"What should I do…?"
Ōnoki's forehead beaded with sweat as his gaze swept rapidly across the battlefield.
But Nagato had no intention of giving him time to think. He shot forward at high speed.
"Universal Pull!"
A tremendous suction force seized Ōnoki's body once again. Clapping his hands together, he shouted, "Earth Style: Added-Weight Rock Technique!"
Using the momentum of Universal Pull to his advantage, Ōnoki's figure turned into a streak of lightning as he charged straight at Nagato.
Nagato snorted coldly. "Almighty Push!"
Boom!
An overwhelming repulsive force erupted instantly, violently blasting Ōnoki away.
Under the combined strain of gravity and repulsion, Ōnoki felt as if he had suffered a devastating blow. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his aura weakening in an instant.
"As expected… the power of the Rinnegan is unfathomable…"
Suppressing his injuries with effort, he looked at Nagato with deep wariness.
Before those legendary Sage Eyes, even a battle-hardened veteran like him found himself momentarily unable to devise a counterattack.
"It's time to end this. Feel the pain!"
Nagato raised his arm toward him once more.
But before he could launch the attack, a wild, unrestrained laugh echoed from the distance.
"Hahahahaha… so many people! Perfect—let you all witness my art!"
A young man with long blond hair tied in a ponytail flew in atop a massive white clay bird.
Amid his slightly manic laughter, he hurled dense clusters of white clay down onto the battlefield below.
The clay creations varied in shape and size—some like spiders, others like giant birds…
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
…
A chain of explosions erupted, blasting the ninjas below into chaos.
The Third Raikage's expression turned to surprise.
"Where did this bastard come from? He's attacking everyone without discrimination!"
The explosions covered a vast area. Both the Cloud ninjas and the Stone ninjas were caught in the blasts.
For a moment, thick smoke engulfed the battlefield, and the fighting came to a temporary halt.
Yet the young man in the sky paid no heed, continuing to drop all kinds of clay bombs from above.
"Art is a fleeting, brilliant bloom—art is an explosion!"
"Ha!"
As he circled overhead, the ninjas below could only scatter in all directions to avoid the bombardment.
In an instant, the entire battlefield was thrown into chaos by a single man.
The Third Raikage shouted from the ground, "Nagato, stop him!"
Among them, only Nagato possessed the ability to fly at high altitude.
If anyone could stop him, it was Nagato.
Even without the reminder, Nagato had already moved.
He changed direction, shifting his target to the young man.
But the blond man refused direct confrontation. Taking advantage of Nagato's pursuit, he launched another attack toward the ground.
"C3·Number Eighteen!"
With a manic laugh, the explosive clay swelled as it rode the wind.
By the time it neared the ground, it had grown as large as a small hill.
From its sheer size alone, one could tell its destructive power would be immense.
Nagato abandoned the chase at once and slammed his hands together. "Planetary Devastation!"
The ground shattered as countless massive rocks rose instantly, forming a protective barrier above everyone.
Minato Namikaze pushed his chakra to the absolute limit. Instantly, crimson chakra cloaks appeared around the allied ninjas.
Boom!!!
A deafening roar shook the earth itself.
Even with Planetary Devastation blocking the blast, countless fragments of stone rained down from the sky like a storm of rocks.
Fortunately, thanks to the Nine-Tails' power and the considerable strength of the Cloud ninjas present, casualties were kept to a minimum.
But the Stone ninjas were not so fortunate.
Their formation had already been on the verge of collapse. Under the combined assault of the explosion and the falling rocks, it finally shattered completely.
The remaining Stone ninjas abandoned all thoughts of covering the retreat. Like terrified rats, they scattered in panic, desperate to escape this living hell.
The Third Raikage would not let the opportunity slip by. He roared, "Pursue them—leave no one alive!"
"Yes!"
The Stone ninjas who had given up resisting were like lambs awaiting slaughter, cut down mercilessly by the Cloud forces.
Meanwhile, Nagato looked at the two figures retreating into the distance and slowly raised his arm.
"Asura Path: Laser Cannon!"
Boom!
The laser fired, blasting off one of the great bird's wings and sending it plummeting downward.
Yet even so, two silhouettes steadied themselves midair before gradually disappearing into the distance.
"Hmph."
Knowing he could no longer catch up, Nagato snorted and descended back into the battlefield below.
In less than half an hour, all the Stone ninjas who had remained behind to cover the retreat were completely wiped out.
————
————
"Deidara, why are you here?"
High in the sky, Ōnoki used Super Light-Weight Rock Technique to make both himself and Deidara extremely light as they sped toward the Hidden Stone Village.
Looking at his disciple, his face was filled with shock and confusion.
Deidara turned back, his grin unwavering. "Old man, wasn't my performance just now cool?"
"Now you recognize my art, right?"
Hearing that, Ōnoki couldn't help but smack him on the head.
"What nonsense art? You're a terrorist!"
Deidara pouted in dissatisfaction. "That's why I call you an old fossil. Such a magnificent explosion, and you don't appreciate it at all."
"Art is an explosion!"
Knowing Deidara's temperament, Ōnoki chose not to argue further and instead asked again, "You still haven't said—why did you come here?"
Deidara had always been unreliable, so this operation had not been disclosed to him.
For him to appear on the battlefield at just the right moment was simply too strange.
Deidara gave a light snort. "Kurotsuchi asked me to take a look. Didn't expect I'd end up saving your life."
"Where's Uncle Kitsuchi?"
Ōnoki's expression darkened as he said in a low voice, "Kitsuchi stayed behind to cover the retreat."
Deidara fell silent for a moment.
After a while, he grew uncharacteristically serious.
"Old man, if Uchiha Yuzuru is this strong, why insist on opposing him?"
Ōnoki sighed. "What else should we do? Wait for him to swallow up the Hidden Stone Village?"
Deidara snorted lightly. "So what if he does? As long as Uchiha Yuzuru acknowledges my art, I wouldn't mind being his vanguard."
Ōnoki's nose nearly twisted in anger. "You brat!"
"A village built over a hundred years—how can I let it be destroyed in my hands? You're my disciple. How can you say something like that?"
Deidara shrugged. "Old fossil. Not worth arguing with you."
The two fell silent.
Ōnoki gazed ahead at the distant scenery, his eyes flickering with thoughts unknown.