"Damn it! How could this happen?"
"How could Konoha achieve this so quickly? Since when did they dare to wage war on all fronts?"
Upon hearing the news, Black Zetsu was utterly stunned. He had been assisting Madara Uchiha step by step in advancing their plan, but now, the entire Ninja World, except for the Hidden Mist Village where they were located, had been unified by Konoha.
This drove Black Zetsu nearly insane. His original plan was to gradually weaken the strength of each village, incite the Great Ninja War, revive Madara Uchiha, and ultimately resurrect his mother, Kaguya. But now, with the Ninja World on the verge of unification, the idea of inciting a major war had become a delusion. How could the Hidden Mist Village alone possibly stand against the entire Ninja World?
"You all continue to gather important information here! I must return to the graveyard! I hope I can still find Madara!"
At this point, Black Zetsu could no longer adhere to the original plan. The situation had already deviated far from expectations, and he had to find Madara as soon as possible to discuss countermeasures. He could only hope that the old man still had the strength to ignite the flames of war; otherwise, everything would be lost.
Black Zetsu hurriedly made his way to the graveyard, leaving "Madara Uchiha" behind, bewildered and at a loss. He was determined to take revenge on Konoha, but with the Ninja World on the brink of unification, his plans had become meaningless.
"Damn it! Damn it! Dam it!"
"Why has it come to this? What exactly happened?"
But at this moment, he had no other choice. He could only wait for Black Zetsu to return and see what the new plan would be.
Meanwhile, Konoha had already initiated the integration plan for the Land of Earth. With the full cooperation of Onoki and the ninjas of Iwagakure, the integration process proceeded smoothly.
"Hahaha, I never expected you, stubborn old man, to agree to the merger. This is truly surprising!"
Seeing that Iwagakure had also been incorporated into Konoha, Tsunade looked at Onoki, who was munching on dango in front of her, and said with a smile.
Chiyo gazed at Onoki, her heart filled with mixed emotions. Onoki angrily rolled his eyes but continued eating the dango without pause.
After a moment, Chiyo spoke up, "If you could lead the Sand Hidden Village to merge, why couldn't I? Besides, this old man has witnessed scenes he has never seen before! Perhaps this is true peace."
After personally witnessing Konoha's prosperity, Chiyo and Onoki became increasingly convinced that Aoki was the one who could bring peace to the Ninja World.
With the successful integration of the Land of Earth and all arrangements in place, Aoki prepared to announce a new order to everyone.
Early the next morning, everyone gathered in the square in front of the Hokage Building. The ninjas from the Sand Hidden Village, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure had all changed into Konoha's uniforms. Former enemies had now become one family.
As time passed, the square gradually filled to capacity, with everyone eagerly awaiting the announcement. On the roof of the Hokage Building, high-ranking officials such as Rasa, Chiyo, Onoki, Minato, and the Three Legendary Sannin gathered, quietly waiting for Aoki to appear and announce the new order.
Soon, Aoki appeared on the roof, and the square erupted into thunderous cheers.
"Hokage-sama!"
"Aoki-sama, we love you!"
The cheers soared into the sky. Aoki raised his hand to signal for silence, and the crowd gradually quieted down.
"Everyone—"
"Today, I hereby announce an order!"
"From this day forth, this continent will no longer have separate, independent nations like Fire, Wind, Earth, and Lightning."
"It will have a brand new, unified national name!"
"That's right! It is Konoha!"
"And all of you! From now on, you are all part of Konoha!"
Aoki had completely transformed Konoha into a new, unified nation. It was no longer just a Hidden Village within the Land of Fire, but a true nation in every sense. The crowd erupted in cheers once more, for from this moment on, there were no other countries in the world. Everyone was family under Konoha, united within this truly unified nation.
Amidst the cheers, Aoki smiled and raised his hand again, signaling for everyone to quiet down.
"But the Ninja World has not yet achieved true unification!"
"Therefore!"
"All divisions, heed the order! Allocate supplies! Mobilize the entire army!"
"Tomorrow, the great army marches! We will conquer the Land of Water!"
"Let us bring true peace to the Ninja World!"
Aoki's words echoed across the square, and the ninjas present were all filled with fervor. This was a battle for the true peace of the Ninja World—a noble and sacred mission that ignited a passionate fire in everyone's hearts.
"For peace!"
"Konoha! Konoha!"
A tsunami of cheers erupted, and Aoki concluded his speech with satisfaction. He looked back to see Rasa, Onoki, and others also brimming with excitement.
"Hokage-sama, please let our Wind Division serve as the vanguard this time!"
"No, Hokage-sama! Our Land of Earth has just been incorporated into Konoha; it should be us who take the lead!"
"Hokage-sama, this final battle for unification must be entrusted to our Fire Division!"
Seeing everyone's eagerness to volunteer, Aoki understood their resolve. This campaign was the key to bringing true peace to the Ninja World. The significance of this moment would be recorded in history, and none of them wanted to miss it.
"Alright, alright, no need to argue!"
"We will divide our forces and attack from all sides! We will take the Land of Water in one fell swoop!"
Upon hearing Aoki's command, a determined light ignited in everyone's eyes.
"As you command!"
At this moment, everyone understood that since they were united in purpose, they must give it their all.
While Konoha was busily preparing for war, deep in the mountains at the graveyard, Black Zetsu arrived in a state of despair. Seeing Madara Uchiha leaning lifelessly against the Outer Path Statue, his heart sank—he was too late.
"Everything is over..."
"What should I do... What on earth should I do..."
Black Zetsu had witnessed Madara Uchiha's final actions and knew he was at the end of his rope. But with the Ninja World's situation changing so drastically, their plans could no longer proceed. He could only cling to the hope that Madara Uchiha was still alive.
Just as he was weeping and lamenting, that lifeless body slowly opened its eyes.
Madara Uchiha looked calmly at Black Zetsu.
"I told you to continue advancing the plan. Why have you returned so soon?"
Hearing Madara's voice, Black Zetsu looked up in surprise—Madara Uchiha was still alive!
Snapping back to reality, Black Zetsu hurriedly presented the recent intelligence he had gathered about the Ninja World to Madara.
"Please look at this quickly! Our plan is about to be completely ruined! What should we do now?"
Madara looked at the intelligence, and his calm expression suddenly changed. He gazed gravely at Black Zetsu, then looked down at the intelligence in his hands, his face filled with disbelief.
"Are you certain this intelligence is accurate? Has Konoha's strength truly grown to such an extent?"
At this moment, Madara could no longer sit still. His plan for the Infinite Tsukuyomi seemed to have already fallen apart. The Ninja World was rapidly moving toward unification, Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, was now under Konoha's protection, and the Land of Water was about to be incorporated into the unified territory.
With his current physical condition, along with the younger generation in his clan, capturing the Nine Tailed Beasts had become as difficult as climbing to the heavens. All his plans seemed to have turned to dust.
"Enough! In the end, plans can't keep up with changes!"
"Very well! From now on, I entrust my will to you! Additionally, after my death, prepare a more perfect body for me! One capable of bearing the power of the Rinnegan."
"If you cannot persuade Nagato to revive me using the Rinnegan, then use Tobirama's Edo Tensei."
Madara Uchiha spoke slowly, while Black Zetsu listened intently, committing each of Madara's instructions to memory. At the same time, he ordered White Zetsu to steal from the graves of powerful deceased ninjas.
"Understood!"
"The plan has changed; we need to make adjustments!"