I Acknowledge You!

"Swish, swish, swish...!!"

At the critical moment, countless sheets of paper surged up beneath the Raikage's feet!

The papers layered together, supple yet firm, greatly cushioning the force of A's kick...!!!

Boom!!

Amid the roar, the papers scattered, then reassembled into Konan's breathtakingly beautiful face. "Whoosh!" The paper spear coiled around her arm thrust toward A!

"Crack!" Without suspense, the spearhead bent the instant it touched the Lightning Release Armor.

The Raikage landed atop the Yata Crow and swept out with a knife hand. Konan dodged in time, but the sharp lightning gleam ahead of his hand still sliced a bloody gash across her left cheek!

"Boom!" Pain Rin stepped on a coffin and flipped above A's head, forming hand seals before striking down!

—Summoning: Stone Panda Rockfall!

Clang!!

The stone panda descending from the sky crashed heavily onto A's raised elbow. Its immense weight caused the Yata Crow to tilt...!!!

Pinned beneath it, A fell from the bird's back!

Once the Yata Crow steadied its flight, Pain Rin's little hands flashed through seals!

"Poof!" "Poof!" "Poof!"

The Five Paths of Pain, the shattered Asura Path, the captured Darui, Samui, C, and Nagato himself all gathered atop the bird's back amid white smoke!

Boom!!! A smashed the stone panda apart with a powerful blow. Turning toward Dodai, who was sweating coldly at the sight of the summoning, he shouted, "Dodai, use your technique to make a foothold! I'm jumping higher and dragging him down hard!!!"

Dodai said in alarm, "Lord Raikage, are you serious? Their entire fighting force has assembled! If I'm not mistaken, there's even an unknown enemy among them!!!"

"They stole the previous generation's corpses for no other reason than to replicate their power through cellular technology or something similar. But the solid strength of the previous generation wasn't just talent—it was tempered through countless training sessions and real battles. It can never be replicated so easily!"

"After weighing the pros and cons, we shouldn't pursue them any further!!!!"

The Raikage clenched his fists and declared, "Of course I know that!!! But Dodai, do you expect me to watch helplessly as they take Hidden Cloud Village's future away!!!!!"

Hidden Cloud Village's future...

Darui, Samui, C—the growing next generation... they were the bearers of hope!!

Sensing A's determination, Dodai solemnly nodded. "I understand, Lord Raikage!!!"

—Lava Release: Membrane Mother!

He formed hand seals with both hands, desperately squeezing out his chakra as writhing liquid rubber gathered across the open ground ahead like a small mountain!!

A gathered his strength, waiting only for the platform to take shape before launching himself with all his might!

Kneeling atop the Yata Crow, Konan's expression changed drastically at the sight. "Damn it, he still won't give up!!"

"Don't move."

Pain Rin walked to her side. Her small hand glowed green as it pressed close to Konan's wounded cheek. This was the medical ninjutsu Rin had excelled at in life.

"If we don't heal it quickly, it'll leave a scar. I'll handle that guy."

Nagato stood against the wind. The Asura Path mechanical arm extending from his shoulder split apart at the wrist, its intricate mechanisms shifting in a dizzying display before transforming into a mechanical hand cannon...

Sasori had been fortunate enough to witness this move in the Land of Wind's desert, though he had never seen its ultimate power!

Before the Third Raikage's Pain Asura Path was complete, it was the perfect time to display the Asura Path's might with the original body!

"Bzzzzt...!!!"

Amid terrifying waves of sound, the charging began.

Nagato murmured coldly, "This is a technique capable of piercing the core of Planetary Devastation. Whether you survive depends on your own abilities!"

From the perspective below... Nagato's figure high in the sky was swallowed by a dazzling cross-shaped light!!

Yet... the soul-shaking chakra made even Dodai, who was not a sensory ninja, feel as though his soul was leaving his body!

"Th-this chakra... how is this possible!!! Is he trying to wipe us all out at once!!!!"

"If that attack comes down, aside from Lord Raikage escaping with his absolute speed, everyone else, myself included, will probably..."

"Lord Raikage, please leave this place at once!!!"

Gazing at the brilliant cross-shaped light in the sky, A's pupils trembled violently as well!!

But he made his decision at once and shouted, "Dodai, stop making the platform! Make Membrane Orbs immediately and protect everyone!!!"

Dodai asked in disbelief, "Membrane Orbs... won't be able to block that either!!!"

The Raikage roared, "Just do it! Hurry up!!!"

"U-understood!"

—Lava Release: Membrane Orb!!!

Dodai changed his hand seals. The rubber stopped flowing and became orderly spheres, attaching themselves to every stunned Hidden Cloud Village ninja present!!!

In the sky, Nagato finished charging and aimed the hand cannon at Cloud Gate Valley below!! "Take this!!"

—Asura Attack!!!

Boom!!!

A purple beam capable of piercing the core of Planetary Devastation shot straight down!!!

"Lord Raikage...!!!!"

A raised his grim face. The next instant, stepping on the remaining "membranes," he leaped with all his strength toward the beam that could destroy him!!!!

Through the gap before the Membrane Orbs fully sealed, Dodai stared with trembling eyes. "Stop!!!! Even your Lightning Release Armor definitely can't withstand that!!!!!"

But... A then did something astonishing. He concentrated all the Lightning Release chakra in his body into his right arm, spun through the air, raised that arm, and rammed it into the forefront of the beam at an angle!!!

"Crackle...!!!!!"

Sparks scattered everywhere...!!!

Dodai suddenly understood. "I see! Lord Raikage used the arm coated in Lightning Release chakra as a 'barrel' to deflect the beam's trajectory! But if he does that..."

"Whoosh...!!!"

The beam grazed the Raikage's shoulder, its path shifting as it swept toward the forest beyond the mountains behind Cloud Gate Valley!!

"Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble...!!!"

A terrifying mushroom of light bloomed from the ground and swallowed the entire forest, followed by the mountain at the forest's back!

The mountain was flattened... a storm carrying flying rocks ravaged Cloud Gate Valley!!!

"Aaaarghhhhh...!!!" Even the Hidden Cloud Village ninja protected by Membrane Orbs... could not avoid being blown away by the storm!!!

But... thankfully, the impact that reached this far was only an aftershock, within the Membrane Orbs' limits!

When the explosion finally subsided... Cloud Gate Valley had become ruins!!

A looked up at the sky and said gravely, "That definitely wasn't Ōnoki of Both Scales' doing. If Hidden Stone possessed a technique on this scale, we would have been utterly defeated in the war that ended not long ago!"

The crowd crawled out of the Membrane Orbs... and looked at the figure standing atop the ruins!!!

"Lord Raikage... your arm!!"

A's right arm was gone, its severed stump charred by the intense heat!

"Crack!!" He clenched his left fist, pain written across his face. "More painful than losing an arm is losing the right and left arms of my future!"

"Damn it!!!" Dodai gritted his teeth unwillingly and stepped forward. "Lord Raikage, let's return to the village first!"

A said, "No, we'll go see the Daimyo first! I'll use this severed arm to make him understand! The end of war does not mean we can sit back and enjoy peace! I want more military funding to make Hidden Cloud Village even stronger!!!"

"Everything that fails to kill us will only make us stronger!!!"

"I, A, will remember today's humiliation in the name of the Raikage—and one day, I'll make you repay it twofold!!!!!"

High in the sky, Nagato looked down upon the altered terrain below, his gaze solemn. "I acknowledge you. Let us meet again at the summit, Fourth Raikage A!"