CHAPTER 198: THE TSUCHIKAGE'S CHOICE
"Look! What is that?!"
"Flames!"
"It's a meteorite! A meteorite from outer space!"
The Sunagakure ninja who cried out had pure terror written across every feature.
Tens of thousands of meters high in the sky, a flaming meteorite was racing toward the earth. Its trajectory was fixed. Its target was clear. Its arrival was inevitable.
When Onoki saw this scene, horror flooded his eyes.
Did Rakshasa do this? He summoned a meteorite?
Is this still human power?
This is impossible!
Why? Why?!
At this moment, Ragnar had risen to float at the same height as Onoki. He made no move to attack. Instead, he spoke calmly:
"Let's guess together, Tsuchikage. Do you think this meteorite can defeat you?"
"You—!" Onoki's voice choked with rage. He couldn't find words. Finally, he spat out: "Do you want to destroy us all?! If we die, we die together!"
"Die together?" Ragnar's face showed a hint of dark amusement. "Tsuchikage. Look at where the meteorite is falling."
"What?"
Onoki's gaze followed the trajectory—and his blood ran cold.
The meteorite was falling directly toward the Iwa ninja positions.
And worse: at this very moment, every Iwa ninja lay pinned to the ground by Ragnar's gravity. Unable to move. Unable to flee. Unable to do anything except wait.
When that meteorite struck the earth, the entire Iwa Ninja army would be erased. Wiped from existence. With a rock this size, falling from this height... not even bones would remain.
Not only the Iwa ninja—the Sand ninja were equally horrified.
Rakshasa could summon meteorites!
They had never seen this ability before! The Great Buddha had been terrifying enough. Now this? A meteorite from the sky? This defied the will of heaven itself!
This challenged the very bottom line of human cognition!
And in this situation, the pinned Iwa ninja had no choice but to wait for death!
The Third Kazekage had been receiving treatment. At this moment, he had regained consciousness and was preparing to rejoin the battle.
Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw the massive meteorite descending from the heavens.
His eyes rolled back in his head. He fainted again.
Insane. Absolutely insane. I was going to stand tall, to show that Sunagakure's defeat wasn't shameful—that even if we surrendered, we wouldn't lose our dignity.
But after seeing that meteorite?
I think I'll lie down a while longer.
Let that old man Onoki deal with this headache.
I'm young. I can still live.
In the Konoha camp, every ninja's eyes were dull. Mouths hung open. No one could speak.
They already knew Ragnar was strong. They knew Rakshasa was strong.
He had taken out a Jinchuriki. He had defeated the Third Kazekage. He had survived Dust Release and faced down the Tsuchikage.
This level of combat power was simply unique. No one else could match it.
But now—summoning a meteorite from the sky? From tens of thousands of meters up?
Was this something a human could do?!
No. Humans simply didn't have this ability!
Everything Ragnar did could no longer be described in human terms.
The First Hokage had used wood to level mountains. The Second Hokage had used water to submerge battlefields. But Ragnar was simply subverting imagination itself. They couldn't compare.
"Haha... should I say something right now?" Jiraiya asked helplessly.
"Don't say anything," Orochimaru replied, his signature sinister smile spreading across his face. "Just watch quietly."
Hatake Sakumo's expression was complicated. He scratched his hair in frustration, then covered his face with one hand.
"Ragnar... you might have gone a bit too far this time. Summoning meteorites? Really?"
How am I supposed to explain this to the Hokage? I told you to keep a low profile! Keep a low profile! And now this? It'll be spread across the entire ninja world before long!
Summoning a meteorite was not a small matter. It was a huge matter. This could be called a nuclear-level weapon!
If you were unhappy with a village, you could just summon a meteorite directly over it. Then disappear. Hide your achievements. Vanish from history.
Who could withstand that? Who could defend against it?
The threat of meteorite summoning was too great. No one could bear it.
The biggest problem was its uncontrollable nature. Dragging meteors from outer space into their world would cause panic beyond measure. No nation would sit idly by.
On the distant mountaintop, Madara was silent. His ancient eyes were dark as he finally spoke:
"Black Zetsu. I seriously suspect this Rakshasa is hiding the Rinnegan. Why is this ability so similar to the power of the Rinnegan?"
Earlier, the Earth Release: Earth-Splitting Sky Star technique had seemed familiar to Madara, but he had dismissed it. Now, summoning a meteorite? This was the exclusive ability of the Rinnegan—the Celestial Phenomenon: Heavenly Body Strike!
In the known ninja world, no other ninjutsu could accomplish this. Only the Rinnegan.
"Uh... this, Madara-sama, is difficult to explain." Black Zetsu's voice was uncertain. "If it were the Rinnegan, the characteristics of the Rinnegan would inevitably appear in Rakshasa's abilities. I've seen none."
Madara wasn't the only one suspicious. Black Zetsu harbored its own doubts. If it didn't know that only Otsutsuki bloodline could awaken the Rinnegan, it might have thought Rakshasa was the Six Paths Sage's illegitimate son!
The boy's abilities overlapped disturbingly with Senju and Uchiha traits. The Great Buddha. Gravity manipulation. Earth-Splitting Sky Star. Now this meteorite—the similarity was over ninety percent!
"Yes, I've noticed that too." Madara's voice was contemplative. "But can this truly be coincidence?"
"Not coincidence, Madara-sama." Black Zetsu chose its words carefully. "You are the only one in the ninja world today who has awakened the Rinnegan. The only one who has deciphered the Uchiha tablet's secrets. There cannot be a second person with the Rinnegan. The abilities Rakshasa possesses may be some kind of mutation—similar to bloodline elimination. After all, ninja history has developed for thousands of years. There will always be a few special cases."
"I hope so." Madara sighed. "But the more this happens, the more I wish to fight Rakshasa myself. What a pity."
He continued watching the battlefield. In Ragnar's form, he seemed to see his own younger self—the years when he had been at his most vigorous, most ambitious. Unfortunately, those times were gone. And his old friend was no longer here.
In the span of a few breaths, the meteorite had descended until it hung directly overhead. In moments, it would strike completely.
Sand ninja and Konoha ninja alike evacuated the area rapidly. No one could predict how massive the shockwave would be when that thing hit the ground.
"Tsuchikage." Ragnar's voice floated down from above. "If you don't make a decision soon, your Iwa ninja will be annihilated."
"Don't think that summoning a meteorite means you've won!" Onoki's voice shook with rage and desperation. "Iwa Ninja will not fall!"
He glanced at his pinned subordinates one last time. Then, deliberately, he descended to the ground. He positioned himself directly before the immobilized Iwa forces.
At this moment, the roles had completely reversed.
Ragnar looked down from above. Onoki stood in the dust.
No words were exchanged. But for Onoki—a man obsessed with face, with dignity, with reputation—this was worse than death.
"Lord Tsuchikage!" Onihei lay pinned to the ground, his face twisted with shame and anguish.
"Silence." Onoki's voice was hard. "I may have made mistakes before. But as a Tsuchikage, I will never abandon my subordinates."
He pressed his palms together.
Chakra erupted from his body in waves. It flowed crazily, desperately, emptying his reserves without concern for tomorrow.
A white halo appeared in his palms. It grew. Expanded. Formed into a square crystalline cube.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
Onoki intended to use Dust Release to obliterate the meteorite itself.
(End of Chapter)
✨If you're enjoying this story, consider supporting me on Patreon —
Patreon.com/TofuChan
Where you can read Extra Advance Chaters
Bonus Chapter For Every 100 Power Stones
Lets hit the goal of 300 Patreon Members now for 5 Extra Chapters 💕