Ch.474 Super Shinra Tensei

"You came just in time!"

Seeing the mysterious person pursue, Nagato let out a cold huff.

Before he could act, Konan, at his side, waved her hands. Countless explosive tags folded into shuriken shapes in the air, hurtling toward the mysterious person.

Boom, boom, boom!

A chain of explosions instantly demolished the mansion, flames soaring and smoke billowing!

Even with the mysterious person's resilient body, the relentless blasts took a toll, the shockwaves sending him flying.

"Damn it!"

At this point, the mysterious person was seething with frustration.

He knew Akatsuki was strong, but he hadn't expected it to be this strong. Even a random member posed a significant threat.

Crashing through a row of walls before stopping, the mysterious person steeled himself and roared, "Blood Demon Art: Endless Blood Vendetta!"

Using this technique repeatedly would severely weaken him, but he could no longer afford to care.

In an instant, his body disintegrated into a blood cascade, surging toward Nagato with overwhelming malice.

"What's that!?"

Konan gasped.

Her instincts told her that being touched by this blood cascade would lead to a dire fate.

Nagato, however, gazed at the rushing blood cascade with indifference, slowly raising his hands. "Super Shinra Tensei!"

Boom!

In that moment, the world seemed to invert!

Everything was instantly upheaved. Not only was the oncoming blood cascade repelled, but even Uchiha Shinji, several streets away, was flung into the air, losing all sense of direction. His vision was filled with debris, smoke, and other shinobi similarly hurled skyward.

"What happened?"

Still airborne, Shinji was dazed!

The force had come too swiftly, too fiercely. Even his 'Susanoo' couldn't withstand it, collapsing instantly.

Of course.

This was partly because he had deliberately only manifested a half-bodied 'Susanoo'!

If Shinji's 'Susanoo' was shattered, the 'Infinite Castle' stood no chance. When the shockwave subsided, the 'Infinite Castle' that had enveloped them was gone, replaced by the unremarkable grasslands of the Land of Grass.

Though flung and disoriented, Shinji was no longer the novice he once was. Since he wasn't in the shockwave's core, he adjusted his posture midair and landed steadily.

"We escaped the 'Infinite Castle'?" He scanned his surroundings, then realized, "No—the 'Infinite Castle' was destroyed!"

He now understood that the upheaval was likely Nagato's doing.

Only Nagato, with his Rinnegan, could achieve such a feat! Others might escape the 'Infinite Castle,' but none could destroy it as domineeringly as Nagato!

Like Shinji.

Karin and Kimimaro also landed steadily.

They, too, were outside the core area, so the impact wasn't severe. Karin was a step away from the Rinnegan, surpassing Nagato in some aspects, while Kimimaro, protected by his 'Shikotsumyaku' and unexpectedly awakened Tenseigan state, was unscathed.

Even if they had been hit directly by Nagato's technique, they wouldn't have been in mortal danger.

Ido was even less affected.

As a spiritual entity, physical attacks were ineffective against her. She floated in the air, circling as if spectating a show.

The remaining three fared worse.

Though Sasuke had awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan, his combat experience was still at the ninja academy level, unprepared for such an onslaught. Caught off guard, he would've been gravely injured from the fall alone if Haku hadn't helped him.

Haku's situation was slightly better.

He reacted fastest among them, erecting an ice wall with a no-hand-sign ninjutsu before the shockwave hit.

But his Ice Release couldn't block the shockwave, so he was also flung. Calm and composed, he used Ice Release midair to protect himself and assist Sasuke.

Neji's situation was dire.

His strength was the weakest among them, so, like Sasuke, he was caught unprepared and hurled by the shockwave.

Fortunately, he had liberated his 'bio-exoskeleton' beforehand, so though he crashed heavily to the ground, he survived.

The shinobi of the five great ninja villages weren't so lucky.

Kage-level powerhouses like the Third Hokage, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and the Fourth Mizukage had their own means. Though disheveled by the shockwave, they were outside the core and thus unharmed.

Most jonin sustained injuries but largely survived.

Chunin and genin, however, were in dire straits. Like Sasuke and Neji, most were unprepared when the shockwave hit, leaving them no time to adjust or defend.

Some were injured by debris midair, others died from high falls, and some were killed outright by the intense shockwave!

The carnage was indescribable!

In the core area.

Aside from Nagato and Konan standing alone, everything around them was razed to a barren flatland.

Cough, cough…

Nagato began coughing violently.

Konan asked with concern, "Nagato, can you hold on?"

"I'm fine!"

Nagato shook his head.

In his current physical state, using 'Super Shinra Tensei' was indeed a strain, but he had no choice.

The 'Infinite Castle' gave the mysterious person an absolute home-field advantage. Having witnessed Shinji's group besieging the mysterious person, Nagato judged that continuing to fight in the 'Infinite Castle' would make defeating the mysterious person impossible.

Thus, he had to destroy the mysterious person's advantage first!

A few miles from Nagato, in a hollow, a patch of bloodstains lay scattered—the remains of the mysterious person who had used his 'Blood Demon Art.'

Soon, the blood seeping into the soil seemed to come alive, slowly rising and forming a vast blood cascade.

In his 'Blood Demon Art' state, the mysterious person was immune to most physical damage. Though he had been flung and slammed into the earth, it merely consumed more of his flesh power.

Then, the blood cascade surged into the sky, filling the heavens!

For a moment, all survivors, including Nagato, looked up, their faces etched with horror!

Boom!

At that moment, a meteor plummeted from the sky, crashing straight toward the battlefield!