138. Let Konoha feel pain!

Outside the Hidden Leaf Village.

Kisame was absolutely ferocious, thrashing Gamaken, sealing Katsuyu, and tearing Manda apart with his bare hands. To single-handedly dismantle the summonings of the three great holy lands was nothing short of monstrous. The sight of him crushing Manda’s head underfoot and feasting on its flesh and blood left the Leaf ninja utterly stunned. Even the Nine-Tails, the most savage of the nine tailed beasts, could hardly be more terrifying than this.

Orochimaru’s throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, cold sweat trickling down his forehead. As the one who had signed the contract with Manda, he knew better than anyone the serpent’s cruelty and malice. Every time he summoned Manda, he did so with a sense of reverence, treading carefully to maintain their fragile pact. He never imagined that the giant snake, which was always eager to devour humans, would end up as nothing more than prey, butchered and eaten alive. For Orochimaru, the only silver lining was that he wouldn't have to go through the trouble of finding two hundred living sacrifices.

Beside him, Tsunade’s eyes widened, staring in horror at the massive black monster on the battlefield. Of all the Leaf ninja, she had the most contact with Kisame; they had worked on the same film set for months, living and breathing together, even training side-by-side. Now, she only hoped that the movie, *Shark of the Beach*, would never be released.

Fukasaku and Shima exchanged a glance, both seeing a glimmer of fear in the other’s eyes. As Sages of Mount Myoboku, they had lived for over eight hundred years, always looking down upon the ninja world from a position of superiority. Yet, for the first time, they felt the chilling scent of danger and death emanating from Kisame.

Not far behind the Sannin stood the second line of defense, formed by Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Anbu, and a vast number of Leaf ninja.

"What kind of monster are we facing..." an Anbu operative murmured, voicing the collective dread of everyone present. Initially, they had found the news of Kisame wiping out five thousand Leaf troops impossible to believe, but now, seeing his terrifying power with their own eyes, not a shred of doubt remained. A wave of fear rippled through the crowd; many were already cowed before the battle had even truly begun.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wore a grave expression, his grip tightening on the Adamantine Staff. He realized that this was a battle for the very survival of the Hidden Leaf. As the Third Hokage, he swore in his heart that he would not let the village perish on his watch; otherwise, how could he face the First and Second Hokage in the afterlife? To defeat Kisame, Hiruzen was prepared to pay any price.

In the distance, Obito Uchiha lurked in the shadows, observing the battlefield with a equally solemn expression. He had never expected Kisame’s true strength to reach such a level. For him, taking revenge on this lifelong rival in the short term had become virtually impossible. However, Obito had already learned the Six Paths techniques and the secrets of Yin-Yang Release from Madara. Once he followed Madara’s plan and obtained the true power of the Rinnegan, Kisame would no longer be a threat. With this thought, a cold sneer played on his lips, and he settled in to watch the show. He was delighted to see Kisame and the Leaf tearing each other apart—ideally, they would both suffer heavy losses or even destroy one another.

On the battlefield, Kisame took two large bites of snake meat to replenish the stamina he had expended, then stowed Manda’s carcass into the Box of Ultimate Bliss. Without its head, the giant snake was still nearly fifty meters long and weighed dozens of tons—a massive, high-quality protein reserve that would last him a long time. He would save it to savor later.

Then, Kisame looked toward the Sannin and grinned coldly before charging straight at them.

"He's coming!" Orochimaru and Tsunade’s expressions shifted instantly as they prepared for a desperate fight. Just then, they heard a voice from behind: "Leave this to me."

They turned to see Jiraiya finally open his eyes, having emerged from his absorption of natural energy into Sage Mode. Jiraiya’s hands and feet were now webbed like a frog’s, small nodules had appeared on his nose, and red markings framed his eyes, giving him the appearance of a "frog-man." On his shoulders, the two Sages, Fukasaku and Shima, sat with their hands pressed together, merged with Jiraiya as if they had grown from his body.

Sage Art: Amphibian Technique. This technique allowed Jiraiya to borrow the power of the two Sages, extending the duration of his Sage Mode and maximizing its potential.

"Boss, Ma, let's go!" As soon as Jiraiya finished speaking, he charged forward without hesitation to meet Kisame head-on.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.* Kisame spread his wings, launching countless black feathers that blanketed the sky, raining down upon Jiraiya. Jiraiya did not show weakness; he crouched low, his long, lion-like white mane hardening instantly and firing forward like a rainstorm, colliding violently with the barrage of black feathers.

Sage Art: Needle Jizo.

This was the fastest and widest-ranging of all Jiraiya’s techniques. Moreover, as he launched the hair needles at Kisame, the two Sages on his shoulders assisted, activating the roots of his hair. This allowed Jiraiya to fire an endless, limitless barrage of hair needles. In the fierce exchange, Jiraiya held the upper hand, his white needles suppressing the black feathers and forcing Kisame back.

Sage Mode was indeed formidable. Seeing this, many Leaf ninja were jubilant, finally seeing a hope for victory.

"Taste this." Kisame leaped backward, dodging the incoming needles, then took a deep breath and exhaled violently.

*Whoosh.* Like a tsunami, an endless torrent of water erupted from his mouth, containing thousands of shark-shaped chakra water bullets that swarmed toward Jiraiya and the Leaf ninja behind him.

Facing the roaring waves and the sharks, Jiraiya shouted, "Great Sages, use that technique!" The two Sages understood instantly. All three formed seals and exhaled in unison. Fukasaku unleashed Wind Style, Shima unleashed Fire Style, and they combined it with Jiraiya’s toad oil. In that moment, the three elements fused into a massive, scorching wave of fire, surging forward.

Sage Art: Goemon.

This technique used wind and oil to push the power of Fire Style to the limit, theoretically capable of incinerating everything in its path.

*Hiss, hiss, hiss.* On the battlefield, the water and fire collided, instantly producing a vast amount of steam. Countless shark water bullets were consumed, vanishing into puffs of white smoke amidst a series of *pop-pop-pop* sounds. Jiraiya had suppressed Kisame once again, using Fire Style to hard-counter Water Style.

"Well done! Little Jiraiya, keep up the momentum and take this monster down in one go!" Fukasaku encouraged.

Jiraiya, filled with fighting spirit, rushed to Kisame in an instant, preparing to coordinate with the two Sages to perform the sealing jutsu of Mount Myoboku and subdue him. Kisame seemed to sense the danger; instead of engaging Jiraiya directly, he flapped his wings and shot into the sky with a *whoosh*.

Soon, Kisame was hovering high in the air, temporarily beyond Jiraiya’s reach.

"Kisame Hoshigaki, are you afraid?" Jiraiya, unable to reach him, shouted from the ground, attempting to goad him into coming back down.

"Yes, I'm terrified," Kisame cackled, his voice mocking and sinister. Then, his tone shifted. "However, Little Jiraiya, my transformation can be maintained indefinitely, but how long can your Sage Mode last? Three minutes? Five?"

Jiraiya’s expression darkened. He hadn't expected his opponent to be so well-versed in the weaknesses of Sage Mode.

"Hahaha!" Seeing Jiraiya glaring impotently from the ground, Kisame laughed even more wantonly. In truth, he wasn't genuinely afraid of Jiraiya. Even with the Sages assisting, Kisame was confident he could defeat him in a direct confrontation. However, the Leaf had more than just Jiraiya; there were many other experts lurking nearby. If he got bogged down, Kisame would easily be surrounded. Facing multiple opponents, he would be at a disadvantage, and if he were careless enough to be trapped by a powerful sealing or barrier jutsu, he would be finished. *Demonic Illusion: Toad Confrontation*, *Adamantine Sealing Chains*, *Dead Demon Consuming Seal*, *Four-Corner Sealing Barrier*—these techniques posed a massive threat to him.

Although Kisame wanted to wipe out the Leaf, he realized, regretfully, that his current strength was not yet enough to do so entirely. Therefore, he needed to change his strategy.

With that, he soared over Jiraiya and flew straight to the air above the village. He opened his mouth, brewing a sphere of energy.

"Oh no!" Seeing this, the Sannin and Hiruzen realized what he was doing, and their faces paled.

*Whoosh.* The sphere of destructive energy shot from Kisame’s mouth, hurtling toward the village below. As it was about to hit, that man stepped in. Minato Namikaze leaped into the air, holding a Flying Raijin kunai, and slashed a massive seal into the void, catching the energy ball like a giant web. Once again, he used his signature technique to teleport the sphere to a primeval forest dozens of kilometers away.

However, this attack was merely a test.

"Let the world know pain!" Floating at a height similar to Pain’s in the original tale, Kisame looked down at the Leaf and opened his mouth again, releasing all the energy he had accumulated from killing the five thousand ninja all at once.

*Whoosh!* A sphere flew from his mouth, expanding rapidly as it descended—from five meters, to ten, to twenty, until it reached nearly thirty. The destructive power within this ball far exceeded that of a Tailed Beast Bomb, enough to level the entire village.

*We can't let him succeed!* Minato was the first to act, leaping into the air again to intercept it with the Flying Raijin. But Kisame had already prepared a countermeasure.

*Snap.* With a flick of his fingers, the massive thirty-meter sphere shattered, instantly splitting into hundreds of smaller energy orbs.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.* Under Minato’s horrified gaze, these orbs rained down like falling flowers, streaking toward every corner of the village. Even with all his effort, Minato could only teleport a few of them away. On the ground, Hiruzen, the Sannin, and the other ninja launched a barrage of colorful jutsu, rising into the sky like fireworks.

*BOOM!* In the air, the descending orbs collided with the rising jutsu, triggering a series of violent explosions. The deafening roars and blinding flashes left people temporarily deaf and unable to see. Despite their desperate attempts to block them, dozens of orbs broke through the perimeter, falling like meteors into the village.

And so, amidst the thunderous crashes, the Leaf’s commercial district, hotels, newspaper headquarters, Ninja Academy, Jonin apartments, hospital, and even the ninja cemetery were bombarded. They were reduced to rubble. Except for the heavily fortified Hokage Building, almost nothing was spared. From above, the once-prosperous village looked as if it had been plowed, scarred and pitted. Thick smoke, raging fires, and ash billowed into the sky.

It was utterly destroyed.

For the Leaf, the only consolation was that all the villagers had been moved to underground shelters in advance, so there were few casualties. This was the first time the village had been attacked on its own soil in the decades since its founding, and the enemy had succeeded.

"Damn it!"

"The village is destroyed... how could this happen..."

On the ground, the Leaf ninja looked at the ruins of their home, their spirits shattered. What made them even more furious was that while the enemy who destroyed their home was right above them, they could only watch helplessly, unable to do a thing.

This was the importance of air superiority. Kisame had long realized a problem: in the history of ninja warfare, the major villages had always held a very weak concept of air superiority and attached little importance to it. Of course, the primary objective reason for this was that, across the ninja world, ninjas with flight capabilities were far too rare.

Ninjas who could fly often possessed exceptional combat power, meaning they could dominate the battlefield and seize the initiative. A classic example was Deidara’s invasion of the Hidden Sand Village to capture the One-Tail. Facing one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, Deidara dared to launch an aerial raid at night, riding his clay bird. The countless Sand ninja could only stand on the ground and sigh, unable to do anything about him. The only one who could stop him was Gaara, the Kazekage, who also possessed flight. But to protect his villagers, he was unable to focus on his own safety and was ultimately defeated. In the process, the Sand ninja could only watch helplessly as their Kazekage was carried away.

If Deidara had invaded the Leaf, flying over the village in the middle of the night to drop a giant bomb, even if the barrier detected him, it would have been too late. Kisame adopted Deidara’s tactical logic, turning himself into a human high-altitude bomber. The current Leaf had no ninjas capable of flight. Even if they did, they would be far from a match for Kisame in an aerial dogfight.

Therefore, in this war of retaliation against the Leaf, he had seized total initiative. Now, all that remained was to maximize his gains.

Kisame decided to propose negotiations to the Leaf.