481. Crushing Blow

Across the vast lands of the shinobi world, the situation on the Iwagakure battlefield had reached a critical point.

The sounds of battle—clashing steel, explosive jutsu, and desperate war cries—merged into a symphony of carnage.

Meanwhile, the state of Sunagakure was no less dire.

The Hidden Sand Village was currently in a weakened state, with a severe lack of powerful shinobi.

The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, stood as the village's sole Kage-level fighter, shouldering the heavy burden of defending his people alone.

Their only tailed beast, the One-Tail Shukaku, remained immature and unstable, rendering it useless as an immediate combat asset in this brutal war.

Though Kiri's Mei Terumī had joined forces with Suna for various reasons, what awaited them was a nightmare lineup—Tsunade, Oyashiro En, Kakashi, Hyūga Hizashi, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Might Guy, and Nagato.

The moment the battle began, Konoha struck first with overwhelming force.

Tsunade, the world's greatest medical-nin, wasted no time demonstrating her prowess. With swift hand seals, she summoned the mighty Katsuyu, the Slug Sage.

Upon arrival, Katsuyu split into countless clones, attaching themselves to every Konoha shinobi on the battlefield, providing unparalleled medical support.

Next, Konoha's aerial and armored divisions unleashed a relentless bombardment.

Squadrons of aircraft roared overhead, dropping payloads of devastating explosives.

Ground-based artillery units fired searing chakra shells, hammering Suna's defenses without mercy.

In an instant, Suna's positions were engulfed in flames and smoke, the air thick with screams and explosions.

Once the artillery barrage ceased, Konoha's elite shinobi moved in for the kill.

At the forefront stood Oyashiro En, his eyes burning with determination. His hands moved in a blur as he condensed an immense amount of chakra into a crimson blood orb, glowing ominously in his palm.

With a roar, he hurled it high above Suna's forces—

BOOM!

The orb detonated midair, raining down a storm of blood bullets, each with the piercing force of armor-piercing rounds.

Suna's defenses were shredded instantly. Shinobi collapsed in droves, their bodies riddled with holes, the battlefield drenched in red.

Seeing this devastation, the Fourth Kazekage Rasa could no longer stand idle. If this continued, Sunagakure would be annihilated.

With a deep breath, he unleashed his Magnet Release, summoning a tsunami of golden sand from the earth. The grains coalesced into an enormous shield, blocking the bloody onslaught.

The golden barrier shimmered like an impenetrable fortress—until Tsunade stepped forward.

Her body thrummed with monstrous strength, all of it concentrating in her leg as she leaped—

"Heavenly Foot of Pain!"

The kick struck with world-shattering force, the air distorting under its power. The golden shield shattered like glass, fragments scattering like glitter in the wind.

Before Suna could recover, Kakashi blurred into action.

Engulfed in boiling steam, he moved like a phantom, closing the distance to Rasa in an instant. Lightning crackled in his palm—

"Chidori!"

The thrust came faster than thought, the stench of ozone filling the air.

Rasa barely reacted in time, riding a wave of gold to evade—only for Hiruzen Sarutobi to strike like a thunderbolt.

The Third Hokage's Enma Staff extended like a living thing, slamming into Rasa's gut with enough force to send him flying, his body carving a trench through the earth.

"Damn it…"

Mei Terumī, the only other Kage-level fighter, paled.
If Rasa fell, she stood no chance alone.

But before she could intervene—

A lone figure rose into the sky above Konoha's ranks.

"Leave the rest… to me."

Nagato hovered above the battlefield, his Rinnegan glowing with divine authority. His presence alone seemed to bend reality, the air trembling around him.

Dark markings writhed across his face like living shadows as he spread his arms—

Almighty Push!

The world imploded.

An invisible force erupted from Nagato, flattening everything in its path. The ground split apart, defensive structures disintegrated, and Suna's shinobi were hurled backward like ragdolls.

When the dust settled, all that remained was a gaping crater—a testament to the power of a god.

Suna's forces had been obliterated in a single move.

The battle was already over.