"The formation is quite impressive. It's a pity you are destined for disappointment." Naruto glanced indifferently at the dark mass of the Allied Army, his expression calm.
The rapid mobilization of the Allied Shinobi Forces was something Naruto hadn't anticipated.
But it wouldn't affect anything.
After all, in Naruto's eyes, the Allied Shinobi Forces were never a factor he needed to be concerned about.
What he cared about and was wary of were the mysterious Sage of Six Paths and the Summoning Realm.
Even Nagato Uzumaki, who possessed the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths, was merely within the scope of his research.
His intuition told him that the Akatsuki's goal in collecting the Tailed Beasts was definitely not as simple as he had guessed.
Ryūjin Jakka supplemented the shortcomings in Naruto's offensive capabilities, but his familiarity with the blade was far inferior to Captain-Commander Yamamoto's, nor could he fully bring out the sword's true power.
So, in a sense, although his strength had reached the Six Paths level—perhaps even surpassing the ordinary Six Paths level—he had not yet reached the point of invincibility.
If he possessed strength comparable to Captain-Commander Yamamoto, his Shikai alone would be enough to instantly kill a Six Paths-level opponent.
"Naruto?!"
"Naruto!!"
"Uzumaki... Naruto!!"
When Naruto's warm voice resonated across the battlefield, some faces twisted in ferocity, some looked nostalgic, and others were filled with sorrow.
But mostly, there was the hatred of the Konoha ninja.
They harbored too deep a grudge against Naruto.
Back then, Naruto had nearly destroyed the entire Hidden Leaf Village, killing the Third Hokage and Elder Danzo.
Everything he did was undoubtedly a provocation to Konoha.
For all Konoha ninja, this was the greatest shame of their lives.
It was no exaggeration to say that during the assault on the Seireitei, the Konoha ninja were absolutely the most reckless.
Countless ninja had disregarded their own lives, solely to destroy the Seireitei that Naruto had built with his own hands.
And now, Naruto stood high above them, his posture conceited and arrogant. In his eyes, it was as if this Allied Shinobi Forces were nothing more than clay chickens and pottery dogs—unable to withstand a single blow.
"Naruto!! I finally see you again." within the allied army, Sakura Haruno looked at Naruto with tears shimmering in her eyes, muttering to herself, "If you chose to leave, why didn't you take me with you? I would have been willing to give everything for you."
Poor Sakura still placed her entire heart on Naruto, even now.
That sentence from their childhood—"In this season, seeing the pink of cherry blossoms is also a kind of happiness"—lingered constantly in her mind.
There was also the memory of Naruto's warm hands tying her ribbon, and his warm breath, scented with mint, as he leaned close.
Whenever she recalled it, her heart beat so violently she couldn't breathe.
And Naruto's departure was a heart-wrenching pain, like a knife slicing through her heart over and over again.
Even now, she couldn't believe the reality that Naruto had defected.
What made her even sadder and more sorrowful was that from beginning to end, Naruto had never thought about taking her with him.
Perhaps, in Naruto's eyes, I am just... a waste.
For some reason, Sakura's legs went weak, and she collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
Fortunately, the Allied Shinobi Forces were currently in the midst of a retreat, so Hinata immediately pulled Sakura up and dragged her backward.
"Pull yourself together, Sakura," Hinata said, looking at Sakura with a stern tone. "Do you want to live in his shadow for the rest of your life? See it clearly: Naruto has changed. He is no longer the Naruto of the past! The only thing we can do now is become stronger and defeat him!"
Hearing Hinata's words, Sakura turned her head like a walking corpse, staring blankly at Hinata, completely devoid of fighting spirit.
Seeing Sakura like this, disappointment welled up uncontrollably in Hinata's heart. She let go of her hand and said coldly, "Suit yourself. If you want to be a flower vase, go ahead. Anyway, in Naruto's eyes, you are fundamentally just a dispensable character."
Hinata felt a hatred for iron not becoming steel. The fact that Sakura could become Tsunade's disciple proved that her talent wasn't actually poor.
Her assignment to Team 7 was definitely the result of careful deliberation.
Although Sakura's strength was lacking at the start, with hard work, she could have become an excellent Kage-level ninja.
But Sakura had disappointed everyone.
She was immersed in the painful past, immersed in the gentle trap of the Naruto she once knew, unwilling to walk out of it to this day.
Even more exaggerated was that she would refute those who tried to insult Naruto, constantly making excuses for him. In her eyes, even if he destroyed Konoha, Naruto surely had his difficulties.
What a foolish person.
Even Tsunade was disappointed in Sakura, to the point that Sakura had wasted nearly a year of training time. Her strength hadn't just stagnated; it might have even regressed.
In contrast, Hinata had completely given up on Naruto. She was single-mindedly focused on becoming stronger, comprehending her new pair of eyes, all for the sake of defeating Naruto in the future—to kill this man who destroyed everything.
The pain in Hinata's heart was no less than Sakura's.
The Hinata of the past was comparable to someone with severe social anxiety, possessing unimaginable shyness when it came to communication. She tried to change, but her personality was just like that; she couldn't change it at all.
Until... Naruto appeared.
The gentle and elegant Naruto illuminated her world, planting a seed called affection in the young Hinata's heart.
As time passed, it sprouted and became a towering tree. At that time, Hinata's eyes were full of Naruto; she couldn't hold anyone else.
She also yearned to become better. Because of Naruto's sentence, "Don't get bullied by others anymore," she trained hard—so hard that even her father was shocked.
Eat your fill, train hard!
Abandoning her shyness, she downed more than ten bowls of rice every day.
Fed and hydrated, she finally had the strength to train, eventually successfully realizing her talent and becoming one of the renowned geniuses of the Hyuga clan.
During the Chunin Exams, she lived up to expectations and displayed her strength, making the villagers realize that this frail Hyuga girl actually contained power that could not be underestimated within her body.
Even Neji Hyuga, who had always been bound by fate, followed her loyally.
Although her eyes were sealed, Hinata did not despair. Instead, through acquired training and comprehension, she successfully evolved her Byakugan.
It was just that her control over the evolved eyes was still incomplete, so she kept them covered with a white cloth.
Hinata yearned for the day she would face Naruto in battle.
When that time came, she would definitely display her true strength.
But now was not that time.
Hinata had self-awareness. For her to face Naruto now would undoubtedly be like striking a stone with an egg.
If Hinata felt this way, other ninja naturally felt the same.
Upon seeing Naruto's appearance, Neji clenched his fists in unwillingness. His hatred for Naruto was absolutely substantial, but unfortunately, he was powerless.
With his strength and talent, he was nothing more than a joke in front of Naruto.
"It's that man!!"
"Is he the strongest rogue ninja in Konoha's history? He's so young."
"Is he the leader of the Seireitei? Are those monsters all his subordinates?"
"It's incredible. He's way too young. If he grows any further, who in the ninja world will be able to stop him?"
Exclamations rang out within the Allied Shinobi Forces. Subsequently, various Jonin were seen actively moving in and out of the ranks. Under their command, the retreat speed of the Allied Forces accelerated.
"Lady Tsunade and Lady Mei Terumi were both defeated. Several members of the Akatsuki also lost miserably."
"He's too strong. Uzumaki Naruto hasn't even made a move, and just those strong fighters of the Seireitei are already more than we can handle." Words that struck a blow to morale appeared within the coalition.
The scene of Tsunade and Mei Terumi covered in wounds earlier had been seen by everyone.
However, afterward, Tsunade's summon, Katsuyu, had quickly healed them.
"The Raikage and Lord Ohnoki seem to have been defeated as well."
Elsewhere on the battlefield, after Shion released her Bankai, countless evil spirits had their strength doubled, chasing the Raikage and Ohnoki directly. Shion, however, stood calmly in place, even finding the time to admire her fingernails.
Although the Raikage and Ohnoki were long-established Kage-level ninja, the gap between them and Nagato was still significant. Shion's Bankai was something even Nagato had to be wary of, let alone those two Kage.
Under the pursuit of the evil spirits, the Raikage and Ohnoki retreated to the Allied Shinobi Forces in a sorry state, calling for the ninja to pull back.
The price paid was the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of ninja.
The interference of Sasori and Deidara did cause Haku some trouble, but after reinforcements arrived, Haku chased after the two of them, beating them back.
Kisame had long since been hacked into several pieces by Zabuza, dead as a doornail.
Although Itachi had sent his parents on a second trip to the Pure Land, his own consumption was significant, so he didn't dare to linger in battle, fighting while retreating.
With the top powerhouses of the Seireitei active, the defeat of the Allied Shinobi Forces was an immutable conclusion.
All the Kage knew that the tide had turned against the Alliance.
So, after Naruto appeared, these Kage decisively ordered the army to retreat at maximum speed.
Only the top Kage-level combatants remained to face Naruto.
Watching the Allied Shinobi Forces moving with a speed comparable to fleeing rats, the corners of Naruto's mouth curled up in disdain, and he paid them no heed.
His arrogant personality did not allow him to attack these weaklings; killing them would only dirty his hands.
His gaze fell upon the Five Kage and Itachi Uchiha, who were standing ready for battle, a smile in his eyes.
Behind him, Minato carried Nagato on his shoulder, his expression relaxed.
Seeing this, let alone the members of the Akatsuki, even the Five Kage and Itachi Uchiha were shocked.
"Nagato lost?"
"The Leader was defeated?"
Seeing this scene, the first reaction in their minds was impossible.
Nagato's strength was absolutely the strongest within the Allied Shinobi Forces.
A solid Super Kage level and those eyes of the Sage of Six Paths allowed Nagato to easily defeat any Kage.
Even Itachi Uchiha had lost at Nagato's hands.
Everyone firmly believed it.
Such a powerhouse was the only one who couldn't be stopped by anyone in the Seireitei other than Uzumaki Naruto.
Even if he lost, he should have been able to retreat safely!
But reality had just played the biggest joke on them.
The invincible Nagato in their eyes had lost.
He was even captured.
Death and capture were two completely different things.
Judging by the relaxed postures of Naruto and Minato, capturing Nagato didn't seem to have been a difficult task.
How were they supposed to defeat a Seireitei like this?
No wonder Naruto just watched the Allied Shinobi Forces retreat.
Because there was no need to stop them at all!!
It was over. The Seireitei had won this war.
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