Seeing the Rasenshuriken change direction, the Akatsuki members panicked.
"It's coming toward us!"
"That thing is headed straight for us!"
Obito, who was disguised as Tobi, instantly started shouting in fake panic when he saw the incoming Rasenshuriken.
In truth, he wasn't worried at all.
As long as he activated Kamui, no attack could touch him. No matter how powerful Jie's jutsu was, it meant nothing against his intangibility.
'He actually pushed Minato-sensei's technique this far…' Obito glanced at Jie through the eyehole of his spiral mask.
'Jie Uchiha really is a monster.'
Meanwhile, Deva Path calmly watched the Rasenshuriken approaching before slowly raising one hand.
"Shinra Tensei."
A terrifying repulsive force erupted outward.
The Rasenshuriken was instantly blown off course, curving through the sky before crashing into the distant outskirts of Kumogakure.
The next second...
Boom!!!
A deafening explosion shook the village. A gigantic mushroom cloud rose into the sky, and everything within a kilometer was instantly reduced to rubble.
"This destructive power…"
Yugito stared at the distant mushroom cloud with twitching eyes.
"It's terrifying."
She could tell that Jie's jutsu operated similarly to a Tailed Beast Bomb. But the sheer destructive force behind it far exceeded her expectations. For a brief moment, she even wondered whether her own Tailed Beast Bomb could compare to it at all.
'Is that really a technique a human can create?' Yugito thought in shock.
'Could Jie Uchiha be similar to me? Is he Konoha's Nine-Tails jinchuriki?'
For a moment, all kinds of thoughts flashed through her mind. But she quickly snapped back to reality after remembering one important detail.
The explosion had just landed inside Kumogakure. Yugito immediately sucked in a cold breath.
With such terrifying destructive power, how many people had just died?
It would be absurd if Kumogakure survived the invasion from Kirigakure, only to be devastated by Jie's attack instead.
However, after carefully locating the blast area, she slowly relaxed.
The explosion had struck the outer edge of the village. Aside from the shinobi stationed near the perimeter, there were very few civilians there.
The losses would still be severe... but far less catastrophic than a direct hit on the center of the village.
Meanwhile, Jie calmly observed the destruction caused by the Rasenshuriken and nodded in satisfaction.
Even at only ten percent of his full power, the technique's destructive force was still far beyond the Rasenshuriken Naruto used against Kakuzu.
The violent shockwave from the explosion swept across the battlefield, instantly blowing away the thick mist created by the Kirigakure shinobi.
With the mist dispersed, Kumogakure's forces finally regained clear visibility and began pushing back against the enemy.
When the shockwave reached the Kage summit platform, fierce winds immediately swept across the area, causing everyone's cloaks and hair to whip violently in the air.
At that moment, Onoki suddenly noticed a familiar figure among the black cloaks patterned with red clouds.
"Deidara… is that you?" His voice instantly turned heavy.
"So I've been recognized." The cloaked figure let out a helpless sigh. "In that case, there's no point hiding anymore."
Deidara pulled back his hood, revealing his long blond hair. "It's been a while, old man."
He casually looked toward Onoki.
"So after leaving Iwagakure, you joined the Akatsuki?" Onoki asked his voice dropping.
Onoki was no stranger to the Akatsuki. During the Third Great Ninja War, Iwagakure had even hired them for certain missions.
But he never expected his own student to eventually betray the village and join them.
"So what if I did?" Deidara replied indifferently. "No one in Iwagakure ever understood my art. To them, it was just meaningless destruction."
His eyes gradually filled with fanaticism.
"That's why I left the village. ...I'll prove to everyone that my art is true perfection!"
Deidara looked at Onoki, complicated emotions flashing through his eyes.
Onoki sighed softly, his expression equally complicated.
"So that's what you think…"
"Deidara, you completely misunderstood the Will of Stone."
"Come back with me. As long as you can understand the Will of Stone, you still have a place in the village."
But Deidara only shook his head.
"It's too late, old man. To me, Iwagakure was always just a cage."
While Onoki and Deidara were talking, Jie suddenly noticed another familiar face among the Akatsuki members, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Well, well. Isn't this the thirty-million-ryo bounty… no, wait. Asuma Sarutobi?"
Jie let out a small chuckle.
"So after running away from the Fire Daimyo, you ended up joining the Akatsuki? No wonder I couldn't find you no matter how hard I searched."
Although Jie had long known Asuma's whereabouts through Itachi's intelligence network, he naturally couldn't say that openly.
Since he had already been recognized, Asuma simply tore off his hood. His eyes were bloodshot with fury as he glared at Jie.
"You traitor!" Asuma roared angrily. "You betrayed the village, murdered the Third Hokage, and seized control of Konoha!"
"Today, you'll finally pay for your crimes!"
Jie didn't even bother reacting to Asuma's furious shouting. The difference in strength between them was simply too large.
In Jie's eyes, Asuma was no threat at all.
Realizing he was being completely ignored, Asuma's expression twisted with rage. Just as he was about to speak again, Deva Path suddenly interrupted him.
"Itachi Uchiha is no match for Jie Uchiha," Pain said coldly.
"In that case, proceed with the original plan."
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