Chapter 266: I, Uchiha Madara, Have No Need to Hide!
"Tengai Shinsei!"
As Uchiha Madara completed his jutsu, the clouds in the sky began to churn violently, as if torn apart by an invisible hand. Then, a massive shadow descended from the heavens, blotting out the sun and plunging the entire battlefield into darkness.
"What is that?!" The ninja looked up, their faces filled with terror and disbelief.
A colossal meteor was falling from the sky, trailing a long tail of flames, like the wrath of a god descending upon the earth. The meteor was unimaginably large, covering almost half the sky, and the surrounding air grew scorching hot from its friction.
"A… a meteor?" a young Iwagakure ninja stammered, his voice trembling with despair.
"Why is there a meteor above the village?!"
"Could it be Hyuga Fuji? Is this the same monster that Lord Kitsuchi faced before? Can this even be called ninjutsu?!"
Faced with such an enormous meteor, the Iwagakure ninja fell into unprecedented panic and despair. None of them had ever witnessed such a terrifying sight, nor had they imagined they would face such a catastrophic force.
"This can't be real! How could we possibly stop an attack like this?!"
"It's over. Everything is over!"
"Lord Tsuchikage, what should we do?!"
Onoki wiped the cold sweat from his brow. Facing it in person was far more terrifying than imagining it. As a mere human, it was impossible to remain calm in the face of such a disaster.
But as the Third Tsuchikage, he couldn't afford to lose his composure!
Onoki roared, "Stop panicking! It's not over yet! This is our village! Kitsuchi!"
"Those who can, come with me to stop the meteor's descent. Golems, protect the ninja! Everyone else, retreat as far away as possible!"
Kitsuchi, as the commander, quickly snapped back to his senses. He shouted out orders and immediately leapt into the sky, preparing to use the Super Lightened Boulder Jutsu to slow the meteor's descent.
The ninja also began to react. Those who had been fighting clones withdrew and fled in all directions, abandoning their opponents and exposing their backs to the enemy. The golem army stopped fighting, transforming into shelters to protect the ninja who couldn't escape in time.
The ninja capable of using Lightened Boulder Jutsu or Super Lightened Boulder Jutsu flew into the sky to intercept the meteor.
Without opposition, Onoki was now close enough to act, but the clones didn't attack either. They stared blankly at the sky, watching the apocalyptic force approach, knowing full well they were within its destructive range.
The massive meteor enveloped half of Iwagakure. Even the clones couldn't escape its wrath.
NO.2 was the first to snap out of it. His bloodshot eyes locked onto NO.18, and he grabbed him by the throat. "Is this the ally you brought us? He's trying to kill us all!"
"I-I didn't know! This wasn't part of the plan," NO.18 said, choking and bewildered. "They promised that if we lured out the jinchuriki, they would act. I didn't know it would turn out like this…"
"I'll deal with you later!" NO.2, furious, threw NO.18 to the ground and shouted to his comrades, "All users of Dust Release and Lightened Boulder Jutsu, help me slow down the meteor's fall. Everyone else, evacuate immediately!"
"Yes!"
At that moment, the once-opposing sides united under the threat of imminent death, setting aside their grudges.
Every ninja in Iwagakure who could reduce the meteor's fall flew into the sky. Some attacked it with Dust Release to grind it down, while others used Lightened Boulder Jutsu to press against it and slow its descent.
Others used flying tools to position themselves beneath the meteor, releasing every offensive jutsu they had, putting in every ounce of effort to stop it.
Kitsuchi glanced at NO.2, who was using Lightened Boulder Jutsu alongside him, and asked in surprise, "You…?"
"We don't want to die either," NO.2 said coldly.
Kitsuchi opened his mouth to respond but remained silent.
Thanks to the efforts of dozens of ninja, the meteor's descent slowed, and eventually, it came to a halt.
Onoki watched the scene and exhaled in relief, though his expression grew complicated as he turned his gaze to Isshiki. "It seems you were wrong. This time, it might be Hyuga Fuji."
In his memory, only Hyuga Fuji had ever used a jutsu to manipulate meteors.
Fortunately, this was Iwagakure. Anywhere else in the Land of Earth, it would've been impossible to stop the meteor.
"No. It's the Akatsuki."
Isshiki glanced in a certain direction and then looked back at the sky, his expression becoming more serious. "And there's more than one meteor."
Onoki froze and looked up again, his face turning pale as he immediately flew upward.
The pitch-black clouds parted, revealing a second meteor, even larger than the first, plummeting downward with massive force, heading straight for the first.
The ninja supporting the first meteor looked up in horror.
It was too late. Everyone's attention had been on the first meteor, focused on stopping it. Now, there was no time to prevent the second.
If the two meteors collided, the ninja holding the first one would be crushed by the impact, likely killed. The resulting debris would cause catastrophic damage to those below.
But at that moment, a figure streaked across the sky like a meteor itself. Spurred on by Isshiki's warning, Onoki arrived just in time.
"Earth Style: Super Lightened Boulder Jutsu! Haaaah!"
At the last moment, Onoki positioned himself beneath the second meteor and slowed its fall.
"Tsuchikage-sama!"
"Quick, help Lord Tsuchikage!"
"Lightened Boulder Jutsu!"
With Onoki's support slowing the second meteor, the others finally had the chance to assist him.
Half of the ninja holding the first meteor broke away to help Onoki. Those left behind felt the pressure increase, but with the initial impact reduced, they managed to hold on.
With additional support, Onoki poured all his strength into his jutsu and finally stopped the second meteor, preventing the two from colliding.
"Just in time," Onoki muttered, blood dripping from his forehead as he sighed in relief.
"Huff… huff… Thank goodness, Tsuchikage-sama and the others stopped it!"
The ninjas, whether holding off the meteors or evacuating below, were breathing heavily. Yet the feeling of narrowly escaping death filled their hearts with relief, and many began to smile.
The only one who didn't share in their joy was Isshiki. He stared in a certain direction, his face devoid of any expression.
What was there to celebrate?
Two meteors alone had tied up more than half of Iwagakure's top-tier fighters. How would they deal with the enemies yet to come?
The real nightmare was just beginning.
---
"Tsuchikage's skills have improved, and Iwagakure's doing pretty well," Uchiha Madara remarked from atop a cliff. Disabling his Susano'o, he watched the scene of hundreds of ninja rushing to stop the meteors, a faint smile on his lips.
"You… why do you have the Rinnegan?"
Nagato, though also impressed by Iwagakure's determination, was more focused on the Rinnegan.
Why did Uchiha Madara possess the Rinnegan? Did he steal it from someone else?
Impossible.
Nagato had clearly seen the Rinnegan evolve from Madara's Sharingan.
Coupled with his connection to Obito, an ominous realization dawned on Nagato.
"You already know the answer," Madara said, glancing at Nagato. With a faint chuckle, he began walking toward Iwagakure.
He, Uchiha Madara, had no need to hide, nor did he intend to conceal his power.
The Rinnegan was his.
Only he could unlock its true potential!
(End of chapter)