Toot, toot, toot…
While Izayoi and Hinata admired the meteor shower, far away—who knows how many kilometers away—in Cloud Village, alarms started blaring.
It was around nine in the evening; most of the villagers hadn't gone to bed yet. Even those who had were only lightly dozing, so when the alarms went off—something that happened multiple times a year during evacuation drills—everyone rushed outside.
"Wh-what's that?"
"Meteors—it's a meteor shower! Run!"
"Is the world ending?"
"…"
Many villagers had just dashed out their doors only to see the cause of the alarm. Gazing up at the orange-red glow in the sky, they realized it was composed of huge, flaming spheres—massive meteorites descending at high speed, friction with the atmosphere producing a layer of fiery aura that enveloped each one.
From far away, it might've looked stunning, prompting some onlookers to pray or make wishes. But for Cloud Village, it was like an apocalyptic disaster.
A dark-skinned man—recognizing it was indeed a meteor shower—collapsed to the ground in terror.
Just then, a series of flickering silhouettes moved swiftly about. One of them stopped: a dark-skinned, muscular man wearing a flak jacket. He shouted at the stunned villagers:
"What are you standing around for?! Follow the manual and get to the shelters with the evacuation squads!"
His yelling snapped them to their senses, and they all scrambled toward the shelters.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of the Raikage's Office, the Fourth Raikage stood gazing somberly at the incoming meteors.
Behind him, Mabui—dark-skinned and short white hair—spoke urgently:
"Lord Raikage, according to the Sensor Corps, those meteors will strike the village in under three minutes. Please evacuate at once!"
"What nonsense! I'm the Raikage—I won't run from danger!" The Fourth Raikage snapped. Then, grimly, he asked, "Three minutes… Is that enough for the villagers to reach the shelters?"
"That's too little time," Mabui said, her expression tense. "Only the ones on the outskirts will make it. And even then, we can't guarantee the shelters—or their barriers—can withstand a meteor storm."
The Fourth Raikage was unsurprised; swiftly, he issued an order: "Alert the command squads to gather everyone in certain zones, and have the barrier teams protect them with layered barriers. Even if the village itself is destroyed, we must keep civilian casualties as low as possible!"
He slammed a fist onto the rooftop railing, shattering it, and gritted his teeth. "Damn it! This came out of nowhere. I never should've sent Bee off to Valley of Clouds and Lightning. If Bee and I could combine his Eight-Tails Jinchūriki chakra with my own, we might manage a Four Red Yang Formation to stop these meteors."
"The Sensor Corps has contacted the person delivering supplies to Lord Killer Bee," Mabui said. "Lord Bee may be able to help from a distance. The Lightning and Earth platoons are already in position: once the meteors descend low enough, they'll launch attacks and layer defenses, trying to weaken the meteor shower and protect the mountain."
A bit of the darkness in the Raikage's eyes lifted. He asked in a grave tone, "Has the Sensor Corps identified who's behind it?"
"Not yet, but we're certain the culprit is hiding somewhere on this mountain," Mabui replied grimly. "The meteor shower's target is precisely our village. If it's a jutsu caused by someone, that means there's a fixed anchor point—unless this is so terrifying a technique that they can call meteors down anywhere in the shinobi world, at any time."
"A power like that…would only belong in the myths of the Sage of Six Paths."
At this, the Fourth Raikage's eyes flashed with lethal chill. "So it's Akatsuki taking revenge?"
"We can't be sure, but that seems more likely than any other major village." Mabui explained, "No known Kekkei Genkai or secret arts, not even the lost forbidden jutsu, can summon a meteor shower—especially not in such huge numbers. Even Wood Release, famed for ending the Warring States Period, can't do this.
"But if the Sage of Six Paths actually existed, and the rumored top of the 'Three Great Dōjutsu' is real, perhaps bringing down meteors is a power of the Rinnegan—since, according to myth, the Sage created the moon."
Gazing at the growing meteor shower—flames blotting out the stars—Mabui looked fearful. If that suspicion was correct, then someone of truly over-the-top power was behind it.
Comparing that to the threat of a Wood Release ninja in Konoha would be nothing. Not even the "God of Shinobi" equaled that level, and he was merciful. But this unknown madman unleashed strategic strikes at the drop of a hat.
If Cloud Village had drawn the wrath of such a terrorist, even if they rebuilt, they could be destroyed again any second. One of the Five Great Nations could be reduced to ruins in all but name. It was doomsday just for Cloud Village.
"Ninja Art: Four Violet Flames Formation!"
Voices shouted from various parts of the village. Under the dark sky, multiple rectangular, transparent, violet-hued barriers sprang up, some layered multiple times.
Within each barrier, easily a dozen shinobi maintained it, sheltering hundreds of villagers. One set of layered barriers also protected the Raikage's Office.
The Fourth Raikage stared at the burning meteors, now filling the entire sky—nothing to see but fiery light—wearing a stony expression. His eyes reflected that fiery glow and a tangible killing intent. Mabui, who had stood behind him, was gone, off to some unknown task.
Finally, that shower of fire—like a flood set to engulf the village—arrived. In that moment, the top of several violet barriers opened wide, releasing countless arcs of lightning that shot skyward like dense pillars.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
"Lightning Release: Black Panther!"
"…"
Cries rang out everywhere. Meanwhile, a colossal sphere of dark purple-black chakra soared from a distance into the swarm of meteors.
BOOOOM—!
Rumble…
After the Tailed Beast Bomb exploded with world-shaking force, a chain of blasts followed, robbing everyone of their hearing.
Within the barriers, countless villagers clapped their hands over their ears in pain, many cloud-nin doing the same. Brilliant, multi-colored bursts of flame—like fireworks in the night—lit up the sky above Cloud Village, accompanied by gale-force shockwaves.
Mountains all around the village shook violently. Rock faces cracked under the windstorm's force. If this had happened by daylight, you would see the enormous mountain on which Cloud Village stood now veined with fissures.
Amid the deafening noise, amplified by echoes through the valleys and extending who knew how many kilometers, faint, mosquito-like shouts could still be heard:
"Ninja Art… Heavenly Transfer Jutsu!"
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Rampart—block them!!!"
"…"
It was as if stepping on a landmine. The mountains around Cloud Village blew up in spots, magnifying the quakes, sonic booms, and blasts.
Even from that distant summit where Hinata—resting in Izayoi's arms—was enjoying the "meteor shower," colorful fireworks sprouted among the far-off peaks. Not knowing this was the Land of Lightning, assuming it was empty mountains, she called out again, amazed:
"That's what it looks like when meteors explode at night? It's so pretty, even more spectacular than the ones in the Land of Rivers!"
"You think it's pretty?" Izayoi asked, planting a kiss on her cheek. "How do you like my surprise?"
"Mmm!" Hinata nodded, her face alight with joy. Boldly, she gave him a little peck in return, then settled back into his arms, sighing happily. "This is my happiest birthday ever. I'll never forget it."
"Same here." Izayoi lifted her onto his lap, cuddling with his girlfriend as they continued admiring the "fireworks" and starlit sky.
But while Hinata experienced deep bliss in this "romantic" moment, Cloud Village itself descended into tragedy.
The blasts and shockwaves, like a raging hurricane, raged on for who knew how long before dying away. Mushrooms of dust rose around the mountains near Cloud Village.
Despite fierce winds at that altitude, it would take some time to clear such a vast dust cloud.
At that moment, high above the dust-choked region, a lone figure appeared. Surrounded by a red powderlike aura, it wore a black cloak embroidered with red clouds, had orange hair, black piercings, and purple ripple-patterned eyes—Tendo Pain.
More accurately, it was Izayoi's Wood Clone in the form of Tendo Pain. Just as a Wood Clone is second only to a White Zetsu clone, "Wood Transformation" is likewise second only to the advanced Disguise Jutsu.
Ordinary Transformation Jutsu would dispel the instant you took a serious hit. Only with Izayoi's gold-tier chakra control could you maintain a transformation even while using medical ninjutsu on others.
But even he would lose a normal transformation if heavily struck. Hence, his Shadow Clones never seriously tried to "play ninja" with Gaara.
Now, though, Izayoi's Wood Clone had no such worries. Even if an attack shattered the Wood Clone, the "Wood Transformation" wouldn't be undone unless Izayoi deliberately canceled it.
With enough stolen chakra, the Wood Clone could even mimic the near-perfect "False Disguise" effect.
Hovering midair, Izayoi's clone used a gaze that pierced the dust cloud, surveying Cloud Village's condition and relaying that intel to his real body.
Right then, Izayoi—sitting with Hinata, occasionally flirting—his eyes flickered with mild surprise, thinking: I figured they could withstand my greeting, but I didn't expect so many survivors.
Cloud Village really is the strongest hidden village at the moment, both united and powerful. It's good news, I guess…so they haven't built a chakra cannon!
In a world with Sealing Scrolls, Izayoi wasn't sure whether Cloud Village might've constructed one. So he simply stationed some Wood Clones to use Tenseigan's gravitational pull from orbit, dragging down a ton of meteorites—a meteor shower greeting for the strongest hidden village. He wanted to probe Cloud Village's capabilities.
His experiment was concluded: Cloud Village indeed had no superweapon. Satisfied, Izayoi passed further instructions to the Wood Clone. Floating there, ringed by red dust, "Pain" vanished. Moments later, a fierce gust scattered the dust cloud over the village, revealing Cloud Village at last.
The place was in shambles, nearly all of it turned to rubble. Only about a tenth of the buildings remained even partially standing.
Meteor craters of various sizes pocked the ground. Everywhere lay debris from collapsed structures and exploded meteor fragments, burying who knew how many bodies. Shockwaves had penetrated the mountain from above, leaving it riddled with cracks.
Scattered around were rectangular violet barriers that had once sheltered villagers and badly injured shinobi—some had been blasted to pieces, some still alive but moaning in agony. Without those layered barriers, the death toll would have been catastrophic.
Seeing the danger had passed, those who had maintained the barriers—exhausted—broke them down to consume military rations and move on to rescue. Medical-nin rushed to treat the nearest wounded.
None suspected they had let the wolves in. The instant those barriers dissolved, swarms of red dust manifested in midair, bringing forth a squad of black-robed figures with red clouds on them. Their arms morphed into blades that gleamed menacingly; they launched an assault on the flak-jacketed ninja.
"Enemy attack!!!"
"It's Akatsuki—sound the alarm whistle!"
"Don't panic! Barrier squads and medics guard the civilians; everyone else, with me!"
"…"
Their shouts and whistles rang through the quiet night sky. Having endured a meteor apocalypse, Cloud Village now faced its second disaster.
~~~
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