Practically speaking, even without the giant bird, Kamishiro Hagoromo—despite lacking feathers—possessed a certain degree of flight capability... At the very least, if he slipped something conductive under his feet, he could probably fly around like a certain dark-circled, gourd-carrying sand user.
As the saying goes, "Seven melons on a single vine," meaning different applications of similar abilities can definitely serve as useful references.
However, he was ultimately a terrestrial creature and had never formally learned how to fly. Furthermore, for the vast majority of situations, a ninja had absolutely no need to fly. And when flight was necessary, he had a much more practical method—just summoning the Yatagarasu.
Moreover, in a combat scenario, fighting in midair was generally far less agile for him than fighting on the ground.
However, there were indeed ninjas who were absolute masters of the sky. Certain individuals could utilize specific jutsu to achieve incredibly nimble flight, granting them terrifying midair combat capabilities.
If one had to differentiate, Kamishiro Hagoromo playing around with his abilities was essentially operating a heavy bomber, while these masters were flying agile dogfight fighter jets.
When the Hidden Stone's massive ninja army launched its invasion against the Hidden Cloud, the village's internal defenses hadn't been completely hollowed out.
Although their total ninja count had been drastically reduced, the Hidden Stone still retained a portion of its absolute elite, top-tier combatants.
For example, both the Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchuriki remained stationed inside the village to respond to any unforeseen emergencies.
The same applied to the Third Tsuchikage.
What no one anticipated, however, was that while the village remained completely secure, the invading army would encounter an overwhelmingly powerful enemy.
Absolutely no one could have predicted that the Raikage would deploy entirely solo!
And miraculously, he had actually managed to halt the entire Hidden Stone army... simply because absolutely no one could break his defense.
Although the Third Tsuchikage was far away in the Hidden Stone Village, he was naturally keeping a close eye on the battlefield situation.
Using a space-time ninjutsu communication method similar to the Summoning Jutsu, this critical piece of intel was quickly delivered to his hands.
After careful consideration, in order to prevent the invasion from failing at the last hurdle, the Third Tsuchikage decided to dispatch a ninja capable of reaching the battlefield in the shortest possible time, possessing enough sheer combat strength to shatter the Raikage's defense—which meant deploying himself.
Even the Third Raikage wouldn't be able to withstand his Kekkei Tota.
The Third Tsuchikage was a man of action; the moment he made the decision, he moved! Although he wasn't constantly flying using the Earth Style: Super Light-Weight Rock Jutsu the entire way, he still rushed toward the battlefield at maximum speed.
Dark clouds and torrential rain.
Terrain completely devastated by massive-scale Earth Style jutsu.
An artificially created lake raised above ground level.
And... a suffocating stench of blood so thick that even the heavy rain couldn't wash it away.
Then, just as he was about to arrive at the battlefield mere moments away, the Third Tsuchikage spotted a ninja leaping high into the air.
Followed by a dazzling, incredibly powerful Lightning Style jutsu that forced even him to momentarily avert his eyes.
And immediately after the Lightning Style, a series of explosive Fire Style jutsu.
The ninja launching these attacks wasn't the Third Raikage he was familiar with, but an unknown enemy... Yet regardless of who it was, the targets of those attacks could only be Hidden Stone ninjas.
Could anyone caught by ninjutsu of that magnitude possibly survive? That was pure delusion.
Seeing his own ninjas being slaughtered in by such devastating jutsu, how would the newly arrived Third Tsuchikage react?
The result was self-evident.
Having caused all this chaos, Kamishiro Hagoromo should consider himself lucky. Because of their current flight altitude, the Tsuchikage hadn't yet noticed that the primary victim of that final explosion was actually his own son... Although the two didn't share a single shred of facial resemblance and their body types were vastly different, Kitsuchi was undoubtedly his biological son.
In the Tsuchikage's eyes, after unleashing two massive area-of-effect jutsu, the enemy actually thought he could just casually fly away on a Summoning Beast?
How could it be that easy? Did this guy even consider his feelings? The horrific casualties suffered by his forces made the Third Tsuchikage's liver.
Trying to escape? If I don't smash you to death, my name isn't O... Well, the Tsuchikage's surname wasn't O, but having a thought like that proved just how utterly enraged he was.
So, without a second thought, he immediately cast two jutsu simultaneously at the flying Summoning Beast.
Earth Style: Giant Stone Golem!
Followed immediately by Earth Style: Super Added-Weight Rock Jutsu!
An unimaginably massive object was instantaneously generated high in the sky...
From Kamishiro Hagoromo's perspective, he simply saw a colossal meteorite plummeting straight down toward him.
If he could have seen the whole picture, he would have known it wasn't a meteorite, but a gargantuan stone golem.
But even so, he understood this had to be an enemy attack... He wasn't so comically unlucky that a random act of God would drop an actual meteorite on him at this exact moment.
If his luck was truly that terrible, he would have died a long time ago.
With its massive volume and even more absurd weight amplified by gravity, the "meteorite" tore through the clouds as it fell. The sheer atmospheric friction caused by its descent created a visible white shockwave around its surface.
This attack was clearly meticulously calculated, aimed directly at the Yatagarasu. No matter how much it accelerated, it couldn't shake the trajectory!
Kamishiro didn't even need to think. If that giant rock hit him in the head, he would undoubtedly be flattened into a meat patty.
What to do?
What to do!
Crushed beneath the overwhelming momentum and sheer atmospheric pressure, even before direct physical contact, the Yatagarasu was already being forced into a steep dive.
And Kamishiro Hagoromo?
This was a moment that genuinely commanded respect. Even now, his expression didn't change in the slightest.
Even if this meteorite really did smash him into the dirt, so what?
His feet planted firmly on the Yatagarasu's back. He grabbed his right wrist with his left hand, holding his right hand flat like a blade. A straight, crackling blade of pure lightning instantly ignited.
Lightning Style: Chidori Sharp Spear - Second Stage.
Swinging upward from below, he slashed lightly.
It cut through like a hot knife through tofu!
However, given the limited reach of the Chidori Sharp Spear compared to the sheer volume of the "meteorite," slicing it perfectly in half with one strike was impossible.
So he slashed again, and again.
Precise, violent, and utterly decisive.
Accurate, rapid, and highly efficient.
In just a few short seconds, he had diced the meteorite into a shower of unevenly sized gravel.
The meteorite had been shattered just like that. But before Kamishiro could even breathe a sigh of relief, disaster struck.
The Yatagarasu beneath his feet let out a piercing shriek of agony!
Its flight altitude had been pushed far too low by the falling debris, and a massive enemy weapon had scored a direct hit.
This entire army had been mobilized to lay siege to the Hidden Cloud. Naturally, they had brought along massive siege weapons resembling ballistae, and one had just been repurposed for anti-air!
With a poof, the Yatagarasu vanished.
A sudden sense of weightlessness overtook him as he began to free-fall from the sky.
But the situation was even worse than that. At this exact moment, a beam of pure light shot down from the heavens.
When it came to wielding beams of light, the Third Tsuchikage was in a league of his own. Compared to his jutsu, Hagoromo's Chidori Sharp Spear was practically an embarrassment.
To be precise, it wasn't a beam of light; it was a cylinder extending to its absolute limit.
Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!
Extended Form!
Anyone grazed by this thing would be instantly erased from existence!
Kamishiro faced the absolute greatest crisis of his life. His final desperate counterattack began.
Unable to maneuver in midair, he was locked in a constant free-fall.
He still had one grenade left unthrown.
While falling, Hagoromo reached into his ninja pouch, pulled out a scroll, and hurled it with all his might straight toward the incoming Particle Style beam.
His hands instantly flew through hand signs. The scroll dramatically expanded in midair and unfurled!
His two sets of hand signs practically blurred together without a millisecond of delay.
A massive, pitch-black spherical void tore open in midair.
Sealing Jutsu: Reverse Four Symbols Sealing!
Particle Style functioned by dismantling everything it touched at a molecular level. The Reverse Four Symbols Sealing functioned by entirely obliterating the physical space within its sealing sphere.
Therefore, it could block it.
Therefore, Onoki's Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu was brutally severed right in the middle.
The timing of the jutsu was absolutely flawless!
However, before Hagoromo could even begin to celebrate, a semi-transparent cube matching his exact height perfectly encased him.
It was still Onoki's Atomic Dismantling Jutsu.
In his vision, an old dwarf with gray hair and a slightly comical face came flying toward him.
What else could Hagoromo do?
Absolutely nothing.
His body contained only the faintest sliver of chakra left; casting another ninjutsu was entirely impossible.
He supposed the only thing left to do was put on a smile and welcome the end.
Onoki was right in front of him.
Hello, Peter Pan... Hagoromo wanted to offer a casual greeting, but suddenly, the white light before his eyes flared blindingly bright.
After unleashing a barrage of long-range attacks, Onoki finally flew over to the coordinate.
But there was absolutely nothing left there.
The young White Yaksha was completely wiped from existence.
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