Land of Lightning—
Half of the Village Hidden by the Clouds—no, half of the city—had been reduced to ruins.
Otsutsuki Urashiki had only ever suffered major losses at the hands of two people: Namikaze Minato, the genius Hokage and fastest shinobi of a parallel world, and Uchiha Nagi.
But Urashiki would never admit that his own strength was lacking. It was a matter of poor intelligence. Who could have known his opponent had a space-time ninjutsu that didn't require coordinates?
Here in the Cloud Village, for instance, he was having a blast. The overwhelming power of his Rinnegan, combined with his sharp intellect—he wasn't foolish enough to land and engage the Cloud ninja in close combat—had the entire village gasping for air.
Finally, with a few energy spheres akin to Tailed Beast Bombs, he flushed out the two Tailed Beasts.
The Eight-Tails and the Two-Tails. The Two-Tails was proud and arrogant. Before the newly appointed Raikage, Darui, could even issue a command, she charged into battle. She transformed and fired off several Tailed Beast Bombs, but Urashiki, with his Rinnegan's predictive ability, dodged them all. Then, with a single cast of his fishing rod, he hooked her chakra.
After a brief struggle, she was defeated, and her Tailed Beast was taken. By the time Killer Bee arrived to help, it was already too late.
"Killer Bee, don't transform! That guy's weird tool can hook all of your chakra! You have to be careful and dodge it!"
"OK, yo! I got the info, bro!" Killer Bee understood Darui's meaning. Once transformed, the Eight-Tails' massive body would be impossible to maneuver. And that strange divine weapon of their opponent's was simply too overpowered; it could drain all of one's chakra in a single go.
The jinchuriki of the Two-Tails had been too careless. She had gone for a full transformation without understanding her opponent's abilities and had been reeled in by that bizarre fishing rod.
In contrast, a Tailed Beast Cloak would be smaller and more agile. The Cloud Village had already lost one jinchuriki; they absolutely could not lose a second.
But...
They couldn't fly. That was the key. In the entire village, the number of people who could fly could be counted on one hand.
A few ninja with flying summons were about to take to the skies to help, but Darui stopped them. Against the legendary Rinnegan, he didn't think anyone below Kage-level would be useful, even if they could fly.
However, Darui was not without a plan. He had quietly retrieved the Treasured Tools of the Sage of Six Paths. He left the more troublesome ones, but the Kohaku no Johei was a necessity.
"Wait! Your Excellency, please wait! The Village Hidden by the Clouds is willing to surrender and serve you! Please, stay your hand!" Darui shouted.
Killer Bee, hearing this, knew that the Fifth Raikage must have a strategy and ceased his fierce assault.
"Oh? You wish to surrender to me? Hahahaha, how very thoughtful of you," Otsutsuki Urashiki laughed, genuinely pleased for once.
"Surrendering to the Otsutsuki clan is the right choice. To serve us is the highest honor for you natives. Now, hand over the Eight-Tails."
"Wait, Your Excellency," Darui quickly held up a hand. "Is it your intention to unify the shinobi world? The Cloud Village can serve you, but please, do not take the Eight-Tails. Once a Tailed Beast is removed from its jinchuriki, the jinchuriki will die. Killer Bee is a powerful man; he can be your vanguard..."
"Hmph. A bunch of ant-like natives dare to negotiate with me?" Urashiki's eyes narrowed. He had no patience for Darui's games. He swooped down, swinging his fishing rod to hook Killer Bee's chakra.
Killer Bee could only dodge pathetically. That rod was too strange. It was unbreakable, yet he couldn't touch it. His tentacles, his Eight-Sword Style—he didn't dare make contact. And he couldn't risk transforming. All he could do was evade.
"Lord Urashiki, please wait! Can you give us a moment to discuss this?" Darui yelled.
"Discuss?" Urashiki considered it. The only people he feared were that strange Uchiha who had severed his arm and leg, and Namikaze Minato, who may or may not have returned to his own time. Perhaps having the Cloud Village as his vanguard wouldn't be a bad idea.
"I'll give you three minutes. When time is up, not only will I take the Eight-Tails, but I will also raze the Cloud Village to the ground."
"Of course. Thank you very much, Your Excellency. May I ask your name?" Darui said respectfully.
"Hmph. Listen well. My name is Otsutsuki Urashiki," he announced from on high, his face a mask of contempt.
"Oh, so your name is Otsutsuki Urashiki?" Darui asked.
"Hm?! You dare speak my name so casually?" Urashiki was thrown off by Darui's sudden change in attitude, then he grew furious. Was this native looking down on him?
Darui smiled. He dissolved into a puff of smoke. It was a shadow clone. In the shadows, the real Darui had already prepared the Kohaku no Johei...
"What's happening?"
"What's going on?!"
An incredibly powerful suction force latched onto Otsutsuki Urashiki. His Rinnegan screamed a warning: he was about to be sealed in an unseen, pitch-black space.
But the prediction was useless. The Rinnegan offered no means of escape. It was just like that day against Uchiha Nagi; foreseeing the future didn't always mean you could change it.
Swoosh—
"Ahhhhh... Damn you...!" The immense suction pulled Urashiki from the sky. As he neared the ground, he was yanked sideways, and he finally saw what was pulling him.
It was a giant pot, and the Fifth Raikage, Darui, stood calmly beside it, holding it. It was the Kohaku no Johei.
"Damn you! You ants!" Urashiki's eyes were practically bursting from their sockets. He didn't know what that pot was, but he knew being sucked inside would not end well.
In that moment of crisis, he used one of his Rinnegan's abilities.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Gravity, one of the four fundamental forces of the universe. Pouring all his chakra into the Almighty Push, Urashiki unleashed a massive repulsive force. Just as he was about to be sucked in, the two forces collided.
BOOM!
It was like a [Super Shinra Tensei].
The divine weapon of the Sage of Six Paths, the Kohaku no Johei, was powerful enough to suck in a Tailed Beast, but it had never been tested against a Rinnegan. The two forces fought to a stalemate.
Otsutsuki Urashiki seized the opportunity, activated his space-time ninjutsu, and fled.
He left behind the Cloud Village, half of which now lay in ruins.
"Lord Raikage! Lord Raikage, are you alright?"
The Cloud ninja rushed to help, digging Darui out from the rubble.
"I'm fine... but..." Darui looked at the devastation around him. Even a man as calm as him couldn't help but shed a tear.
Killer Bee, for once, wasn't rapping or dancing. He just silently patted Darui on the shoulder.
After a moment, Darui regained his composure and began issuing orders to treat the wounded.
He also gave one other command: to share the intelligence on this Otsutsuki Urashiki with the other four great shinobi villages...
Soon, the new Mizukage of the Village Hidden by the Mist, Terumi Mei, received the news...
"A new enemy with the Rinnegan who can fly... this is troublesome. What do you all think we should do?"
Mei convened a meeting, but her trusted advisors were all at a loss. The Cloud Village, which had preserved its strength the best through the great wars, had half its village turned to rubble. How could the Mist possibly stand against such a foe?
"Perhaps we should ask for help? Request assistance from the Sword Kage of the Land of Iron?"
Mei rolled her alluring eyes. "And how do you know when the enemy will arrive? Besides, wouldn't that make our village look incredibly weak?"
Ao, who was by her side, proposed another solution. "What if we send the Three-Tails' jinchuriki to the Swordsmith Village? We can request the Sword Kage's protection. He's powerful, has the Sky Fortress, and can fly with his Magnet Style. He's the best choice."
"That's a good idea!" an elder's eyes lit up. "If this Rinnegan user is only after the Tailed Beasts, he'll go to the Swordsmith Village to find the Three-Tails. The battle won't even touch our village."
"This... isn't this a bit cowardly?" Mei hesitated.
"Mei, the village is still rebuilding. We've only just started to recover. If we're dragged into another war..."
"Besides, we're not asking for a handout. We can hire them to protect the Three-Tails' jinchuriki."
Mei thought it over, and after a moment's hesitation, she agreed. She had her subordinates contact the Swordsmith Village, offering several hundred million ryo to hire them as protection, and arranged a time to send the jinchuriki over.
Currently, the One-Tails, Seven-Tails, and Two-Tails had all been captured by the mysterious man. No one knew which of the remaining six Tailed Beasts would be his next target...
What they didn't know was that sending the Three-Tails to the Swordsmith Village was the best way to save it from disaster, because Kisame and Itachi were already on their way to the Mist Village.
After receiving Pain's orders, Itachi and Kisame had infiltrated Konoha. Thanks to Itachi's past experience as a Root ninja, he easily bypassed the village's barrier.
After so many years and so many rogue ninja, Konoha still hasn't updated its barrier. It's almost sad...
After entering the village, they found that Naruto had been taken by Jiraiya, who was searching for Tsunade to be the next Hokage. Having come up empty, Itachi could only vent his frustration on his beloved little brother. He didn't yet know that Fugaku and Mikoto had already told Sasuke part of the truth.
And Sasuke's situation in Konoha was now extremely difficult. Many people wanted him dead, especially the members of the Sarutobi clan, who hated him to the bone.
When the reanimated Uchiha had returned, their greatest hatred was reserved for Danzo and the Third Hokage. They had slaughtered the most members of those two clans.
Coupled with the other great clans' desire to weaken the Sarutobi's influence, by the time help arrived, the Sarutobi clan had been nearly wiped out.
Konohamaru had already tried to assassinate Sasuke several times in revenge. In Konohamaru's eyes, Sasuke saw a reflection of himself and couldn't bring himself to kill him. Otherwise, Naruto's little follower would have died long ago.
Touching the Curse Mark on his neck, Sasuke looked up at the moon with empty eyes. "It's time for me to go, Sakura."
Sakura, who had been secretly following him, emerged from the shadows with tears streaming down her face and hugged him from behind.
She had been following him in secret for a while now, and Sasuke knew. But if he stayed in Konoha, he would surely die.
"Sasuke-kun, please don't go..." Sakura sobbed.
"You know what happened during the Chunin Exams. My clansmen were resurrected and killed many Konoha ninja to get their revenge. If I stay here, I will die for sure," Sasuke said with a faint smile. "The time I spent with you and Naruto... I was truly happy. I really was."
He then chopped the back of Sakura's neck, knocking her unconscious. "I'm sorry, Sakura. Tell Naruto goodbye for me..."
After knocking her out, he gently placed her on a park bench, then turned to the darkness. "Let's go."
From the shadows, two figures emerged. They were the last two members of the Sound Four. The other two had been captured and sealed by Konoha; who knew when they would die.
"Let's go, Sasuke-kun. Lord Orochimaru has arranged everything. We'll exit from the southeast. We have the method to undo the seal on the barrier there."
"Alright," Sasuke nodded and followed them. Before leaving, he glanced back at Sakura one last time. He knew he could never return to Konoha.
"Uchiha Itachi..."
After leaving the village, Sasuke looked back at Konoha, at the Hokage Rock. It was the place where he had grown up, but it was also the place that had destroyed his family. And because he had learned the truth a few years earlier than he should have, his hatred for that turncoat, Uchiha Itachi, was even deeper.
The next day, after Sasuke disappeared, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, currently the highest-ranking people in Konoha, issued an order: pursue Uchiha Sasuke, and if necessary, kill on sight.
Those who hadn't been able to kill Sasuke in the village were overjoyed. This was their chance for revenge. They eagerly volunteered for the mission...
"They're paying us to protect the Three-Tails' jinchuriki for a while?" Uchiha Nagi laughed when he heard the report from his subordinate. "Take the job. Why wouldn't we? With the Three-Tails here, that guy will have to come to us..."
Otsutsuki Urashiki's Rinnegan... hehe, Uchiha Nagi was very interested in it. Though he didn't know the full extent of his opponent's power, after their brief clash, he was sure Urashiki was not as strong as Nagato.
And with all the trump cards he had, if he couldn't win, he might as well just die.
Nagi looked at a young man he had just reanimated. The boy lay in a coffin with his eyes closed. Nagi still hadn't decided whether to awaken him.
Because he was Uchiha Shisui, the user of the strongest genjutsu. After taking Shisui's Mangekyo from Danzo, he had reanimated him, but...
Itachi had used Kotoamatsukami to override the control of the Edo Tensei. If he awakened Shisui, could he be sure that Shisui wouldn't be able to break free of his control?