The Allied Forces captured the first major town of this battle, though the process could hardly be called smooth.
Under the deathbed counterattack of those followers, the Sand ninjas leading the charge bore the vast majority of the casualties, losing over one hundred active combatants.
Moreover, this kind of loss was completely avoidable.
If Jiraiya had only discarded his ridiculous pity, stopped trying to wake them up, and used ninjutsu to slaughter all those civilian followers from the very beginning, such a disaster would never have occurred.
Consequently, when Kakashi and Might Guy arrived at the camp, they happened to hear an argument erupting inside the command post.
"Enough, Jiraiya! It is precisely because of your indecisiveness that we suffered such a massive loss!"
"I hope you remember that this is a war! People die!"
Baki roared at Jiraiya, his face flushed with rage, while Ebizo stood silently behind him. Clearly, Baki was representing Ebizo this time, embodying the will of all the Hidden Sand ninjas.
If Jiraiya had not turned the tide in time toward the end, the Sand ninjas might have already split from the Leaf in internal strife.
Jiraiya lowered his head, finding no real room to argue against the accusation.
Baki was right; this was a war.
Ten minutes later, Jiraiya silently walked out of the command post, running straight into Kakashi and Might Guy.
"Ah, it's Kakashi and Guy."
Jiraiya tried his best to act nonchalant, but the loneliness between his brows could not be hidden.
"Jiraiya-sempai, I understand your thoughts completely. Please don't blame yourself too much," Kakashi tried to comfort him.
Might Guy similarly flashed his bright white teeth, giving Jiraiya a big thumbs-up. "Jiraiya-sempai, you've already done well! Next, let us burn our youth fiercely and make the Jashin Religion feel the fiery wrath of our youth!"
Perhaps infected by Guy's optimism, Jiraiya forced a small smile. "That's true. You've come a long way, so go get some rest. Tomorrow, we must maintain our momentum and take down another town!"
To this, Might Guy slammed his fist against his chest. "Rest assured! I will definitely let the Jashin Religion witness the power of burning youth!"
Only Kakashi watched Jiraiya's departing back, lost in thought.
Subsequently, because of Jiraiya's faulty decision, the command authority was forced into Ebizo's hands.
The next day, under Ebizo's orders, the Allied Forces advanced by leaps and bounds, using the Sand ninjas who mastered the Monster Control Technique as the vanguard. They wiped out fifteen enemy strongholds and arrived at the gates of the second major town, Keepford.
This time, the Allied Forces learned their lesson. Instead of adopting a gentle approach like Jiraiya, they struck with brutal force, using large-scale ninjutsu to obliterate all the town's defenses.
Following that, they immediately executed all the followers, leaving not a single one alive.
Even though these followers still launched a desperate counterattack before their deaths, such resistance proved futile in front of the prepared Allied Forces.
The casualties of this battle were strictly controlled under forty people.
This outcome made Jiraiya's operations in the previous battle look even more ridiculous.
Under Ebizo's leadership, the Allied Forces were unstoppable, and everything seemed to be going perfectly.
On the thirty-fifth day after the war began, the Allied Forces finally breached the fifth town and successfully arrived beneath the walls of the capital controlled by the Jashin Religion.
Inside the temple, three Divine Priests and two Divine Sons stood looking out, observing the situation outside the capital through Eagle Eye.
"Tsk, they've finally fought their way here, huh?"
Rie Uzumaki said in a lazy tone, her arms crossed over her chest.
Jugo observed the Allied Forces' situation with absolute seriousness, cautioning, "Even though everything is proceeding according to Lord Simu's plan, we still cannot let our guard down. We must absolutely avoid exposing any flaws."
Sasuke looked at the Allied Forces outside the capital with complete disdain, especially at Jiraiya standing right at the front.
"Those guys... in a few years when I return to the Leaf, I will leave all of them without a burial site!"
Faced with Sasuke's grand ambitions, Gaara rarely refrained from mocking him, because he shared a similar thought.
The only difference was that his target was the Hidden Sand instead of the Leaf.
"In short, everyone look sharp. After this battle, the Fourth Shinobi World War is about to begin."
Simu's voice suddenly rang out, causing everyone's spirits to jolt.
His gaze pierced through countless buildings, landing on the ninjas of both the Leaf and the Sand. With a playful smirk on his face, he muttered, "Don't disappoint me. Let's see who exactly can inherit the legacy of the Jashin Religion."
However, Sasuke, who was standing behind Simu, still had a face full of confusion.
Noticing Sasuke's bewilderment, Simu proactively asked, "Do you want to ask me why I am doing this?"
Sasuke nodded, voicing his confusion. "You clearly have the strength to wipe them out, so why do you need to fake a defeat?"
After spending this period of time together, Sasuke had gained a deeper understanding of Simu's power.
In his eyes, Simu—who possessed Magnet Style ninjutsu, Sealing Jutsu, and numerous secret techniques of the Jashin Religion—was fully capable of defeating the so-called Wind-Fire Allied Forces.
Yet he did not choose to do so, electing instead to hand over the Divine Kingdom he had built with his own hands. This was something Sasuke truly could not comprehend.
But Sasuke's intuition also told him that the man before him was definitely not a saint who would hand over benefits to others for nothing. He had to have a deeper meaning for doing this.
Faced with Sasuke's doubt, Simu merely smiled faintly, explaining without reservation, "What do you think would happen next if I led the Jashin Religion to defeat the Allied Forces of the Wind and Fire nations?"
"Of course it would shock the Shinobi World," Sasuke said almost without hesitation.
"And then?"
"And then?" Sasuke fell into thought.
Instead, Gaara picked up the thread. "And then, because the Jashin Religion inherently poses a massive threat, it would become a thorn in the side of the Five Great Shinobi Nations."
"To seize the vast amount of technology possessed by the Jashin Religion, the Five Great Shinobi Nations would even unite to completely wipe out the Jashin Religion and divide all its technology among themselves."
As the son of the Kazekage, Gaara was quite sensitive to these geopolitical dynamics.
Simu nodded in satisfaction. "Gaara is right."
Following that, his gaze turned back to Sasuke. "Then what if the Jashin Religion is wiped out in this battle?"
This time, Gaara did not speak, simply standing aside and quietly waiting for Sasuke's answer.
After contemplating for a moment, Sasuke finally spoke. "The Leaf or the Hidden Sand Village will obtain a massive amount of secret techniques from the Jashin Religion, thereby rapidly increasing their strength?"
Simu nodded slightly. "The Leaf is already the hegemon of the Shinobi World. Once its strength rises rapidly, it will inevitably draw the wariness of the other ninja villages. At that time, they will definitely strike ruthlessly before the Leaf completely rises."
"On the other hand, if the Sand obtains the secret techniques of the Jashin Religion, then guess what? Will the impoverished Land of Wind continue to stay confined within that vast desert?"
Hearing Simu's explanation, the eyes of everyone present lit up in quick succession.
Shana could not help but chime in, "Once the Hidden Sand Village desires more land and launches an assault on the Leaf, the other ninja villages won't be able to resist joining the fray. No matter what, the Fourth Shinobi World War will erupt with the conclusion of this battle!"
Simu lightly adjusted his glasses, a smile emerging at the corner of his mouth.
"Exactly. The premise is that we must play our parts well as qualified actors."
At this moment, outside the capital, nearly three thousand ninjas stood fully prepared.
Jiraiya and Ebizo stood at their respective positions in the vanguard. The moment they gave the order, all the ninjas would immediately launch their attack and begin the final showdown!
"Jiraiya, the time is about right," Ebizo spoke raspily, a trace of an inscrutable meaning surfacing in his gaze toward Jiraiya.
Jiraiya nodded. Looking at the once incredibly prosperous capital before him, mixed emotions filled his heart, and an unexplainable sense of unease even welled up from somewhere inside.
But things had reached this point; there was no turning back.
"I know."
He responded to Ebizo, then bit his finger.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Three massive pillars of smoke instantly erupted across the battlefield as the three toad brothers from Mount Myoboku joined the fray once more!
"Bunta, let's go."
The one to initiate the attack was the supreme commander of this sector of the Allied Forces—Jiraiya!
Upon receiving Jiraiya's command, Gamabunta immediately spat out a vast amount of toad oil. Simultaneously, Jiraiya unleashed a Fire Style jutsu, forming an incomparably massive fireball that smashed directly into the capital's city walls.
"Fire Style: Toad Flame Bomb!"
The massive explosion acted like a signal to advance. More ninjas rapidly unleashed long-range ninjutsu, violently bombarding the city walls from all directions.
In just a few minutes, the thick walls were battered and riddled with holes.
This kind of Warring States Period fortification was simply not enough to hold up against supernatural forces like ninjas.
However, the Jashin Religion was not about to sit tightly and wait for death. A large number of flying manta rays quickly took off from the city, dropping a massive number of Paper Bombs onto the battlefield.
Fortunately, the Allied Forces were well prepared for this. The Earth Style ninjas immediately executed their jutsu, raising row after row of defensive walls to block the intense explosions outside.
Taking advantage of this window, the remaining ninjas swiftly charged into the breaches in the city walls.
"For Lord Jashin!"
This roar echoed from the highest point of the temple.
In the next second, the Jashin followers who were cooking, sleeping, or going about their daily routines suddenly went mad.
"For Lord Jashin!"
"Those who violate the Divine Kingdom must die!"
Frantic roars echoed behind the shattered walls as tens of thousands of followers inside the capital all transformed into various monsters. They overturned everything and smashed through structures, surging toward the Allied Forces like a tsunami.
"The number of monsters is a bit ridiculous."
Kakashi immediately pulled down his forehead protector, revealing the Sharingan left to him by his close friend.
The number of monsters before them was easily four times that of the Allied Forces; describing it as an overwhelming wave was no exaggeration whatsoever.
Furthermore, the strength of these monsters was uneven. Most were at the Genin or Chunin level, but a tiny fraction could reach Special Jonin, or even Elite Jonin!
In this battle, Kakashi's mission was to locate these stronger monsters and assassinate them, preventing them from causing too many casualties among the Allied ninjas.
Executing this mission alongside him was Might Guy at his side.
"No matter how many enemies there are, I will use my scorching youth to burn them to ashes, ahhhhh!!!"
Might Guy yelled at the top of his lungs while opening the Eight Inner Gates, charging in with his nunchucks swinging.
"Gate of View, Open!"
Since he had not encountered an overly powerful enemy yet, Might Guy temporarily chose the Gate of View, which was less damaging to the body.
Even so, his speed was elevated to a level that was difficult for the naked eye of an ordinary person to discern.
Like a ghost, he abruptly appeared in front of a monster, snapping his nunchucks forward and directly blasting the monster's head apart.
Might Guy fought with growing frenzy, embedding himself deep within the enemy ranks within moments.
Seeing this, Kakashi could only curse internally before quickly following to back him up.
He dodged the attacks of the surrounding monsters while constantly using his Sharingan to scan for the high-strength targets.
He had no choice; his chakra reserves were quite limited, and he could not afford to squander his youth recklessly like Might Guy.
Soon, he spotted a six-meter-tall monster rampaging across the battlefield.
Its massive size granted it terrifying strength. It wielded a thick iron club, swinging it to shatter an Earth Style jutsu that was thrown its way.
Subsequently, its massive body leaped into the air and slammed heavily in front of the casting ninja. With one strike of its club, the ninja was instantly turned into a bloody paste.
"Am I a step too late?"
Kakashi muttered with a trace of regret, but such occurrences were all too normal on a chaotic battlefield.
Therefore, he did not dwell on it and quickly formed hand signs.
"Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!"
The ground beneath the monster's feet instantly turned into sludge, the thick yellow mud firmly trapping its legs.
Kakashi seized the opportunity to appear behind the back of its head, channeling Lightning Style chakra into the kunai in his hand. With a dazzling flash of lightning, he drove it straight through the monster's skull.
"There's another one."
Kakashi immediately spun around toward another direction, where a spider-like monster was freely slaughtering Allied ninjas.
Just as he prepared to use the Body Flicker Jutsu to rush over, a sudden sense of crisis welled up in his heart.
The Sharingan in his eye socket spun rapidly, and he swiftly leaped away from his position.
In the next fraction of a second, a terrifying beam of light compressed from a massive amount of chakra obliterated the building he had just been standing on into dust!
Kakashi locked his gaze onto the direction from which the chakra cannon originated. A man with orange hair stood there, quietly watching him.
"Your opponent is me, Leaf's Copy Ninja Kakashi."
Kakashi's expression grew serious. According to the intelligence provided by Jiraiya, the guy in front of him should be one of the Three Great Priests of the Jashin Religion—the War Priest.
"This is troublesome. Running into such a tough character right off the bat... looks like I'll have to take you down as fast as possible."
Kakashi assumed a combat stance. After all, every second he wasted could lead to the death of another comrade.
Jugo smiled faintly, his body beginning to expand. "Then I suppose I need to get serious as well."
Kakashi, after all, was a target that Lord Simu placed great importance on.