For a moment, the Wind Release unleashed by thousands of Konoha Ninja formed a vast net that swept toward Raigo in the sky.
The two collided, and the Wind Release Ninjutsu vanished like eggs smashed against a rock. Although Raigo also shrank, it lost only a tenth of its size.
After all, Ziyun's Raigo was not Lightning Release Ninjutsu, but a force of nature closer to Senjutsu.
Only Ninjutsu from a Perfect Sage Mode like Hashirama Senju's, or Six Paths-level Ninjutsu, could neutralize it. Ordinary shinobi's Ninjutsu would barely have any effect.
"Damn it! Keep using Wind Release!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi knew nothing of this, of course, and continued ordering the Konoha Ninja to use Wind Release.
Just then, Ziyun and the Third Raikage escaped beyond Konoha Village and came to a stop.
"We should be safe here."
He opened up his Observation Haki to sense auras and found that not many Konoha Ninja had pursued them.
"Ziyun, did you make that thundercloud?" The Third Raikage looked at the enormous thundercloud above Konoha Village, unable to keep his heart from surging.
Even he had never seen such a deadly move before.
According to the rumors, only Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju could unleash Ninjutsu with such immense power and range.
"Yes, but it took quite a lot out of me. Raigo shouldn't reach us here now."
Ziyun nodded.
The reason he had not let Raigo fall quickly earlier was that its range was too wide, and he had been afraid of catching the Third Raikage in it.
The Third Raikage was already somewhat exhausted and certainly could not withstand it, so Ziyun waited until he had escaped Raigo's range before preparing to use his full power.
"Fall!"
Ziyun let out a shout and willed it to move. Raigo's descent above Konoha Village suddenly accelerated!
"What's going on?! Why did it suddenly speed up?!"
"If it falls on Konoha Village at this speed..."
"Watch out! Get clear!"
The Konoha Ninja suddenly sensed danger and scattered in every direction.
Those who were fast naturally escaped, while the slow could only be swallowed by Raigo.
As for a wily old bastard like Hiruzen Sarutobi, he saw that things were going badly and vanished on the spot with a Reverse Summoning Technique.
Raigo fell with a boom, causing destruction no less devastating than the Six Paths of Pain's "Super Shinra Tensei" in the original story.
It was a nation-destroying ultimate move, after all. Destroying a single Konoha Village was no problem.
"Yeyue Ziyun, Konoha and you are irreconcilable enemies!"
Having appeared on Hokage Rock, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked down at the nearly destroyed village and spoke through clenched teeth.
"Weren't we already irreconcilable enemies?"
Outside Konoha Village, Ziyun's Observation Haki could faintly pick up Hiruzen Sarutobi's words.
And the instant Raigo fell, Ziyun could sense that at least a quarter of the Konoha Ninja's auras had disappeared.
No matter how deep Konoha's foundations ran, this had to count as a tremendous loss.
The only pity was that most of the dead were shinobi with relatively weak auras. Chunin and Genin made up the majority.
None of Konoha's genius shinobi had been killed in the blast.
Several Kage Level experts, including Hatake Sakumo, Mito Uzumaki, and the Uchiha Clan Head, were all fine too.
Of course, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura had not been badly hurt either, but that was good news to Ziyun.
After all, with them around, some Kage Level expert in Konoha might be hounded to death someday.
It seemed he still needed to grow stronger. If he developed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit to Awakening, things might have turned out differently today.
Just then, a system notification sounded in Ziyun's mind.
[Ding~ Congratulations, host, on completing the S-rank mission: Rescue the Third Raikage. Rewards: 50,000 points, Armament Haki, Water Release: Whirling Water Blade, Rasengan, constitution +10;]
To be honest, the rewards for this mission were rather underwhelming.
The Armament Haki was only at the beginner level, but there was an S-rank Ninjutsu, Water Release: Whirling Water Blade, and a hand-seal-free Ninjutsu, Rasengan. With the 50,000 points on top, it did not look all that bad.
Most importantly, he had rescued the Third Raikage. Ziyun would have done that even without a mission reward.
Looked at that way, these mission rewards were basically freebies.
"Uncle Raikage, let's not waste any more time. Let's hurry back so you can rest and recuperate for a while. This time, I overheard Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura preparing to wage war on the Hidden Cloud Village."
Ziyun then spoke to the Third Raikage.
Although what Ziyun had overheard Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others discussing was their plan to wage war on the Hidden Cloud Village after the Third Raikage died, things were different now.
Now that he had destroyed Konoha Village, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not possibly swallow the insult. Once Konoha Village was rebuilt, they would surely come for revenge.
He also had to hurry and exchange points for the Navy Six Powers Taijutsu techniques so the Hidden Cloud Village's shinobi could learn them. Otherwise, with the Hidden Cloud Village's strength, they could not stand against Konoha's powerful forces.
But Konoha had suffered damage now, and the Hidden Sand Village would presumably take action. He hoped they could buy the Hidden Cloud Village a little time.
In any case, the Shinobi World could no longer remain peaceful.
News that Konoha had been leveled quickly spread throughout the Shinobi World.
When most people first received the news, their immediate reaction was disbelief.
Konoha was the strongest shinobi village in the Shinobi World, after all. How could it have been leveled?
What was even harder for everyone to accept was that the person responsible for it all was Yeyue Ziyun, a genius who had just graduated from the Hidden Cloud Village.
That made it sound even more like false news to everyone.
But given Hiruzen Sarutobi's usual way of doing things, if it were false news, how could a rumor that damaged Konoha's credibility have gotten out? There had to be more to it.
The Hidden Sand Village, the Kazekage's Office.
Holding a scroll containing intelligence, the young Third Kazekage fell into thought.
"Konoha Village has been leveled. We need to verify this. If it's true, this is the perfect opportunity to attack Konoha."
Hearing this, Chiyo, who was in her middle years and standing nearby, spoke up. "That's right. I've already sent people to investigate. I believe we'll have an answer soon."
"But this Yeyue Ziyun is truly worrying."
"Whether the news is true or not, the fact that such a story could spread already proves Yeyue Ziyun's talent."
Chiyo was also full of concern.
In fact, the appearance in any village of a genius whose talent had clearly surpassed everyone else of his generation would unsettle the leaders of the other shinobi villages.
After all, the Shinobi World had taken its present form precisely because the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan had each produced a genius powerful enough to sweep across it.
If another genius like Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha appeared, the Shinobi World's balance of power would likely change dramatically.
As for how it would change, who would be swallowed up, and who would grow stronger, no one knew.
What if they were the ones swallowed up?
So their concern was perfectly reasonable.
In fact, if Ziyun knew that Sunagakure's leaders were thinking this way, he would certainly tell them not to worry.
With ninety percent of the Hidden Sand Village's entire territory covered in windblown sand, the Hidden Cloud Village would consider it a burden even if it were given to them. Why would they annex it?
Indeed, in all the Shinobi World wars in the original story, no shinobi village had actually said it wanted to annex the Hidden Sand Village.
"Let's put all that aside for now. We must take Konoha this time. Our Hidden Sand Village has been held back by its economy and environment for too long. Only by taking Konoha will our Hidden Sand Village have a chance to grow stronger."
The eyes of the young Kazekage gleamed like those of a battle maniac.
Konoha's fertile land was the main reason he had wanted to seize an opportunity to start a war.
Konoha was simply too wealthy, after all. Wealth meant resources and the ability to develop Ninjutsu, which would make it stronger and stronger.
Sunagakure, on the other hand, had neither money nor resources, so it would only grow weaker and weaker.
The Third Kazekage truly was insightful. In later years, the Hidden Sand Village did become the weakest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, unable to produce more than a handful of Kage Level experts.
By Shippuden, Gaara was the only one in the Hidden Sand Village who could barely be considered a Kage Level expert.
"Damn it! We have to eliminate Yeyue Ziyun. Send troops against the Hidden Cloud Village immediately."
On the very day after Konoha was destroyed, Danzo came to the Hokage, clamoring for Hiruzen Sarutobi to wage war.
"Have you lost your mind, Danzo? Konoha Village has just been destroyed. Let's rebuild the village first."
Hiruzen Sarutobi had had enough of Danzo, this mad dog, and brushed him off impatiently.
"Are you giving Yeyue Ziyun time to grow, Hiruzen Sarutobi?"
Danzo asked coldly. At a critical moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi's cowardly old-bastard nature had surfaced again.
"Fine, let me ask you this. All forty members of the Sealing Squad died in this battle. If we meet Yeyue Ziyun on the battlefield, what means do we have to deal with him?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's question left Danzo Shimura stumped.
"Don't you know the Reaper Death Seal? That Ninjutsu can seal even the Nine-Tails, can't it?" Danzo sneered.
"Hmph, I can teach you that Ninjutsu." Hiruzen Sarutobi shot back without holding back, glaring fiercely at Danzo as well.
The Reaper Death Seal was indeed a powerful Ninjutsu that could seal even the Nine-Tails, but its side effect was severe: the user had to sell their soul to the god of death.
In other words, it was a forbidden technique that at best traded one life for one life.
Danzo wanted him to go to his death.
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi looking as though he wanted to eat him alive in one bite, Danzo shrank back and lost his nerve.
"Then what do we do? We can't just stand by and watch Yeyue Ziyun grow, can we?" Danzo said, his face cold.