To Kumogakure, this was like a natural disaster descending without warning.
No.
It was far worse than any natural disaster.
In an instant, Kumogakure had gone from a complete village into a broken ruin.
At first, the people of Kumogakure could not even react.
Only when someone whose body had lost nearly half of its mass let out a wretched howl under the drive of pain did the others seem to snap back to reality. They stared at the horrific scene before them and cried out in alarm.
"Enemy attack!"
"Enemy attack!"
"Enemy attack!"
The Fourth Raikage rushed out, his eyes bloodshot, the corners of his eyes nearly splitting open.
The sight before him drove his fury to the extreme.
Buildings had collapsed across a vast area, reduced to ruins.
Countless corpses were buried beneath the debris.
Those were Kumogakure's assets.
Those were Kumogakure's villagers.
Such a massive loss all at once was something the Fourth Raikage could not accept.
He felt as if his heart were bleeding.
Endless rage filled his chest.
"Who? Who the hell was it?"
The Fourth Raikage's gaze swept rapidly across the surroundings.
Even in the depths of his rage, he did not lose his reason.
After all, Kumogakure had suffered an attack of terrifying scale. But someone capable of causing such enormous destruction to Kumogakure in such a short time—in a single instant—could not possibly be weak.
"Who could it be?"
The Fourth Raikage thought desperately, but no matter how he searched his mind, he could not find a likely culprit.
Konoha's Hiruzen Sarutobi?
Impossible.
Putting aside the intelligence saying Hiruzen Sarutobi was still unconscious, even if his body had no issues, he absolutely could not produce an attack of this scale.
Shimura Danzo?
Even less likely. His strength was even weaker.
Kirigakure's Chukichi?
He was merely a jonin who had been forcibly pushed into the Mizukage position because Kirigakure had no real talent left.
The Fourth Raikage did not think much of Chukichi at all.
Iwagakure's Onoki?
Dust Release was indeed powerful, but it could not destroy such a vast area at once.
Sunagakure's Rasa?
For the moment, the Fourth Raikage felt this possibility was the highest.
After all, Rasa was currently the number one shinobi in the shinobi world. His strength was the greatest.
And Rasa specialized in Magnet Release, controlling gold dust.
If Rasa were given enough time to prepare, altering the earth beneath Kumogakure in advance, then it was still possible for him to turn Kumogakure into this state.
But the Fourth Raikage could not understand it.
There was no deep enmity between Kumogakure and Sunagakure.
The number of wars between the two villages had not been many.
During the previous siege against Konoha, they had even acted as temporary allies.
Why would Rasa attack Kumogakure?
There was no reason.
There was no benefit.
If he had the energy and such attacking ability, would it not be far better to use it against Konoha?
At that moment, the figure of the Deva Path Pain appeared.
He slowly descended to the ground, wearing a black robe patterned with red clouds. He looked calmly at the Fourth Raikage, his face expressionless.
The next instant, he raised his hand.
"Universal Pull!"
A tremendous attractive force landed on the Fourth Raikage's body, causing his figure to move uncontrollably toward the Deva Path Pain. The Fourth Raikage's pupils suddenly shrank.
"It was you?"
"You attacked Kumogakure?"
"Why?"
"Who are you?"
The Deva Path Pain did not answer the Fourth Raikage.
He merely waited until the Fourth Raikage was about to approach him.
"Almighty Push!"
A completely opposite force erupted.
The Fourth Raikage's body instantly changed direction.
He felt as though something with terrifying impact had slammed violently into his chest.
A wave of intense pain surged through him.
"Big Brother!"
A figure appeared behind the Fourth Raikage.
"Killer B!"
When the Deva Path Pain saw Killer B, a faint change finally appeared on his face.
"He's here!"
The other puppet bodies hidden in the shadows also walked out under Nagato's control.
From far away, Uchiha Shisui stared with widened eyes, not daring to look away.
This battle had already exceeded Uchiha Shisui's imagination.
"A ninja can actually reach this level?"
"Too incredible!"
"Too powerful!"
"If I had this kind of power, how could the Uchiha have fallen to their current state?"
"One person can suppress an entire shinobi village."
Uchiha Shisui sucked in a breath of cold air.
Kumogakure was powerful.
Whether in terms of mid-level shinobi or top-level shinobi, it was strong.
Before Sunagakure's rise, Kumogakure might very well have been the true number one shinobi village.
But now, before Pain, Kumogakure appeared powerless.
Numbers had no meaning at all.
Only the Fourth Raikage, Killer B, and Yugito Nii could barely contend with Pain.
But that was all it was.
Barely contending.
They were not Pain's opponents.
The Fourth Raikage was sent flying again and again.
Yugito Nii had already coughed up blood.
Killer B stood at the very front, transforming into his Tailed Beast form.
The three of them used everything they had.
But it was useless.
Completely useless.
Despair covered the skies above Kumogakure.
Wails rose one after another.
The dense smell of blood seemed almost to form a mist.
"No!"
"Why is this happening?"
"Who exactly are those people?"
"Why are they attacking Kumogakure?"
…
Bang!
The Fourth Raikage was blasted hundreds of meters away and could no longer stand. His body crashed heavily to the ground.
Killer B and Yugito Nii had both returned to their human forms, their Tailed Beast forms forcibly beaten away.
Two figures arrived beside them, carrying them on their shoulders.
Then they turned and walked toward the outside of the village.
"No!"
The Fourth Raikage stared fixedly at Pain's back. He wanted to stop him. He wanted to rescue Killer B and Yugito Nii.
But his body had already lost the ability to move.
He did not know how many bones across his body had fractured.
He did not know how many of his internal organs had been damaged.
All he could do was watch.
Two streams of tears slid from the Fourth Raikage's eyes.
…
…
On this day, the entire shinobi world was shaken.
Several heavy pieces of news appeared one after another, stunning countless people.
"Someone attacked Kumogakure. Nearly half of Kumogakure was destroyed. Killer B and Yugito Nii were both taken away. The Fourth Raikage's life or death is unknown."
"Someone attacked Iwagakure's jinchuriki, Han. Explosive tags filled the sky and blew Han alive into pieces. Not a single member of Han's squad returned to Iwagakure alive."
"Someone attacked Takigakure, killed countless people, and captured the jinchuriki alive."
…
When a middle-aged man heard these three pieces of news, he was shocked, his eyes widening.
"What is going on?"
"Who attacked them?"
"Who could possibly do this?"
"Kumogakure isn't some small shinobi village. It's one of the top great shinobi villages. Its strength is astonishing."
"Who could attack Kumogakure to such an extent?"
"And Iwagakure too. Its strength is also extremely powerful. Whoever attacked Iwagakure's jinchuriki—aren't they afraid of Iwagakure's revenge?"
"Why were these three shinobi villages attacked at the same time?"
"For the jinchuriki? The Tailed Beasts?"
"Who are the attackers?"