Chapter 356: The Roar of the Gedo Statue

Chapter 356: Chapter 356: The Roar of the Gedo Statue

Inside a dim room almost completely devoid of light, Hyuga Kagami slowly withdrew his hand from the wooden cart.

At the same time, ink-black sealing formulas began spreading outward from the spot where Kagami’s hand had been resting.

As though possessing a life of their own, the sealing formulas rapidly crawled in every direction.

Sitting in the wooden cart was none other than Nagato, the leader of the Akatsuki.

He had red hair, the unmistakable symbol of the Uzumaki Clan’s powerful life force and Sage Body lineage. Yet his body was frighteningly thin—so emaciated that he was practically skin and bones, resembling a starving refugee displaced by war.

Faced with Kagami’s sudden ambush, Nagato showed no signs of panic.

First, he lowered his gaze and glanced at the sealing formulas of the Four Symbols Seal spreading from the wooden cart onto his body.

Then, with a look of disdain, he turned his head toward the figure standing behind him.

Hyuga Kagami had already entered Tenseigan Chakra Mode. His entire body was enveloped in sky-blue Tenseigan chakra, while he wore the attire of Kamigami’s Yama.

Nagato’s voice was slightly hoarse as he said, "Kamigami’s... Yama?"

Kagami ignored him.

Instead, he drove the Tenseigan chakra throughout his entire body to its limit and focused everything on condensing his Truth-Seeking Balls.

Earlier, when Jiraiya, Shisui, Kakashi, and the others had been struck down one after another, their lives hanging by a thread, Kagami had helplessly sighed.

He knew he could no longer afford to wait.

Although this was far from the ideal moment, and although he had still been unable to determine Nagato’s true hiding place with certainty, for the sake of his comrades in Team 11, Kagami had no choice but to take the risk—

and gamble everything on this one shot.

Fortunately, luck was on his side.

He had guessed correctly and found Nagato’s true hiding place.

However, when Kagami quietly approached the location where Nagato’s real body was hidden, he unexpectedly discovered an almost imperceptible chakra network spread throughout the area, with Nagato’s position at its center.

The chakra network radiated outward in every direction, forming an enormous circular chakra sensory field. The closer one got to the area where Nagato’s true body was located, the denser the chakra network became.

Kagami surmised that this was the effective range through which Nagato’s black receivers transmitted and sensed chakra.

After realizing this, he abandoned his original plan of launching a surprise attack on Nagato with Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion.

Whether it was condensing Truth-Seeking Balls or manipulating them to unleash Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, both would inevitably produce intense chakra fluctuations.

And the moment such powerful chakra fluctuations appeared, Nagato would be able to detect them in advance through the dense chakra network surrounding him.

At that point, forget about launching a surprise attack—even whether Kagami could get close to Nagato’s true body would become uncertain.

So Kagami decisively chose to ambush him with the Four Symbols Seal instead.

There was another reason Kagami had chosen the Four Symbols Seal besides avoiding Nagato’s detection.

More importantly, he wanted to sever the connection between Nagato’s true body and the Six Paths of Pain outside, thereby saving Jiraiya and his comrades from Team 11, who were already hovering on the brink of death.

Of course, Kagami had never expected a single Four Symbols Seal to completely subdue Nagato.

As far as he was concerned, if the Four Symbols Seal could restrain Nagato for just thirty seconds, that would be enough!

Thirty seconds was all he needed to condense at least four Truth-Seeking Balls and unleash Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!

As one Truth-Seeking Ball after another emerged from Kagami’s brow, the disdain on Nagato’s face gradually froze.

A sense of mortal danger—one he had not felt in a very long time—suddenly surged through him.

Nagato immediately raised both hands toward Kagami and shouted in a low voice,

"Shinra Tensei!"

Kagami raised both hands at the exact same moment.

"Wheel of Will!"

Boom...

The two enormous repulsive forces collided in an instant.

At the moment the deep, muffled impact rang out, even the space at the point of collision seemed to distort slightly.

Nagato was startled, and his expression grew even more solemn.

Beneath his mask, however, Kagami’s expression darkened.

Because he had just discovered that the Wheel of Will he unleashed while enhanced by Tenseigan Chakra Mode had only barely managed to match Nagato’s casually executed Shinra Tensei.

This was clearly not a good sign!

......

Meanwhile, on the battlefield outside.

Jiraiya, Shisui, Kakashi, and Guy stared at one another in bewilderment as the Six Paths of Pain suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground in unison.

Just a second ago, the four of them had been standing at death’s door, awaiting the arrival of death.

Yet in the very next second, the overwhelmingly powerful enemies they had been helpless against had inexplicably collapsed before them.

The abrupt change was so unbelievable that they could hardly process what had happened.

Among them, only Shisui vaguely guessed the truth.

But at the same time, a trace of worry arose in his heart.

He was afraid that Kagami’s plan had been disrupted because Kagami had chosen to save them.

High above them, Konan’s previously indifferent expression changed drastically, revealing panic for the first time.

She was the only person present who knew the truth behind the Six Paths of Pain.

Seeing all six suddenly collapse, she immediately realized that something must have happened to Nagato’s true body.

Without hesitation, she spun around in midair, her body scattering into countless sheets of paper that flew toward Nagato’s hiding place.

At that moment, Guy sprang up from the ground and hurried over to inspect the Asura Path lying closest to him.

The burly Asura Path was covered from head to toe in black receivers of varying sizes. Its skin was cold and pale, giving off the unmistakable impression of a corpse that had long since lost all body heat.

Guy turned the Asura Path over and briefly examined it before hurriedly telling the others,

"There are no visible injuries."

By now, the others had also gotten back to their feet. While inspecting the fallen Six Paths of Pain, they remained vigilant toward the massive summoned beasts surrounding them.

However, those enormous summons seemed to have been affected as well.

Every one of them stood completely motionless, like puppets that had suddenly lost their souls.

A few moments later, they vanished one after another amid bursts of white smoke.

With the enormous splitting hound no longer holding them back, the Kumo forces, who had suffered devastating casualties, finally reached the battlefield.

At the same time, Uchiha Shinichi and Jūzō Biwa, who had been fighting the Kumo forces in the distance, also arrived.

Neither side immediately resumed fighting.

Instead, they maintained a wary standoff while surveying the battlefield.

After quickly scanning the area, a Kumo ANBU turned toward Jiraiya and asked,

"Where is Lord Killer B? Where is he?"

Jiraiya pointed toward the enormous sphere still suspended high in the sky.

"He was sealed inside that stone sphere by the leader of the Akatsuki!"

The Kumo shinobi exclaimed in shock,

"What!?"

On the other side of the battlefield, Uchiha Shinichi and Jūzō Biwa stared uncertainly at the six bodies sprawled across the ground, each wearing the Akatsuki’s black cloak patterned with red clouds.

Shinichi curled his lip.

"No way... Did the leader actually get taken out?"

Although he had no idea which of the six corpses lying on the ground was supposed to be the leader’s body, the scene before him undoubtedly made it appear that the allied forces of Konoha, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure had emerged victorious.

Jūzō Biwa held the Kubikiribocho horizontally in front of himself and whispered to Shinichi,

"We need to find a way out of here."

The Akatsuki had always been a loosely organized group, held together entirely by the overwhelming power and intimidation of Pain.

If even Pain was dead, then Jūzō naturally had no intention of fighting to the death here and throwing his life away for nothing.

Boom...

Suddenly, a violent, earth-shaking explosion erupted not far from the battlefield!

Immediately afterward, an incomparably dazzling golden light flashed across the sky, illuminating the gloomy, overcast heavens until they were as bright as midday in the height of summer.

The light was so intense that everyone could barely keep their eyes open!

"ROOOOAAARRR...!"

Before anyone present could adjust to the sudden brilliance, an enormous roar rang out.

The sound seemed to strike directly at the soul, filling everyone who heard it with an instinctive sense of fear.

Accompanied by that terrifying roar, an incomparably massive shadow appeared before them.

Everyone focused their eyes on it.

The shadow belonged to an enormous humanoid giant possessing nine eyes. Its skin resembled the bark of a withered tree, colored a dry grayish-brown, while numerous stake-like protrusions jutted from its back.

"Gedo Statue!?"

Uchiha Shinichi and Jūzō Biwa exclaimed in shock at the same time.

As the Gedo Statue served as the secret gathering place for every Akatsuki meeting, neither Shinichi nor Jūzō was unfamiliar with it.

However, the two of them had always assumed that the Gedo Statue was nothing more than an ordinary gigantic statue.

After all, the Akatsuki had yet to officially begin its plan to capture the Tailed Beasts.

Because of that, neither of them knew the Gedo Statue’s true identity.

Before long, everyone realized that the dazzling golden light they had seen earlier was actually a golden sword nearly a hundred meters long.

The brilliant golden sword moved once again, shimmering with a dreamlike radiance as it slashed viciously toward the Gedo Statue.

The Gedo Statue roared and swung both of its massive arms forward to meet the dazzling golden blade head-on!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As the enormous Gedo Statue swept its arms through the surroundings, the steel towers nearby were knocked down in swaths as effortlessly as withered branches.

Violent tremors shook the earth as clouds of dust and debris surged outward in every direction.

At this point, everyone on the battlefield had no time to concern themselves with the giant and the golden sword clashing in the distance.

The earth-shaking tremors alone, combined with the shockwaves carrying countless fragments of rubble and shattered steel, were enough to leave everyone battered and covered in dust.

Some particularly unlucky shinobi were even struck directly by enormous chunks of steel carried within the shockwaves, dying without even understanding what had hit them.

After retreating far into the distance, the Konoha shinobi leaped onto the top of one tower.

The surviving Kumo shinobi gathered atop another.

Meanwhile, the Akatsuki’s Uchiha Shinichi and Jūzō Biwa landed atop a third tower, farther away from both the Konoha and Kumo forces.

None of the three sides showed any intention of fighting.

Instead, everyone stared into the distance with expressions of sheer astonishment, watching the colossal giant clash against the golden sword.

Because of the distance and the enormous clouds of dust filling the air, no one present could clearly make out the details of the battle—not even Shisui, Shinichi, or Kakashi with their Mangekyō Sharingan.

They could only vaguely see the Gedo Statue’s enormous form rampaging through the tower-filled Amegakure.

Wherever it passed, nothing could stand in its way.

All that remained in its wake was utter devastation.

Meanwhile, the dazzling golden sword, hundreds of meters long, was incomparably fierce.

Every slash caused the Gedo Statue to let out a shrill, piercing roar. Whenever the sword’s radiance swept across one of the surrounding towers, the sturdy structures forged entirely from steel were like blocks of tofu, effortlessly sliced cleanly in two.

The severed surfaces were so smooth that they looked as though they had been meticulously polished.

Watching this scene, everyone standing atop the various towers revealed expressions of uncontrollable shock.

"What the hell is happening?"

Still holding his hands together as he absorbed natural energy, Jiraiya swallowed hard.

At this point, even he was completely dumbfounded, unable to understand what exactly was happening.

The two Toad Sages perched on his shoulders were equally stunned speechless.

Whether it was the terrifying might of the Gedo Statue—the husk of the Ten-Tails—or the overwhelming destructive power of Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, both filled them with fear from the depths of their hearts.

"Who the hell is fighting who...?"

Supporting each other as they stood, Kakashi and Guy stared blankly into the distance.

The battle unfolding before them had clearly surpassed their understanding of what a battle between shinobi was supposed to look like.

Even more frustratingly, they did not even know who the two combatants were.

Standing nearby, Shisui silently clenched his fist and prayed in his heart,

"Senpai... you have to win!"

Unlike everyone else, Shisui was a member of Kamigami.

Naturally, he understood that the person who had saved him just moments ago could be none other than Kamigami’s leader—

Hyuga Kagami.

On another tower, Shinichi suddenly grinned.

"So that’s what was going on!"

Having once been utterly overwhelmed by Kagami in Tenseigan Chakra Mode, Shinichi recognized the dazzling golden sword at a glance.

It was the very same golden blade that had effortlessly sliced apart his Susanoo back then.

And when Nagato used the thought waves of the Magic Lantern Body Technique to inform every Akatsuki member that he was currently fighting Kamigami’s leader, Yama, the image of Hyuga Kagami in Shinichi’s mind gradually overlapped with that of Kamigami’s mysterious leader—

Yama.

At that moment, everything finally clicked for Shinichi.

He understood now.

Kamigami’s leader, Yama—the mysterious figure whom the Akatsuki feared so deeply—was none other than Hyuga Kagami, the very man who had ordered him to infiltrate the Akatsuki!

Beside Shinichi, Jūzō Biwa muttered to himself,

"I never imagined Kamigami’s leader would be this powerful..."

Shinichi grinned.

"Now this is gonna be interesting!"

Jūzō, however, swept his gaze across their surroundings and warned,

"Since Kamigami’s leader has personally made a move, their other members are probably nearby as well. Whether it’s Kawa, Homura, or that Magnet Release user, every single one of them is an absolute nightmare to deal with!"

At that moment, Konan flew back into the sky, looking battered and covered in dust.

She had attempted to support Nagato earlier, but she had never expected the battle between Kagami and Nagato to escalate into a life-or-death struggle almost instantly.

Nagato had even been forced to summon the Gedo Statue directly inside the village.

Naturally, Konan had been among the first to get caught in the resulting destruction.

Fortunately, her Paper Release was particularly well suited to dealing with situations like this, and her Paper Clone had allowed her to evade the terrifying shockwave from moments earlier.

After soaring high into the sky, Konan stared grimly at Kagami, whose entire body was enveloped in sky-blue Tenseigan chakra.

"How can he possess such overwhelmingly powerful chakra!?

"The intensity of this chakra is almost comparable to the chakra of Nagato’s Rinnegan...

"No—

"It’s not inferior to Nagato’s Rinnegan chakra at all!

"Th-This... How is that possible!?"

Outside Amegakure.

The Raikage and Hiruko, both panting heavily from their fierce battle, simultaneously turned their gazes toward Amegakure.

The roars of the Gedo Statue and the dazzling golden light that flashed across the sky from time to time left both of them deeply unsettled.

At another end of the battlefield, Obito stood drenched in blood atop a massive tree he had created with Wood Release, staring toward Amegakure in the distance.

"What’s happening over there? Why did Nagato suddenly resort to using the Gedo Statue?"

Below him, the Third Hokage stood gripping the Adamantine Staff.

Looking at the Konoha ANBU lying dead and wounded all across the battlefield, Hiruzen spoke with a bitter expression,

"To think that one day, we of Konoha would be on the receiving end of Wood Release..."