As Kakuzu and Sasori were tied down by Nawaki and Sakumo respectively, regardless of who currently held the advantage, the Konoha Crush Plan had achieved very little.
This was clearly not the outcome Fugaku had hoped for.
Fortunately, he still had one final trump card.
In a secluded corner of the battlefield, Zetsu emerged from beneath the ground, carrying the unconscious Fourth Mizukage, Yagura.
This was the real Yagura, not a White Zetsu transformation.
Years ago, Fugaku had deliberately sealed the Three-Tails inside Yagura for the sake of tonight's attack.
Black Zetsu quickly formed a series of hand seals. The seal restraining the Three-Tails began to unravel piece by piece, and a massive amount of crimson chakra burst forth like boiling magma.
Boom!
An enormous explosion erupted.
A furious roar echoed across Konoha.
A towering pillar of water shot into the sky.
Moments later, a colossal figure appeared within the village.
A dark, heavily armored shell covered its body, lined with countless spikes. Three massive tails slammed into the ground, causing violent tremors throughout the area.
The Three-Tails had fully manifested.
The sheer scale of its chakra was overwhelming.
Even without sensing chakra directly, simply looking at the beast made people feel insignificant.
Fear.
A primal fear that emerged from the depths of one's soul.
This was the terror of a Tailed Beast.
"This is the second gift I've prepared for you."
High above the battlefield, Fugaku calmly observed the Three-Tails in the distance.
What happened when a Tailed Beast was unleashed inside a village?
The Hidden Mist Village had already provided the answer.
A few Tailed Beast Balls were enough to reduce an entire village to rubble.
Since the meteor shower had failed to produce the desired results, Fugaku intended to let the Three-Tails finish the job.
In truth, he also possessed the Six-Tails.
However, this operation was meant to suppress Konoha, not hand over multiple Tailed Beasts to it.
If the mission failed and both the Three-Tails and Six-Tails were captured, he certainly wasn't planning to launch another assault later just to retrieve them.
For safety's sake, he had brought only one.
Yet Hayashi showed no intention of immediately confronting the Three-Tails.
After all, the best weapon against a Tailed Beast was another Tailed Beast.
The Three-Tails let out a deafening roar.
Dark and light chakra rapidly gathered before its mouth.
A Tailed Beast Ball formed.
Moments later, the massive sphere shot toward the village.
If it detonated, half of Konoha would likely disappear.
Just then, another Tailed Beast Ball appeared from a different direction.
Its timing was perfect.
Compared to the Three-Tails' attack, its power was on an entirely different level.
The incoming sphere slammed into the Three-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball and launched it high into the sky.
Boom!
The collision triggered a massive explosion overhead.
The heavens trembled.
The earth shook.
Even experienced shinobi instinctively covered their ears.
Roar!
One of the Three-Tails' tails rose high into the air like a giant scorpion's stinger before plunging toward Kushina, who was cloaked in Nine-Tails chakra.
To any observer, the attack was both swift and devastating.
A direct hit would certainly be fatal.
But Kushina's perspective was entirely different.
Six tails now extended behind her.
Just as the Three-Tails' attack reached her position, she shifted slightly backward.
The enormous tail crashed into the ground directly in front of her.
At the same moment, another tail emerged.
A giant fox head formed around her body.
The chakra avatar rapidly expanded until it completely enveloped her.
Under Kushina's control, the Nine-Tails lunged forward and collided head-on with the Three-Tails.
The impact forced Isobu backward.
The Nine-Tails immediately pressed the advantage.
Its massive arms seized one of the Three-Tails' tails.
With a violent swing, it hurled the Three-Tails completely beyond Konoha's gates.
Clearly, in the forests outside Konohagakure, another round of Kurama brutally bullying Isobu was about to begin.
"It seems your plan with Madara has failed."
A calm voice sounded beside Fugaku.
The Deva Path floated nearby.
According to the information Madara had left behind, Fugaku was his contingency plan and would launch an attack on Konoha tonight.
That was precisely why Nagato had dispatched the Deva Path and several Akatsuki members to participate.
He had expected to witness an impressive spectacle.
Instead, every major attack had been neutralized.
Fugaku showed no reaction to the mockery.
Instead, he asked calmly,
"If you have any methods left, now is the time to use them. Otherwise, we'll withdraw."
"Hm."
The Deva Path nodded slightly.
"I do have one technique."
His gaze shifted toward the village below.
From this height, he could clearly see Jiraiya.
He could also see the boy he had once met in that cave years ago.
Now known as Uchiha Hayashi.
But those emotions had long since been buried.
Nagato no longer cared about destroying this village.
"Since you're going to act, I'll go capture the Nine-Tails."
After a brief moment of thought, Fugaku turned and left.
The Deva Path nodded in response.
Soon, he was the only figure remaining in the sky.
The newly arrived shinobi was obviously Fugaku's ally.
The shinobi below immediately began discussing his identity.
However, the black robe decorated with red clouds concealed most of his appearance, while the hood shadowed his face.
No one could clearly identify him.
Hayashi, however, knew exactly who he was.
This was not Nagato himself.
It was the Deva Path, created from Yahiko's body.
But what exactly was he planning?
Fugaku's attack had unfolded largely within Hayashi's expectations.
Every move the enemy had made tonight had ultimately failed.
Nagato's appearance, however, had genuinely caught him off guard.
Beneath the hood, the Rinnegan narrowed slightly.
An astonishing surge of chakra erupted from the Deva Path.
He slowly brought his palms together.
Buzz!
Buzz!
When he separated them again, a faint black light flickered between his hands.
Gradually, it condensed into a small black sphere.
At first, it was only the size of a fist.
Then it began to grow.
Several meters wide in only moments.
Far outside Konoha, hidden within the mouth of a summoned creature, Nagato suddenly bled from all seven orifices.
Blood continuously seeped from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
His complexion rapidly paled.
In a low voice, he spoke.
"True Planetary Devastation."
The enormous black sphere expanded once more before ascending high into the sky.
An overwhelming gravitational force descended upon Konoha.
Crack!
A tiny fissure appeared in the ground.
Then another.
And another.
Within seconds, the cracks spread across the battlefield.
Broken stone, debris, and ruined structures began rising into the air.
Hayashi's pupils contracted.
It felt as though an invisible giant hand had seized his body and was dragging him toward the heavens.
The earth beneath him shattered.
Massive boulders tore free from the ground and soared upward.
"What's happening?!"
"Why is this happening?!"
Panicked cries echoed throughout the village.
The phenomenon was not limited to one area.
Every corner of Konoha was experiencing the same terrifying scene.
Sakumo, Minato, and countless others stopped fighting and stared upward in shock.
Nagato intended to use Planetary Devastation to seal away the entirety of Konoha.
In the distance, Biwa Jūzō watched the unfolding catastrophe and couldn't help letting out a whistle.
Sasori and Kakuzu were still inside the village.
Was Nagato really planning to bury them along with everyone else?
As expected...
You could offend anyone in the Akatsuki, but offending the leader was another matter entirely.
Retribution came swiftly indeed.