"A, is this... really okay?"
"What?"
A turned his head to the side, looking at Dodai.
Dodai was frowning.
As the Third Raikage's partner, he had experienced many things.
However.
This war was the most peculiar.
Someone from Uchiha Madara had taken away the Tailed Beast power from within Killer Bee and Yugito, leaving only a small amount to sustain their lives.
Now, the Hidden Cloud Village had no Tailed Beasts left.
A fell silent.
He looked at the distant sea, sighed, and said, "I don't know either, Dodai-senpai. As a ninja, I really want to participate in this war, but Father won't allow it..."
A frowned, recalling the Third Raikage's expression when he left, feeling a vague sense of unease.
He hesitated to speak, finally looking at Dodai.
"Senpai, did my father say anything to you before he left?"
"He just said that this time, he would try his best to end the Hidden Cloud Village's war and prevent it from getting bogged down in a new quagmire of conflict."
Dodai said, letting out a soft sigh. "Raikage-sama is right. Our Hidden Cloud Village has not yet recovered from the previous war and needs a longer period of rest."
"Rest, and then what?"
A frowned. "If we can't win this war, we will lose all our Tailed Beasts."
"This is also what I don't understand."
Dodai was silent.
The Two-Tails, the Eight-Tails.
This was the power the Hidden Cloud Village had painstakingly acquired, and now Uchiha Madara had taken it with just empty words, only giving some strange creatures in return.
The two were not at all an equal trade.
But strangely, the Third Raikage had agreed to the deal and handed over the two Tailed Beasts—
Even though the Eight-Tails only had a little power left.
The two talked, then fell into a period of silence, both sighing.
Dodai said in a low voice, "Perhaps he has ideas that we cannot comprehend."
"I just remembered something."
A was suddenly stunned.
He looked at Dodai.
"Father once said that if his generation loses, then we must seriously befriend Konoha, become their partners and allies, and never betray them again."
"This..."
Dodai was stunned, then his face became serious.
A sense of foreboding faintly grew in his heart.
The Third Raikage was very strong.
But the last two or three encounters had all proven that Konoha had already figured out how to deal with the Lightning Release Armor. It was hard to say for others, but...
Ryoho Kyohiko could definitely do it!
"Perhaps, Raikage-sama had already come to a realization before he left."
"What did you say?"
A was a bit dazed and worried just now, so he didn't hear what Dodai was saying.
Dodai stopped abruptly.
He was silent for a moment and said, "I mean, Raikage-sama has always taken the most difficult tasks upon himself. Perhaps he has already made arrangements."
"Yes, Father has always shouldered the hardest things, and after all these years, I still can't truly share his burden!"
A was very self-critical.
Dodai remained silent, not answering.
...
Land of Grass.
The Third Raikage's body was split in two, lying on the ground, his face still filled with disbelief and shock. His eyes stared fixedly ahead.
A very complicated expression.
His upper and lower body were completely separated, lying in a pool of blood, yet he was trampled over by a group of ninjas.
No matter how powerful he was, after death, he turned to dust, no longer cared for by anyone.
Because the war was not over yet.
A massive wave of ninjas swarmed towards the Land of Grass.
Jiraiya, Kakashi, Gamabunta, and the two great sages of Mount Myoboku used various ninjutsu to bombard and resist.
However, these enemies seemed endless. One batch would die, and another would emerge, as if they were respawning on a timer.
Kyohiko's gaze swept over the scene.
Suddenly, he felt a sense of crisis.
Perhaps—
This was not just one attack.
Creating wars in multiple regions simultaneously to keep me running ragged?
Kyohiko frowned.
He was well aware that the number of these White Zetsu was enormous.
One hundred thousand!
This number was far beyond what the ninjas of the Land of Grass could handle.
White Zetsu weren't strong, but that depended on who you compared them to.
The Hidden Grass Village...
Was not enough to stop them.
The Third Raikage was dead, the Third Tsuchikage had fled.
However.
The sense of crisis still lingered in his heart.
Because...
He had always understood that the greatest enemies were not in the Hidden Stone or Hidden Cloud, but Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Obito, and the most deeply hidden Black Zetsu!
Black Zetsu had already made a move.
So, what about Obito and Madara?
Where were they?
Perhaps they were with the Tailed Beasts, either trying to absorb and merge with them, or—
Preparing to launch an even grander attack.
Kyohiko body-flickered to Jiraiya's side.
"Sensei, I think we need to come up with a plan. The situation now is very dangerous."
Jiraiya was stunned for a second and was almost injured by a White Zetsu.
Fortunately, Kyohiko punched it away, its body shattering into several pieces from the blow.
Another White Zetsu was dead.
Jiraiya frowned and said, "What's wrong?"
"Something happened on Mount Myoboku. A special, undetectable life form controlled Nagato and took one of the Rinnegan."
Kyohiko replied.
"What?"
Jiraiya shouted in alarm, then swept his leg to repel all the ninjas.
He said in disbelief, "You're saying the Rinnegan was taken?"
"The Great Toad Sage was also affected. Of course, that's not the main point. The main point is—the Tailed Beasts are not here!"
Kyohiko voiced his inner worry.
Jiraiya's expression changed abruptly.
Below, Gamabunta suddenly roared, "What? What happened to the Great Toad Sage?"
"Don't worry, it's not in great danger."
Kyohiko understood Gamabunta's feelings.
After all.
Compared to them, the Great Toad Sage was the ancestor of the toad clan of Mount Myoboku. Their relationship was completely different.
Jiraiya cursed, "Damn Uchiha Madara!"
He also realized where the crisis lay.
Konoha!
Previously, Kyohiko had mentioned the idea of "uniting the nine tails," but at that time, no one paid it much mind, thinking that leaving Nagato on Mount Myoboku would be foolproof.
They never expected that something would happen to Nagato in the end!
Even if it was just one eye, it could greatly enhance Uchiha Madara's abilities.
What's more.
Now, there was also Uchiha Obito.
Jiraiya looked ahead and gritted his teeth, "Kyohiko, you can't stay here any longer. Hurry back to the village! Nagato needs you to look after him too!"
As he said this, he couldn't help but become agitated.
"Leave this to me!"
Compared to these White Zetsu, too many places needed Kyohiko.
Konoha might already be caught in the quagmire of war.
The enemy's target must be the Nine-Tails!
"Protect the Nine-Tails, Temari, and the Eight-Tails. Otherwise, if Uchiha Madara gets all the power, we will be no match for him!"
"I understand."
Kyohiko glanced around.
Then, the seal in his body was released. The Strength of a Hundred Seal and natural energy combined, instantly covering his body with a special pattern.
But.
At this moment.
"I think you need my help!"
Kakashi body-flickered over.
He knew the Flying Thunder God Formation technique, and through shadow clones, he could even control the formation by himself.
However.
He was still quite far from the Flying Thunder God technique.
Even so.
Cooperating with Kyohiko to send him to Konoha was still not a problem.
Kyohiko hesitated for a moment.
"No... alright, this can save some chakra, but you need to take care of yourself here too."
"Don't worry."
Kakashi nodded.
The next second, Kyohiko instantly disappeared.
...
The current Konoha was indeed facing a great crisis.
But—
It was only a crisis.
On the battlefield outside Konoha village, Namikaze Minato had a grave expression, his mind rapidly considering whether he should use that technique.
This was the trump card he and Kyohiko had devised to deal with space-time ninjutsu like Uchiha Obito's and the Flying Thunder God.
A spatial barrier!
It could lock down space, making it impossible to use space-time ninjutsu in that area, but opening the barrier required a certain amount of time.
During this process, Obito, who was very sensitive to space, would surely be able to detect the change.
Therefore.
He only had one chance.
Namikaze Minato's expression was grave. He looked at Obito in front of him and said, "Obito, you are a kind person. I don't know what Madara told you, but you must have been deceived!"
"Minato-senpai, I've heard of you, but you know nothing about the Uchiha's power or eternal peace."
Obito did not agree with Minato's statement.
Deceived?
The power was real.
The Mangekyo Sharingan, the Rinnegan, all of these were real. And Madara himself was indeed very eager for eternal peace.
How could it be fake?
Thinking of this, Obito couldn't help but sneer.
"The prejudice between people is a great mountain. You believe the Uchiha should be evil, and you've decided that Madara-sama is evil."
"With such a premise, how can you possibly get the right answer?"
"Minato-senpai..."
Uchiha Obito said, then fell silent for a moment.
He looked into the distance.
"Is Rin okay?"
"Nohara Rin? She's fine. She's now a highly praised doctor at the Konoha Hospital. Many of the elderly know her."
Minato's tone was gentle.
He could tell that Obito still had considerable affection and attachment to Konoha and Rin. It was just that for Obito, there were more important things to pursue.
So-called—
"Eternal peace"?
What is this thing?
Namikaze Minato was suspicious, feeling a sense of "scam."
If it were before, he might have believed it a little, but after continuous exploration, learning, and research...
Minato felt that nothing in the world was eternal.
People die.
Countries also die and change.
Even, one day, the profession of ninja might slowly disappear with the changing times.
These are all part of the world's evolution.
The only thing that is eternal is the people who exist in this country.
So-called eternal peace...
He couldn't help but sigh and said, "Alright, I'll tentatively believe you. Then, how does Madara plan to achieve eternal peace? By becoming another Sage of Six Paths?"
"Sage of Six Paths? Why would he become the Sage of Six Paths?"
Obito was puzzled.
Namikaze Minato's eyebrows raised.
Not becoming the Sage of Six Paths?
Was Kyohiko wrong?
Or, was Obito deceived...
He couldn't figure it out for a moment.
But at this moment, a figure emerged from under Obito's feet.
"Idiot! Obito, you've been tricked! He's stalling for time and trying to extract information from you!"
"It's fine, I also need some time."
Obito shook his head.
Then, he looked around and said, "Minato-senpai, since we've said this much, I still won't hold back."
Hmm?
Namikaze Minato frowned, vaguely sensing something was wrong.
The next moment.
Suddenly, the space distorted, and a terrifying chakra emerged from it.
Just a wisp of its aura made him feel as if there was a power in that space that could destroy everything.
That was a Tailed Beast Bomb!
Such a term appeared in Namikaze Minato's mind.
How could he...
Right!
Minato's expression changed drastically. He had no time to think and instantly fired a signal flare.
But.
The next second, a vortex appeared above him and directly swallowed the signal flare.
Kamui!
Then.
Boom!
From the vortex, dark, terrifying chakra poured out, rushing towards his location.
Namikaze Minato instantly disappeared with the Flying Thunder God, not daring to stay in place.
The next second.
Boom!
A deafening roar came from the outskirts.
The immense power covered the entire area, the light visible even to the ninjas in Konoha village.
"Tsunade, that is—"
"Yes, Madara's men have arrived! Minato already went and led him out of Konoha."
Tsunade's expression was grave.
She had already changed into her ninja uniform.
If Konoha was in crisis, she would be the first to rush into battle, but such a terrifying aura probably meant it was more than just an attack by Obito.
That was...
The power of a Tailed Beast!
Tsunade's expression was grave.
"Can Minato hold him off?"
"I don't know. In any case, we will definitely have to fight!"
Tsunade said firmly, "No matter how many people come, we will fight them to the end, because we have to protect everyone!"
After speaking, she frowned, vaguely sensing a power that was not right.
The next moment, she shouted, "Everyone, be on alert! Bugs have infiltrated!"
"Open the barrier and be wary of possible infiltrators!"
Tsunade body-flickered and disappeared from the spot.
She sensed—
A large number of ninjas were rushing towards a certain direction in Konoha.
That was where Kushina was.
But.
The current Kushina was facing a problem...
She was pregnant.
If she used too much force, it could very well lead to a miscarriage.
Tsunade's mind was clear.
The enemy's target was still the Nine-Tails!
The ANBU had Kyohiko's clone and Orochimaru, so there should be no problem there.
She needed to ensure the safety of Kushina and Temari!
Swoosh!
She and the Hokage Guard Unit rushed through the village.
A short while later, in the distance, a roar.
Violent sand and wind swept through the surroundings.
Tsunade's heart skipped a beat.
She knew this was Shukaku's power.
Was she a step too late?
But the next second, the fierce wind and yellow sand, carrying some strange enemies, were all sent flying into the sky.
Tsunade body-flickered and arrived, only to see Temari, panting, standing in front of Kushina.
A ninja from the Hidden Sand was actually standing up to protect someone from Konoha.
This scene touched her heart.
But.
Now was not the time to think about these things. She body-flickered down and shattered an enemy that had reappeared.
"Kushina, take Temari and the Nine-Tails and come with me!"
"Tsunade-sama, the direction of the Ninja Academy! The children, many children!"
Kushina shouted anxiously.
She sensed it.
Many strange creatures were heading towards the Ninja Academy.
"Don't worry, I've already arranged for people over there. Someone will deal with them."