Chapter 131 – Ōnoki: Why does this guy look more and more like Uchiha Madara?
"Nagato, I think we can start the Tailed Beast capture plan ahead of schedule!"
At the Akatsuki base, Tobi approached Nagato, suggesting it was time to begin the Tailed Beast capture operation.
This opportunity might not come again if they missed it.
Tobi even felt somewhat fortunate that the previous self-destruction was prevented. Had the Three-Tails exploded back then, collecting the Tailed Beasts now would've been impossible.
"No."
Nagato shook his head and directly rejected Tobi's proposal.
He wasn't ready yet.
More accurately, Konan wasn't ready yet.
The explosive tags weren't even fully prepared. How were they supposed to counter the masked man later on?
Konan had already discovered the weakness of Kamui, the masked man's ability. She'd been preparing all along, just waiting for the day he turned against them to take him down in one blow.
But at this stage, her supply of explosive tags wasn't nearly enough. If they acted now, they could indeed capture several Tailed Beasts while the opportunity lasted, but they had no way to suppress the masked man.
"What else needs preparing?"
A faint sneer crossed Tobi's face. He had expected that Nagato wouldn't be so obedient.
But to be turned down so openly despite the perfect opportunity only raised more suspicions.
"Madara, we have our own plans for when to capture the Tailed Beasts. Why are you in such a rush?"
Konan stared coldly at Tobi. The more insistent he became, the more clearly she realized they couldn't agree to this.
"Let's wait and see. The current situation is still unclear. Making a move now isn't ideal. Let them fight first, then we'll decide."
At this point, Zetsu also spoke up.
Sensing the atmosphere becoming tense, he too wanted the plan to go ahead—but he understood that rushing would yield nothing.
"Mm, let's observe for now."
Nagato nodded. On this point, he agreed.
Tobi gave the two a long look, then nodded as well. "Fine. Let's leave it at that."
After speaking, he departed with Zetsu.
Back with Konan, she glanced at Nagato, hesitating to speak.
"I know. Right now, things are chaotic, so it's a perfect time to gather more explosive tags. Besides, Konoha gave us an idea—we can target nobles and make some money. There's a guy in the Land of Waves who seems pretty wealthy. We'll eliminate him, take his money, and use it to buy more explosive tags."
Following the original timeline, it would take them years to complete missions and gather enough money.
But if they followed Konoha's example and targeted nobles and merchants, they could raise funds quickly.
With that money, Konan could buy more explosive tags.
"Alright. Then for now, we'll shift our focus to that. But the price of explosive tags has already spiked. If possible, I'd like to buy even more later."
Although she had already calculated the approximate duration of the detonation, having more tags would only increase her confidence.
She wanted to see—if the explosion lasted fifteen or even twenty minutes, could the masked man withstand it?
"You're too impatient, Tobi."
Zetsu cast a glance at Tobi and offered a reminder. He had been too hasty just now, though Zetsu understood. After all, Tobi had his own schemes.
"Now is the best time. Whatever they're preparing, the longer we wait, the worse it is for us."
Tobi replied calmly. He was aware of Nagato's side-plots, but didn't mind. In Tobi's eyes, Nagato was just a pawn being used.
"As long as Nagato continues to carry out the plan, it doesn't matter to us."
Black Zetsu spoke, inwardly sneering. He knew what Tobi was thinking.
But he had already prepared a contingency plan. If needed, he'd simply trigger it.
At this point, he didn't care about anyone. As long as Madara existed, the plan wouldn't fail. This was the closest he had ever come to success.
Frontline Battlefield.
Within the Land of Fire, Renji was leading his squad toward the front lines.
At present, both armies had moved out and were awaiting the arrival of their core combat forces. The real war was about to begin.
"Lord Hokage, the current situation is that the enemy has five Jinchūriki and two Kage. On our side, we have you, Lord Jiraiya, and Fugaku, Hizashi, and Shisui. It seems our strength is a bit unbalanced."
Shikaku analyzed the state of battle.
Truthfully, Hizashi didn't count among the top-tier combatants—his strength was far below the others. Fugaku was only here due to his Mangekyō Sharingan.
So the main combatants were Renji and Jiraiya, with Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Shisui as support.
But these four couldn't hope to overcome such a large force.
"Shisui has a chance to change the battlefield entirely."
Renji waved a hand dismissively, unconcerned. Kumogakure was the hardest to force into surrender, so the plan was to first defeat them, then have Shisui act—Kumogakure would pose no further threat.
As for the Tailed Beasts? Weren't they just pets?
"Shikaku, don't worry about their numbers. Just make sure we minimize our casualties when the time comes."
"Understood."
It seemed this man had grown even stronger than before.
Shikaku understood clearly that Renji wasn't the type to brag. If he said this, then he must be confident.
"Lord Hokage, we've spotted a team of about fifteen Kusa shinobi ahead!"
Kusa shinobi?
What were they doing coming through the Land of Fire?
Renji pulled out a map and checked their positions. He immediately understood—they were taking a shortcut through the border between the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Snow, thus skirting the Land of Fire.
"Kill them."
"Yes!"
Since they'd run into them, they might as well be eliminated.
They'd end up facing them on the battlefield eventually anyway.
Now that they'd crossed paths—it was just bad luck for them.
Screams rang out in the distance, followed by cries and sobbing, but Renji paid no attention and continued advancing toward the front.
"Lord Hokage, we've captured two women claiming to be from the Uzumaki Clan of the Land of Whirlpools."
"The Uzumaki Clan?"
Renji turned his head with interest and looked at the two red-haired women in front of him—an older, more mature woman, and a young girl wearing glasses.
Were these two Uzumaki Karin and her mother?
The Land of Grass.
Everything seemed to match.
How pitiful—dragged onto the battlefield to serve as medical support.
Looking at them, both appeared uneasy. Karin timidly hid behind her mother, not daring to meet Renji's gaze.
Just moments ago, she had thought she was going to die. These Konoha shinobi struck decisively—Kusa shinobi she had seen as powerful and ruthless were wiped out instantly without even managing a single counterattack.
When she was about to be killed by a Konoha ninja, her mother had gathered her courage and revealed their lineage and plight, pleading for her daughter's life. That made the Konoha ninja hesitate.
The Uzumaki Clan had long been allies of Konoha. Although their nation was destroyed, their legacy remained. Unsure of what to do, the shinobi had brought them to Renji.
"If you're from the Uzumaki Clan, then take them back to Konoha."
The Uzumaki were truly rare in this world now. Since they'd found them, might as well bring them back.
"Yes!"
Were they… saved?
Karin glanced curiously at Renji, then looked at the ninja leading them away.
From what the other side said earlier, it seemed the Uzumaki Clan wouldn't be treated like they were in Kusagakure—where they were merely walking blood bags.
[System Notification: Changed Karin's fate. Reward: One lottery draw.]
Sorry, Orochimaru. Looks like I snatched this one from under your nose again.
Use lottery.
Renji silently muttered in his heart.
[System Notification: Lottery draw successful. Congratulations! You have obtained: Asura Chakra!]
Asura Chakra!?
Renji already had Indra Chakra before.
Now that he possessed both types of chakra, along with the Sage Body and Sage Eyes, didn't that mean he could awaken the Rinnegan?
But the Rinnegan seemed to require an intense emotional trigger.
The Sage of Six Paths awakened his Rinnegan after witnessing the death of his brother. Madara, too, awakened it near death, probably during a moment of utter despair. That overwhelming emotion was what pushed him to awaken the Rinnegan.
So what kind of trigger did he need?
"Lord Hokage, is something wrong?"
"It's nothing. Let's keep moving."
Renji waved it off, regaining his composure. He didn't dwell on it—it was just a pity he couldn't awaken the Rinnegan on this battlefield.
But to deal with these enemies, the Rinnegan wasn't even necessary.
What he really wondered was—once his Rinnegan awakened, would Nagato break down when he saw it? After all, Nagato had always believed himself to be a god, the chosen one destined to save the world.
On the battlefield, as the main forces from each side continued to assemble—
Jiraiya and the others had already arrived at the Iwagakure frontlines beforehand. When Renji showed up, Jiraiya's tense expression finally relaxed a bit.
Though he had previously disagreed with Renji's ideals, now that Konoha faced an existential threat, and given that victory in this battle could very well make Renji's vision a reality—
Jiraiya became fully committed. Still, after days of reflection, he couldn't figure out how they were supposed to win.
"Lord Hokage, you've arrived."
Everyone stepped aside to make way. Renji walked to the center and said to the group, "Everyone, I won't waste words. Just get Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and all the rest of those stray ninja together—we'll have one decisive battle!"
"…"
Was he always this reckless?
Aren't you supposed to test the waters before a war?
Then again, maybe the enemy thought the same: with so many shinobi involved, dragging things out was meaningless. They might have no plans to stall, either.
"Are you sure?"
Jiraiya swallowed nervously. He had a feeling Renji was underestimating the enemy.
"Of course!"
"Then let's declare war."
Hyūga Hizashi could barely hold back. He wanted revenge on Kumogakure for his brother's death. Now was the time to settle it once and for all.
At the Allied Shinobi Forces' temporary camp—
After some back-and-forth, Ōnoki and A seemed to calm down. Though tensions still existed between them, they knew the true enemy was Konoha.
"Report! The enemy has sent someone with a formal challenge. They want a decisive battle—today!"
"…"
Who exactly is supposed to have the advantage?
Ōnoki and A were both left speechless.
Should they say Renji was arrogant, or something else?
Why did the side with the apparent disadvantage seem more eager than the side with the upper hand?
"Could this be some kind of trap?"
Ōnoki rubbed his temples, not rushing to respond.
"What, getting cold feet, old man?"
Compared to Ōnoki, A admired Renji's courage. He didn't want to waste time probing. Like Renji said—everyone should line up and fight it out. May the strongest win.
"Heh, just hope you don't end up falling for a trap."
Ōnoki sneered faintly. That jab instantly infuriated A.
Wasn't he just implying the death of the Third Raikage?
"Ahem… If everyone wants to get wiped out by Konoha, we can fight right now."
Kitsuchi cleared his throat and quickly tried to defuse the situation.
"Calm down. Our primary enemy is Konoha."
Samui also reminded them.
Just a moment ago, with the two sides ready to explode, the representatives from the smaller villages sat silently, afraid a fight might actually break out.
They were all supposed to be united against Konoha—how could they end up fighting among themselves?
"Where's the agreed battle location?"
Samui asked.
"About a thousand meters ahead—on the great plains."
"…"
Can anyone even set up an ambush on open plains?
Obviously not.
That made Samui suspect they might truly be serious about a fair, decisive battle.
"What kind of brains do Uchiha even have? Aren't they just a bunch of hotheads? A direct confrontation sounds exactly like their style. A clan that could rebel against the Hokage and even assassinate the Daimyō clearly has no strategy."
Kurotsuchi thought everyone was being too timid.
In her eyes, the Uchiha Clan's actions had always lacked thought.
Otherwise, Konoha wouldn't be facing the entire shinobi world's wrath. If Kirigakure hadn't joined Konoha's side, they'd be surrounded by enemies on all sides by now.
"Fine. Let's fight. I want to see what that brat is really up to."
Ōnoki thought it over and found some logic in it. If he were setting up an ambush, he certainly wouldn't choose an open plain.
Since they proposed a full battle, and since they'd be sending large numbers of shinobi, it was unlikely Konoha would bother with an ambush.
And so, after some internal discussion, they agreed to march forward. If this truly was a final battle, then it was best not to delay. Let this one fight decide the outcome!
On the great plains—
From a distance, Ōnoki spotted the leading figure among the Konoha forces—wearing armor, spiky hair, and long flowing locks that billowed in the wind.
At that moment, it felt like he was looking at a ghost from his youth.
A wave of bad memories suddenly surged through Ōnoki's mind!
[End of Chapter]
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