"The power of orthodox Wood Release is this strong?!"
In the Hidden Rain Village, Nagato's wood clone received real-time information from the main body and muttered, "No, this can't continue. If it goes on like this, the situation will be disastrous. We need to prepare a backup plan."
Nagato found Black and White Zetsu and handed him a secret scroll.
After a glance at the scroll, Black and White Zetsu nodded and disappeared into the ground.
"Hmm?"
Just as they left, Nagato looked out the window, his expression suddenly changing. "So, he's really making a move? Is he currently at the battlefield with the main body, or... watching me from above the Hidden Rain Village?"
"His mission is to retrieve the Outer Path Statue. He clearly has the Flying Thunder God Technique and Heaven's Sent Technique, yet he didn't appear directly beside the statue. That means his eyes can't establish a contract with it. No matter how many times he takes the Outer Path Statue, my Rinnegan can summon it back."
"Instead of saying his goal is the statue, it's more accurate to say it's the Rinnegan itself. One of us has to die."
"He's most likely on the main battlefield, ready to interfere with the battle between the main body and Izayoi at any time."
"But there's also a chance he's waiting above the village, trying to use the village and Konan to force the main body to return. He could then escape using Uchiha Obito's Kamui."
"Either way, it means... the final battle has arrived."
After this mental analysis, Nagato quickly formed seals and pressed his palm to the ground.
"Impure World Reincarnation!"
Outside the building, above the Hidden Rain Village—
Just like what happened in the Five Great Ninja Villages not long ago, without warning, a large number of white-robed figures covered in black rods and iron nails appeared out of thin air.
Roughly two hundred of them.
Woooo—woooo—
Alarms echoed through the Hidden Rain Village.
The villagers, trained with evacuation drills twice a month for over six months, dropped everything and rushed toward the underground shelters.
"Run! It's God's nemesis!"
Following the warning cries, even tourists from far away quickly followed the evacuation flow.
"Don't stop once you're inside—keep running! The end of the tunnel is a safe zone!"
The Rain Ninjas opened the entrances to the underground shelters and guided the villagers in while shouting instructions.
Super-tier battles are like god-level clashes—without the Four Red Yang Formation, any barrier is as fragile as paper.
Thus, the underground shelters had long been modified into escape tunnels.
These tunnels led outside the village to safety.
"You all should leave too. This level of battle isn't something you can participate in."
Descending from the sky, Konan gave instructions to the Rain Ninjas.
"Yes, Angel."
The Rain Ninjas nodded respectfully before retreating into the shelters.
At that moment, flames of war engulfed the Hidden Rain Village.
Coffins rose from the mud and even emerged from steel buildings.
One by one, the lids opened—cracked figures stepped out.
"This... is the living world?"
"I've been resurrected?"
Before they could understand their surroundings, their expressions turned blank.
Immediately, these dead figures—wearing vests of different nations and forehead protectors of different symbols—charged at the puppet army from the sky.
Swish—
One figure moved like lightning, slicing a puppet cleanly.
"Amazing speed!"
The wood clone controlling the puppets immediately felt the pressure and split into twenty clones to help manage the fight.
He also relayed the battlefield data back to the main body: "So this was his preparation—the Impure World Reincarnation. And the resurrected retain strength almost equal to their prime... He probably experimented with White Zetsu clones first. Using them as sacrifices seems to preserve most of the deceased's power. Astounding!"
"In that case, let's test something. Can defeating the dead earn entries?"
With twenty clones helping, the puppets were no longer sluggish.
When the speedster attempted the same one-hit kill, his path was blocked.
Blue and white lightning covered his body. He was tall, dark-skinned, with the word "Thunder" tattooed on his arm—none other than the legendary Third Raikage, who once fought 10,000 Iwa-nin for three days and died of exhaustion.
The indestructible hand-chop of the Third Raikage met resistance—a wind-infused blade blocked him.
By elemental nature, Wind overcomes Lightning. At the very least, the attack should've cut skin, or even severed his hand.
But it didn't.
The Third Raikage's hand was intact.
Even an S-rank Wind Style: Rasenshuriken couldn't hurt him.
The Fourth Raikage lacked the strongest shield to stand atop the Kage—he could neither resist Tailed Beast Bombs nor use the hand-chop to leave marks on the invincible.
In addition to the strongest shield and spear, the Third Raikage wielded black lightning, which caused excruciating pain and temporary paralysis.
Each of the Five Kage stood at the peak of what non-bloodline talent could achieve.
What limited them wasn't talent—it was blood.
Had they been part of the Otsutsuki bloodline, they'd rival even Pain's Six Paths.
If, for example, Onoki had Senju or Uzumaki chakra, he could unleash Dust Release without restraint. It's terrifying to imagine. The same applied to the Third Raikage. If he had Senju chakra and could use Sage Mode, not even Tailed Beasts could withstand his spear.
But there were no ifs.
Their bloodline had capped them.
At this moment, Shimura Danzo—covered in lightning chakra—had blocked the Third Raikage's hand-chop with a ninja sword.
More than 200 human puppets moved in unison.
Lightning arcs raged across the battlefield. Entire buildings collapsed. The resurrected were shredded into dust before they could react.
The pressure returned to Nagato.
"Wood Style: Multiple Wood Clone Technique!"
Without hesitation, Nagato split his chakra again.
All the clones remained in the underground base, guarding the Outer Path Statue and leading the battle.
Thanks to Black and White Zetsu's year-long tomb-raiding spree, Nagato had many cards.
In addition to the Third Raikage, there were the Second Mizukage Hōzuki Gengetsu, the Second Tsuchikage Mū—both top-tier Kage—as well as Fourth Mizukage Yagura and Fourth Kazekage Rasa.
A total of five Kage-level undead.
Nagato even possessed First Hokage Hashirama's cells, and mediums for the Second, Third, and Fourth Hokage.
He had tried to summon them using Impure World Reincarnation, hoping to use the Human Path of the Rinnegan to extract Wood Release secrets.
But it failed.
Not just for the First, but for all four Hokage. Their souls had been devoured by the Shinigami.
Nagato assumed he lacked proficiency—until Black and White Zetsu reminded him of the Shinigami seal.
So, his army relied only on these five Kage-level undead.
If Nagato tried again now... he might find a way.
In addition to the Kage, his army included elites from the Five Great Nations:
Ye Cang from the Sand (Scorch Release), the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Gari from Iwa (Explosion Release), the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers from the Cloud, and elite ninjas from Konoha's various clans.
Each one started at chunin-level strength or higher.
Over 300 undead in total.
And there was also the Six Paths of Pain.
Plus Konan in the sky—and Akatsuki, still en route.
This lineup could wipe out a Great Ninja Village in under an hour.
Unless the Five Villages united, even three together couldn't stop them.
This final battle entered a white-hot state instantly.
Within moments, most of the Hidden Rain Village was reduced to rubble.
Soon after, a space vortex appeared—
The Akatsuki, dressed in their black cloaks with red clouds, had arrived.
"The final battle is finally here—time for me to... What the hell?!" Deidara cheered at first—then froze.
He shouted, "Why does everyone have Lightning Chakra Mode?! Brother Toneri, are you targeting me?!"
"Idiot! Move or you'll be killed!" Scorpion yelled.
"This is worse than the previous wars..."
"Why are they all puppets? Without blood, how do I make sacrifices to the evil god?"
"Hmph. I joined the fight, but I won't die for it. If Toneri Otsutsuki appears, I'm out."
"..."
Kisame, Kakuzu, and others sighed as they observed the battlefield of puppets and undead.
Then they joined in—cautiously.
Unlike the Six Paths of Pain and Danzo's Root ninjas who had carved out battle zones, Akatsuki members stayed on the outskirts.
Aside from Hidan and Deidara, none of them were fools.
Both armies were dead. Living humans fighting the undead? A fool's errand.
Even Deidara was eventually persuaded by Scorpion to support from the side.
Flames from the Five Natures bloomed across the battlefield.
The deafening roar of explosions echoed endlessly.
Less than half an hour in, Hidden Rain Village was a wasteland.
The news quickly spread through spies and monitoring teams using summoning beasts.
"The second round has begun..."
"After half a year of silence, the Rinnegan War resumes."
"Impure World Reincarnation?! Akatsuki really has the Second Hokage's forbidden technique. Did they ally with Orochimaru?"
"Human puppets vs. undead legions—a clash of the dead!"
"Each of them could take down a nation. If one side wins, the world changes."
"If the Akatsuki leader wins, who can stop him?"
"If the moon's visitor just wants the Outer Path Statue and leaves afterward... I hope he wins."
"This is a war that determines the ninja world's future!"
"..."
The Five Kage read the intelligence, sighed, then dispatched perception-type ninjas toward the Land of Rain, instructing them to report back instantly.
Izayoi hadn't signed a contract with the Wet Bone Forest and was on a mission.
So Tsunade sent Hinata and Karin.
Byakugan and Kagura Heart Eye ensured safe intel gathering.
At that moment, Tsunade received a report.
"Hokage-sama, Izayoi-sama is currently fighting the Akatsuki leader."
"What?!"
Tsunade stood abruptly. "When did that brat run to the Hidden Rain Village?"
"Not the Hidden Rain—he's in the Land of Fire."
A ninja appeared and reported, "Two massive chakra flares erupted in the eastern forest—confirmed to be Izayoi-sama and the Akatsuki leader."
"Call Hinata and Karin back right away—no, I'll go myself. You call the elders and top ninjas for a meeting."
Tsunade immediately created a shadow clone for the meeting and left with Hinata and Karin, who were about to leave the village.
"What?! The Akatsuki leader is after Izayoi-kun?"
Karin turned pale. "Is he alright?"
"I don't know. We'll check first." Tsunade said with a grim face. "But I'm worried Toneri Otsutsuki is also watching."
Hinata suddenly said, "Hokage-sama, you could actually head back. Izayoi-kun will be fine."
Tsunade paused mid-step. "Why do you say that?"
"He knows the Flying Thunder God Technique. He's known it for a while but didn't reveal it to protect it as a trump card," Hinata explained.
"Oh, right! I forgot. That was supposed to be a secret!" Karin remembered Izayoi rescuing Hinata with teleportation last year.
"This little brat... he hid it from me?!"
Tsunade's expression turned complicated. "When he comes back, I'll beat him up!"
She then instructed, "You two continue the mission. Watch the battle and report back. If Izayoi leaves, go to the Rain Country—but be careful. That level of Wood Release fight isn't for you to join."
"Yes!"
Hinata and Karin nodded.
After they left, Tsunade returned to Konoha for the meeting.
Even if Izayoi was safe, Konoha couldn't drop its guard.
He was the fuse of this battle.
If the Akatsuki leader left to deal with Izayoi, Toneri would likely seize the moment.
If Izayoi fled to Konoha, they could bring the battle to Konoha itself.
Tsunade shuddered, remembering the Eye of the Sage War.
She had to prepare.
Evacuate civilians. Organize the ninja army.
"That damn disciple of Jiraiya… He's too ambitious."
Tsunade cursed inwardly and prayed:
"Izayoi, you're Konoha's Sixth Hokage—don't fall now!"