Chapter 248: The Continuation of the Battlefield
"What… what is this?!"
"Help… help!"
"Medical team, medical team!"
…
A piercing, high-pitched ringing echoed in Sasuke's ears, disorienting him.
The chaotic voices around him—screams, cries, distant explosions—blurred together like the screeching of crows, leaving him irritated and nauseous. The stench of iron and blood filled his nostrils, making his stomach churn.
What happened?
Just a moment ago, he was charging toward the man called Nagato alongside Kakashi-sensei. And then… nothing. A blank space in his memory.
Grimacing, Sasuke reached for the short blade at his waist and struggled to slice the massive boulder pinning him down in two.
As soon as the rock split, a torrent of thick, hot blood gushed from the cracks, drenching him in an instant.
Pooh!
He spat out the blood that splashed into his mouth, his expression turning grim as he slowly stood up.
Sunlight returned to his field of view, and as his vision cleared, he froze in place.
Far ahead, what had once been a lush, green forest had been reduced to cracked yellow earth—lifeless, scorched, and still smoldering.
All around him, the cries of the wounded, desperate pleas for help, and roars of rage filled the air. Corpses littered the ground, many of them faces he recognized—former comrades from the First Combat Unit.
Just moments ago, they were alive and fighting beside him. Now, they were cold and silent.
"…I remember now."
Sasuke turned, his expression dark, eyes narrowing as he locked onto a black speck in the distant sky.
The three tomoe of his Sharingan spun wildly. The black speck slowly came into focus. A man stood suspended in the sky, the sunlight casting his figure in a divine, almost celestial glow.
The memories returned like shards—fragments of terror and awe.
It wasn't the first time Sasuke had seen a jutsu amplified through numbers. But this… this was on a scale he had never imagined. Tens of thousands of shinobi had poured their chakra into a single, colossal Fire Release technique.
The resulting fire dragon had taken form like a living myth—massive, radiant, a force of nature that could topple mountains.
Its sheer size made speed meaningless. There was nowhere to run. No escape. Perhaps even a tailed beast would be wounded by its wrath.
And yet—despite this godlike assault—the man with the Rinnegan had blocked it.
Blocked it effortlessly.
Their side suffered heavy casualties.
If Sasuke hadn't instinctively dodged the Earth Release jutsu from a nearby Iwagakure shinobi, the shockwave alone would've torn him apart.
Trees, rocks—everything had been swept away like sand, and the battlefield was wiped clean… leaving only Nagato.
The Eye of God. Power beyond understanding.
In that moment, Sasuke felt the pride he once held in his Sharingan dim. Compared to those eyes, his own seemed like fireflies beneath the moonlight.
Is that really the kind of person Uchiha Itachi serves under?
Sasuke frowned, and the short blade in his hand began to tremble.
…
"Lord Nagato has shown his strength. He is worthy of leading us to the peak of the ninja world! Now—choose! Those willing to join the Akatsuki and follow the gods toward peace, charge with us!"
The Allied Forces were still in chaos—medical teams scrambling to treat the wounded, battlefield communications barely functioning as sensory ninja relayed reports from the front.
Meanwhile, in the Hidden Mist Village, jubilation broke out.
Survivors from the Rain Village—those who had been on missions and missed the battle—spread tales of divine power. Their words stirred something in the hearts of rebellious Kirigakure shinobi.
One after another, they stood up.
They had seen enough.
Who would choose to stand against a man who obliterated the Five Great Nations' joint force in a single strike?
"Go!"
"For peace!"
"For Lord Nagato!"
A frenzied mob of rogue ninjas surged out from the Hidden Mist's gates—disorganized, uncommanded, but driven by faith.
They charged toward the remnants of the Allied First Combat Unit like rabid bulls.
After all, with God on their side, what did they have to fear?
High above, Nagato floated motionless. He didn't speak. He didn't gesture. He simply looked down, cold and detached—like a god indifferent to the struggles of mortals.
"Don't you want to finish them off?"
A pale face emerged from within Nagato's robe, speaking softly into his ear.
"Should I wipe them all out?"
Nagato's brow twitched. "Don't whisper in my ear."
"But if we let them live, they might interfere next time—especially when we begin extracting the tailed beasts," Black Zetsu said through a distant White Zetsu body in the Mist Village. "The organization will be vulnerable during the extraction. That army could cause serious problems."
"I have my own plans," Nagato replied flatly, offering no further explanation. He remained where he was, floating in silence, simply watching as the two forces rushed toward inevitable collision.
…
"Is this… a ninja battle?"
Shanks whispered in disbelief.
The giant he once saw in Saki Castle was only about ten meters tall, but even then, its presence seemed to block out the sky.
That fire dragon he had just witnessed—formed by chakra, yet towering over a hundred meters high—radiated enough heat and pressure to rival the Sea Kings of their world's deep oceans.
And it wasn't even the limit. These shinobi still had power left. They could cast that technique again.
Then, through Ryosuke's vision, Shanks had seen the leader of the Akatsuki—Nagato—emerge from the Hidden Mist.
With inhuman power, he had swatted down the entire ninja coalition.
Shanks stood frozen, heart pounding.
Even the fire dragon, mighty as it was, might have crushed him. Yet Nagato shattered it with a mere gesture.
"This… is already the largest battle in the history of the ninja world. And it's only just begun. These are the highest-level forces."
Ryosuke, standing beside him, showed no surprise.
"You wanted to witness true ninja strength. This is your chance."
He remembered the Battle of the Land of Waves—his first time witnessing a large-scale jutsu collaboration. The shock had stayed with him for a long time.
Even though he understood the power of numbers, it was still hard to believe Uchiha Madara once stood alone… and faced an army of tens of millions.
But as his strength continued to grow, Ryosuke gradually came to understand something vital:
The power of an individual can indeed make up for the disadvantage in numbers.
"Can you do what Nagato can do?"
Shanks turned his head and looked at Ryosuke. Though phrased as a question, his tone was one of certainty.
"Of course," Ryosuke nodded. "From what I know, there have been nearly ten ninjas in history who could overwhelm numerical advantages and fight entire armies. And among them... six might appear in this battle."
"Six?"
Shanks' eyes widened in disbelief, then he gave a helpless smile.
"Your world is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers."
He shook his head. "I once set a limit for your world based on just a few months of observation. That was far too premature."
The main reason was simple: the people he had initially encountered were ordinary civilians.
In Shanks' world, it was common knowledge that the people who understood the workings of a nation best were the nobles in power. Thus, he hadn't doubted the information provided by those holding high positions in this world.
But the truth was different.
In this world, knowledge and power were held not by nobles, but by the elite shinobi—those whose might shaped the world behind the scenes.
"Don't be surprised. This battle's just getting started."
Ryosuke's gaze remained fixed on the battlefield.
At that moment, the rebel forces from the Hidden Mist clashed violently with the already defeated ninja coalition.
Thick mist blanketed the battlefield.
The bloodthirsty Kirigakure shinobi were like wraiths in the fog, mercilessly claiming lives.
They didn't target those who had resisted Shinra Tensei's might. Instead, they preyed on the injured—those clinging to life but unable to fight back.
"Those still able to fight, protect the wounded around you and wait for support!"
Onoki stood up, weary but resolute. "I repeat—don't fight to the death! Prioritize protecting the wounded! Assist the medical team in evacuation!"
He had single-handedly shielded nearly a thousand shinobi from the earlier blast, but the effort had taken its toll.
The invisible force that shattered their formation had scattered the army, leaving chaos in its wake. Fortunately, reinforcements from the Second and Third Combat Divisions had arrived before the mist rebellion fully unfolded. The opportunistic ambush had little chance of succeeding now.
Still, one danger loomed: Nagato, hovering above, could unleash that devastating technique again.
"Can the Hyuga clan really go toe-to-toe with him?"
Onoki looked up at the floating figure, eyes full of doubt.
From behind, Jiraiya and several others arrived on the scene, equally stunned by the destruction.
Each of the Five Kage had been assigned specific responsibilities:
Tsuchikage, the veteran of countless wars, led the main combat force.
Tsunade coordinated logistics from Konoha.
Hidden Cloud Village oversaw intelligence gathering.
The Wind led the special ops.
And the Mizukage commanded the surprise attack forces.
To ensure unity, each division was composed of ninjas from all villages. Victory or defeat would be shared equally. This comprehensive plan—Shikaku Nara's brainchild—was meant to prevent factionalism and reduce losses.
But now, it was crumbling.
This enemy wasn't bound by the strategies of previous ninja wars. Their battle plan was no longer enough.
"Shinra Tensei... So that's the repulsion we read about."
Jiraiya stood in a daze, staring at the familiar yet distant face in the sky.
The Hyuga clan had warned them. Konoha had relayed the intelligence to the other villages. But words couldn't capture the overwhelming reality.
"The report said it could level an entire village. They weren't exaggerating..."
Everything they were seeing now confirmed the worst.
Mei Terumi's gaze hardened. "Aside from Uchiha Madara, we may have yet another powerhouse to face."
"Wasn't that already expected?"
Onoki, breathing heavily, joined them. "We prepared for the worst long before this."
"Best-case scenario, the Hyuga clan exaggerated."
"But if luck turns against us, we'll have to face both Uchiha Madara and Nagato—monsters of equal strength."
King against king. General against general.
The shinobi around them instinctively avoided the Five Kage, giving them space. The Kage, in turn, focused all attention on Nagato.
"No matter what... I have to go," Darui muttered.
"Don't waste effort on the rebel Mist ninja. They're just scavengers."
"The real concern is if the other Akatsuki members possess power on par with Madara and Nagato."
"If things spiral out of control, we may have no choice but to deploy the Jinchūriki."
Although they were the enemies' targets, not deploying them meant lacking high-end firepower—a critical gap in this war.
Even though the first combat unit's collapse hit morale hard, the Kage had expected this.
"Are all the Five Kage here?"
Nagato's calm voice echoed from above. "Even Sensei Jiraiya came."
"Nagato... what happened to you all these years?"
Jiraiya's expression was a mix of sorrow and curiosity. "Let's talk."
None of the others interrupted.
After that brief clash, they had all seen the truth: Nagato, and by extension, Akatsuki, were a legitimate threat to the entire shinobi world.
If a peaceful resolution was possible—even through words—they had to try.
"Sensei Jiraiya, I want to talk too."
Nagato looked down kindly, his voice warm and calm.
"We can end this peacefully. My only goal is to stabilize the ninja world."
"Just surrender. Call out all the Jinchūriki. Let me take control."
"From now on, everyone will follow me. One voice. One path. Then there will be no more war. Because we're all one family... and family doesn't fight."
His voice, gentle yet deafening, rang across the battlefield.
Countless shinobi paused and looked skyward.
"God is forgiving and great," he said.
"Perhaps you don't understand why I was chosen for these eyes... It's because I've known absolute pain."
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