Chapter 322: The Core · Karma
Land of Frost Inland.
Near the coastline, those who had been trembling and hesitating whether to investigate suddenly felt the earth shudder beneath their feet.
"An earthquake!"
"Could it be those two fighting ninjas from earlier?"
The Land of Frost shinobi were even more terrified to approach now.
"Don't worry, we've already notified the Daimyo. Shinobi from the other major villages should be arriving soon to investigate."
However, they quickly noticed that the commotion had ceased. It wasn't until an hour later that the boldest among them dared to venture forward. When they reached the coastline, they found the landscape unrecognizable.
The forests near the shore had mostly been buried underground; only the tips of a few tall trees peeked through the soil. The distant sea remained turbulent, still tossing from the aftershocks of the battle.
The scouts patrolled the area but found no intelligence other than the environmental devastation. But the scale of the change was staggering.
"I've seen this kind of change before. The state of Hidden Point Village back then was strikingly similar to this," an old shinobi remarked, recalling the past.
Years ago, the Tsuchigumo clan had wiped out the Hidden Point Village in a single strike, shocking the world. Although that village was politically corrupt and focused on infighting, someone during that struggle had targeted the Tsuchigumo clan, leading to their annihilation by a vengeful En no Gyoja.
Though different from the scene before them, both were equally terrifying.
Konoha.
The Deva Path floated high in the air, gazing down at the village. He had thought the only real threat this time was Tonbo Tobitake, and that everyone else would be easily handled. The reality was that Choza, Choji, and Kakashi—working with reinforcements—had made the fight incredibly difficult for him.
He leveled his right hand at Konoha below. His left arm was a bloody stump, still dripping. The Akimichi secret technique was truly formidable.
"Almighty Push (Shinra Tensei)."
Below in Konoha.
Every Path of Pain except for the Deva Path had been neutralized. Tonbo Tobitake's shadow clone had witnessed the entire progression. As expected, given sufficient intelligence, there were very few in the ninja world who could stand against Konoha—even with many of its elite shinobi currently away on missions.
"Finally, it's time for my role. I can't just do nothing."
The Inverted Golden Bell rose. He commanded the Barrier Team to activate the barrier technique he had developed years ago.
"Choza, Choji, are you alright?"
Kakashi looked up at the floating Deva Path, unsure of what he was planning. Beside him, the father and son lay collapsed in exhaustion.
"Food... I need to eat..." Choji muttered incessantly.
Choza was in worse shape; lacking Choji's natural ability to transition into the technique, he had only stopped once the secret pills had completely converted all his body fat into energy. Choji, being able to control the combustion of fat more freely, was slightly better off.
Kakashi pulled out food pills and fed them to both. He then fixed his gaze on the Deva Path. His Sharingan spun slowly, transforming into the Mangekyo.
Kamui.
He had an ominous feeling. He would use his remaining strength to take the enemy down now. But just as he began to focus, he found his technique disrupted—seemingly deflected by the opponent's rising power.
Simultaneously, the sky blurred as a massive barrier enveloped the entire village.
Rumble!
A plateau far from Konoha.
Konan had returned to Nagato's side. "I didn't expect Konoha to be so resilient..." she said, looking toward the village through the cave opening.
He was going to use that move... but there was no other choice. She had expected some resistance after the intel was leaked, but Nagato's lifespan...
"I will make them understand pain..."
Before Nagato, various parts of the defeated Pains appeared. After the Deva Path released the "Massive Almighty Push," the chakra within him stabilized. A giant head (King of Hell) appeared behind him, opening its mouth to swallow all the discarded Pains on the ground.
"Quite a spectacle!" Black Zetsu remarked, watching from afar.
"That's a space-time barrier. It seems Nagato's technique won't be able to inflict any actual damage on Konoha," Tobi noted with his terrifying kinetic vision. Konoha seemed to have been erased from the world—but not by Nagato's hand.
"Konoha still has foundations I wasn't aware of... Hm?"
As Black Zetsu spoke, a White Zetsu emerged from the ground nearby. Tobi turned his gaze toward him.
"What happened?"
"In the direction of the Land of Frost, all White Zetsu near the coastline have lost contact. It seems they are all dead," the White Zetsu reported.
Both Tobi and Black Zetsu looked at him in shock. White Zetsu's hiding abilities were perfect; even the Sharingan or Byakugan shouldn't be able to see through their transformation or their high-speed "Mayfly" technique.
"What's the situation?"
"I don't know. From my later investigation, there were only traces of a battle—no other chakra signatures. It seems to have been completely wiped clean. However, judging by the battlefield, it was comparable to two Tailed Beasts fighting, and Tailed Beast Bombs were definitely used."
White Zetsu recounted the scene in the Land of Frost.
"Tailed Beasts?" This made Tobi and Black Zetsu frown. The Akatsuki only lacked the Eight and Nine-Tails; it was impossible for another Tailed Beast to appear.
"Let's go see. Is there some other powerhouse in the ninja world? We can leave things here to Nagato and the others. I trust their strength."
Rumble!
Konoha had been turned into a crater—or so it appeared. The Deva Path frowned, noticing there was no architectural rubble at the bottom.
Just then, the Giant Drill-Beaked Bird flew through the sky as the Animal Path summoned all the Pains back into action. The Hell Path used its ability, opening its mouth to swallow and then "spit out" the fully restored Deva Path.
At that moment, the Pains saw a change below. Led by Tsunade, dozens of ANBU appeared out of thin air. Tsunade clenched her fists, staring intently at the enemies in the sky.
"The power of resurrection... is this the Rinnegan?"
Tonbo Tobitake's Secret Lab.
He appeared there, carrying Otsutsuki Urashiki's body.
Pain? What was Pain compared to this? This was an Otsutsuki body. A living Otsutsuki.
"I wonder if I can read his memories."
He placed his hand on Urashiki's head and activated his Mind Reading Technique. This time, it was different from usual. There were no fragmented memories; instead, there was a vast, boundless void. In the center of that void sat a massive, diamond-shaped crystal.
Tonbo approached, frowning. On the crystal, he seemed to see countless memories, yet at the same time, he could see nothing at all. It wasn't a problem with his brain; he truly could not see them.
He pressed both hands against the crystal. The moment his chakra extended from his hands, he was repelled with a loud bang. Black patterns began to crawl across the crystal, generating a massive suction force that seemed intent on draining his spiritual energy.
Tonbo immediately deactivated the Mind Reading Technique. In the real world, he snapped his eyes open and checked the seal first. It was intact.
"Is this an ability to prevent memory theft? That core... it's somewhat similar to the one on Boruto. One acts on the body and spirit, while this one is concentrated solely on the spirit. Those black patterns must be the 'Karma' ability. But why didn't he use this Karma during the fight?"
Tonbo remembered from his previous life that the Karma was incredibly powerful, allowing the next-gen protagonist to become a total powerhouse.
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