The Air Began to Flow Backward

In mid-air, the rain stopped falling.

No, it completely defies common sense, spinning and swirling upwards into the sky.

In the ruins of Hidden Leaf's southern district, rubble, broken wood, and even ankle-deep puddles of water all rose slowly and uncontrollably into the air. The entire village seemed to have lost its gravity, and a suffocating sense of weightlessness gripped everyone's throats.

The dark red steam swirling around Naruto defied the strange suction force and kept him suspended in mid-air.

Above the Hokage Rock, Deva Path Pain, stood with his arms outstretched. His purple Rinnegan gazed down at the chaotic street below, devoid of emotion or pity, looking at the living as if they were nothing different from skeletons.

"This suction force is wrong." Kakashi hand into the half-buried flagstone beneath his feet, blood seeping from the edge of his nail. His other hand pressed down on his Forehead Protector, Sharingan spun frantically. "Chakra is rapidly converging into his body; this isn't ordinary repulsive force... he's sucking all the air out of Hidden Leaf!"

Not far from him, Shikamaru knelt behind the ruins, roaring into the communicator, "Medical team! Secure the seriously wounded! Once this force hits, the entire village will be razed to the ground!"

The rooftop of the Hokage Building.

A gust of wind whipped up Tsunade's long golden hair. She smashed half of the railing in front of her with a powerful punch, slamming the rubble into the ground to steady herself.

"These bastards, do they really think Hidden Leaf has no one left?!" Tsunade bit her thumb until it bled, then slammed both palms onto the ground.

Countless black runes instantly covered half of her face as she unleashed her full power of the Strength of a Hundred Technique.

"Ninja Art: Creation Rebirth: Katsuyu Great Split!"

The giant Katsuyu crashed down, then violently split into tens of thousands of smaller Katsuyu, which surged wildly through the streets and sewers towards civilians and the wounded, enveloping them tightly beneath its soft belly.

High altitude.

The Chakra gathered to its maximum formed a visible black, twisted band around Deva Path Pain's body.

"Feel the pain, understand..." The hollow voice of the Deva Path Dao began, carrying the arrogance of a god.

"Stop reciting your lessons!"

A loud shout shattered the clouds, forcibly interrupting his spellcasting animation.

Naruto exhaled a scorching white breath, his eyes blazing with ferocious battle intent. "Your lines sound impressive, but you've chosen the wrong place today. You want to demolish my house? Did you even ask me, the head of the Hidden Leaf Demolition Office, first!"

Before he could finish speaking, Naruto suddenly clasped his hands together heavily in front of his chest.

"Charge!"

From three distinct directions within Hidden Leaf, blinding golden beams of light erupted instantly.

The basement of the Uzumaki New Residence.

Karin sat cross-legged on the main array eye, bit her tongue, and spat a mouthful of blood onto the half-meter-wide sealing scroll in front of her. "Young Master's wealth, I will protect it even if it kills me!" Her hands moved rapidly, and the massive Uzumaki Chakra within her body poured into the ground without reservation.

Hyuga Compound.

Bai clasped his hands together, and circles of extremely cold frost spread wildly from the foundation beneath his feet. "Ice Release: Absolute Zero!" The thick layer of ice instantly enveloped the entire underground meridians of the Hyuga Clan, firmly welding the array originally used for gathering spiritual energy deep into the rock strata.

Ground floor of the Hokage Building.

Shizune, who remained behind, led a dozen or so Anbu to overturn boxes of Chakra crystals into the center of the array, and golden runes climbed up the walls.

Three golden beams of light shot straight into the sky, forming a perfect equilateral triangle that completely enveloped the core area of Hidden Leaf.

Naruto continued his movements in mid-air.

He ripped off his ninja tool pouch from his waist and flung dozens of Special Kunai bearing the Flying Thunder God Formula into the surroundings.

The next second, the dark red meteor transformed into countless afterimages across the sky.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

A series of ear-piercing sonic booms echoed through the air. Naruto's figure flickered back and forth among the falling Kunai, each movement leaving a chain of Golden Yang Release Chakra in mid-air.

In just two seconds, an enormous net of Chakra, shimmering with golden runes, was forcefully placed between Deva Path Pain and Konoha.

Below, Kakashi looked up, his left eye, the only part of his eye visible, filled with shock. "Combining the Flying Thunder God and the Adamantine Sealing Chains into a defensive net... Does this kid have absolutely no limits to his Chakra?!"

The sky darkened completely.

Deva Path Pain pressed his hands down suddenly, and the terrifying repulsive force that had been building up to its limit finally poured out like a bursting dam.

"Super Shinra Tensei!"

There was no sound at first.

Because the extremely compressed repulsive force directly expels the sound the moment it comes into contact with the air.

It was a pure cataclysmic event. An invisible hemispherical storm, carrying the power to crush everything, slammed heavily onto the golden net that Naruto had laid out.

"Boom--!"

The deafening thud only broke through everyone's ears at this moment.

The entire surface of Hidden Leaf suddenly sank. The forests and abandoned buildings on the outer perimeter that were not covered by the golden net instantly turned into dust, which was swept away by the gale for dozens of miles.

The gold mesh was severely dented.

At the three key points of the formation, Karin, Bai, and Shizune simultaneously let out a muffled groan, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths.

"Hold on!" Naruto roared.

He stood at the very center of the golden net, facing the destructive repulsive force head-on. The overwhelming pressure from the Seventh Gate, the Gate of Wonder, was tearing at every inch of his muscles, but he did not retreat an inch.

"A fake god, created with his life, dares to act all high and mighty in front of me!"

Naruto bent his knees, and the golden Chakra net beneath his feet creaked under the strain. Then, facing the core pressure of Shinra Tensei, he rose from the ground.

"Monster Strength - Daytime Tiger!"

No Hand Seals are needed. Pure physical Monster Strength compresses the air in front of him to an extreme degree.

A ferocious tiger, several times larger than before and formed by high-pressure airflow, opened its blood-red maw and slammed into the invisible storm overhead, a storm powerful enough to destroy everything.

"Bang--!"

The sky shattered.

A visible circular shockwave spread wildly in all directions from the point of impact. The thick, dark clouds were cleaved open, revealing the long-lost azure sky.

The violent reaction force surged back along the repulsive net.

Ten thousand meters in the air, a crack finally appeared on Deva Path Pain's eternally unchanging icy face. Two lines of glaring blood slowly slid down his cheeks and nose.

Far away in the Nagato of Amegakure, Nagato suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his emaciated body trembling violently, and the Black Rod on his back emitting a dangerous buzzing sound.

In mid-air, Deva Path's body stiffened for several seconds due to the backlash.

Naruto's momentum didn't diminish as Daytime Tiger tore open the final gap in Shinra Tensei. He charged straight at Deva Path, enveloped in dark red steam.

"Who did you just say you wanted to feel pain?" Naruto swung his right fist, which was burning with golden Yang Release, and smashed it towards Deva Path's face.

At the same time.

The third underground bunker in Hidden Leaf.

The devastating tremors from the outside world finally subsided, and dust began to fall from above.

Danzo, leaning on his cane, stood before hundreds of fully armed Root ninjas, his single eye gleaming with barely suppressed fanaticism.

"The Shinra Tensei is over. The high-ranking combatants above are either dead or crippled. Those idiots took the most fatal blow for us." Danzo his cane down, his voice chillingly cold. "The Root's chance has come. Go up there immediately, take over the Hokage Building, and control all the clan leaders."

"After today, I will be the only Kage of Hidden Leaf."

"Bang!"

The heavy steel gate was suddenly and brutally sliced into more than a dozen pieces of scrap metal from the outside by something, and then collapsed with a crash.

In the darkness outside the door, there was neither the Deva Path nor Naruto.

Only countless white paper scraps fluttered in the air, accompanied by a series of extremely rhythmic footsteps.

Konan stood amidst the scrap metal, coldly watching Danzo's Danzo suddenly change. The paper wings on her back slowly unfolded, and the sharp paper blades gleamed coldly in the dim light.

"Not all of you are dead up there, but you..." Konan's voice was completely flat as several red Explosive Tag slid between her fingers. "You can go now."