"Since that's the case... then go on ahead!" Yakumo didn't stop Itachi. After saying that, she simply vanished right in front of him.
Itachi turned his head slightly, scanning the surroundings to confirm no one else was there before continuing forward.
His steps were slow—whether due to his weakening body or because he was deep in thought, it was hard to say.
The shinobi world of today had become something he could no longer see through or predict.
From what he understood, the Akatsuki's goal was to create a god to control and bring order to the entire shinobi world. Honestly, Itachi wasn't sure if that idea was good or bad.
He also didn't fully grasp Konoha's Will of Fire.
In his eyes, neither the entirety of Konoha nor the whole shinobi world mattered as much as one single person: Uchiha Sasuke.
He had originally planned to drag things out a few more years, giving Sasuke time to grow even stronger.
But time had run out. The decisive battle had arrived.
No matter who emerged victorious from here on, Itachi intended to give Sasuke one more layer of ability to protect himself. As for what Sasuke thought or would do—he no longer knew, nor did he want to concern himself with it.
What was the point of worrying about so much when he was a man already doomed to die?
It was meaningless.
---
"Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!"
Tsunade went all out right from the start.
Since she had decided to clash head-on with the Akatsuki, she had no intention of holding back.
A wooden humanoid began to grow, a giant several dozen meters tall appearing before Konoha's main gate. It was like a deity, a guardian god of Konoha, standing there to protect the village's safety.
Standing beneath the wooden giant, the Fourth Raikage and the Fifth Mizukage exchanged a glance, their hearts filled with shock.
Forget everything else—just the sheer size of this wooden figure alone made it difficult to deal with. Not to mention that it could absorb chakra, allowing its user to fight for extended periods.
Yet at this moment, Tsunade wasn't as smug as one might expect.
Maintaining such a massive wooden giant required an enormous amount of chakra. While she had plenty, compared to her grandfather Senju Hashirama, it fell quite short.
Without Sage Mode now, she could only rely on her own strength to endure.
"Wood Dragon Technique!"
The wooden giant swung its palm, and nine wooden dragons coiled around its arm, surging straight toward Pain.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Faced with this gigantic wooden figure, Pain found himself in a difficult position.
Some of his lesser techniques were utterly useless in a battle of this overwhelming scale.
"Summoning Technique!"
The Naraka Path, Preta Path, Asura Path, Human Path, and Animal Path all appeared in a flash.
Confronting the massive wooden giant, the Animal Path stepped forward and slammed both hands onto the ground.
*Poof...*
A series of smoke clouds rose as the hell crab, giant chameleon, multi-headed dog, eight-tailed bird, rhino, bull, panda, centipede, and other summons emerged.
The wooden giant, struck by Shinra Tensei, lost one hand and several wooden dragons—but these minor injuries regenerated almost instantly.
"Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!"
The wooden giant evolved once more. Countless palms, like those of a god or Buddha, manifested behind it.
"Tsunade is at her limit!"
The Preta Path's Rinnegan focused on Tsunade atop the wooden giant's head. She was down on one knee, gasping heavily for breath. Clearly, a technique of this level wasn't something she could use freely.
"This is Senju Hashirama's ultimate technique—it requires Sage Mode to perform properly. It's obvious she doesn't know Sage techniques," Black Zetsu remarked, emerging from who-knows-where to remind Pain.
Pain glanced back at him, then said, "Make the preparations! If Kamizuki Hikari returns, we will immediately use that move."
It was a move Pain preferred not to use—his final trump card.
"Don't worry. Everything is prepared. I believe in you—you can do this." With that, Black Zetsu slowly sank into the ground and vanished.
"Attack!"
Before Pain could relax, countless palms slammed down from above.
In the next instant, several summons were instantly pinned beneath the wooden figure's hands, unable to move. The other Paths of Pain seized the chance to retreat swiftly, continuously dodging the barrage of palms.
Even though Tsunade's True Several Thousand Hands didn't summon a full thousand palms, the relentless assault forced Pain to keep evading nonstop.
Aside from the Deva Path's Shinra Tensei, they had no means of withstanding such an attack head-on.
As one palm descended toward Konan, the Deva Path soared upward.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Another repulsive force shattered the wooden palm's attack. The other Paths collapsed to the ground, while only the Deva Path and Konan kept fleeing into the distance.
*Boom!*
The wooden figure moved—like a small mountain bearing down with overwhelming force.
A single step matched the speed of Pain's flight.
"Nagato, Tsunade is too strong. Let me help you."
After speaking, Konan flapped her paper wings and flew skyward.
"Art is an explosion... hah!"
Countless sheets of white paper flew from her body, rushing toward the wooden giant.
*Bang!*
*Bang bang bang...*
The moment the white paper touched the giant, explosions erupted. A single paper bomb was nothing to it—but Konan unleashed not thousands, but millions upon millions.
"This is my ultimate technique! Hundreds of billions of explosive tags! Let's see how you block this!"
Watching the wooden giant halt its advance under the barrage of explosions, Konan felt genuine joy. For once, she wasn't a burden. She could finally help her friend. She wasn't weak.
The wooden giant took damage, forcing Tsunade to expend more chakra to repair it.
Meanwhile, Konan's explosive tags seemed endless. This had become a battle of attrition.
If Konan's supply ran out first, Tsunade would then face the Deva Path. If Tsunade's chakra depleted first, she would face both Konan and Pain.
Explosions became the theme of this battlefield.
---
In the distance, Deidara—who was fighting Ōnoki—watched the continuous explosions with envy.
He wanted a battle like that too.
"Old man, don't you dare die on me!"
C3, Number 18.
One of Deidara's clay clones lunged straight at Ōnoki—like a lover throwing themselves into an embrace, eager to cling tightly and consummate their passion.
Ōnoki stared at Deidara with a dark expression. He had zero interest in being hugged by that clay clone.
It wasn't just that he preferred women—he knew full well this clone was a massive bomb.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World!"
A transparent cube appeared in Ōnoki's palm. The secret Kekkei Tōta passed down by Iwagakure manifested once again in his hands.
In the next moment, Dust Release expanded, enveloping the clay clone and disintegrating it into atoms.
Seeing this, Deidara wasn't shocked—he was delighted.
"Haha, old man! I knew you wouldn't die that easily!"
"Take this—C4: Garuda!"
"Art is an explosion!"
Ōnoki's face twisted with reluctance: "Dust Release: Boundary Detachment of the Primitive World!"
He hadn't wanted to use this technique, but since Deidara was going all-out, he couldn't hold back either.
The cylindrical Dust Release swept horizontally, slicing the giant doll clean in two. The resulting explosion's shockwave then engulfed him as well.
The heavens and earth turned to white chaos!