During his last infiltration, Naruto had already left Flying Thunder God marks inside and outside the Hidden Cloud Village, so he didn't need to use the same method to break through the Heavenly Retribution barrier this time.
Swish!
He appeared in an open space in the Hidden Cloud Village with Konan.
This open space was once the site of the Raikage's residence, destroyed in battle and turned into a low-lying area due to the Planetary Devastation. It had just been renovated, and the soil was still fresh.
As soon as they appeared, they were surrounded by vigilant Cloud ninjas.
Naruto said indifferently, "It seems your leader has no intention of handing over what I want."
A Cloud ninja shouted, "The Will of Lightning will never bow to plunderers!"
Naruto's expression was inscrutable. "The Will of Fire, the Will of Stone, the Will of Lightning—each major village's founder seemed to pass down a will imbued with strong personal beliefs, revered by their successors."
"I was once the same, but as I gained more experience, I realized that these so-called wills are often the rhetoric of the self-serving, meant to rally people."
The Cloud ninjas exchanged glances.
Naruto continued, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not denying or belittling your beliefs. These wills indeed enhance the cohesion of a village, even a nation..."
"But for an overwhelming existence, they seem rather flimsy."
"Have you heard of the Will of the Gods...?"
Cloud ninjas: "Gods?"
Naruto smiled.
He wasn't referring to his self-proclaimed godly brother but to the true gods far beyond, who looked down on all beings.
"The Will of the Gods is to disdain the cycle of cause and effect, to see all beings as mere straw dogs... 'inferior creatures,' as they call us humans, us ninjas."
The Cloud ninjas were bewildered. "What is this guy talking about!?"
Naruto shook his head with a faint smile.
"Well, it's too early to talk about this. That oppression, that despair, is something only those who experience it firsthand can understand."
He looked at the ground beneath the Cloud ninjas. "By the way, the chakra under your feet—is it to guard against my abilities? It seems you were somewhat prepared for my arrival~"
"But it doesn't matter!"
Swish! Naruto formed hand seals.
"He's going to use a jutsu!!" The surrounding Cloud ninjas were on high alert!
The expected repulsive force did not erupt!
After forming the seals, Naruto pressed his palm to the ground.
—Summoning Jutsu!
Poof!
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With a burst of white smoke, a bomb bird appeared, with a gray-brown body and a long, sharp beak.
Naruto and Konan leaped onto the bird's back and flew into the sky, beyond the reach of the Cloud ninjas!
Then, an oval object dropped vertically into the Cloud ninjas' sight!
Seeing it clearly, the Cloud ninja who had shouted earlier exclaimed, "An egg?"
Bang!
The strange egg hit the ground, its shell cracking open, releasing a heart-stopping golden light!
The Cloud ninjas' pupils contracted. "No, retreat!!!!"
Boom!!!
Too late, the explosion lit up the night sky, marking the beginning of the attack!
The bomb bird soared hundreds of meters high.
Konan said, "Finally, there are casualties."
Naruto replied, "We're not playing a ninja game. I've already given them a chance..."
Konan smiled faintly. "That's good. Honestly, I was worried you wouldn't be ruthless when needed and end up being controlled."
"Ha." Naruto smiled slightly, looking down at the scene below. "Speaking of which, there was a guy named 'Deidara' in Akatsuki. His abilities were similar, perfect for destroying bases."
"Yes, indeed." Konan nodded. "But Deidara's aerial combat had limitations. He wore a monocle with a range of about a hundred meters. Beyond that, he couldn't accurately drop bombs, making him most effective in 'close-ground combat.' At a hundred meters, long-range attack ninjas could still reach him."
Naruto said, "But for indiscriminate base destruction, inaccurate bombing is still a huge threat."
Konan replied, "But he needed to form seals to detonate his bombs. Beyond 500 meters, he couldn't detonate them. Most critically, his Earth Release clay bombs had a weakness—they became duds when hit by Lightning Release..."
"I see." Naruto said sincerely, "Konan-nee, you truly understand each member of Akatsuki."
Konan said, "After all, yesterday's enemies could become today's allies, and vice versa. I had to be prepared. The only one I couldn't fully understand was Uchiha Itachi."
Swish! The bomb bird flew over, dropping a series of bombs!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions erupted in a straight line, one after another!!
In the area where the Raikage and his men were, Cloud ninjas were observing the sky with binoculars.
"An unknown bird monster has appeared in the sky!!!
"It's the enemy from the last invasion!!! They're on that monster's back!!"
Tutai's expression was serious. "They're taking an aerial attack route this time!!! As expected, the enemy didn't show their full strength last time. What I feared has happened!"
"Raikage-sama!!"
The Raikage shouted, "Hmph! Just a bird, nothing to worry about! As long as we watch the bomb's trajectory and predict the impact point, we can avoid the blast range! The Body Flicker Technique is our specialty!!!"
This was not an exaggeration.
Once they adapted, the Cloud ninjas used the bomb's trajectory to predict the impact point, combined with the Body Flicker Technique, significantly increasing their chances of dodging the explosions!
"The appetizers are almost done. It's time for the main course..."
Naruto murmured, branding the Flying Thunder God mark on the bird's back. He stood up and randomly scattered a bunch of kunai with Flying Thunder God marks below!
Swish!
Naruto flashed to a corner of the Cloud Village, forming hand seals.
—Summoning Jutsu!
Boom!!!
A giant rhino appeared from the white smoke, roaring and charging.
Swish! Naruto quickly appeared at another location...
—Summoning Jutsu!!
Poof!!
This time, a giant centipede appeared!!
Swish!
Naruto moved continuously, repeating the previous steps.
—Summoning Jutsu!!
—Summoning Jutsu!!!
—Summoning Jutsu!!!
Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof...!!!
White smoke rose one after another... He had already deployed the Animal Path's large summoning beasts throughout the Cloud Village!!
Swish!
After deploying them, Naruto flashed back to the bird's back. "This should be enough to keep them busy..."
A ninja reported, "Raikage-sama!! Countless monsters have suddenly appeared all over the village, causing massive destruction...!!!"
The Raikage's eyes widened. "What did you say!?"
Tutai said, "Raikage-sama! The original tactics are no longer viable in this situation!!"
Crack, crack, crack...!
The Raikage gritted his teeth, finally suppressing his rage.
"Change tactics, full defense!!!"
"Yes!!!"
"And take me to the nearest battle point immediately!! I want to see what kind of monsters they are, and if they can be more formidable than a Tailed Beast!!!"
At the nearest battle point, a large group of Cloud ninjas was struggling to fend off a giant summoning beast!!
"Damn it!!! How do we deal with this monster!!!"
"Has the reinforcements not arrived yet!!"
Bang!!
In their moment of despair, the Raikage, cloaked in lightning, made a powerful entrance.
"It's Raikage-sama!!!" The Cloud ninjas breathed a sigh of relief!
"Hmph!" The Raikage shouted, "Brats, get out of my way!! Watch me take it down in one move!!!"
The Raikage was facing one of the summoning beasts commonly used by Pain's Animal Path, named by Naruto as the 'Hellhound'!