"Even this isn't enough?" Kitsuchi's expression became extremely ugly. What he had just done was already the limit of what he could accomplish without further charging his chakra.
He had never expected that the large-scale Earth Release technique, which had consumed so much of his chakra, would be effortlessly neutralized by Nagato.
At this moment, Kitsuchi felt an oppressive presence from Nagato that was far stronger than that of his Tsuchikage father.
A deep sense of powerlessness suddenly surged within Kitsuchi, because he had already foreseen his own defeat, as well as the outcome of this war.
The Rock Shinobi were probably going to lose. Although the two armies had yet to officially clash, Kitsuchi already knew the result in his heart.
Being able to neutralize his Mountain Soil Technique so easily showed that the gap between the two of them was enormous.
Although the Rock Shinobi had a force of 2,800 ninja, the other side did not only have Nagato. They also had a large number of Light and Grass Shinobi.
Unless the opposing ninja forces were extremely weak, Kitsuchi could see no hope of victory.
"How about it? Will you surrender to me?" Nagato did not attack immediately and simply asked calmly.
Obito's words before leaving had not been completely useless. Although they could not make Nagato abandon his plan to wage war, they had given Nagato more things to consider when taking action.
For example, he would order his ninja not to enter ordinary villages and towns. Back then, his parents had been killed by Konoha ninja after they entered his home.
If Kitsuchi was willing to surrender, Nagato would not insist on eliminating every single Rock Shinobi.
Forcing the Rock Shinobi Village to surrender and defeating the Rock Shinobi Village were two different things in terms of influence. Perhaps the former would have an even greater impact.
After all, the Five Great Shinobi Villages were enormous powers, and having one of them surrender to a minor village would be something that had never happened since the beginning of the Shinobi Village era. Even the Sand Shinobi had never surrendered to a minor village.
"Surrender?" Kitsuchi clenched his fists as chakra gathered in his arms, with hard rocks rapidly covering them.
"To say something like that is looking down on the Rock Shinobi too much. No matter how powerful the enemy is, they cannot destroy our will, which is as solid as rock!" Clearly, Kitsuchi had no intention of surrendering.
Even though he knew the probability of victory was extremely low, Kitsuchi still had no intention of surrendering. As long as there was even the slightest hope, he would never give up.
Surrendering before the battle had even officially begun, and to a minor village at that, would make it impossible for the Rock Shinobi to hold their heads up in the shinobi world again. Kitsuchi could not bear that responsibility.
"Meaningless struggle." Nagato's expression remained indifferent. He neither became enraged nor disappointed, maintaining the same calm expression as if nothing mattered to him.
Kitsuchi released his chakra and used Earthquake Technique, causing the ground to rise and disrupt the Light and Grass Shinobi formation before ordering the Rock Shinobi to launch an attack.
Kitsuchi's idea was simple. He could not defeat Nagato, but as long as his Rock Shinobi forces won, there would still be hope.
Unfortunately, things did not develop as Kitsuchi had imagined. His Earthquake Technique, which consumed a huge amount of chakra, did indeed disrupt the enemy formation.
However, the battle between the Rock Shinobi and the Light and Grass Shinobi did not become one-sided. Instead, the Light and Grass Shinobi held a slight advantage.
The Light Shinobi Village was the first village Nagato had planned to establish and the strongest among all the shinobi villages he had created. Almost every possible method had been used to increase its combat strength.
The Grass Shinobi were already one of the stronger minor villages, and with the addition of the chakra technology brought by Nagato, they were like a tiger that had grown wings. The Rock Shinobi could not gain any advantage.
"How could this be..." Kitsuchi's already unpleasant expression became even worse.
"The Rock Shinobi Village will ultimately fail. You simply do not know who your opponent is." Nagato slowly floated into the air.
"Since you refuse to surrender, I will personally grant you defeat." Nagato raised both hands in the air.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Nagato's chakra erupted. His tremendous chakra caused the surrounding air to stagnate, while a terrifying repulsive force surged toward Kitsuchi and the Rock Shinobi under Nagato's control.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of tremendous explosions rang out. The ground collapsed under the pressure of the powerful repulsive force. The areas struck by Nagato's Shinra Tensei were left devastated, filled with holes and cracks, looking as though they had been subjected to an intense bombardment.
Most of the Rock Shinobi caught in the Shinra Tensei were severely injured, vomiting blood and immediately losing their ability to fight.
Kitsuchi was stunned when he saw this scene. With just one technique, Nagato had crippled half of the Rock Shinobi forces.
How were they supposed to fight this?
Kitsuchi realized that Nagato might be even stronger than he had imagined. Even if the Rock Shinobi defeated the Grass and Light Shinobi, Nagato alone might be capable of wiping them all out.
'What kind of monster is this?'
Even the honest Kitsuchi could not help but complain inwardly. As the acting Tsuchikage, why had his first mission ended with him encountering an enemy of this level?
"Retreat! Retreat immediately!"
Kitsuchi desperately shouted, ordering the surviving Rock Shinobi to make a strategic retreat.
Surrender was impossible, but retreat was different. This retreat was for the sake of launching a better attack next time.
Facing Nagato, whose strength was terrifying beyond reason, Kitsuchi had no solution. Staying here would only result in meaningless losses.
The only person he could think of who could save the Rock Shinobi Village and the Land of Earth was his father, the Third Tsuchikage.
His father possessed Dust Release, a Kekkei Tota even more powerful than a Kekkei Genkai. No matter how powerful Nagato was, one hit from Dust Release would turn him into ash. At least, that was what Kitsuchi believed.
Therefore, Kitsuchi wanted to preserve as much of his strength as possible and wait for Onoki to arrive before launching another attack together.
To Kitsuchi's surprise, Nagato ignored the fleeing Rock Shinobi and did not attack again. He even seemed to have ordered his subordinates to take out a camera, though Kitsuchi had no idea what they intended to do.
Kitsuchi did not hesitate. Since Nagato was not stopping him, he immediately ran.
He quickly led the Rock Shinobi away and disappeared into the countless mountains of the Land of Earth.
"Run. Hopefully, next time you will bring the Third Tsuchikage with you, so I can completely crush the Rock Shinobi in one go."
Nagato calmly watched Kitsuchi's figure gradually disappear into the distance.
He actually hoped that the Rock Shinobi Village would send all of its forces to attack him. That would save him the trouble.
Once the Rock Shinobi were dealt with, he could establish the Shinobi Village Alliance and launch an attack against all the major villages other than Konoha at the same time.
Nagato had already completed his preparations. The forces of the other minor villages had been waiting for his command.
Once Nagato gave the order, members of the Akatsuki would lead them in attacks against the major villages bordering their respective territories.
...
Onoki abandoned the advantage he had gained at the Bird Shinobi Village and hurried back to the Land of Earth, where he found the defeated and injured Kitsuchi.
"Tsuchikage-sama, you finally came."
The Rock Shinobi were extremely excited to see Onoki arrive personally. They felt as though they had finally seen a glimmer of hope for victory.