Chapter 146:The War Deciding the Ninja World's Future
"The power of orthodox Wood Release is actually this strong?!"
In Amegakure, receiving the real-time information transmitted by his main body, Nagato's Wood Clone thought to himself, "No, if this continues, the situation will become very unfavorable. I need to make a second-hand preparation."
Thus, Nagato summoned Black and White Zetsu and handed over a secret scroll to them.
Black and White Zetsu opened the secret scroll, glanced at it, immediately nodded, and then sank into the ground and disappeared.
"Hmm?"
As soon as Black and White Zetsu left, Nagato's expression suddenly changed as he looked out the window, thinking to himself, "So, he's finally made his move? Then, is he on the battlefield with the main body, or is he watching me from above Amegakure?"
"His mission is to come to the ninja world to retrieve the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Despite mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Heavenly Transfer Technique, he hasn't directly appeared beside the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, indicating that his eyes cannot establish a contract with it. No matter how many times he takes the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path away, my Rinnegan can summon it back."
"Rather than saying his mission is to retrieve the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, it's more accurate to say it's to retrieve the Rinnegan. One of us must die."
"Right now, he is likely on the battlefield with the main body, ready to intervene in the battle between the main body and Izayoi at any time."
"However, there's also a possibility that he's lying in wait above the village, using the village and Konan to force the main body to return, unable to escape using Obito Uchiha's Kamui."
"Regardless of which it is, it indicates that the final battle has arrived."
After a moment of mental analysis, Nagato quickly performed hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground.
"Impure World Reincarnation!"
The scene shifted to the Amegakure outside the building.
At this time, the sky above the village, just like the Five Great Ninja Villages some time ago, suddenly appeared with a large number of figures wearing uniform white robes, their bodies covered in black rods and black iron nails.
Dense and numerous, there were about two hundred of them.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
As soon as these figures appeared, Amegakure immediately sounded the alarm.
The villagers, who had been practicing twice a month for the past half year, immediately stopped whatever they were doing and ran towards the shelter.
"Run quickly, the enemy of the gods has come!"
Warned by the villagers, the ordinary people who had traveled all the way to Amegakure for tourism also followed closely behind.
"Once you're inside, don't stop, keep running. The end is a safe place."
Entrances to tunnels connecting to the underground shelter opened, and the Amegakure ninjas directed the villagers to take refuge while loudly reminding them.
The confrontation of super-standard combat power was no different from a god's war. Unless protected by the Four Crimson Rays Formation, any barrier was as fragile as paper.
Therefore, over the past half year, Amegakure's underground shelter had been transformed into an underground passage.
These passages could lead away from Amegakure to a safe place.
"You all leave too. A battle of this level is not something you can participate in."
After the Amegakure ninjas organized the villagers and tourists to enter the underground passage, Konan's figure descended from the sky and said to them.
"Yes, Angel-sama."
The Amegakure ninjas respectfully nodded and then also entered the underground passage and left.
And at this moment, the flames of war had ignited Amegakure.
Coffins rose from the muddy ground or appeared on top of the steel buildings.
As the coffin lids fell one by one, figures covered in cracks emerged from the coffins.
"Is this... the world of the living?"
"Have I been resurrected?"
"..."
The deceased had just uttered words of doubt and hadn't had time to look around when their eyes became lifeless.
Immediately, these deceased wearing the jackets of various countries and the headbands with different symbols all charged towards the puppet human army descending from the sky.
Whoosh—
One of the fastest figures, like a flash of lightning, passed through a puppet human.
The puppet human's head immediately separated from its body, as if its head had been severed by a divine weapon.
"Such speed!"
The Wood Clone responsible for controlling the puppet humans immediately felt the pressure.
Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately created twenty Wood Clones to help him share the burden.
At the same time, the Wood Clone also transmitted everything he saw to the main body, thinking to himself, "So, his preparation was Impure World Reincarnation, and the strength of the deceased is very close to their peak during their lifetime. It seems he first used White Zetsu clones for experiments and then discovered that using White Zetsu clones as sacrifices can make the strength of the deceased infinitely close to their lifetime strength. Truly amazing!"
"In that case, let's do an experiment together and see if defeating the deceased will yield entries!"
With the assistance of twenty Wood Clones for control, the puppet human army instantly lost its previous sluggishness.
When the figure that had instantly killed the puppet human passed by another puppet human again, preparing to eliminate it in the same way as before,
The lightning-fast figure suddenly stopped.
His entire body was covered in blue and white electricity, his build was strong and tall, his skin was dark, and on his right forearm was a tattoo of the character for 'lightning'. It was the Third Raikage, the pinnacle of the Five Kage during the Third Great Ninja War, who had single-handedly fought ten thousand Iwa ninjas and battled for three days and three nights before dying of exhaustion, capable of fighting the Eight-Tails in its rampage state to a draw without taking any damage!
At this moment, the Third Raikage's indestructible Hell Stab stopped in mid-air, blocked by a ninja sword.
The ninja sword was covered in sharp Wind Release nature transformation, and its strength was also astonishing. According to the principle of elemental counteraction, even if the Third Raikage's Lightning Release nature transformation was at the same level as Wind Release, his Hell Stab would at least have its skin cut, and at worst, his entire palm would be severed.
However, the Third Raikage's Hell Stab was completely unharmed.
Not to mention Wind Release nature transformation of this strength, even an S-rank Wind Release: Rasenshuriken couldn't harm the Third Raikage in the slightest.
The Fourth Raikage couldn't become the pinnacle of the Five Kage like the Third Raikage because he lacked the Third Raikage's strongest shield, capable of withstanding Tailed Beast Balls and S-rank ultimate jutsu, even the bombardment of ten thousand Iwa ninjas, and the strongest spear that could leave permanent scars on the strongest shield.
In addition to the strongest shield and the strongest spear, the Third Raikage also possessed Black Lightning, which caused immense pain to enemies and immobilized their bodies.
Every pinnacle of the Five Kage had reached the limit of what ordinary bloodlines could achieve, unable to advance even half a step further.
What limited them was never talent, but bloodline.
If they had any connection to the Otsutsuki clan, they would have been fully qualified to become gatekeepers like the Six Paths of Pain.
Like Onoki, if he possessed the vast chakra of the Senju or Uzumaki clans, he wouldn't need to conserve his Dust Release. The thought of that scene was terrifying.
The Third Raikage was the same. If he had the chakra volume of the Senju and Uzumaki clans and could learn Sage Arts, even a Tailed Beast wouldn't be a match for his strongest spear.
Unfortunately, there were no ifs. Their origins destined them to never catch up to the cheat-like beings whose potential ceiling was in another dimension.
Shimura Danzo, who held the sword and blocked the Third Raikage's Hell Stab, was also covered in blue and white electricity.
So were more than two hundred puppet humans.
In an instant, lightning raged like alternating current, arcs of electricity rampaging through Amegakure, destroying buildings one after another. The deceased were caught off guard, their body fragments turning into large patches of dust.
The pressure instantly shifted to Nagato's side.
"Wood Release: Multiple Wood Clone Technique!"
Nagato's Wood Clone didn't hesitate to divide his chakra into dozens of parts.
All the Wood Clones stayed in the underground base where the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was located, controlling the unconscious deceased and engaging the puppet human army in battle.
Black and White Zetsu had been robbing graves for over half a year, and Nagato had many cards in his hand.
Not only the Third Raikage, the pinnacle of the Five Kage, but also the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hozuki, and the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, both pinnacles of the Five Kage, as well as the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, and the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, a full five Kage-level powerhouses.
Even in Nagato's possession were Hashirama's cells, as well as the mediums for the Second Hokage, the Third Hokage, and even the Fourth Hokage.
After mastering the Impure World Reincarnation, Nagato immediately tried to summon the First Hokage, wanting to use the Human Path ability of the Rinnegan to obtain more Wood Release ninjutsu from him.
However, he discovered that he couldn't reincarnate the First Hokage at all.
Not only the First Hokage, but even the Second, Third, and Fourth Hokage, he couldn't reincarnate.
Nagato had thought it was because his training was insufficient until Black and White Zetsu reminded him that their souls had all been taken by the Reaper.
Therefore, Nagato only had these few Kage-level cards in his hand.
If Nagato tried to reincarnate the Hokage F4 again now, he would definitely get unexpected gains.
In addition to the five Kage, Nagato's Impure World Reincarnation army also included once famous powerhouses from the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Such as Pakura, the Scorch Release user from Sunagakure; the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist from Kirigakure; Gari, the Explosion Release user from Iwagakure; the Gold and Silver Brothers from Kumogakure; and powerhouses from various ninja clans of Konoha, etc...
Every deceased was wearing a jacket and was at least a Chunin level.
The number reached more than three hundred people.
In addition, there was the strongest combination... the Six Paths of Pain.
Konan in the sky, and the Akatsuki organization that was rushing over.
If such high-end combat power were united, they could destroy a great ninja village in less than an hour.
Unless the Five Great Ninja Villages united, even a coalition of two or three great ninja villages would not be a match for these high-end combatants.
This final battle was a white-hot stage from the very beginning.
In less than a moment, Amegakure was riddled with holes, and a large number of buildings had turned into ruins.
Not long after, a space-time vortex appeared on the battlefield.
The Akatsuki organization wearing red clouds and black robes finally arrived at the battlefield.
"The final battle has finally arrived! This time it's my turn to show... what the hell?!" Deidara had just raised his hand to cheer when his eyes widened as if he had seen something unbelievable.
Immediately, he shouted, completely breaking down, "Why does everyone know Lightning Release Chakra Mode? Little Toneri must be deliberately targeting me!"
"Idiot, don't just stand there dumbfounded, be careful of getting beheaded," Sasori of the Red Sand reminded.
"This level of war is probably more intense than the Great Ninja War."
"Why are they all puppets? No blood, what am I supposed to sacrifice to Lord Jashin?"
"Hmph, I only agreed to participate in the war, but I won't sacrifice my life. Once I'm no match and Otsutsuki Toneri appears, I'll leave."
"..."
Kisame Hoshigaki and Kakuzu and the others also looked at the puppet human army and the Impure World Reincarnation army fighting in the ruins, each sighing.
Immediately, they also joined the war.
However, unlike the Six Paths of Pain and the five Kage who occupied their own areas, and the Root organization led by Shimura Danzo,
The Akatsuki members, who were fully capable of participating in that level of battle, were just dipping their toes in the water at the edges.
As S-rank rogue ninjas that even the Five Great Ninja Villages couldn't handle, except for the two idiots Deidara and Hidan, the others weren't fools.
One side was puppet humans, and the other side was Impure World Reincarnation; both armies were dead.
For them living people to risk their lives fighting the dead, dying would be entirely their own fault.
Even Deidara, who was willing to self-destruct for this final battle, was woken up by a scolding from Sasori and chose to assist Sasori.
The flames of the five elements continuously bloomed, and deafening explosions were incessant.
In less than half an hour since the final battle began, most of Amegakure had turned into ruins.
The battle situation here also quickly spread back to the villages through spies who had escaped Amegakure and ninjas from various countries monitoring Amegakure from the outside, using summoning beasts.
"The second round, has it arrived after all?"
"After half a year of silence, the war of the Sage Eyes has finally sounded again."
"Impure World Reincarnation? Akatsuki actually mastered the Second Hokage's forbidden jutsu. Was it a trade with Orochimaru?"
"Puppet humans, an army of the dead, this is a confrontation of undead armies!"
"These two guys, whether in strength or military power, can easily occupy a great power. If the second round yields a victor, the situation might be unfavorable for us. I only hope it remains a draw."
"If the leader of Akatsuki wins, I can't imagine what kind of ambition he will have without an opponent, and who will be able to stop him?"
"If that moon visitor really just came to retrieve the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and will return to the moon after obtaining it, I would rather he win."
"This is a war that will decide the future of the ninja world!"
"..."
Looking at the intelligence in their hands, the five Kage each sighed and then urgently summoned ninjas skilled in sensing, ordering them to go to the Land of Rain at extreme speed to transmit the battle situation back in real time.
Since Izayoi had gone out on a mission and hadn't signed a contract with Shikkotsu Forest, Tsunade this time chose to send Hinata and Karin out.
With one Byakugan and one Kagura Shingan, they would definitely be able to gather intelligence safely.
Just then, bad news reached Tsunade's ears.
"Hokage-sama, Izayoi-sama is fighting the leader of Akatsuki."
"Nani?!"
Tsunade was immediately shocked and stood up abruptly, quickly saying, "When did that kid run off to Amegakure?"
"Not Amegakure, the Land of Fire."
The ninja who had appeared out of nowhere quickly reported, "Not long ago, two massive chakras erupted in the eastern forest. According to the sensing of returning comrades, it was Izayoi-sama and the Akatsuki leader's chakra signatures."
"Immediately go and call Hinata and Karin back. Forget it, I'll go myself. You go and notify the elders and the Jonin in the village to come for a meeting." Tsunade issued the order, her expression filled with gravity.
No matter how the super-standard combat power fought in Amegakure, it had nothing to do with their Konoha.
But now, the new era's God of Shinobi had set his sights on Konoha's future, and Tsunade absolutely couldn't let him succeed.
So, Tsunade quickly performed hand seals and created a Shadow Clone, ordering the Shadow Clone to stay behind for the meeting and discuss countermeasures.
The main body, however, vanished in a flash, taking Hinata and Karin, who were in the process of obtaining their departure permits, to the battlefield to support Izayoi.
"Nani, the Akatsuki leader has targeted Izayoi-kun?"
Karin, who heard this news on the way, immediately changed her expression, her tone anxious as she asked, "Then is Izayoi-kun alright?"
"I don't know, let's go and see the battle situation first," Tsunade said with a grim face. "What I'm worried about now is that Otsutsuki Toneri is also watching that battlefield with covetous eyes."
Hinata, however, had a strange expression and said softly, "Hokage-sama, actually you can go back, Izayoi-kun will be fine."
Hearing this, Tsunade abruptly stopped, looking at Hinata with a surprised expression and asking, "Why do you say that?"
"Izayoi-kun, he knows the Flying Thunder God Technique," Hinata explained. "He mastered this technique a long time ago, but he was worried about this trump card being known, so he hasn't revealed it."
"Oh right, I almost forgot, that's a secret that can't be told," Karin said with a slight realization, recalling the scene of Izayoi taking Hinata away last year.
"That brat, he actually hid it even from me?"
Tsunade was both surprised and delighted, finally gritting her teeth and saying, "When he gets back, I'm definitely going to beat him to death!"
After saying that, Tsunade instructed Hinata and Karin, "You two continue with the mission. First, go and observe the battle situation on Izayoi's side and transmit the intelligence back in real time. If Izayoi leaves, you go to the Land of Rain. Remember to be careful and don't let the main body get close to the battlefield. That level of Wood Release confrontation is not something you can participate in."
"Yes!"
Hinata and Karin nodded respectfully in response.
Watching the two women leave, Tsunade teleported back to the meeting.
Although there was no need to worry about Izayoi's safety, Konoha still couldn't let its guard down.
Izayoi should be the fuse for this final battle.
Because the Akatsuki leader had left, Otsutsuki Toneri had taken the opportunity to launch an attack.
Now that the war had broken out, and the Akatsuki leader hadn't returned to Amegakure, he was clearly determined to capture Izayoi.
Once Izayoi escaped, he might even chase him to Konoha.
Otsutsuki Toneri was also very likely watching the Akatsuki leader from an unseen location.
If the Akatsuki leader really came to Konoha, then their second round of battle might very well be Konoha itself.
Thinking of the earth-shattering battles of the Sage's Eyes, Tsunade felt a chill run down her spine.
She had to make preparations in advance, transferring all the villagers to shelters and organizing the ninja corps to prepare for battle or evacuation.
"That damn Jiraiya's disciple is indeed ambitious and harboring ulterior motives," Tsunade cursed inwardly, while also praying in her heart, "Izayoi, you are Konoha's Sixth Hokage, please don't let anything happen to you!"
(End of this chapter)
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