Chapter 217: The Empty City Linked Stratagem – Cataclysmic Explosion
The Konoha shadow clones hurled themselves at the Suna shinobi with reckless abandon, heedless of life and death. The moment they drew close, they either voluntarily or forcibly dispelled the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
What remained, was a pile of ignited Explosive Tags.
"Hahaha—Die, die!!"
"You little Suna brats, embrace death!!"
"Perish in the blast!!"
"All of you, go to hell!!"
Faced with the sudden, frenzied counterattack from the Konoha shinobi, the Suna forces, who had been the pursuers just moments before, hesitated only briefly before charging in without fear.
Ninjutsu, kenjutsu, taijutsu, ninja tools, they unleashed every technique they had mastered.
But by the time they realized the truth, it was already too late.
"...We're finished."
When the Suna shinobi saw the Konoha clones vanish, leaving behind a cluster of ignited Explosive Tags, their minds went completely blank.
BOOM.
BOOM. BOOM.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Dozens upon dozens of Explosive Tags detonated simultaneously, wreaking havoc among the Suna troops rushing forward to surround the Konoha position.
Beyond those clones, several others had charged directly into clusters of Suna shinobi, leaving behind more stacks of tags.
Shadow clone suicide bombers, utterly deranged.
"AAAAHHHH!!"
"NO! AHHHH!!"
The screams echoed.
At the center of the fiery maelstrom, the shadow clone of Veigar, transformed into Hizashi Hyuga, stood calmly amid the carnage.
Blood and fire. Wails and explosions. The two forces fused into a gruesome symphony, and it made Veigar smirk.
Agonized screams thundered across the frontlines. And then, Veigar saw them.
Massive snakes rising in the distance.
"That's it? That's all?"
"Then feast your eyes upon the grandest firework display yet!"
Veigar's face contorted into a devil's grin.
"Stop him!"
"Don't panic!"
At that moment, Rasa, Chiyo, and Bunpuku finally arrived. The moment they appeared, they managed to save several Suna shinobi who were on the verge of being obliterated.
Bathed in the orange glow of raging flames, Rasa took in the charred remains and dismembered limbs littering the battlefield. His expression darkened to a stormy abyss.
And in his mind, only one thought remained:
"Damn it... It's a trap."
Over a thousand shadow clones. Each clone carried approximately three Explosive Tags.
Do the math, and you get three thousand tags detonating simultaneously.
By the time Rasa arrived, nearly half of the 3,000-strong Suna force was already dead or wounded.
POP. POP. POP...
Before his eyes, the shadow clones of Veigar and Minato dissipated, leaving only Veigar's clone, still in disguise as Hizashi Hyuga.
But then even that disguise was dropped, revealing Veigar's true face.
"Fourth Kazekage, what do you think of the little gift I prepared?" Veigar asked lightly, his tone casual, almost cheerful.
Rasa's face twisted in rage. "You… this was your doing?!"
He could tell, Veigar was yet another clone. But that didn't matter anymore.
"That's right," Veigar said, without the slightest attempt to hide it. "I planned all of this."
This was a victory he would not let go to waste, a massive contribution that he intended to use as leverage back in Konoha, especially when dealing with Hiruzen and Danzo.
Veigar welcomed the idea of Suna spreading word of his brilliance far and wide.
Rasa's eyes turned bloodshot.
"I'll kill you…"
He ground the words through clenched teeth.
Veigar merely grinned. "I'll be waiting. But did you really think this was the end?"
"Look around you."
Before Rasa could even turn, panicked screams erupted:
"SNAKES—GIANT SNAKES!!"
"WHAT DO WE DO?! AHHHH!!"
Rasa looked around, and saw them. Towering, monstrous serpents encircling them.
He shouted without hesitation: "Retreat! Everyone fall back—NOW!"
These were unmistakably the summoned beasts of Orochimaru, one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin.
And in that very instant, Veigar's clone initiated the final phase of the Empty City Linked Stratagem.
Cataclysmic Explosion.
Summoning Jutsu: Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags.
This jutsu, one of the two Veigar had received from Orochimaru, was an A-rank forbidden technique developed by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. A devastating, recursive chain of detonations.
Flick. Flick. Flick...
One after another, Explosive Tags were summoned into existence, appearing all around the panicked Suna shinobi.
"Detonate."
Veigar uttered a single word.
RUMBLE.
The simultaneous detonations erupted with overwhelming force, birthing a massive mushroom cloud that swallowed the battlefield. The earth-shaking roar drowned out every scream.
Truthfully, most of the Suna shinobi at the blast's center didn't even have time to scream before they were vaporized.
RUMBLE.
The explosion thundered on for thirty seconds before finally dissipating. At that moment, Veigar's shadow clone disintegrated as its chakra was spent, its memory streaming back to the original.
Was the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags powerful?
Absolutely.
But its cost, in chakra and in tags, was astronomical.
In just thirty seconds, Veigar had used fifty thousand Explosive Tags.
This was a jutsu only a wealthy madman could afford to use.
Had it not been for the war, and Orochimaru's full backing, Veigar would have never been able to summon that many. Without Orochimaru's support, a hundred tags would've already pushed his limits.
...
Kikyō Pass, Konoha Forward Command.
The moment the explosion erupted, Orochimaru knew Veigar had commenced the final phase.
"Tsunade, it's begun."
"How many Suna shinobi do you think just died?"
He licked his lips, serpentine eyes gleaming with icy malice.
"…No idea," Tsunade replied bluntly.
Her tone cut like a kunai, making Shikaku Nara, the chief strategist, stiffen and break into a cold sweat.
Tsunade's body was trembling slightly.
Orochimaru noticed immediately, she was reliving old nightmares.
He sighed.
There wasn't much he could do for her, not when it came to that deep-seated trauma.
Beyond Konoha's frontlines, every Konoha shinobi stared wide-eyed at the colossal mushroom cloud rising into the sky, the deafening roar shaking the heavens.
Not a single sound broke the silence.
"…Hizashi-senpai. I suggest we begin the retreat."
The plan was complete. As for how many Suna shinobi had perished, Veigar didn't care.
One thing was certain, it wasn't a small number.
"Ahhhh!!"
"…Oh…"
Hizashi snapped back to reality, his gaze falling on Veigar.
There was newfound respect in his eyes.
From this day forward, Veigar's status in Konoha would soar like a meteor.
He had become—
A hero of the Hidden Leaf.
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