"This is a little troublesome," Yagura muttered to himself.
In his mind, a smart man like Namikaze Kirito would never fail to guess what Iwagakure and Kumogakure wanted from the Hidden Mist.
If he already knows, then why didn't he keep sending them information?
After all, no one can guarantee they won't suddenly turn on them at the last moment.
But Namikaze Kirito didn't care at all, and that was exactly what made Yagura's thoughts waver so violently.
Does he really not care… or does he actually trust the Hidden Mist Village that much?
Terumi Mei rubbed her forehead as well. This really was a thorny problem—one misstep and they would be doomed.
"Why don't we just gamble?"
"Bet that Namikaze Kirito really can crush the entire ninja world!"
From those words alone, it was obvious Terumi Mei planned to place all their hopes on Namikaze Kirito. But not a single high-level official looked the least bit happy.
If they were the ones to make this decision, it would put them in a cruel dilemma.
Who would dare decide lightly? One wrong move, and they'd be remembered as sinners of the village.
"Mizukage-sama, are you really going to do this? Can't we remain neutral?"
An elderly advisor still couldn't give up and spoke up one last time.
"Neutral? Hah…"
Terumi Mei let out a cold sneer.
"Onoki brought up the chakra cannon just to remind me—our Hidden Mist Village is surrounded by the sea. If they fire the chakra cannon at us, it won't affect the rest of the ninja world at all.
"On the other hand, even though Namikaze Kirito didn't say anything outright, everyone knows he wants to unify the ninja world.
"No matter who wins this war, we won't be able to escape its effects."
Those words finally crushed the last of their wishful thinking. If they could only choose to aid one side, then Namikaze Kirito was, in truth, their best option.
First, he had helped them before. Second, even though Namikaze Kirito clearly had ambitions to dominate the ninja world, after the pounding they had already taken from him, none of them dared imagine resisting.
Yagura, when he was being controlled, had been a perfect Jinchūriki—and even then, they'd barely managed to break free of that nightmare.
Even the mastermind behind controlling Yagura had ended up being played in the palm of Namikaze Kirito's hand.
Although the Hidden Mist Village had grown stronger, that didn't mean they could defeat Namikaze Kirito.
Seeing everyone fall silent, Terumi Mei simply made the decision herself.
"Get ready to depart as soon as possible. I'll personally lead a delegation to Konoha and ask that guy face to face what exactly he intends to do!"
"Yes!"
——
In a cave near Iwagakure, surrounded by barren wasteland, the wind howled over empty rock. No one would come here.
Which made it the best kind of hiding place.
In front of Uchiha Obito stood Kisame, Deidara, Hidan, and the others.
From the moment Nagato decided to side with Namikaze Kirito, these renegades had no intention of being controlled by him anymore.
With the name of "Uchiha Madara" and the unique power of Kamui, it hadn't been difficult for Obito to gather this group of dangerous men.
Sarutobi Asuma stood in the shadows, head lowered, lost in thought.
After sweeping his gaze over everyone present, Obito's eyes finally stopped on Asuma. His deep voice rang through the cave.
"Asuma, how are the preparations for Impure World Reincarnation going?"
Hearing this, Sarutobi Asuma stepped forward and answered slowly.
"Thanks to everyone's help, we've secured the corpses and remains of many powerful ninja. They're all completely sealed now. The plan can be activated at any time."
"That's good."
Uchiha Obito nodded in satisfaction, then rose to his feet and looked out toward the mouth of the cave.
"Everyone, our current plan is to wait for this war to begin.
"Once the war breaks out, we'll fish in troubled waters and collect all the Tailed Beasts from every village. Then we can begin the Eye of the Moon Plan. A peaceful, ideal world of illusion will finally be opened by us."
At those words, everyone's expressions shifted in different ways, but clearly, they all accepted the plan. If they didn't, they wouldn't have gathered here in the first place.
"Kisame, I asked you to find Rin… Did you find her body?"
Years ago, Uchiha Obito had watched Nohara Rin die right in front of him, then be buried. But when he later heard Namikaze Kirito planned to resurrect Rin, he had immediately ordered Kisame to search for her remains.
"The corpse is already gone," Kisame replied.
"That bastard!"
Uchiha Obito slammed his fist into the mountain wall, rock cracking under the blow.
But he knew all too well that he couldn't move against Namikaze Kirito right now.
Even if he appeared in front of him, it would only end in another humiliating defeat.
Only after gathering all the Tailed Beasts and becoming the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki would he be able to completely crush Namikaze Kirito.
"The plan is ready to move into action. Deidara, keep sticking close to the Tsuchikage and report to me the moment anything happens."
"War, huh? Hmph! War should only start when I say it does!"
——
In these days, the entire ninja world was shrouded by the growing shadow of war.
As for the Fourth Ninja World War, no ordinary civilian wanted to see such a thing, because war meant only one thing—death.
The daimyō of the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning had already lodged protests with the Land of Fire.
But, of course, there was no reply.
Namikaze Kirito intended to unify the ninja world, and Konoha already belonged entirely to him.
There was no way he would allow himself to be bound by some daimyō's mansion.
In the background, the people of Gensokyo had already replaced the feudal lords of the Land of Wind, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Earth with their own.
Whatever Namikaze Kirito chose to do, they would obey.
Cloud Shinobi Village had mobilized its troops. This time, the army was led by Samui, and the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki, Killer Bee, marched with them.
Their main force had already advanced to a location very close to Konoha; in half a day, they would reach the village.
At the same time, Iwagakure had also begun its offensive. A large number of Rock shinobi had assembled in the former Land of Rain.
Both great villages were holding nothing back, pouring all their strength into this war.
They absolutely would not allow someone with ambitions to unify the entire ninja world to win this conflict.
The Jinchūriki of Iwagakure had also been sent to the front lines.
——
On Konoha's side—
Orochimaru and Jiraiya led a large force of ninja toward the Land of Rain, while Tsunade remained in the rear, responsible for treating the wounded.
On the front facing Cloud Shinobi Village, Konoha dispatched Uchiha Fugaku to lead Uchiha Itachi and a squad of Uchiha clan members.
An Uchiha Fugaku who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan was one of the best choices to counter a Jinchūriki.
Namikaze Kirito remained in Konoha, delegating overall command to his father.
He was still thinking about which battlefield he should personally appear on.
But for now, he couldn't leave. Terumi Mei was scheduled to arrive in Konoha within the next couple of days.
She had specifically requested an audience with Namikaze Kirito by name—unless the war situation became critical, he couldn't leave the village yet.
——
The Land of Rain.
This place had already become a ruin, and the forces of Iwagakure had marched here in full.
Every face in the army was tense and grim.
This time, the vanguard was led by Rōshi and Yugito Nii.
Rōshi was Iwagakure's Four-Tails Jinchūriki, and Yugito Nii was the Two-Tails Jinchūriki from Cloud Shinobi Village.
After all, they were operating close to Sunagakure's territory—if Sand Shinobi suddenly launched an attack and Konoha forces joined in, without powerful Jinchūriki holding the line, they could suffer disastrous losses.
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