Chapter 464: Uchiha Madara Steps onto the Battlefield
"Things have changed."
At Konoha's main camp, Shikaku's expression was grim.
His Shadow Clone had gone to support Iwagakure, but it had quickly dispersed, bringing back shocking information.
The ninja attacking Iwagakure, who called themselves ninja from the Land of Flame, all had a strange, large insect inside their heads. This intelligence had been detected by Konoha's Hyuga Clan ninja, so it was absolutely accurate.
However, that was not the information that made Shikaku's face so grim.
After all, so what if all the ninja from the Land of Flame had those insects?
There were plenty of ninja in the Shinobi World who specialized in insects.
Konoha's Aburame Clan, for example, were masters of insects. In fact, the Hyuga Clan often disliked using their Byakugan to look at members of the Aburame Clan.
Because it was very easy to feel nauseous and lose one's appetite.
Although Shikaku did not know the exact situation with those insects, compared to another piece of intelligence, that one was insignificant.
"Kumogakure has also been attacked. Two mushroom clouds rose over there, and the battle is extremely fierce. Even from Iwagakure's ninja encampment, we can hear the roaring sounds from that direction."
Shikaku pinched the space between his brows.
Although he had guessed before that Orochimaru's actions might be a feint, he had not expected the true target to be Kumogakure's ninja.
This left Shikaku somewhat puzzled.
Logically speaking, should the target not be Sunagakure, the weakest of the villages?
But Konoha had not found any trace of Sunagakure's ninja, so Shikaku did not know where they were.
He had originally planned to support Sunagakure when Orochimaru and his group attacked them.
But now it seemed Sunagakure did not even need support.
Kumogakure was already struggling.
The Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Yugito, was already rushing back under Darui's lead.
Although helping Kumogakure had been Darui's decision, with his own village under attack, Darui naturally could not continue helping Iwagakure for the sake of future cooperation.
That would be foolish.
Now, it was Konoha's turn to make a choice.
"Forget Iwagakure. I feel like I can hear the commotion from Kumogakure even sitting here."
Inoichi sighed.
The direction of this war was hard for him to understand.
This war was different from all previous wars.
According to intelligence, all the ninja from the Land of Flame possessed the Uchiha Clan's Mangekyo Sharingan.
They had fought Iwagakure's ninja until the latter could barely retaliate.
Only a few powerful Iwagakure jonin could cope, and the Five-Tails showed no signs of activity either. It had not even released a Tailed Beast Ball.
This made Inoichi think of the day the Fourth Hokage died.
At that time, the Nine-Tails' eyes had also looked similar.
So, could the Mangekyo Sharingan deal with Tailed Beasts?
Then what was the point of Konoha going to such lengths to isolate the Uchiha Clan and drive them out?
Was that not weakening their own combat power?
And Konoha's higher-ups all knew that the Uchiha Clan's defection from Konoha had a lot to do with Kenichi.
Now that Kenichi had become the ruler of the Land of Flame, where would the Uchiha Clan's ninja be?
When would those Uchiha emerge?
"So what do we do?"
Inoichi looked at his old friend.
Lady Tsunade was not present, and according to the war plan she had set, all of Konoha's decisions were to be made by Shikaku.
Even the Konoha Elder Council had no objections to this.
Shikaku was famous for his intelligence, one of Konoha's best strategists. His decisions rarely led to major mistakes, and Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane also knew that.
"Send ten ninja squads to support Kumogakure. At the same time, expand the alert perimeter. We need to monitor the Uchiha Clan's movements."
Shikaku narrowed his eyes.
He always felt that Orochimaru's plan would not be so simple.
Attacking Iwagakure to attract the attention of the other two Ninja Villages?
It was not impossible.
But it was too early.
Orochimaru had attacked Kumogakure too early.
They could have intensified the assault on Iwagakure, which would have drawn more of Kumogakure and Konoha's forces.
Then, a surprise attack on Kumogakure would have been even more effective.
Unless Orochimaru felt that it was completely unnecessary.
Unless merely attracting their attention was enough for him to conquer Kumogakure.
But Kumogakure had Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails.
How could Orochimaru be so confident?
Darui did not care what Orochimaru was thinking.
He was now frantically rushing toward Kumogakure's main camp with Yugito.
However, along the way, after seeing those strange things streaking across the sky, Darui had a new idea.
"Come on. Let's go over there."
Darui's eyes were extremely sharp.
He no longer had his usual lazy demeanor.
"Why?"
Yugito looked at Darui in confusion.
The other Kumogakure ninja beside them remained silent. Their status was not equal to Darui's, and only Yugito could ask this question.
"Going back there now is useless. We need to deal with whoever launched the attack first. That's the only way to lift the siege."
Darui explained to Yugito.
Yugito did not ask any more questions and followed Darui, rushing toward the place where they had seen those strange weapons flying from.
But when they arrived, the surrounding forest was completely silent.
There was no sound at all.
Darui looked at the grass and the indentations left on the ground, then fell silent.
They were too late.
The attack had stopped.
Those people had already retreated, whether because they had finished their assault or because they had detected Darui and the others approaching.
But now was not the time to think about those questions.
Darui led Yugito and the others back toward Kumogakure's base.
The closer they got, the heavier Darui's heart became.
There were severed limbs everywhere.
Not a single living person.
When he reached the edge, Darui's pupils suddenly constricted.
He quietly looked at the blackened land before him. For a moment, he could not even recognize whether this was the place where they had once camped.
"My God..."
Someone could not help but exclaim.
Darui clenched his fists.
The main camp before them had a height difference of more than twenty centimeters compared to the soil they were standing on.
And the difference became even more obvious toward the center.
The land here was black.
Not a single weed could be seen.
A large amount of shattered flesh was scattered across the entire battlefield.
Darui saw Kumogakure forehead protectors among the remains.
The entire camp was uneven, and at the center of it, a giant figure stood there.
The Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
Darui quickly rushed over with Yugito and the others.
"It hurts so much!"
Gyuki let out an earth-shaking roar.
It now felt as though it had escaped from hell.
Just a moment ago, those attacks had continuously struck its body.
Although they were not especially painful at first, they were relentless.
Gyuki's body was not strong enough to be completely impervious to damage, so wounds appeared.
Then those wounds were continuously torn open, pierced, and bombed.
Coupled with the explosions of the two fused thermobaric bombs, Gyuki's body was now missing a small portion, and five of its eight tails had been completely severed.
The feeling of its wounds being continuously assaulted almost drove Gyuki mad with hatred.
If Killer Bee had not wanted to protect Kumogakure's ninja, Gyuki would have long since rushed over and killed those who had launched those strange weapons.
"Roar!"
Seeing the blurry figures rushing over from the distance, Gyuki instinctively prepared to unleash a Tailed Beast Ball.
But before it could begin its attack, Killer Bee stopped it.
Killer Bee clearly saw that the ones approaching were Yugito and Darui.
Killer Bee's heart was filled with sorrow.
He was an optimistic person, though a little eccentric, but deep down, he cared about his village.
However, he had never expected that after his brother left to fight, he would not even be able to protect the village's ninja.
Countless ninja had been torn apart by artillery shells right in front of him, blasted into fragments.
It was extremely difficult to piece together even a complete corpse.
He could only search for intact bodies among the ninja he had desperately protected.
Killer Bee even saw some ninja instantly charred black by the high temperature.
The hellish scene made Killer Bee feel breathless, and the other Kumogakure ninja felt the same.
The thermobaric explosions had caused countless amounts of oxygen to be drawn away instantly.
If this had not happened outdoors, many ninja would likely have suffocated to death.
Darui and Killer Bee met.
The surviving ninja also emerged from the Eight-Tails' protection.
They looked at one another.
Then they all fell silent.
Orochimaru, however, did not care about their silence.
Orochimaru was beaming with joy.
"Good. Very good. Kumogakure has been crippled, so next, Konoha shouldn't be able to sit still, right?"
Orochimaru stood up.
The war had now entered its final stage.
Kumogakure had been crippled.
This new method of war developed by his student could indeed be said to have changed the entire landscape of the Shinobi World's wars.
At least in previous wars, ninja hardly cared whether there were enemies too far away.
But now, Orochimaru felt that these people should remember this lesson firmly.
However.
"You don't have a chance now..."
Orochimaru gazed into the distance, his eyes far away.
His student was going to unify the Shinobi World.
That was even crazier than Orochimaru's own dream.
But the craziest part was that his student was already doing it.
"Damn that bastard! Damn him!"
In the Land of Flame, Obito ran with a piece of paper in his hand, his face dark with frustration.
This was the fourth place he had run to.
Each place had some of Rin's clothing, along with a new note.
Obito could now confirm that Kenichi was definitely messing with him.
Otherwise, there was no reason to torment him like this.
But Obito did not know where Rin was, so he could only keep running like this. It made him feel like a dog chasing a bone.
There was a trace of resentment in Obito's heart, but that feeling only grew stronger.
Kenichi, that bastard, must know him.
He knew Obito's identity.
That was why he was targeting him so precisely.
Otherwise, it made no sense.
There was no explanation for why he would do this.
Looking at the note in his hand, Obito continued sprinting.
He had originally thought about giving up when he reached the previous location.
After all, who knew whether Kenichi was simply toying with him?
But this time, the personal clothing placed nearby belonged to Rin...
Ahem.
Obito was too embarrassed to carry that item openly, but he still put it in a bag and took it with him.
There was even a bent hair on it, making Obito tremble with anger.
Right now, he only wanted to kill the person who had taken off that personal clothing.
"What are you doing?"
A voice with barely any emotional fluctuation made Obito suddenly stiffen.
He froze in place, a drop of cold sweat trickling down his forehead.
"Running around here with my war fan? Like a dog on a leash."
The person walked over.
Wild black hair hung naturally around him, and cold eyes fixed themselves on Obito.
Even though Madara did nothing, Obito felt as if his heart had stopped in that instant.
The air fell silent.
Obito swallowed, his hands clenched tightly.
If he had not removed the cursed seal from his body, he would not have cared.
He could have greeted Madara with a smile.
But he had already removed that cursed seal.
Madara stood before Obito.
He calmly extended his hand.
Obito looked at those Edo Tensei hands, struggling internally.
But in the end, he took the war fan from behind his back and handed it to Madara with both hands.
Madara took it without even glancing at Obito.
Then he turned and left.
This made Obito feel a strange sense of humiliation.
If Madara had attacked him, Obito might have felt better.
But this attitude of treating him like an ant was truly...
Even so, Obito inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
Madara's strength was beyond doubt.
If he could avoid becoming Madara's enemy, that would naturally be best.
And although Madara despised him, as long as Obito could be with Rin, that was enough.
Thinking of this, Obito ran even faster.
His steps became lighter, as if he could fly at any moment.
Madara, however, only glanced coldly at Obito before leaving.
He had retrieved his war fan.
His current body allowed him to exert sixty to seventy percent of his strength from when he was alive.
That was enough.
Madara's heart was somewhat fervent.
He wanted to see what kind of strength this new-generation powerhouse possessed.
The man who made Obito fearful.
The man whose current recall Black Zetsu had not opposed.
"Heh heh... Don't disappoint me, Amamiya Kenichi."
Madara let out a joyful laugh.
That cold heart, which had not pounded intensely since Hashirama's death, seemed to burn again at this moment.
Uchiha Madara stepped onto the battlefield.
.....
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