Chapter 481: Shinra Tensei

Chapter 481: Chapter 481: Shinra Tensei

Whoosh...

The instant Kagami withdrew back into the bone spear, a massive shuriken a full meter in diameter came hurtling after him, slicing through the air before striking the bone spear.

In an instant, a distorted vortex appeared out of thin air, cleanly peeling the entire upper half of the bone spear out of space-time.

The enormous black shuriken didn’t lose any momentum. It continued circling through the surrounding area as distorted vortices appeared again and again, successively tearing seven or eight towering bone spears out of space-time.

In the blink of an eye, a large section of the bone forest around Hiruko had been completely cleared away.

Boom...

With a thunderous crash, a blue Susanoo appeared in the newly cleared area.

From within the Susanoo, Obito glanced at Hiruko’s decapitated corpse lying on the ground, his gaze beneath the mask filled with amusement.

In truth, Obito had had the opportunity to intervene earlier, but he had deliberately chosen not to.

Hiruko had always been one of Nagato’s trusted confidants, and that was extremely disadvantageous for Obito. Because of that, Obito had constantly been looking for an opportunity to pull the powerful Hiruko over to his own side.

After all, a conflict between him and Nagato was only a matter of time.

Or rather...

Nagato was the final obstacle standing in the way of the Eye of the Moon Plan!

Just then, Jiraiya suddenly leaped out of the bone forest and shouted,

"Sage Art: Goemon!"

Whoosh—!

Jiraiya, positioned in the center, spewed out oil. Fukasaku, standing on one side, unleashed Wind Release, while Shima, on the other, unleashed Fire Release.

Fueled by Senjutsu chakra, the three attacks combined into a raging sea of flames that surged forward, illuminating the entire night sky in a brilliant crimson glow!

Obito frowned slightly.

With a thought—

In an instant, a pair of wings unfolded from the back of his blue Susanoo, carrying it straight into the sky.

Because Obito had been implanted with First Hokage cells, his Yin and Yang Release had achieved a preliminary fusion, granting him a certain degree of the power of all creation.

As a result, although the Sharingan in Obito’s eye socket was not an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, he was still capable of manifesting a nearly complete-body Susanoo, even granting his Susanoo the ability to fly.

Jiraiya had never expected Obito’s Susanoo to be capable of flight and was immediately caught off guard.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya’s Sage Art had already swallowed up a huge section of the bone forest.

No matter how tough the bone spears created by Kagami’s Shikotsumyaku were, they couldn’t withstand the combined burning power of Fire Release, Wind Release, the special oil, and Senjutsu chakra contained within Sage Art: Goemon!

Crack... crack...

Amid a continuous series of crisp cracking sounds, one bone spear after another shattered within the sea of flames.

At that moment, Kagami emerged halfway from a bone spear in the distance and stared speechlessly at Jiraiya.

No matter how overbearing Obito’s Kamui Shuriken was, it could only remove seven or eight bone spears from space-time with each attack. With Kagami’s Shikotsumyaku, he could restore those losses in the blink of an eye.

But Jiraiya?

The moment he unleashed his Sage Art, he went and burned down a massive chunk of the entire bone forest!

Jiraiya looked somewhat embarrassed and hurriedly said, "Sorry! I didn’t expect him to be able to fly!"

Actually, Jiraiya’s move couldn’t really be considered a bad decision.

If Obito’s Susanoo hadn’t been capable of flight, this attack would have allowed Jiraiya to test whether Obito could still make himself intangible while using Susanoo—or whether he could even make his Susanoo intangible as well.

After all, even for a Susanoo, directly enduring a Sage Art like Goemon would be extremely dangerous.

If Obito could make either himself or his Susanoo intangible, there was no reason for him to choose to withstand the attack head-on.

Kagami didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the area where Hiruko’s remains had been lying earlier.

At this moment, that entire area had become a sea of flames.

Everything on the ground had been completely incinerated by Goemon. Even the shattered rocks had been burned down into tiny grains of sand.

If Obito hadn’t had time to dispose of Hiruko’s remains just now, then regardless of whatever bizarre methods Hiruko possessed, or whatever miraculous properties his Chimera Bud might have—

Hiruko was unquestionably dead beyond dead.

But because Kagami had been forced to move through the bone forest in a hurry to evade Obito’s Kamui Shuriken, he hadn’t been able to pay attention to whether Obito had done anything to Hiruko’s remains.

Hovering high in the air, Obito looked down at Kagami and Jiraiya and said mockingly, "I’m curious. Just how long can you maintain your Dance of the Seedling Fern and Sage Mode?"

With that, Obito immediately dispelled his Susanoo in midair.

A vortex appeared around him, and his entire body vanished from the sky, leaving only his laughter echoing through the air.

Jiraiya exclaimed anxiously, "Damn it! He must’ve gone after another target!"

Jiraiya figured that if he were in Obito’s position, he would do the same—avoid the enemy’s strongest fighters and attack their weaker points instead.

And with Konoha being so large, practically anywhere in the village could become a target.

Standing atop a towering bone spear, Kagami remained calm.

He had a feeling...

Obito hadn’t left.

Suddenly, the surroundings fell silent.

The beastly roars that had filled the village, the sounds of fierce fighting, and the intermittent explosions all gradually died away!

Kagami’s expression sharpened.

"What’s going on?"

It wasn’t just Kagami.

Jiraiya, Tsunade, and the nearby Konoha shinobi all sensed that something was wrong.

Kurenai emerged from the ruins and asked in confusion, "Did the enemy retreat?"

Kakashi’s expression turned grave. "I’m afraid it’s not that simple. Everyone, stay alert!"

At that moment, Kagami, still standing atop the bone spear, suddenly raised an eyebrow and snapped his gaze toward the distant sky.

High above the very center of the village, a figure dressed in a black cloak patterned with red clouds was silently floating in the air.

His arms were spread wide...

as though he were preparing something.

Sensing an enormous fluctuation of chakra, Jiraiya, still in Sage Mode, also noticed the figure hovering high above and turned his gaze toward him.

"That’s..."

Jiraiya frowned.

For some reason, an extremely ominous feeling suddenly came over him.

Immediately afterward, Jiraiya shouted, "Whatever he’s doing, we have to stop him!"

Kagami formed hand seals as he calmly replied,

"It’s too late."

The instant those words left Kagami’s mouth, a slightly imposing voice echoed down from the distant sky.

"Shinra Tensei!"

BOOM—!!!

A colossal repulsive shockwave swept across the center of the village before rapidly expanding outward in every direction.

Everything standing in its path—whether person or object—was mercilessly crushed!

Building after building...

Street after street...

All were swallowed by the shockwave!

The ever-expanding wave of destruction was like an enormous beast, devouring everything in its path!

Dust and debris erupted into the sky, instantly obscuring everything from sight. The night had already been dark, but now it became so pitch-black that one couldn’t even see their own hand in front of their face!

Watching the shockwave hurtling toward them, Kurenai stood frozen in disbelief.

Beside her, Kakashi’s face showed a complicated mixture of shock and helplessness.

Hayate instinctively threw himself over Yugao, shielding her beneath his body.

Just as everyone braced themselves for the impact—

An enormous curtain of black iron sand suddenly unfurled!

Viewed from above, it resembled a gigantic black blanket spreading across the village, instantly covering an enormous area...