Soon after, at the eastern border of the Land of Earth.
Iwagakure had erected a defensive line and were waiting in formation.
The over-seventy-year-old Third Tsuchikage led from the front, personally stationed on the front line.
Kurotsuchi, the future [First Legs Kage], couldn't help but advise:
"Grandpa, you don't seriously want to go to war with the Ninja World Government, do you? How about this: we put up a show of resistance to save reputation, and then surrender?"
News of the Ninja World Government eliminating Kumogakure with irresistible force had already spread throughout the Ninja World.
Just hearing the rumors, Kurotsuchi felt Iwagakure had no chance of winning.
The only reason her grandfather chose to go to war was because he was purely enraged by the new doujin Eriri had drawn.
Truth be told, Miss Legs-for-Days thought it was pretty well drawn, just a bit too extreme in taste...
"Shut up!"
Having this mentioned again nearly made Onoki cough up blood.
He never imagined that, with one foot already in the grave, he would suffer such humiliation.
The way the Ninjas in the village looked at him now was just strange.
Just then—
Boom—!!!
A colossal sound came from the sky, as if the sky itself was collapsing.
Everyone looked up.
A giant meteor, over a hundred meters in diameter, was falling from high altitude.
The meteor's surface friction with the atmosphere ignited a fierce blaze, leaving a long, deep red trail and dyeing half the sky an apocalyptic color.
Winds howled, air pressure plummeted.
The Iwagakure army below was dumbstruck.
"Th-That's a Ninjutsu from the Ninja World Government?"
"How can we possibly block that?!"
"Help! Save us!!!"
Panic spread through the Iwagakure army like a plague.
Onoki's pupils shrank to pinpricks.
He didn't have time to think. His small body rose into the air, using the Light-Weight Rock Technique to fly high towards the falling celestial body.
"Earth Release: Ultralight-Weight Rock Technique!!!"
Onoki braced his hands against the meteor's base, pouring all his Chakra into it.
The meteor's descent visibly slowed.
But... it was far from enough!
Onoki's bones creaked, his muscles trembled, his Chakra depleted at terrifying speed.
His age was too great... his body was no longer in peak condition.
But he couldn't let go.
If he let go, the Iwagakure army below, his village, his descendants, would be utterly destroyed.
"Run!!! Now!!!"
Onoki roared at the Iwagakure's Ninja below.
His voice was intermittent in the howling wind, but everyone heard it.
"Everyone, run!"
Kurotsuchi waved and shouted.
All the Iwagakure's Ninjas quickly fled in the opposite direction.
After shouting, Kurotsuchi immediately turned and ran too, her fair, long legs blurring with speed.
While Onoki held back the meteor, the elite Iwagakure forces led by his son Kitsuchi weren't idle either.
"Earth Release: Mountain Technique!"
Kitsuchi slammed both hands onto the ground, pouring dense Chakra into the earth.
The ground shook violently. Giant stone pillars rose from the earth, like sky-supporting columns, racing upwards to prop up the falling meteor from below.
This scene was exactly like what Gaara did during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Other Iwagakure's Ninjas followed suit.
Dozens of stone pillars braced the meteor from different angles, sharing the burden on Onoki.
"Push—!!!"
Kitsuchi's veins bulged. He gritted his teeth, outputting Chakra wildly.
The stone pillars groaned under the meteor's weight, cracks spreading along their shafts, but they held fast.
Thanks to the full effort of everyone in Iwagakure, finally—
The meteor stopped.
It hung mid-air, supported by Onoki and dozens of stone pillars, perfectly still.
"W-We did it..."
An Iwagakure's Ninja collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
"We blocked it..."
"We stopped it! We survived!"
Iwagakure's forces erupted in cheers, relieved at their escape from death.
Onoki, meteor above his head, smiled back at the people below.
"This is the spirit of Iwagakure... our Will of Stone..."
Several miles away.
Hinata released her hand seals. her blue Tenseigan returned to normal white. She turned and said apologetically to Makoto:
"I'm sorry, Makoto-kun."
Makoto patted her back gently and said casually:
"It's fine, take it slowly."
He looked at the meteor being held off by Iwagakure in the distance and nodded slightly.
Its size was already comparable to Madara's Tengai Shinsei.
Of course, Hinata's strength was far inferior to that of the reanimated Madara.
The main reason was that compared to the Rinnegan, the Tenseigan's abilities regarding attraction and repulsion were superior, but the trade-off was lacking the Rinnegan's flashy skills like absorbing Chakra or extracting souls.
Its skill points were more focused on gravity and repulsion.
Then, Makoto raised both arms high, palms facing upward.
Crimson Chakra condensed in his palms, like a small sun.
The light grew brighter and brighter, more and more dazzling, scorching and warping the surrounding air.
Fire Release: Rasen Force.
Just as Iwagakure was still cheering jubilantly for stopping that meteor—
Boom—!!!
A giant, sun-like crimson energy sphere fell from the sky.
The light was so dazzling it turned the entire battlefield as bright as day.
The smiles on the faces of the cheering Iwagakure forces instantly froze.
They looked up, watching the energy sphere, even larger and more terrifying than the previous meteor, plummeting towards them.
They were struck dumb with shock.
They didn't even have the strength left to run.
Onoki's pupils contracted sharply. His lips trembled as he squeezed out a few words from between his teeth:
"How...is this possible..."
His body was already pushed to its absolute limit.
Blocking something like this was even more impossible.
Several miles away, Makoto landed back on the ground, his wicked smile widening as he watched the sky turning crimson in the distance.
"So... what about the second one?"
"Onoki."
The descending Fire Release: Rasen Force directly pulverized the meteor Hinata had just summoned.
The rubble turned to dust in the crimson light, leaving no trace behind.
This time, Onoki couldn't use the Ultralight-Weight Rock Technique to reduce its weight.
After all, the Ultralight-Weight Rock Technique still required physical contact with the target.
And facing this thing, if Onoki dared to put his hands on it, he would effectively turn himself into a roast chicken.
Facing the spiraling energy cannon falling like the sun, Onoki, pale with fright, had no choice but to grit his teeth and unleash his own ultimate technique.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
He extracted the last remnants of Chakra from his entire body, forming a translucent cubic barrier between his hands.
The barrier expanded rapidly, rising to meet the crimson energy sphere.
The two forces collided mid-air.
No explosion, no shockwave.
The Dust Release's barrier directly disassembled a portion of the spiraling energy cannon into molecular-level particles.
But the spiraling energy cannon was too massive... the Dust Release could only disassemble its core. The residual effects spread outwards, dyeing the sky a deep crimson.
It barely blocked it.
Onoki descended slowly, unable to even maintain his flight state.
His body was completely drained, his Chakra utterly exhausted. His already aged face was now ashen white like paper.
Just as he was about to land—
Suddenly, a pair holding hands appeared before him.
They were Makoto and Tsunade.
Onoki's face twisted in shock.
Before he could react, Tsunade had already charged forward.
Her right arm muscles bulged, monstrous strength concentrated in her fist.
The next instant, she slammed her fist into his wrinkled face.
Bam—!!!
Onoki, like a smashed baseball, flew hard backwards, crashing into a distant mountain wall and creating a massive, deep crater.
Rubble clattered down.
"Grandpa—!!!"
Kurotsuchi rushed over hastily, her fair, long legs practically sparking, but she was too late to stop it.
She stared at the huge hole in the mountain wall, her face pale, her lips trembling, unsure of what to say.