During his last infiltration, Naruto had already planted Flying Thunder God marks both inside and outside the Kumogakure.
So this time, he didn't need to break through the sky Punishment Barrier again.
Swish!
He appeared in the middle of the village with Konan beside him.
The spot where they arrived used to be the Raikage's mansion. But it had been destroyed during their previous battle.
After being crushed by the Planetary Devastation technique, it turned into a low pit. Though recently rebuilt, the soil was still fresh.
As soon as they arrived, nearby Kumo Shinobi on guard spotted them and quickly surrounded them.
Naruto said calmly, "Looks like your Raikage doesn't plan on handing it over peacefully."
One of the Kumo Shinobi shouted, "The Will of Thunder will never surrender to invaders!"
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Will of Fire, Will of Stone, Will of Thunder… The founders of every great village seem to leave behind some so-called 'will of heaven', a guiding principle for later generations to follow."
"I used to believe in that too,"
"but over time, I realized these 'wills' are often just tools used by powerful people to rally followers."
The Kumo Shinobi exchanged uncertain glances.
Naruto continued, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not insulting your beliefs. These ideals do help unify a village or even a nation."
"But no matter how strong a will is, it's nothing compared to true power."
He looked around and asked softly, "Tell me... have you ever heard of the will of God?"
"God?" one of the Kumo Shinobi asked, confused.
Naruto gave a faint smile.
He wasn't talking about his late senior brother who once called himself a god but a real god, one far above the sky, watching all living things from afar.
"The will of God looks down on the cycle of cause and effect. It sees all living things as nothing more than straw dogs…"
"To them, we humans, us ninjas are just 'inferior creatures.'"
One of the Kumo Shinobi frowned. "What the hell is this guy talking about?"
Naruto gave a small smile and shook his head.
"…It's too soon for you to understand. That kind of oppression and despair you can only truly understand if you've experienced it yourself."
Then, he looked down at the ground beneath their feet.
"Hmm… Chakra barriers underground? So you're trying to counter my abilities? Looks like you were at least somewhat prepared for me~."
"But in the end… it won't make a difference."
Shua! Naruto began forming hand seals.
"He's casting a jutsu!" the Kumo Shinobi shouted, raising their guard.
But no repulsive force came.
Instead, Naruto placed his palm on the ground.
"—Summoning Jutsu!"
Bang!
A puff of white smoke burst out, and from it emerged a strange bird. It had a gray-brown body, a long, pointed beak, and a sharp presence.
Naruto and Konan leapt onto the bird's back, rising swiftly into the sky far above where any of the shinobi could reach.
Just then, something oval-shaped dropped from above and fell into view.
"Huh? An egg?" one Kumo Shinobi asked, confused.
Bang!
The "egg" slammed into the earth. Its shell cracked open releasing a blinding golden light.
The same shinobi's expression shifted in horror. "No it's dangerous! Everyone retreat!!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!
But it was too late. Flames lit up the night sky. The explosion marked the start of Naruto's assault.
High above, the bird soared through the air, hundreds of meters up.
Konan glanced below and said quietly,
"Finally… the first casualty."
Naruto said, "This isn't some ninja game. I've already gone easy on them…"
Konan gave a soft smile. "Good. Honestly, I was a little worried you wouldn't be ruthless when needed and that others might end up controlling you."
"Heh." Naruto smiled faintly as he looked down at the distant scenery below. His tone turned serious.
"Speaking of which… there used to be a guy in Akatsuki named Deidara. His ability was pretty similar, perfect for destroying enemy bases."
Konan nodded. "Yes, that's true. But Deidara had his limits in aerial combat. He wore a scope in his left eye, and his effective range was only about 100 meters. Any farther, and he couldn't aim accurately. That's why his biggest threat came from close-range surprise attacks. At 100 meters, most long-range ninjas could still deal with him."
Naruto said, "Still, if it's just about causing large-scale destruction without needing precision, the threat is huge either way."
Konan replied, "That's true, but there's more. He had to use hand seals to detonate his bombs. If the distance exceeded 500 meters, he couldn't trigger them."
"Also, his Earth-style clay bombs had a major weakness, they would become duds if hit by Lightning-style attacks."
"I see." Naruto said sincerely, "You really know the abilities of everyone in Akatsuki, don't you, Sister Konan?"
Konan replied, "I had to. Yesterday's enemy might be today's ally and the reverse, too. I had to stay alert. The only person I never truly understood… was Uchiha Itachi."
Whoosh!
The bomb bird soared across the sky, dropping a line of explosive projectiles behind it.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!
Explosions burst one after another in a straight path across the battlefield!
In the area where Raikage led his forces, a Kumo shinobi looked through a telescope, scanning the sky.
"There's a flying creature above, looks like a bird-type monster!!"
"It's the same one from the last invasion! The enemy's riding on its back!!"
Dodai's expression turned serious. "They're launching an air strike this time! Just as I feared… They didn't show their full strength before."
"Raikage-sama!"
Raikage shouted, "Hmph! It's just a bird nothing to worry about! As long as we track the bombs and predict where they'll fall, we can avoid the blast! The Body Flicker Technique is our specialty in Kumo!"
This wasn't just talk.
After adjusting to the situation, the Kumo Shinobi began reading the bomb trajectories and used the Body Flicker Technique to dodge them more effectively.
Naruto muttered, "The warm-up is done. Time for the real show…"
He placed a Flying Thunder God seal on the bird's back, stood up, and casually tossed a handful of marked kunai down toward the village.
Swish!
In a flash, Naruto teleported to a spot on the ground near the Kumo Shinobi and began forming hand seals.
—Summoning Technique!
BOOM!!!
A giant rhino burst out of a cloud of white smoke, letting out a roar as it charged forward.
Swish!
Naruto vanished and reappeared at another spot
—Summoning Technique!!
BANG!!
This time, a massive centipede emerged, writhing and crashing through the battlefield.
Swish!
Naruto kept teleporting back and forth, repeating the same move.
—Summoning Technique!
—Summoning Technique!!
—Summoning Technique!!!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
White smoke rose again and again as Naruto released large summoning beasts from the Animal Path into different areas of Kumo Shinobi Village.
Swish!
After finishing, Naruto returned to the back of the bird.
"That should be enough to keep them busy…"
A ninja rushed over.
"Raikage-sama! Monsters have suddenly appeared all over the village and they're destroyed everything!!"
Raikage's eyes widened. "What did you say!?"
Dodai said urgently, "Raikage-sama, under these conditions, our original strategy won't work anymore!"
Crack, crack, crack…!
Raikage clenched his fists but forced himself to stay calm.
"Change of plan, full defense!"
"Yes, sir!!"
"And take me to the closest battle site now! I want to see what kind of beast this is can it really be stronger than a Tailed Beast?!"
At the nearest battlefield, a group of Kumo Shinobi were struggling against one of the giant summoned beasts.
"Damn it! How do we even fight this thing?!"
"Where are the reinforcements?!"
BOOM!
Just when they were about to give up, the Raikage appeared—his body covered in crackling lightning.
"It's Raikage-sama!!!"
The Kumo Shinobi cheered with relief.
"Hmph!" Raikage roared, "You brats step aside! I'll finish it in one blow!"
Standing before him was one of Pain's old summoning beasts from the Animal Path
Naruto had given it a new name: 'Hell Three-Headed War Dog'!
.
.
TO BE CONTINUED
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