CHAPTER 148: AFTERMATH AND RELIEF
Having fled to a safe distance, the Konoha forces watched as a sea of endless, silver-white lightning consumed the earth. The scale was beyond comprehension—not a jutsu, but a localized apocalypse. In an instant, everything within that blazing circle of divine wrath was swallowed, erased by the all-consuming light.
Every Konoha shinobi stood frozen, eyes wide with a shock so profound it bordered on religious awe. Was this a miracle? A divine punishment? Could ninjutsu, the art of chakra manipulation, truly command such heaven-shaking, earth-shattering power? This was not an attack on an army; it was the destruction of a city, the reshaping of geography.
Before them, within the ring of coursing electricity, there was only silence. A deafening, absolute quiet that followed the thunder's roar, more terrifying than any sound. High above, the residual lightning continued to arc backwards through the shredded clouds, stitching the wounded sky.
Then, under the horrified gaze of thousands, the very land gave way. The ground within the blast zone didn't just crack; it collapsed inwards, succumbing to forces beyond its endurance.
BOOM.
The sight was one of sublime, inexplicable terror—a testament to nature's power and the insignificance of mortal struggle. There was no blood. No gory mist. The purity of the white lightning allowed for no such vulgarity. It was a clean, absolute erasure. Decomposition into dust and ash, without struggle, without final cries. A battlefield transformed instantly into a mass grave.
But Kirin's fury did not end with the initial impact.
The earth-shattering force triggered a secondary cataclysm. A massive sandstorm, born from pulverized earth and superheated air, erupted from the epicenter. A rolling, choking wall of dust and debris surged outward in all directions, a final, scouring breath of the dead zone.
"EARTH RELEASE: EARTH-STYLE WALL!"
Jiraiya was the first to react, his hands slamming together. A massive earthen barrier erupted from the ground, a dam against the tidal wave of dust. Orochimaru, Tsunade, and every Konoha shinobi with even a modicum of earth-nature affinity followed suit. They had no time to outrun it. The storm moved with the speed of the explosion that birthed it. A linked chain of earth walls rose, forming a scarred, defensive crescent against the onslaught.
Compared to the Suna and Iwa forces who had been at the heart of the lightning sea, they were fortunate.
On the distant hilltop, Uchiha Madara threw back his head and laughed, a dry, rustling sound full of genuine, manic delight.
"HAHAHA! WHAT MAGNIFICENT FIREWORKS!"
"I haven't been so entertained in decades!"
Black Zetsu chuckled in agreement. "Truly a beautiful spectacle. They reaped what they sowed."
"To wield nature's own fury as a blade… a truly ingenious, audacious mind!" Madara's Rinnegan gleamed. "I wonder… did he survive his own masterpiece?"
In his final days, to witness such a thing… it made him oddly reluctant to fade. There was still amusement to be had in this world.
"Lord Madara," Black Zetsu ventured, "controlling lightning of that magnitude… it's a double-edged sword. The heavens are not discerning. Such a technique likely consumes the user as well. Rakshasa may have perished with his enemies."
"No," Madara said with sudden, absolute certainty. "He lives. I feel it." He had a premonition, a strange kinship with that distant, brutal will. Their paths would cross. They must cross.
As the dust storm settled, blown apart by returning winds, an eerie quiet descended. The massive energy draw had temporarily scoured the sky clean. The perpetual rain clouds over this part of the Land of Rain had been exhausted, burned away. Pale, weak sunlight filtered through for the first time in days, illuminating a landscape from a nightmare.
Konoha's earth walls lowered. Shinobi emerged, staring at the transformed world.
The battlefield was unrecognizable. A vast, glassy crater, still steaming, dominated the center. Radiating from it were concentric rings of shattered earth, fused sand, and scattered, unrecognizable debris. It was no longer a field of battle; it was a monument to annihilation.
The most surreal fact for the Konoha forces was their own casualty report: negligible.
The war had followed a bizarre, unprecedented script:
Genin deployment.
One Konoha genin (Ragnar) breaks ranks, provokes the entire enemy army.
Enemy jonin, enraged, focus entirely on that one target, bypassing the Konoha genin lines.
Konoha jonin mobilize to intervene, but are rendered spectators by Ragnar's subsequent displays.
Ragnar annihilates the enemy core with a technique of mythic scale.
War ends.
The Konoha military machine had been a bystander to its own victory.
"We… won," Hatake Sakumo finally breathed out, the tension leaving his shoulders in a long sigh. The reality settled upon him, heavy and incredible. One shinobi decided a war. This battle would echo through history. Ragnar's name would be known from the deepest desert to the highest mountain peak.
"Hah… to think it would end like this. We didn't even lift a finger," Jiraiya said, his voice a mix of awe and bewildered humor.
Orochimaru merely stared, his mind cataloging every detail of the devastation, every implication of the power displayed.
"RAGNAR!"
Tsunade's voice, raw with fear, cut through the stunned silence. She was already a blur, streaking across the broken ground towards the crater's edge, ignoring the residual heat, the jagged glass.
"Don't you dare be hurt!" she muttered to herself, a frantic prayer. He'd been fine last time, after a smaller Kirin. He had to be fine now.
"RAGNAR! ANSWER ME!"
Her eyes scanned the devastation desperately. Then she saw it—a smaller impact crater near the main one's rim. A figure lay within it, motionless.
Her heart stopped.
She scrambled to the edge and looked down.
Ragnar lay on his back, eyes closed. The upper half of his uniform was shredded to blackened rags. His torso and arms were a latticework of livid burns and lightning scars, angry red against his skin. Dust and soot coated his face and hair. He was utterly still.
The world seemed to tilt. A cold, black dread poured into Tsunade's veins.
"No… Ragnar…"
Her voice was a broken whisper. She half-slid, half-jumped into the pit, landing beside him on trembling legs. She reached out, her hands shaking violently, and gripped his shoulders.
"Ragnar! Wake up!" She shook him, her vision blurring with unshed tears. "Don't you do this! Don't you dare!"
The figure in her arms remained limp. The hope that had carried her here began to crumble into ash.
Then, one of Ragnar's eyes slit open. Then the other. He looked up at her tear-streaked, panicked face with an expression of profound annoyance and exhaustion.
"Tsunade," he croaked, his voice hoarse but clear. "What are you doing? I just fought a war. I'm trying to… take a nap."
"..."
Tsunade froze. The tears that had been about to fall hung suspended. The devastating grief transmuted in a heartbeat into a surge of pure, incandescent rage and overwhelming relief.
Her face cycled through a series of emotions too fast to name, finally settling on a furious scowl.
"YOU… YOU IDIOT!" she shrieked, her voice cracking. "YOU ABSOLUTE BASTARD! WHY WERE YOU PRETENDING TO BE DEAD?!"
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
Her fists, wrapped not in chakra but in pure, sisterly fury, began pounding on his chest in a rapid, rhythmic tattoo.
"OW! OW! HEY! I'M INJURED!" Ragnar protested, though the ghost of a smirk touched his lips as he feebly tried to shield himself. "THIS IS ASSAULT! I'M A WAR HERO!"
The sounds of her relieved, angry pummeling and his half-hearted complaints echoed strangely in the vast, silent crater—a tiny, absurd, and profoundly human drama played out on a stage of divine devastation.
(End of Chapter)
(End of Chapter)
✨If you're enjoying this story, consider supporting me on Patreon —
Patreon.com/TofuChan
💕Patreon members get early access to chapters, bonus content, and voting power on future ideas.💕
Every bit of support helps me write more and faster. Thank you so much for reading! 🥰
Bonus Chapter For Every 100 Power Stones
Lets hit the goal of 200 Patreon Members now for 5 Extra Chapters 💕