The meteor was massive—so much so that even combined efforts struggled to shake it.
Despair loomed in every heart.
Only once it was broken apart did things become manageable.
"Chidori!"
"Konoha's Iron Whirlwind!"
"Return to the Beginning!"
Under the barrage of powerful ninjutsu, the immediate crisis was finally averted.
The Fourth Raikage squinted toward the horizon and spotted a massive figure approaching.
It was none other than his younger brother, the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki—Killer Bee.
But instead of being relieved, Raikage's face darkened.
"Bee! What the hell are you doing here?! They're trying to capture you!"
"NOOOO! I'm here to settle the score—
I'm the Eight-Tails... and a genius rap warrior~!"
Killer Bee hummed his usual offbeat rhythm as he strolled up to the battlefield.
Inside him, Gyūki (the Eight-Tails) caught sight of Nagato's Rinnegan and immediately froze.
"Bee... stop singing."
"Things are different this time.
That guy... he has the same eyes as the Sage of Six Paths."
"Eh? Those peepers are that strong?"
"More than strong.
He can control all of us Tailed Beasts!"
In an instant, the usually carefree Bee fell silent, standing stiffly at the Cloud's side.
Just one comment had silenced his entire vibe.
It wasn't an exaggeration.
The power of the Rinnegan was terrifying—unstoppable.
Even witnessing it once could shatter your will.
At that moment, Obito rushed into the allied forces.
His intangibility made him untouchable.
Within mere seconds, dozens of ninja were downed.
And yet—despite the chaos—he didn't kill a single person.
This puzzled Kakashi, who had been watching him closely.
Seizing an opening, Kakashi approached him.
"Obito! You're still with them?
Why didn't you contact me?"
Obito smirked. "Because I'm still a villain."
"I was deceived, Kakashi. But... that eye I gave you—is it still good?"
"When I earn enough merit... I'll bring Rin back."
"Rin... I see."
"But for now—let's have a private chat in Kamui space."
Obito, afraid Orochimaru might end things too quickly, used his Mangekyō to pull Kakashi into the alternate dimension and restrain him there.
Since mastering meditation, Obito's power had increased drastically.
He had even recovered his other abilities.
Just days ago, Orochimaru had witnessed the resurrection powers of a god.
Compared to that... even Madara Uchiha's return looked like child's play.
Then came the assault.
Nagato, Sasuke, and Obito attacked as one.
The three of them—villains in every sense—swept through the enemy lines.
It was a one-sided slaughter.
Then came a deep, echoing roar.
Jiraiya had summoned the Great Toad Sage and entered Sage Mode.
His face twisted with fury, looking like an avenging spirit.
"I'm glad you didn't kill anyone yet, Orochimaru... but don't underestimate us Konoha ninja!"
With a shout, Jiraiya launched himself like a cannonball straight toward Sasuke, assuming he'd be the easiest to handle.
He aimed a full-powered whip kick—
but it was blocked with a single hand.
What?!
I'm in Sage Mode!
Jiraiya couldn't believe his full-powered strike had no effect.
Fukasaku tried to attack with his tongue—but Susanoo simply repelled it, leaving it bloodied.
Sasuke stared at the transformed Jiraiya, expressionless.
"A man chooses to become a toad.
No wonder you've never known peace."
"Your brain's completely fried."
"What did you say?!"
"I said you're stupid."
With a blindingly fast kick, Sasuke launched Jiraiya backward.
His internal organs trembled from the blow.
BOOM!
Less than a minute after charging in, Jiraiya was slammed back into the earth like a mole being hammered.
"Too weak," Sasuke said flatly.
"Hitting him felt like swatting a child. It's boring."
He calmly returned to Orochimaru's side, breathing steady—face untouched by exertion.
Then Obito pulled Kakashi back from Kamui space.
"We're followers of God now," he said firmly. "This level of strength is to be expected."
With everyone returned, Nagato halted his assault.
Orochimaru looked out at the panicked allied ninjas and sighed.
"Disgraceful...
Absolutely disgraceful."
"Step aside.
Let them witness the true power of a God."
The three subordinates stepped back.
They knew what was coming.
If Orochimaru was preparing to act personally, then it meant he was truly done playing games.
Even Konoha had gone too far.
They deserved this judgment.
With a single step, Orochimaru rose into the air.
As he hovered above the allied forces, he asked one final time,
"Tsunade. Jiraiya.
Will you still not surrender?"
The response?
A massive Toad Oil Flame Bomb.
A fireball the size of a building hurtled toward him.
"I see," Orochimaru murmured.
"That's your answer."
"Funny. Sasuke was right after all.
You've let a toad's ramblings become your lifelong doctrine."
"But I carry the will of God.
And you refused to listen."
"So, who's really been brainwashed?"
Orochimaru raised his palm and pressed downward.
BOOOOOM!
The fireball vanished in an instant.
The earth shook violently as molten veins cracked open.
Magma surged to the surface.
[Two-Star Divine Art: Lava Flame Domain]
He tapped into the planet's ley lines, merging fire and earth into a divine technique.
It spread across a ten-kilometer radius.
The ground collapsed in waves.
Blistering heat blasted skyward.
This wasn't ninjutsu anymore.
It was godlike destruction.
The terrain changed completely in seconds.
Rocks formed into towering barricades, enclosing the battlefield.
It was a new domain, forged by divine will.
The overwhelming display shattered the morale of the ninja army.
A terrified ninja suddenly dropped to his knees.
"I surrender! Please, Lord Orochimaru! Don't kill me—I'll be your disciple!"
"Help! I don't want to die!"
"Please... have mercy!"
Crying. Begging. Screaming.
It all blended into a dirge—
a funeral hymn sung by the living.
They had believed Orochimaru wouldn't kill anyone.
But when he acted...
He was merciless.
In mere seconds, hundreds were consumed by flame.
Ninjutsu had no effect.
Even A-rank Water Release techniques couldn't produce steam.
Trees withered. The earth cracked.
Death crept ever closer.
Seeing her clone being burned away, Katsuyu immediately cancelled the summoning and fled.
Even the mighty Gamabunta and the other toads ran off, one by one.
On the other side, the Raikage and Killer Bee tried to blast open an escape route with a Tailed Beast Bomb.
The explosion only chipped three meters off the rock wall.
They were trapped.
Five minutes later—
Cloud Village had suffered catastrophic losses.
The Fourth Raikage vomited blood in rage and frustration.
How could Orochimaru possess such divine power?
They had walked right into a death trap.
The Fourth Raikage slammed the ground with his fist, voice hoarse with fury.
"Damn it... all our elites are dead!"
At this point, escape was meaningless.
Even though the sky wasn't sealed—
Orochimaru stood tall in the center of the domain.
No one dared climb over the burning rock walls.
Just standing here made it hard to breathe, let alone run.
———
Killer Bee had just tried ramming into the rock wall, only to have one of his tentacles scorched to a crisp.
Now it was sizzling and smoking, filling the air with the smell of roasted meat.
He stared at it and muttered,
"Man… smells kinda good. I could eat that."
"Surrender?"
The Fourth Raikage looked up at Orochimaru floating in the sky, bitterness pooling in his chest.
He had brought 1,200 elite Cloud ninja.
Now, aside from a few high-ranking shinobi…
Everyone else was dead.
Suddenly, he dropped to his knees and shouted,
"We of the Hidden Cloud surrender! Please—just let us live!"
"Cut off your arm. That's the price for insulting me."
The cold voice echoed from the sky, devoid of emotion—
yet it stung with brutal humiliation.
"Lord Raikage!"
"Please don't—!"
Cloud shinobi cried out in unison.
The Fourth Raikage gave them a sorrowful laugh.
Then, with a steady hand, he raised a chakra-infused blade—
and severed his own arm.
Click.
His arm hit the ground.
Blood sprayed into the air.
Orochimaru laughed.
"What a man.
If you'd understood the situation earlier, no one would've had to die."
With a wave of his hand, the massive rock wall cracked open, revealing a cold wind blowing in from outside.
Hope returned to the ninja who had been drowning in despair.
Because the Raikage had surrendered, Orochimaru lowered the pressure on that region, creating an escape route.
For those reduced to ash, there was nothing to save—
But for the survivors, a sliver of salvation appeared.
One by one, the remaining Hidden Cloud shinobi evacuated.
The Fourth Raikage sat heavily on the ground, staring blankly at the towering wall.
"Big Brother…"
Killer Bee released his Tailed Beast Cloak and sat beside him.
"Do you… despise me?" the Raikage muttered.
"A Raikage, kneeling and surrendering… what a disgrace."
"No way," Bee said, giving him a thumbs up.
"You're always my big bro. My most respected brother!"
Darui, standing nearby, sighed.
"There's no shame in surrendering. Orochimaru's too strong…
No one in this world can stop him anymore.
Even if we hadn't surrendered, he could've stormed through the Land of Lightning next."
This was fate.
At that moment, Darui found himself envying Kirigakure.
If only they had surrendered earlier, they might be living in peace by now—
gaining power, not losing everything.
The Fourth Raikage glanced toward Sasuke, Nagato, and the others in the distance.
"There may be no more Land of Lightning.
No more Hidden Cloud Village."
Without the Tailed Beasts or a village to anchor them,
the ninja would scatter.
Who knew what the future would hold?
Then again…
Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.
If Orochimaru truly united the ninja world—
there might finally be peace.
Inside the Rock Wall
Jiraiya fought like a madman.
His armor was shattered.
But with the power of Sage Mode, he hurled everything he had at Orochimaru.
Ninjutsu. Taijutsu. Sage Techniques. Illusions.
He even cooperated with Fukasaku and Shima to launch a Genjutsu—
but Orochimaru remained floating midair, untouched.
A god, untouchable and serene.
When Tsunade saw the Cloud shinobi surrender, she let out a bitter smile.
So much planning, so many contingencies—
all meaningless in the face of overwhelming power.
"We surrender, Orochimaru.
Please… just let them go.
Do whatever you want with me."
Tsunade knelt down, exhausted. She no longer struggled.
Seeing the Hokage surrender, the Konoha forces dropped to their knees as well.
Might Guy, Kurenai, Asuma, and countless others followed.
No one wanted to die.
"Took you long enough," Orochimaru said coldly.
"I tried sparing you.
But you made me kill."
He flared his divine aura, opened the rock wall, and cooled the lava field.
In moments, the entire battlefield was cleared—
leaving only Jiraiya and Orochimaru standing.
Their eyes met.
Jiraiya was panting heavily, bloodied and barely conscious.
Orochimaru, by contrast, looked calm and unshaken.
A clear contrast between the two.
"Surrender," Orochimaru said.
"The road to peace is already beneath your feet.
This world doesn't belong to me—
it belongs to God."
"I've walked the path that once seemed impossible.
Immortality, power, enlightenment—
all gifts of the divine."
"You once said I killed too many.
But what about now?"
His voice softened—almost gentle.
Jiraiya hesitated.
His expression wavered.
Fukasaku and Shima looked uneasy on his shoulders, but didn't move.
They knew—
if they acted out of line,
they would die instantly.
"Can you… really bring peace?" Jiraiya asked quietly.
"That's not a question for me," Orochimaru replied.
"Ask the Lord God."
"Fine. I surrender.
But don't think I won't be watching you."
"I'll stand at your side…
and see with my own eyes if what you say is true."
Jiraiya had given in.
Not out of fear—
but because he wanted to understand.
He wanted to know what real peace looked like.
"It's noble to entrust your faith to your students…
but maybe it's time you see the truth for yourself."
"You've been misled by a toad, Jiraiya."
Orochimaru lifted the divine magic on him.
He stepped down beside Jiraiya, helping him recover from his wounds.
Fukasaku and Shima stood to the side, stiff and silent, not daring to breathe.
"I… I'm starting to question if the Toad Sage was right," Jiraiya admitted, clutching his sore arm.
Orochimaru chuckled coldly.
"It told you about peace, about dreams.
But did it mention that I would unify the shinobi world?"
Jiraiya was silent.
Even the toads didn't answer.
"One more thing." Orochimaru smirked.
"The Third Hokage sealed my arms with the Dead Demon Consuming Seal…
But now, I've returned to full power."
"So tell me—who's stronger?"
"You call yourself a Sage... but in the end, you're just a toad with tricks.
I stand with God."
He sounded like a man scolding his misguided son.
And the worst part?
Jiraiya couldn't refute any of it.
In strength, he was inferior.
In status, he followed a toad.
The other followed a god.
...No point arguing now.
Let's just see what happens.
Outside the barrier, Nagato brought Killer Bee forward.
"Lord Priest, this is the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki.
We're ready to extract the beast."
"Good," Orochimaru said with a satisfied smile.
Just four more and the set would be complete.
Progress was going smoothly.
"Don't worry," he added.
"You've heard what happened in Sunagakure.
Gaara's Tailed Beast was extracted, and he survived."
"I'll use divine techniques to transfer life force and keep you alive."
That ability was what had touched Gaara—
the reason he came to believe in the Eternal God.
"Please… do it," Bee said quietly.
He looked regretfully at Gyūki, but he knew—
better one suffer than everyone die.
And truthfully—he had no choice.
By that afternoon, the Eight-Tails was successfully extracted.
Killer Bee did not die.
The Fourth Raikage and his remaining forces breathed a collective sigh of relief.
And their perception of Orochimaru shifted.
At least he had kept his word.
He hadn't killed Bee.
He had delivered as promised.
———
"Since you've chosen to join the cult," Nagato said to the shinobi of both nations,
"then stay here for a while. We only have four Tailed Beasts left to capture. Soon, we'll be holding a grand festival."
Only then did the shinobi of Konoha and Kumogakure notice something strange.
As one of the three great allied nations, Iwagakure was… nowhere to be seen.
They had been deceived.
"Excuse me, my lord," someone asked cautiously. "Which Tailed Beasts are still missing?"
"Four-Tails, Two-Tails, Five-Tails, and Seven-Tails," Nagato replied calmly. "But don't worry—some of us will retrieve them soon. Though… the methods may be a bit more aggressive."
Everyone glanced at each other uneasily.
"A bit more aggressive?"
That wasn't "aggression"—that was war.
It's worth mentioning that, as of now, within the former Akatsuki, all surviving members had joined the Eternal Church—
except for Hidan, who had been obliterated by Orochimaru.
Orochimaru had initially hoped to recruit Hidan too.
But Hidan, being a devout zealot of Jashin, utterly rejected the idea of betrayal.
As a result?
A single Fireball Jutsu erased him.
The so-called "Evil God" didn't save him.
Later, Tsunade and the Fourth Raikage approached Orochimaru to ask about what changes they could expect after converting to the Eternal Church.
"What's changed?" Orochimaru said thoughtfully. "Honestly, not much."
"First, the village will be renamed as a branch of the Eternal Church."
"Second, children will no longer be taught ninjutsu as a priority—but meditation instead."
"Morning and evening prayers to the Eternal God will be required daily."
"As for sacrifices… well, our world is too barren. The only 'powerful' animals we have are toads and slugs."
He gave a look of disdain.
"I doubt the gods care much for slimy creatures."
"It's better to offer up beautiful, pure women instead—so that, when they ascend to the divine realm, they can plead on our behalf."
Tsunade's face went dark.
So this so-called god… is just a pervert?!
At that moment, Orochimaru turned to her and smiled.
"Well then, Tsunade—would you like to become a goddess?
As long as you offer yourself as a sacrifice, you'll ascend to the divine realm.
You'll stay young forever."
With that body of hers—curves sculpted by chakra-enhanced strength—
even the gods would no doubt approve.
A bad temper, sure.
But even anger has its charm, he figured.
Especially when, in front of a god, there's nowhere left to vent it.
Tsunade gritted her teeth.
"You've really got some nerve.
I'm already at an age where there are plenty of young girls in the village who'd be more suitable!"
Not that she'd ever admit to being "old"—
but still.
She knew where she stood.
Seeing that she didn't outright refuse, Orochimaru pressed the point.
"You're thinking too much.
Age doesn't matter. Once you become divine, time stops."
"Let me show you what I mean."
With a flick of his finger, he sent a vision directly into Tsunade's mind.
It was a memory from the One Piece world—
A sacrifice ritual.
In the vision, Shirahoshi, the giant mermaid princess, underwent a divine transformation—
ascending to become a majestic Sea Empress.
The imagery was breathtaking.
A mere mortal, reshaped by the power of a god.
Against such grandeur, the passage of time seemed laughable.
No wonder Orochimaru was so enthusiastic about recommending "sacrifices."