The Smoke-filled Konoha

To be honest, both Ōnoki and Sarutobi Hizuren had overestimated Ryujin's strength. Ryujin was far from being as powerful as they had imagined.

Facing Ōnoki now, Ryujin really didn't have much confidence in suppressing him.

Let's set aside the Six Paths' abilities for now and concentrate on Ryujin's powerful move, "Chibaku Tensei". Ōnoki easily countered it using Dust Release.

Keep in mind that Debilitating Chibaku Tensei is not invincible.

During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Uchiha Itachi, Uzumaki Naruto, and Killer Bee teamed up to break Pain's "Chibaku Tensei".

Given the vast difference in strength between Ryujin and Ōnoki, it wouldn't be difficult for Ōnoki to break the Chibaku Tensei.

As for the other Six Paths' abilities? They won't have a significant impact.

Take Deva Path, for example.

Though Deva Path's Shinra Tensei and Bansho Tenin seem invincible, they can be countered by powerful forces. After all, they are just forms of immense power, nothing more.

They can be restrained.

During the Infinite Tsukuyomi when Uchiha Madara successfully cast the Genjutsu, there was a scenario in Tsunade's illusion world where Six Paths of Pain attacked Konoha.

At that time, Naruto in his Nine-Tails chakra mode fought Deva Path. When Deva Path used Almighty Push against Naruto, he was not only unable to repel him but was also blown away by Naruto's tremendous force.

Later, when Naruto combined the chakra of the two halves of Kurama, he didn't even need to enter the Nine-Tails mode to break Deva Path's Almighty Push!

Although this was all part of Tsunade's illusion and didn't happen in reality, it still follows the logic of the ninja system.

The illusion in the Infinite Tsukuyomi only altered the course of events and the identities of some characters, but the power system remained the same.

This can serve as a reference.

In summary, no matter how formidable or impressive the techniques are, when facing an enemy much stronger than oneself, one will end up on their knees.

The reason Ōnoki is suffering such a big setback in Ryujin's hands is twofold. Firstly, Ryujin's missile attacks caught him off guard. Secondly, Ōnoki is in the air, making it difficult for him to use some defensive ninjutsu.

If they were fighting on the ground, Ōnoki could easily block Ryujin's missile attacks with simple Earth Release defenses.

However, once Ōnoki is airborne, most of the enemy's attacks become ineffective.

Ryujin has methods to engage in aerial combat, and that's also his forte.

"Summoning Technique"

After a brief confrontation between Sarutobi Hizuren and Ōnoki, without wasting any words, Sarutobi Hizuren promptly bit his finger and slammed it onto the ground.

A circle of patterns spread out.

With a bang, blue smoke emerged, and Enma appeared in front of Sarutobi Hizuren.

Enma's eyes fixed upon Ōnoki.

"You are... Ōnoki?" Enma's pupils slightly changed.

He knew the strength of Ōnoki. Without waiting for Sarutobi Hizuren to say more, Enma directly transformed into his Adamantine Staff and flew into Sarutobi Hizuren's hands.

Sarutobi Hizuren tightly gripped the Adamantine Staff and thrust it towards Ōnoki in the sky.

The Adamantine Staff instantly elongated, reaching Ōnoki in no time.

"Earth Release: Rock Fist Jutsu!"

Ōnoki quickly formed seals, and a large amount of earth surged out from his hands, instantly enveloping his right fist, forming an enormously exaggerated earthen fist gauntlet.

Then, Ōnoki swung that exaggerated fist with great force, heavily colliding with the Adamantine Staff.

Boom!

Amidst the flying debris, the Adamantine Staff was instantly bounced away.

"Earth Release: Enhanced Rock Jutsu!"

After that, Ōnoki used one hand to form seals, and the Adamantine Staff, which had been struck open, suddenly became much heavier, falling heavily to the ground with a loud clang.

Sarutobi Hizuren couldn't even hold on to it.

Whoosh!

At this moment, Ōnoki directly swung that huge fist from the sky, fiercely attacking Sarutobi Hizuren with the force of thunder.

Both sides then engaged in an extremely intense battle.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

At this time, in various parts of the village, there were also booming noises and chaos. Sarutobi Hizuren's face turned solemn, his brows furrowing.

It seemed that there was not just one enemy. Iwagakure was taking advantage of Konoha's weak defense to launch a full-scale invasion.

At this moment, Sarutobi Hizuren also understood that the supposed full-scale attack from the Land of Grass was all just a distraction!

"Leave this to me, you go support elsewhere!"

Sarutobi Hizuren called out to the surrounding ANBU members, "And find Orochimaru and Tsunade immediately!"

"Yes!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The ANBU members were decisive; after receiving the order from Sarutobi Hizuren, they used Body Flicker Technique and disappeared one by one.

Now, only Sarutobi Hizuren and Ōnoki remained on the scene.

Ōnoki's eyes flickered with determination. Now was his chance. As long as he captured or killed Sarutobi Hizuren before the reinforcements arrived, this operation would be a success.

However, was it really that easy to accomplish?

Although Sarutobi Hizuren was already old, he used to be the strongest Hokage in Konoha. He possessed all five chakra natures and a wide range of ninjutsu, enough to be called "The Professor".

Although Ōnoki appeared dismissive of Sarutobi Hizuren when they planned this attack in the Tsuchikage's office, he didn't dare to underestimate him in his heart.

As the battle between Konoha and Iwagakure unfolded, with Ōnoki and Sarutobi Hizuren clashing, the full-scale invasion had officially begun.

At this moment, Konoha was left unguarded, and all the significant forces were dispatched to the battlefield. Iwagakure had taken advantage of this opening.

Soon, the entire village was shrouded in smoke.

The situation was extremely unfavorable.

The ANBU and Konoha Guard were all engaged in fierce battles, and even Danzō Shimura had to mobilize the root's elite forces.

At first, Danzō had intended to cause some damage to the village, so that Sarutobi Hizuren and Minato Namikaze would be tainted with an indelible stain, making it easier for him to become the next Hokage.

But later, even Danzō couldn't sit idly by.

If he didn't intervene, Konoha might really be done for, and he'd end up with nothing.

"Damn it, why is this happening!"

As he watched the smoke-filled Konoha, Ryujin couldn't help but feel bitter. He had thought that guarding Konoha would be an easy task, but who would have thought that the enemy would directly attack?

Fortunately, Ryujin now possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique. Facing the other invading Jonin and Chunin, he remained calm and composed, handling them with ease.

In theory, Ryujin should have been with the other Konoha Guard members evacuating civilians. But he didn't do that.

After all, this was an extremely rare opportunity for him to improve his combat abilities!

To quickly grow stronger, real combat is always the most effective way. Ryujin didn't want to become one of those who only studied the Sharingan but couldn't use it effectively.

And now, they were not on the battlefield with massive forces pressuring them. Instead, they were scattered across the entire village, engaging in individual battles, which was perfect for honing his skills.

Moreover, with the Flying Thunder God Technique as his safety net, he had nothing to fear. The only weakness was the rapid chakra consumption, but he could make up for it by eating more soldier pills.

(End of Chapter 11)