A flicker of greed appeared in the depths of Onoki's eyes.
The Rinnegan—the legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths. Who wouldn't be tempted? An innocent man gets into trouble for the treasure he carries. One who possesses such a treasure must display the strength to protect it, or they will attract a swarm of covetous predators.
In Onoki's view, this mysterious enemy who wanted to collect the Tailed Beasts was a natural adversary. It was only a matter of time before they clashed. He just hadn't expected that day to come so soon.
His subordinates had just reported that Roshi had been engaged by a mysterious enemy. He had flown over to provide support, only to find the battle long over and Roshi captured. An angered Onoki was on his way back to the village when his Anbu reported that the enemy had been spotted at a nearby black market.
Onoki, in the prime of his life, was just beginning the down-slope from his peak. He wasn't yet so old that a single move would throw out his back. He flew over at once and saw Otsutsuki Urashiki.
When Onoki was young, he and the Second Tsuchikage had been humiliated by Madara. Afterward, he had dedicated himself to getting stronger, eventually mastering Dust Style—a Kekkei Tota, a technique that surpassed a simple Kekkei Genkai and was only one step away from the ultimate Kekkei Mora.
Of course, that one step was a chasm that some could spend a lifetime trying to cross and never succeed. Even Madara had never managed to develop a Kekkei Tota.
Unfortunately, by then, Madara was already dead, and Onoki could find no worthy opponent. Later, during the battle where the Third Raikage was surrounded, even the man known for having the "strongest shield" didn't dare to face his Dust Style head-on.
Of course, Onoki couldn't hit the Raikage, whose speed surpassed the eye's ability to track. Their battles had never involved a direct confrontation.
Now, facing an enemy with the Rinnegan, Onoki felt the ambition of his youth stirring once more. He wouldn't mind getting his hands on a pair of Rinnegan to play with...
"Human... you lowly native. You dare to look at me with such arrogance? You're courting death!"
Otsutsuki Urashiki saw the greed in Onoki's eyes and flew into a rage. Since when did the noble Otsutsuki clan become prey in the eyes of mere natives?
In his own world, he was the only one who did the hunting. Even Sasuke, with his Rinnegan, had to resort to a self-sacrificing embrace to take him down together. Aside from the Hokage line of Konoha, no one in the shinobi world was his match. Why was he being thwarted at every turn here?
"Dust Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
Onoki brought his hands together, forming a cube of transparent, glowing energy. In the center of the cube was a sphere of chakra. When he released it, it shot forward as a massive, transparent beam.
However, Onoki only aimed for Urashiki's body. He avoided the head; he didn't want the Rinnegan to be turned into atoms along with it.
Death.
In that split second, several plans flashed through Urashiki's mind.
Every scenario ended in death. His Rinnegan screamed warnings, predicting what was about to happen. He didn't even have time to escape with Yomotsu Hirasaka.
And so, Otsutsuki Urashiki used his Rinnegan's ultimate defensive technique: Shinra Tensei.
A normal Shinra Tensei wouldn't be enough to block Onoki's Dust Style. He had to use the advanced version.
"Super Shinra Tensei!"
Onoki's Dust Style was an incredibly domineering jutsu, said to break down all matter into its atomic state. The Rinnegan's Shinra Tensei was based on one of the four fundamental forces of the universe: gravity.
Gravity, the force that governs all things, from atoms to molecules. The two forces collided like Mars crashing into Earth, creating a massive explosion.
BOOM!
BOOM!
The Kekkei Tota and the foundational force of Shinra Tensei clashed. A deafening roar, like mountains collapsing and tsunamis crashing, echoed through the sky. Transparent ripples of spatial energy spread out like waves.
Waves of air rolled outwards. The transparent space at the center of the impact began to twist and distort, creating a vacuum and even tiny space-time fissures that were quickly repaired by space itself.
After the initial clash, both Urashiki and Onoki stared at each other grimly, recognizing the other's strength.
[Bansho Ten'in]
Urashiki reached out, pulling Onoki towards him with gravity. He swung his divine fishing rod, intending to drain his opponent's chakra in one go. But could his weapon withstand the Dust Style?
"Dust Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!" Onoki used his Dust Style again, but this time in a defensive form.
Dust Style was a versatile technique, usable for both offense and defense, and could be shaped into a rectangle or a cube.
"Damn it!"
Urashiki cursed. His divine fishing rod struck the Dust Style's defensive barrier but couldn't break through. Fortunately, the weapon was incredibly durable and wasn't atomized by the jutsu.
Onoki, of course, could see that there was something strange about his opponent's fishing rod. Getting hit by it would not end well.
"Rock Clone Jutsu!" Onoki spat out several rock clones, each one capable of flight.
They surrounded Urashiki, and one flew up to punch him.
[Weighted Boulder Jutsu + Rock Fist Jutsu]
A layer of rock formed around the clone's arm as it punched heavily towards Urashiki. His Rinnegan screamed another warning. If that hit, it would be like Tsunade's monstrous strength fist—he would be pulverized.
Later on, this very technique, when used to enhance the Raikage, had allowed him to shatter Madara's Susanoo.
"Shinra Tensei!" Urashiki wasn't a fool. He pushed the clone away, then used Yomotsu Hirasaka to flash high into the sky.
After creating distance, he raised his hand high, a savage grin on his face. A massive Tailed Beast Bomb rapidly formed, and he hurled it down at Onoki.
Having learned his lesson, Urashiki was finally starting to use his advantages of flight and long-range attacks, instead of foolishly engaging the shinobi of this world in close combat. This giant Tailed Beast Bomb would create a mushroom cloud, at the very least. Onoki could fly, but he didn't have a space-time ninjutsu. This would be more than he could handle.
Onoki's expression was grave. A Tailed Beast Bomb was no simple matter.
He could fly away, or he could create a Dust Style barrier to protect himself when it exploded. But the Anbu around him would be in trouble. He couldn't just watch his own men die.
"Dust Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
A massive, square barrier intercepted Urashiki's Tailed Beast Bomb. Under Onoki's precise control, the energy within the bomb was broken down into various energy molecules and dissipated. The mushroom cloud crisis was averted.
Clap, clap, clap~
Otsutsuki Urashiki applauded. "Not bad, not bad. You must be the Kage of the Village Hidden by the Stone. Truly remarkable. You know, aside from space-time ninjutsu users, you're the first person to face a Tailed Beast Bomb head-on. But I wonder, besides you, who else in Iwagakure can take a Tailed Beast Bomb?"
With a strange smile, Urashiki used Yomotsu Hirasaka and teleported away. Onoki was stunned for a moment, then his face changed. He flew quickly back towards his village. He understood his opponent's meaning: he was going to attack the village directly.
A clone in the air flew down to notify the Anbu below. With their chakra-powered radio, they could get the message to Iwagakure much faster.
An hour later...
Onoki looked at the ruins of his village in agony. If he had known, he would have stayed in the village and not gone out. He had thought to take the initiative, knowing that his opponent had destroyed half the Cloud Village. But now, not only had he failed to kill him and take his Rinnegan, but he had also stirred up a hornet's nest.
"Inform the other great nations for me. Tell them I wish to hold a Kage Summit," Onoki ordered the Anbu, suppressing his immense grief.
The only silver lining was that the Anbu's chakra radio and summoning jutsu had given the village an early warning. A portion of the villagers had managed to evacuate to underground shelters, so at least Onoki wasn't the leader of an empty village.
But the two or three Tailed Beast Bombs Urashiki had dropped had effectively removed one of the five great shinobi villages from the map...
Tinkle, tinkle...
Two men in black robes silently entered a small tavern. This was the castle town of the Land of Iron's daimyo. The Swordsmith Village was located over a hundred miles away—not too far, but not too close either.
One of the men was a handsome young man with two distinct creases on his face. His sharp, perfectly proportioned features made several passing women do a double-take.
The other, however, had a bundle of bandages on his shoulder and a face so ugly it was terrifying. One look could give you nightmares. He had the face of a shark, and a mouth full of sharp teeth that could make a small child cry.
"Itachi-san, it seems your kinsman has managed this little country quite well," the shark-faced man said with a grin, flashing his sharp teeth. A nearby child saw him and burst into tears.
The man with the facial creases glanced at the child. With a slight movement of his fingers, the child's eyes went blank. He then got up and left, as if nothing had happened.
"Itachi-san's genjutsu is becoming more and more divine," the shark-faced man remarked.
The two newcomers were, of course, the Akatsuki's Itachi and Kisame. They had been ordered to go to Konoha, but after failing to find the Nine-Tails, Itachi had given his little brother a "lesson" and then set off again with Kisame for the Land of Water.
But on the way, they learned that the Three-Tails' jinchuriki had been sent to the Swordsmith Village in the Land of Iron. Wary of the mysterious Rinnegan user, the Mist had hired the Swordsmith Village for protection.
And so, Uchiha Itachi and Kisame had changed course midway and headed for the Swordsmith Village.
"Kisame, be careful here. I've already found several Flying Thunder God kunai on the road," Uchiha Itachi said, producing two kunai.
He had scraped off a small part of the black paint, revealing the Flying Thunder God formula underneath. He had then damaged the formulas on these two, so it was safe to carry them.
Uchiha Itachi continued, "This person is different from the Namikaze Minato of the past. He carves the Flying Thunder God formula onto the kunai, then paints them black to make them look like ordinary kunai. In a fight, one could easily fall into his trap."
"The key is that he seems to have placed coordinates all over the Land of Iron. Once a battle starts, unless you can escape the country entirely, you can't shake him."
"Space-time ninjutsu... what a headache," Kisame grinned, showing his mouthful of sharp teeth. The Flying Thunder God was a pain, but every jutsu had a weakness. Without the coordinates, it wasn't so scary.
But Uchiha Nagi was just too cunning. Unlike Minato, who used his signature three-pronged kunai, Nagi mixed his marked kunai in with regular ones, making it impossible to tell which was which.
Never count on victory, always plan for defeat. The moment he arrived, Itachi began analyzing all the intelligence on Uchiha Nagi. The most important was on his Flying Thunder God. Unfortunately, for all his calculations, he had no idea what his own Sharingan's ability was.
"Let's go. It seems the Three-Tails is in the Swordsmith Village."
Itachi and Kisame left the tavern. The reason they hadn't gone straight to the village was to gather intelligence. It was Itachi's habit. And the daimyo's capital was, of course, the best place to do that.
With his unbeatable genjutsu, gathering intelligence was a simple matter.
He quickly learned that the Three-Tails was in the Swordsmith Village. Uchiha Nagi hadn't bothered to hide it. As long as he was in the village, he didn't have to worry about any petty thieves—except for super-Kage-level threats like Nagato.
As Itachi and Kisame left the capital city, Itachi's brow furrowed slightly. He called out softly, "Kisame..."
Kisame grinned, showing his sharp teeth. "Yes. I've found a few little rats..."
Swoosh—
The moment Kisame finished speaking, a water clone emerged from a nearby river, swinging its weapon at the head of Amaru, who had been following them.
Their pursuers were Amaru and Genya. They had come to the capital to buy something to celebrate Kimimaro's recovery. For a ninja, a hundred miles was only an hour's journey, so trade between the capital and the Swordsmith Village was brisk.
On their way, they had run into the two strange men in black robes. They looked suspicious, so Amaru and Genya had secretly followed them, only to run into a tough opponent.
"A no-hand-seal jutsu!"
Their pupils shrank. Kisame's water clone was incredibly strong. They hadn't even seen him cast it. It must have been released without hand seals.
Amaru, the artificial jinchuriki of the Zero-Tails, instantly manifested chakra tentacles to block the water clone's attack, while Genya clapped his hands, and his Wood Style blossomed.
Crash!
The Wood Style firmly blocked a slash from the real Kisame, while Amaru's chakra tentacles dispatched the water clone.
"Be careful! There's something strange about his sword!"
Genya pulled Amaru back quickly. When Kisame's sword had lightly grazed the Wood Style, all the chakra within it had been absorbed, turning it into a pile of inert wood.
Unsure of their opponent's strength, they could only retreat quickly.