like jagged scars, and even though sand tried to fill the gaps, it couldn't bury the devastation.
Blinding white light flashed again and again, illuminating the grey skies like midday sun.
The brilliance was so intense, no one could keep their eyes open.
Nearby, the ancient city of Rōran was instantly swept up in the shockwave. Its outer walls and towering spires crumbled like paper in the wind.
And the destruction didn't stop—it surged deeper into the city, consuming high-rise buildings one after another.
"Damn it!"
"What the hell is going on!?"
"AAAAAHHHH—!!"
At the heart of the battlefield, many shinobi from the Hidden Cloud and Sand Village had just arrived and hadn't even figured out the situation—
Before their bodies were ripped apart by the light. Some managed a cry of confusion, others couldn't even scream before they were utterly erased by the searing energy.
"Damn it!" Orochimaru cursed under his breath.
Without hesitation, he commanded Manda to open its mouth. In one swift movement, he leapt inside.
At the same time, he had Manda perform Reverse Summoning Jutsu, attempting to escape the disaster.
But it was too late.
The white light engulfed Manda's body before it could vanish.
"Orochimaru, you bastard—!"
Manda let out one last anguished roar before it, too, was swallowed by the blinding radiance.
The surging energy continued to spread, even affecting the distant parts of the battlefield.
"Hmm?!"
Sasori immediately sensed something was wrong. But before he could react, the pale, moonlight-like beam of white chakra had already engulfed his puppet—engulfing it in flames!
"What is this…?!"
Sasori's face filled with confusion and shock. Acting quickly, he maneuvered his puppets to form a human wall, commanding the Third Kazekage to unleash Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wall.
But the destructive force of this energy wave far exceeded his expectations.
Even with his rapid response, it was too late. The white light pierced through the Iron Sand and swept through all of his puppets!
Buzz—
His carefully crafted puppets were obliterated one after another, burning and crumbling in a cascade of destruction. In mere seconds, almost all of his combat-ready puppets had been reduced to ash.
Even his newly rebuilt body was shattered under the blast—scattering parts, weapons, and even his own puppet was all over the sand.
"Damn it, what the hell is going on?!"
Sasori's eyes turned red with fury. He had poured so much effort into rebuilding himself—and now, it was all gone.
But this wasn't the time to grieve.
Without hesitation, he controlled the Third Kazekage to fly into the air. Though damaged, the puppet was still functional.
"This is my only chance."
As the puppet ascended, he launched his core into its body. For a puppet like him, the physical frame could be discarded. As long as the core remained intact, he could always rebuild.
---
"Did the Dragon Vein erupt?"
Chiyo, witnessing the devastation, immediately began retreating. Still, she couldn't help but wonder.
This level of destruction... only a Dragon Vein eruption could explain it.
Not that she had time to think. Even with Sasori absorbing part of the impact, the overwhelming energy was already upon her.
"So this… this is the Dragon Vein? It's even more terrifying than a Tailed Beast Bomb!"
Chiyo had witnessed countless battles and had seen the power of the Tailed Beasts firsthand. But even she was shaken.
She glanced at the cracked, fragmented earth—then made a split-second decision.
Puppet Art: Light Shield Seal!
She summoned every remaining puppet she had, rapidly weaving hand signs.
Instantly, her puppets gathered and transformed their chakra into a massive protective shield.
As she braced against the shockwave, she seized the moment to leap into a nearby crevice that had torn open in the sand.
Still, her body was battered and bruised by the impact.
---
"You damn bastards! You all deserve to die!!"
On another part of the battlefield, Kakuzu roared in fury. He had just lost three more hearts to another sneak attack.
Only one life remained, and he was forcing himself to stay calm.
Suddenly, a thunderous quake erupted from a distance.
Moments later, an invisible wave of energy swept across the battlefield, stirring up an enormous sandstorm as it surged toward them.
Kakuzu's face instantly turned pale.
Even Kakashi and Guy, who were observing from afar, realized something was very wrong.
Before they could react, their figures flickered and disappeared from where they stood.
"Hey! Where the hell did you go?! You still owe me an answer!"
Hidan shouted furiously, but then he too noticed the oncoming wave of destruction.
"What the hell…?"
He scratched his head, just as his supposedly immortal body began to break apart.
---
"What's happening?"
Within Kamui's dimension, Uchiha Obito was making his way toward the Land of Wind.
He was planning to ensure Kakuzu's team survived. But now, three strange, hideous creatures suddenly appeared in front of him.
"…These look like Kakuzu's creations? Wait—Kakashi?!"
A realization hit Obito like lightning.
This must have been Kakashi's doing—using his own Sharingan power against him!
"Damn it…"
He couldn't afford to waste any more time. His Mangekyō Sharingan spun, and in a flash of distorted space, he vanished.
He emerged moments later at the location Black Zetsu had given him.
But just as he peeked out from the warped space, a torrent of white light came surging toward him.
---
"So this… this is the power of the Tenseigan?"
On the other side of the battlefield, Kitagawa Gen stood beside Kakashi and Guy, staring in awe at the scene before them.
He had known that the Giant Tenseigan could unleash devastating attacks—like a planetary cannon.
But after accessing the eye using the special "Tenseigan authority" he possessed, he had decided to fire one massive shot.
The results, however, were more terrifying than expected.
It felt comparable to a fully powered slash from Uchiha Madara's Perfect Susano'o...
...or a full-force blast from the Nine Tails—or even the Ten Tails!
---
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Kitagawa's expression shifted. He felt the energy link with the Moon abruptly sever.
The white light slowly faded, and the destruction of the ancient city of Rōran finally came to a halt.
"Gen, what the hell just happened?"
Kakashi and Guy stared at the aftermath in disbelief, turning toward Kitagawa in confusion.
"…I don't know either."
Kitagawa quickly put on a look of feigned innocence. Then, as if struck by inspiration, his eyes lit up and he pointed into the distance.
"But I'm guessing it's that thing over there. When I was scouting earlier, I saw Orochimaru messing with some kind of seal. I think he accidentally unleashed this energy."
"That thing?"
Kakashi and Guy turned to look, spotting a strange chakra mist rising from within Rōran.
Kitagawa nodded solemnly—his timing was perfect.
Everything… was the Dragon Vein's fault.
It had nothing to do with him. Not even a little.