Shattered Earth and Stone

Act One: Master and Disciple Clash

Land of Earth, Iwagakure.

Unlike the dense fog of the Mist Village, Iwagakure was situated amid towering mountains, renowned for its sturdy stone buildings and intricate underground fortifications. It was the most heavily defended of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, known as the "Unfallen Fortress."

The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki—the oldest surviving Kage in the Shinobi World—was floating before the window of the Tsuchikage's office. He was a small old man, but no one dared underestimate him, for he was a peak expert who had mastered the Kekkei Tōta, Dust Release.

"Lord Tsuchikage, all defensive works have been inspected. The Five-Tails Jinchuriki, Lord Han, is in the deepest shelter, three hundred meters underground. There are three layers of barriers, twelve Jonin guards, and only one passageway. It requires three separate secret orders to open," the ANBU captain reported.

Ōnoki nodded, but his brow remained tightly furrowed. "Since the Akatsuki dared attack the Mist Village at the same time, Iwagakure will not be spared. Expand the sensory unit's range to twenty li beyond the village. Report any anomaly immediately."

"Yes!"

Ōnoki looked out at the endless rocky mountains. He thought of his disciple Deidara, that genius obsessed with the art of explosions who had ultimately defected. If the Akatsuki truly attacked, Deidara would most likely be among them.

"Deidara... if you really return, I'll show you what true 'art' is." A sharp gleam flashed through Ōnoki's eyes.

Just then, a piercing alarm rang throughout Iwagakure!

"Enemy air raid! Number... four! No, there are summoned beasts too! It's the Akatsuki!"

Without hesitation, Ōnoki flew out the window and hovered above the village. He saw them—four figures standing atop a mountain peak outside the village. One of them had flowing blond hair. It was Deidara!

What was even more alarming was the massive summoning array opening in the air behind them. Countless bizarre summoned beasts poured out like a tide! Splitting Hounds, Yatagarasu, rhinoceroses, crabs, centipedes, lobsters... seven kinds of giant summoned beasts formed a dark mass in the sky!

"Where did so many summoned beasts come from..." Ōnoki's expression darkened. A summoned beast horde of this scale could cause devastating destruction in a short time.

"People of Iwagakure! Long time no see! Hmm!" Deidara stood atop a giant clay bird and shouted toward the village. His voice, amplified by chakra, spread throughout Iwagakure. "Today, I bring you the most magnificent explosive art!"

"Arrogant!" Ōnoki roared, bringing his hands together before his chest. "Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World!"

A cubic barrier formed instantly and descended upon Deidara! Dust Release, a Kekkei Tōta, could break down all matter within its barrier into atoms. It was a technique of true "annihilation"!

But Deidara had been prepared. The clay bird suddenly dived, narrowly evading the Dust Release barrier. The barrier brushed past its wing, and part of the clay was disintegrated into nothingness.

"As expected of the old man's Dust Release. It's still this dangerous!" Deidara clicked his tongue, but his eyes only grew more excited. "Then let the art duel begin! C3: Number Eighteen!"

He threw out a massive clay doll. It expanded in midair until it stood dozens of meters tall, then broke apart, transforming into countless clay bombs that rained down upon Iwagakure!

"Earth Release: Rock Iron Cannon!" The Iwagakure shinobi on the ground formed hand seals together, and countless stone cannonballs shot into the sky to intercept the clay bombs.

Explosions rang out continuously in the sky, their flames dyeing the horizon red. But there were too many clay bombs. Some still slipped through, crashing into the village, collapsing buildings, and throwing everything into chaos.

"Annoying flies." Kakuzu spoke coldly as Earth Grudge Fear masks emerged from behind him. "Wind Release: Pressure Damage! Fire Release: Head Mincer!"

The combined wind-and-fire ninjutsu formed a sweeping firestorm that surged toward Iwagakure's defensive line. The intense heat and violent gale instantly tore apart the Earth Release defenses, dragging dozens of Iwagakure shinobi into the sea of flames.

"The Evil God needs sacrifices!" Hidan charged into the enemy ranks with wild laughter. His Three-Moon Scythe danced through the air, sending up a spray of blood. He did not defend at all, trading injury for injury. He even deliberately let his enemies strike him, all to obtain their blood.

"That madman... he can't be killed!" The Iwagakure shinobi discovered in horror that no matter how severe the wounds they inflicted on Hidan, he recovered rapidly, as though he possessed an immortal body!

"Don't engage him in close combat! Focus-fire with ranged ninjutsu!" the commander shouted.

But Hidan had already cut several shinobi with his scythe and obtained their blood. He withdrew from the battle and used his foot to draw an Evil God Ritual Circle on the ground.

"Stop him!" The Iwagakure Jonin sensed that something was wrong and unleashed all kinds of ninjutsu at Hidan.

At that moment, Tobi abruptly appeared before Hidan and formed hand seals with both hands. "Wood Release: Wood Wall!" A wooden wall rose up. Though it was blasted full of holes by the incoming ninjutsu, it bought Hidan three seconds to complete the ritual.

"The ritual is complete!" Standing within the circle, Hidan plunged his bloodstained scythe into his own chest!

In the distance, the Iwagakure Jonin whose blood had been taken screamed simultaneously. Piercing wounds appeared out of nowhere in their chests, and they fell dead!

"A curse...?" Ōnoki saw it clearly from the air, and a chill ran through his heart. He had never heard of such a bizarre ability!

Meanwhile, the Animal Path's summoned beast horde had already stormed into the village. When the Splitting Hounds were smashed apart, they split into two and multiplied the more they were fought; the Yatagarasu seized shinobi and carried them high into the sky before dropping them; rhinoceroses charged wildly, destroying buildings; crabs sprayed foam to bind enemies; centipedes burrowed underground and caused cave-ins; lobsters crushed everything with their massive claws.

Iwagakure was instantly engulfed in total war.

Act Two: The Hunter Underground

While battle raged on the surface, the underground was dead silent.

Three hundred meters beneath Iwagakure, in the deepest shelter, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki Han—a tall man wrapped from head to toe in Steam Armor—sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. He was a perfect Jinchuriki, capable of fully controlling the power of the Five-Tails, Kokuō. Even among Kage Level fighters, he stood at the peak.

Outside the passageway, twelve Iwagakure Jonin stood on high alert. This was the safest place in Iwagakure. In theory, unless the entire village fell, no enemy could possibly reach it.

But they were wrong.

The shelter wall suddenly melted away soundlessly. It was not destroyed, but flowed apart like water. A figure wearing a Spiral Mask seeped in through the wall—Tobi!

"Oh my, found it." Tobi's voice was no longer playful. It carried a strange calmness.

"Enemy attack!" The guarding Jonin reacted instantly, bombarding Tobi with all manner of Earth Release ninjutsu.

But Tobi's body turned illusory, and every attack passed straight through him as though they had struck a phantom.

"It's useless." Tobi spoke as he reached toward a Jonin. The Jonin tried to evade, only to discover in horror that his own body had begun to "phase" as well. Then he was sucked into the spiral-shaped space vortex in Tobi's hand!

"Space-time ninjutsu?!" Han's eyes snapped open. High-temperature steam erupted from his Steam Armor. "Boil Release: Unrivaled Strength!"

He appeared before Tobi in an instant and threw a punch! The blow carried the Five-Tails' monstrous strength and the searing heat of Boil Release, enough to shatter even the hardest rock.

Tobi neither dodged nor moved. Han's fist passed through his body and slammed into the wall behind him, leaving a deep imprint.

"Physical attacks are ineffective too?" Han frowned deeply. Rich in combat experience, he immediately changed tactics. "Then how about this? Boil Release: Steam Armor: Overpressure!"

The pressure in his Steam Armor surged drastically, unleashing high-temperature, high-pressure steam indiscriminately in all directions! The entire shelter instantly became a pressure cooker, and the stone walls began glowing red and melting.

Tobi finally moved—not by dodging, but by directly "melting" into the ground and disappearing.

"He ran?" Han vigilantly sensed his surroundings.

But in the next second, Tobi emerged from the wall behind Han, holding a peculiar sealing scroll.

"Sealing Technique: Five Elements Seal!" The scroll unfurled, and sealing runes of five attributes wrapped around Han like chains.

Han roared as Full Tailed-Beast Transformation activated! The phantom of Kokuō, the centaur-shaped Five-Tails, emerged and crashed into the sealing chains. But Tobi had already completed the technique—

"This sealing technique was made specifically for Jinchuriki like you," Tobi said flatly as the scroll erupted with blinding light.

Han felt the Five-Tails' chakra within him being forcibly suppressed, his connection to it temporarily severed! This was a seal designed specifically to disrupt the bond between tailed beasts and their Jinchuriki!

"You..." Han tried to resist, but without the support of tailed-beast chakra, his strength plummeted.

Tobi was already before him, his right hand pressed against Han's forehead. "Sorry, go to sleep for a while."

Han's vision went black, and he lost consciousness.

In less than two minutes, Iwagakure's strongest defense had been breached by Tobi alone. The Five-Tails Jinchuriki Han had been successfully captured.

Tobi hoisted the unconscious Han onto his shoulder. His body phased again, merging into the wall and disappearing.

On the surface, Deidara was still circling around Ōnoki.

"Deidara! You traitor!" Ōnoki roared in fury, launching Dust Release again and again. But Deidara's flying skills were extraordinary, and he always evaded at the very last moment.

"Old man, your Dust Release may be powerful, but it's useless if it can't hit me! Hmm!" Deidara laughed as he continuously dropped clay bombs, keeping Ōnoki's attention occupied.

Kakuzu and Hidan were harvesting lives with reckless abandon. Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear tendrils lashed out like whips of death, taking several lives with every swing. Hidan's Evil God ritual had already been activated three times, and each time, Jonin died mysteriously. The Iwagakure shinobi both hated and feared him.

The Animal Path's summoned beast horde caused the greatest devastation. Nearly thirty percent of Iwagakure's buildings had been destroyed, and the casualty count continued to climb.

"Lord Tsuchikage! The underground shelter... we've lost contact!" the ANBU captain reported in terror.

Ōnoki's heart sank. It was over.

"Retreat signal," Kakuzu suddenly said. He had received word that Tobi had succeeded.

Upon hearing that, Deidara dropped one final C4: Garuda to hold back Ōnoki and the pursuers. Hidan licked the blood from his scythe, still wanting more as he followed Kakuzu in retreat.

The Animal Path's summoned beasts turned into white smoke and vanished one after another.

The Iwagakure shinobi wanted to give chase, but Ōnoki raised a hand to stop them. "Treat the wounded. Defense comes first... We have lost."

He stared in the direction Deidara and the others had vanished. His aged face was filled with exhaustion and fury. The Five-Tails Jinchuriki Han had been forcibly taken from the heart of Iwagakure's defenses.

The myth of Iwagakure's "Unfallen Fortress" shattered today.