"Ahem..."
Outside the massive crater stood a towering pile of debris, forming a circular mountain-like structure. Within this pile lay rubble, wood fragments, metal scraps, corpses, and other remnants ejected from the crater.
At that moment, a section of the broken wall shifted. A palm pushed through, and a bruised, dust-covered figure emerged—a ninja clad in gray-white, feline-themed armor, crawling out from the ruins.
After a violent cough, before he could fully pull out the body buried beneath, his pupils shrank. He looked ahead with a stunned expression.
"The village... it's gone!"
"Where is Lord Raikage?!"
"Where are the sensory-type ninjas? Hurry and locate Lord Raikage and Lord Killer Bee!"
"What about the shelter? Are the villagers safe?!"
"Send someone there immediately. If the villagers are safe, the medical team should be as well. Gather everyone now!"
...
One after another, surviving ninjas climbed out of the ruins. Though shaken by the crater's destruction, their immediate concern was the safety of the Fourth Raikage and the villagers.
Without a special event, it was rare for the entire village to be present at once. Just like the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, many were on missions, others deployed to guard the Daimyō or the borders.
At most, half—perhaps even fewer—of the village's ninja forces were present.
Even if the village had been reduced to rubble, as long as the foundation remained, Hidden Cloud Village was still one of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
What mattered most now were the lives of the Fourth Raikage, the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, and the villagers. They were the village's backbone and strategic deterrent—its foundation.
The experienced jōnin and elite jōnin, suppressing their grief over the destroyed village and fallen comrades, quickly coordinated the survivors. Sensory-type ninjas were tasked with scanning for chakra signatures. Earth-style users, though severely wounded, began excavating trapped comrades and the dead.
Thankfully, the shelter still stood—albeit in precarious condition. Some barrier experts had sacrificed themselves, but the civilians and medical personnel remained safe.
The medical team arrived swiftly, tending to the seriously wounded. Due to the smooth, clean crater left behind, they had to relocate into the former village center to find or create flat ground for emergency operations.
Cries of pain and despair echoed through the area, the atmosphere thick with grief.
Elsewhere, the Fourth Raikage, protected by Killer Bee, sat silently atop a shattered wall, gazing out over the vast crater.
"...This is devastating..."
On a cliff atop a mountain pillar near the shelter, two figures appeared—Uchiha Obito and Black Zetsu, unscathed.
White Zetsu, observing the destruction below, couldn't help but sigh.
Black Zetsu remained silent, unwilling to speak lest he scare Obito beside him—an intentional act of restraint.
The Ultimate Eye Technique was a power from another dimension. If used at full force, it could easily overwhelm not just Hidden Cloud, but even the united forces of all five great villages.
Repulsion and attraction were merely its most basic capabilities. The large-scale attack just executed had only converted a vast amount of chakra into a repulsion wave. Though powerful, it was still a basic-level technique.
What's more terrifying—the mysterious figure hadn't even used his true eye technique.
Black Zetsu suspected the intruder, who had hidden their chakra signature, was likely just a clone. After all, no true wielder of the Ultimate Eye Technique would possess such limited chakra.
Of course, Black Zetsu kept this to himself.
Even so, just one use of Super Shinra Tensei had shaken Uchiha Obito to his core.
Under his mask, Obito's eyes trembled. He turned toward Black Zetsu, who embodied Uchiha Madara's will, and asked:
"Could Nagato do this?"
"If he were in his prime, Nagato would be even more terrifying," Black Zetsu answered honestly.
Nagato had been personally chosen by Uchiha Madara. A hybrid of the Uzumaki and Senju clans, he surpassed both lineages in chakra and vitality.
Only with such gifts could Nagato have survived the transplant of the Rinnegan at such a young age, eventually summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and using techniques like the Rinne Rebirth.
According to Madara's original plan, Nagato should already have captured and sealed all the tailed beasts, then activated Madara's backup plan—possibly even having Madara's soul possess his body to perform the Rinne Rebirth.
But things hadn't gone as planned. Nagato had been drained prematurely, and the Akatsuki were now forced to proceed cautiously.
Though Pain's Six Paths were powerful, they weren't on the same level as Nagato himself.
That would be fine—so long as the five villages didn't unite, Nagato would remain unbeatable.
But now, a threat had come from the skies!
It had to be that the descendants on the moon had noticed the Demonic Statue's summoning and sent that person down to confront the Rinnegan's wielder.
Still, there was a silver lining.
Despite being familiar with Akatsuki's intel, this mysterious man remained cautious and shameless—he clearly wasn't confident in defeating Nagato and was trying to provoke war in the ninja world to weaken Akatsuki.
This suggested the enemy's Rinnegan was likely transplanted, like Nagato's.
He probably couldn't even use its full power!
Still, Black Zetsu cursed inwardly.
Damn Hamura!
Obito had no idea what Black Zetsu was thinking.
But hearing his affirmation, he grew thoughtful and proposed, "If we transplant Hashirama's cells into Nagato, can we restore him to his prime?"
Obito had to admit—he was shaken by the Rinnegan's might. That level of destructive power was comparable to the Tailed Beast Bomb.
No, even greater.
He had just witnessed Killer Bee's Tailed Beast Bomb being shattered—shattered—by a single repulsion attack.
Unless he retrieved the other Rinnegan, Obito couldn't rival either Nagato or the mysterious man.
But he had no intention of reclaiming the gift he once gave.
Now, the Moon Eye Plan depended entirely on Nagato.
Though Pain's Six Paths were formidable, Nagato's crippled body was too obvious a weakness.
The mysterious man, with such strong sensory abilities, likely already knew about Nagato.
If they fought, and Nagato's weakness was exploited, he could easily fall—and both the Rinnegan and the Outer Path Statue would be lost.
Even if the eye wasn't stolen, the enemy might still wrest control of the Demonic Statue.
Given the situation, Obito had no way of reclaiming it through the Rinnegan alone.
So while strengthening Nagato could pose a future risk, compared to the sly, unpredictable enemy, Nagato—simple-minded and loyal—was still on their side.
Black Zetsu's eyes brightened at the idea.
They were both transplants of the Rinnegan. If Nagato could recover, they might not fear the five villages—or even the mysterious figure.
But then he frowned.
"Using Hashirama's cells with the Outer Path Statue could help—maybe enough for him to walk again. But if we suggest it now, Nagato will be suspicious. He won't let us near him. And with his personality, he'll reject it. He still wants Yahiko to be the god—not himself."
Obito fell silent, then said coldly, "Then we'll wait. When reality crushes him, we'll offer our helping hand."
Looking over the ruined village, Obito felt a rare pang of regret.
It was too much...
If he hadn't played around so much in Hidden Mist, the Three-Tails wouldn't have died, and the Tailed Beast Plan could have started earlier.
But then he remembered Rin's death—and the regret vanished.
"Let's go tell Nagato what happened here."
With that, Obito activated Kamui, warping away with Black Zetsu and White Zetsu.
Below, Mabui, who had helped evacuate villagers and attempted to redirect meteorites using the Heavenly Transfer Technique, reported to the Fourth Raikage.
"Lord Raikage, the casualty count is in. We lost 3,654 people—85% were ninjas. 65% of the bodies are missing. There are countless wounded."
"I see." The Fourth Raikage's voice was deep. "Search the ruins for the chakra television scroll. If it's gone, notify the Daimyō first thing tomorrow and request funding for compensation. All of them were martyrs of Hidden Cloud."
"Understood," Mabui replied solemnly.
Just as she turned to leave, the Fourth Raikage said coldly, "Send envoys to the other four villages. I want a Five Kage Summit!"
Mabui froze for a moment, then nodded firmly. Thinking back to the apocalyptic meteor shower and the enemy's utter disregard for rules, she replied, "Yes, Lord Raikage!"
...
Back at the mountain top where love had been sealed...
After watching the spectacle unfold, Izayoi didn't immediately check his rewards. Instead, he turned to Hinata with a smile and said, "It's getting late. Let's go home."
"Mhm..."
Though she still wanted to hear more sweet words, Hinata—now a little feverish and weakened from last night—nodded, relieved.
Once her body temperature stabilized, Izayoi destroyed the chair beneath her wistful gaze, then used Flying Thunder God to return them to the Hyuga clan's estate.
"Izayoi-kun, Hinata, you're back."
Sensing their return through Kagura's Mind Eye, Karin arrived quickly with Hanabi.
"Onii-chan! Where did you and Sis go for your date?"
Hanabi jumped into Izayoi's arms, clinging to him like a sloth and excitedly asked, "Was that the legendary Flying Thunder God Technique just now?"
"Smart girl." Izayoi pinched her nose and whispered, "But this is a Forbidden Jutsu from the Sealed Scroll. I stole it. Don't tell anyone until I get permission."
"Got it! Hanabi will keep it a secret!" She zipped her lips with her finger.
"Good girl."
Izayoi patted her head, then set her down and said to the sisters, "It's getting late. Karin and I will head back now."
"Eh? You're not staying?" Hanabi asked.
"Not the right time yet," Izayoi replied, then smirked at Hinata. "But now I can come and go freely."
Hinata blushed and looked down.
Hanabi cheered, "Then you must come see me often, Onii-chan! You promised to help me!"
"No problem."
Izayoi pinched her cheek, said goodbye, and left the Hyuga territory with Karin.
From above, the banquet was over and everything had been cleaned up.