Chapter 69: No Entry Ahead! The six paths of pain Arrive!
Cold rain washed over the border line.
The corpses of several Konoha scouts were crudely hung upon a forest of black iron spikes; blood mingled with mud, painting a winding red line beneath the feet of the Konoha army.
The footsteps of thousands of Konoha Ninja came to a dead stop, thousands of pairs of eyes staring fixedly at the figure standing on high.
A black robe with red clouds billowed in the wind. Beneath a gas mask, those ripple-patterned purple eyes exuded a coldness that viewed all living beings as mere ants.
"Stop! Everyone, fall back!"
Nara Shikaku almost roared the command.
As the brain of Konoha, his intuition told him that many people would die if they continued forward.
"Shikaku?" Beside him, Akimichi Choza gripped his iron staff, his palms slick with sweat. "That guy is..."
"The gas mask... the Hidden Rain Village..." Nara Shikaku stared intently at the figure, his throat dry, as he squeezed a name through his teeth: "Hanzou."
That name was like a heavy hammer smashing into the hearts of the veteran Jonin.
The greenhorns of today only knew the Sannin for their illustrious fame, forgetting that the title itself was a 'life-sparing talisman' bestowed upon the losers by Hanzou's great mercy.
Damn it! What was the Intelligence Division doing?
Hadn't they said Hanzou was already old and toothless, hiding at home like a turtle in its shell? Why was this old deity personally blocking the border?
Furthermore... Shikaku felt his scalp tingle as he looked at the iron spikes that had grown out of nowhere. Was such an ability truly something a frail old man could possess?
Regardless, forcing their way through would be suicide.
Nara Shikaku took a deep breath and stepped forward, his hands forming a standard Seal of Confrontation. He kept his posture very humble.
"I did not know Your Excellency Hanzou had arrived in person. I, Junior Nara Shikaku, apologize for my lack of manners."
His voice penetrated the curtain of rain, giving plenty of Face.
The figure on high remained motionless. Those Rinnegan eyes remained indifferent.
He didn't attack? There was a chance.
Shikaku felt a slight relief as the diplomatic rhetoric of a great nation flowed from his mouth: "Your Excellency Hanzou, Iwagakure and Sunagakure have wolfish ambitions, attempting to bring the fires of war to the Land of Rain. Konoha's journey is to resist the enemy outside our borders and, incidentally, protect your country's civilians. We wish to borrow the Eastern Corridor to reach the Northern Border and set up defenses."
These words were spoken beautifully.
They both placed him on a pedestal and occupied the moral high ground—I'm entering your home to help you, aren't you moved?
This was the arrogance of a great nation. Even an invasion had to be cloaked in a layer of 'justice'.
However.
The only response he received was two cold words.
"Go back."
Heavenly Dao Pain's voice was not loud and lacked emotional fluctuation, yet it struck everyone's eardrums like a heavy hammer.
The professional fake smile on Nara Shikaku's Face froze.
"Your Excellency, the military situation is urgent. If Iwagakure seizes the initiative, the Hidden Rain Village will also suffer," Shikaku said, still trying to paint a rosy picture. "Konoha promises that we will not disturb a single blade of grass during our transit, and we will pay a generous—"
"Cross the line, and die."
It was those same words again.
There was no room for negotiation, and he didn't even bother to give an explanation. This was blatant contempt, showing complete disregard for the reputation of the 'Number One Village in the Ninja World'.
At this, the group of Ninjas who usually walked with their heads high erupted.
The long-standing halo of a great nation had made them accustomed to acting like lords before small countries. In the past, which small country's Daimyo wouldn't kneel to welcome them? Today, they were actually being blocked by a guy in a mask?
"Hey! You old fossil, don't refuse a gesture of goodwill!"
A Special Jonin lost his composure, drawing a Kunai and pointing it upward as he cursed: "Lord Shikaku calling you a Demigod is giving you Face; do you really think you're a god? Do you think you alone can stop our army of three thousand?"
"Exactly! Times have changed!"
"What Demigod? You're just an old antique phased out by the era!"
With someone taking the lead, the hostility in the crowd was instantly ignited.
In their view, the opponent was just one person. Even if he was a Demigod, so what? They could drown him with their spit alone!
"Shut up! Come back!"
Nara Shikaku's expression changed drastically. He wanted to shout them down, but those guys eager to claim credit had already charged out.
Several Konoha elites, relying on their Body Flicker Technique, turned into black shadows and lunged toward the high platform, treading on the slippery rock walls.
"Teach this old guy a lesson! Let him know whose world this is now!"
They were extremely fast, covering half the distance in the blink of an eye.
Shikaku wanted to use the Shadow Imitation Technique to stop them, but his hand stopped halfway.
Something was wrong.
That 'Hanzou' hadn't moved a single finger from beginning to end.
Faced with a lethal surprise attack, he wasn't defending? Unless... he didn't need to defend at all.
Just as those Ninjas were about to reach the high platform.
Creeak, creeak... the grating sound of grinding gears suddenly echoed from the shadows.
Then, a hunched figure slowly crawled out accompanied by the clanking of metal.
It was a heavy Puppet crouching on the ground, dragging a cold, gleaming steel scorpion tail behind it.
It was hiruko.
Sasori of the Red Sand, hidden within, watched the several 'greenhorns' rushing up through the slits in his mask and let out a cold snort of utter disdain.
"Trash with no sense of art like this... even turning them into materials would be a waste of space."
Before his voice had even faded.
Countless particles of black Iron Sand appeared out of thin air. Under the control of high-density Chakra, they instantly condensed into a massive cylinder.
BOOM—!!!
Those Konoha Ninjas who had just leaped up were like flies hit by an electric fly swatter; their screams were stifled in their throats as they were slammed back into the ground by that massive block of black iron.
The earth shook violently, and dust billowed up.
When the dust settled, the entire field was deathly silent.
A shocking crater had appeared on the ground. Those Special Jonin had been smashed back outside the border of the Land of Rain by the cylinder.
And that mass of black Iron Sand, like some kind of living soft-bodied monster, slowly floated back to hiruko's side, changing shape at will.
"This... this is..."
Nara Shikaku's pupils constricted violently. The pineapple-headed strategist known for his high intelligence was now instantly drenched in cold sweat.
He stared fixedly at that mass of black substance.
As a high-ranking official, he had seen too many classified files.
This kind of black sand... this kind of nature transformation that manipulated magnetic force... "Magnet Release... Iron Sand?!"
Shikaku's voice was trembling.
How was this possible? In the entire Ninja World, there was only one person who could use Magnet Release to this extent—
The one known as the'Strongest Kazekage', the Third Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village, who had mysteriously disappeared several years ago!
Why would the Third Kazekage's signature ability appear in Hanzou's team?
Could it be that the case of the Kazekage's disappearance back then was the Hidden Rain Village's doing?!
"Heh, it seems there's someone here who knows their stuff."
hiruko crouched at Pain's feet, its steel scorpion tail whipping through the air with a loud crack.
"Since you recognize it, that makes things easier."
Sasori controlled that mass of despair-inducing Iron Sand, spreading it out high in the sky to form a black cloud that blotted out the sun.
"Take one step forward, and I will smash you all into meat paste."
This was a true threat.
This time, not a single Konoha Ninja dared to speak up in mockery. That previous 'overwhelming strike' had already crushed their great-nation arrogance to pieces.
Shikaku's brain worked at high speed, trying to find a way to break the deadlock.
Just then, the sound of the rain changed.
Multiple terrifying Chakra auras erupted from behind that orange-haired man on the platform.
Shikaku jerked his head up.
The scene that followed would become a lifelong nightmare for all the Konoha Ninja present.
Behind Heavenly Dao Pain, the shadows writhed.
Step, step, step.
Accompanied by synchronized footsteps that sounded like a death knell, five figures walked out from the darkness, standing side-by-side with the Heavenly Dao.
They were of varying heights and builds.
Some were as burly as iron towers, while others were as hideous as ghosts.
But they all shared the same characteristics—
They wore the black robe with red clouds that represented death.
And... those twelve Rinnegan eyes that shimmered with an eerie purple light under the dim sky.
Six pairs of eyes.
Like six deities looking down upon the mortal realm, they scrutinized the ants below from their high vantage point.
Rain slid down their Faces, yet not one of them blinked.
The overwhelming pressure made Nara Shikaku's mind go blank instantly; his logic collapsed.
A single 'Demigod' was already enough to induce despair.
Now... what was this situation?
Six of them?!
Read 30+ Advanced Chapters at P@ Tre On
FictionTimeo