BOOM—!!!!!!
It was as if the world itself had been torn apart in that instant.
Hundreds of Explosive Tags detonated simultaneously in the center of the narrow gorge. The light and heat that erupted in that moment were enough to melt steel into liquid. The devastating shock wave swept up sand and stone and surged wildly in every direction, shaking countless jagged cracks into the hard cliff walls on either side.
"Yahiko! Nagato!"
Konan's scream was drowned out by the deafening roar. Instinctively, she spread her arms, and countless scraps of paper poured from her body, forming layer upon layer of paper shields in an attempt to protect the two companions beside her.
But against an explosion of this scale, her Paper Release seemed so fragile.
The paper shields caught fire the instant they touched the blast's scorching wave and turned to ash.
It was over!
Only those words remained in Konan's mind.
Yahiko's eyes widened too. He wanted to rush over and shove Nagato and Konan out of the way, but against the terrifying shock wave, his body was like a leaf in a storm, completely beyond his control.
The shadow of death had never seemed so clear.
Just then—
Nagato, who had kept his head lowered, suddenly lifted his face.
There was no fear or despair in those purple Rinnegan eyes, only a bone-chilling fury, as if someone had touched his most sensitive nerve.
His companions, his dear friends, the people he had sworn to protect with his life, were being hurt!
Unforgivable!
"Shinra Tensei!"
A roar that sounded barely human forced its way out of Nagato's throat.
VMMM—
A force of repulsion, more domineering than any he had unleashed before, burst forth with his body at its center!
The repulsive force formed a visible sphere of absolute defense, firmly sheltering the three of them inside.
Every flame, shock wave, and piece of debris that came hurtling toward them hit the spherical field and was forced outward, deflected, and torn apart, as if it had slammed into an invisible wall!
Above the gorge, on the cliffside—
Shimura Danzō and Hanzo the Salamander narrowed their eyes as they watched the explosion's center, where the repulsive field had forcibly carved out a vacuum.
"Oh? He actually blocked it." Greed shone even more brightly in Danzō's one eye. "Those eyes really are a treasure!"
Hanzo's heart sank.
This power... Though nowhere near as terrifying as that man's, it was the same in essence!
Could that man have been telling the truth?
The shock waves from the explosion gradually subsided.
The repulsive field vanished, revealing three figures within.
Yahiko and Konan were unharmed, but the force of the blast had left them unsteady on their feet.
Nagato spat out a large mouthful of blood, dropped to one knee, and swayed unsteadily, his face as pale as paper. That last attack had nearly drained him of all his Chakra and strength.
"Nagato!"
Yahiko and Konan hurried to support him.
"Bastards!" Yahiko looked up and roared at Hanzo and Danzō on the cliff. "You despicable cowards! Is this your so-called peace?"
"Peace?" Danzō cackled. "Power is what brings peace, brat. And you have no power, so you deserve to die."
He waved his hand again.
"Move! Kill the other two and capture the Rinnegan alive!"
At his command, hundreds of Amegakure Anbu and Root shinobi who had been lying in wait all around them charged down from the cliffs like a rising tide. Kunai and Ninja Blades glinted ominously in their hands beneath the rainy sky.
"Paper Clone Technique!"
Konan formed hand seals, and countless paper clones appeared, charging toward the Amegakure shinobi.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
Yahiko forced himself to keep going and sprayed out a stream of water, trying to stop Root's assault.
But they were too few.
Nagato had lost the ability to fight. With only the two of them facing dozens of elite shinobi, they were instantly pushed onto the defensive.
SQUELCH!
A Root shinobi slipped behind Yahiko and slashed his back.
"Yahiko!"
Distracted, Konan was caught by two Amegakure Anbu who closed in on her. A Kunai tore through her paper wings, and she fell to the ground in a heap.
In an instant, their defenses crumbled.
More than a dozen Root shinobi rushed straight toward Nagato, who was being protected at the rear.
"Not a chance!"
Ignoring the wound on his back, Yahiko stood in front of Nagato again. But four or five Ninja Blades were thrusting toward his vitals at once.
He had no time to dodge.
Was it all going to end here?
Yahiko's mind flashed with Konan's worried face and Nagato's pained expression. He saw the three of them running together through the rain, dreaming about the future.
I don't want this...
I really... don't want this... We'd finally found friends who shared our ideals, and we were going to change the world...
Just as everyone thought Yahiko was certain to die—
A figure appeared without warning between Yahiko and the Root shinobi.
Long black hair, red armor, and an enormous Gunbai resting on his shoulder.
It was as if time had been brought to a halt.
Everyone froze.
The Amegakure shinobi charging down, the Root members swinging their blades, the stunned Yahiko, the despairing Konan, and Hanzo and Danzō on the cliff, their pupils contracted in shock—
Every eye was fixed on the figure who had appeared so abruptly.
Lin Feng took the enormous Gunbai from his shoulder and casually planted it on the ground. The end of the fan struck with a dull thud.
He didn't even glance back at Yahiko. He merely swept his indifferent Rinnegan over the Root shinobi before him, frozen in their assassination stances like statues.
"I gave you three days."
His voice was not loud, yet every person there heard it clearly.
"Looks like you're in a hurry to die."
"Quit putting on a show!" One of the Root shinobi was the first to react. With a sharp shout, he thrust his blade straight at Lin Feng's heart without hesitation!
But his blade stopped half an inch from the armor on Lin Feng's chest.
It wasn't because he wanted to stop. He couldn't move.
An invisible force locked every joint in his body.
Lin Feng didn't even lift an eyelid. He simply swung the Gunbai on his shoulder forward with casual ease.
WHOOSH—
A gale appeared out of nowhere.
The Root shinobi and the companion beside him were sent flying like swatted flies. They screamed as their bones and tendons snapped in midair, then crashed into the distant cliff wall and turned into a heap of mangled flesh.
Silence.
Dead silence.
The remaining shinobi fell quiet as one, staring in terror at the unbelievable scene.
What kind of power was that?
He'd only casually swung his fan!
"Uchiha... Madara!"
On the cliff, Hanzo's teeth chattered as the name forced its way uncontrollably from his throat.
"Madara?" Yahiko and Konan were stunned too.
The legendary...
"Hmph! Uchiha Madara, my foot!" Danzō forced down his shock and bellowed, his bravado barely concealing his fear. "He's just an impostor! Everyone, attack! Bury him in Ninjutsu!"
He refused to believe the man could emerge unscathed from a barrage of hundreds of Ninjutsu!
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Great Fireball Technique!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
"Five Feeding Sharks!"
In an instant, Ninjutsu of every color filled the sky and rained down on Lin Feng in the center of the gorge!
It was several times more spectacular than the Explosive Tag blast before!
"Watch out!" Konan cried.
Yahiko clenched his fists, tense with worry.
Yet in the face of a storm of Ninjutsu powerful enough to level a small mountain, Lin Feng's expression remained perfectly calm.
He merely held the enormous Gunbai horizontally in front of himself.
"Uchiha Reflection Technique."
He uttered the seven syllables softly.
In the next instant—
Every Ninjutsu that touched the fan's surface—wind, fire, or water—was absorbed and transformed by a strange force, then—
Reflected back exactly as it had come, with several times the power!
KABOOOOM—!!!!
The shinobi on the cliffside fell into chaos.
They had never dreamed that the Ninjutsu they had unleashed would turn around and attack them!
Screams, explosions, and cries of agony rang out one after another.
In a single exchange, nearly a third of the elite force Hanzo and Danzō had brought was killed or wounded!
The surviving shinobi stared in terror at the unharmed man holding the Gunbai. Not one of them dared take another step forward.
The entire gorge sank into an eerie silence once more.
Everyone was completely stunned by the miraculous scene.
So this was... Uchiha Madara's power?
So this was... a legend?
"Did you see that, Nagato?"
Lin Feng turned and looked down at Nagato, who was kneeling on the ground, his face full of shock.
"This is how these eyes are meant to be used."
"Not like you, using them to protect these defenseless weaklings and nearly killing yourself in the process."
His words struck like knives.
Nagato's lips moved, but not a sound came out.
Yahiko's face flushed red, then turned pale. He wanted to argue, but realized he had no grounds to do so.
The truth was, if this man hadn't shown up, they would already be corpses.
"And you two."
Lin Feng's gaze fell on Danzō and Hanzo, whose faces had darkened to the extreme on the cliffside.
A sinister curve lifted the corner of his mouth.
"One rat hiding in a gutter, and one lizard clinging to life behind a mask."
"I'd planned to let you live a few more days, but since you're in such a hurry..."
He pointed the enormous Gunbai at Hanzo, who was trembling all over with fear.
"Then I'll start with you."
"No! Wait!" Hanzo screamed in terror. "Lord Madara! It was Danzō! That man manipulated me! I'm willing to surrender! I'm willing to submit to you!"
To save his own life, the so-called "Demigod" sold out his ally without the slightest hesitation.
"Oh?"
Lin Feng raised an eyebrow, as if he found that somewhat amusing, then pointed the Gunbai at Danzō instead.
"Rat, is what he said true?"
Danzō's face had darkened so much it looked ready to drip with water.
He stared hard at Lin Feng and forced a few words through clenched teeth.
"Impostor... you can't..."
Before he could finish—
Lin Feng suddenly disappeared from in front of him.
Oh no!
Danzō's instincts screamed a warning. He reflexively tried to retreat and order the Root shinobi beside him to protect him.
But he was already too late.
A hand clamped around his neck without warning and lifted him off the ground.
Somehow, Lin Feng had appeared right in front of him.
"I hate it when people interrupt me."
He held Danzō by the throat just as he had held Yahiko earlier. His Rinnegan was filled with the indifference of someone looking down at an insect.
"And besides, did I give you permission to look me in the eye?"
As he spoke, Lin Feng's other hand curled into a claw. Without the slightest hesitation, it plunged toward Danzō's bandaged right eye!
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