He had stolen both the Rinnegan and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path from Nagato's hands.
Moreover, he was now so brazenly capturing Tailed Beasts. Kai didn't believe Uchiha Madara wouldn't figure out that he was behind all of this.
With all his plans completely ruined, Kai was genuinely curious about just how furious Uchiha Madara must be right now. He really wanted to see the expression on Madara's face.
Kai's guess was spot on. Uchiha Madara was on the verge of losing his mind completely.
"Black Zetsu, have you found anything? Who exactly is this Kai Mitarashi?" Uchiha Madara's expression was so dark it seemed water could drip from it as he stared at Black Zetsu.
"Nothing. This Kai Mitarashi seems to have appeared out of thin air. The earliest clue I could find is that about a month ago, he visited the Mitarashi household," Black Zetsu replied.
After a pause, Black Zetsu continued, "I also infiltrated the Mitarashi home afterward and examined the Mitarashi clan's genealogy records. There's absolutely no record of anyone named Kai Mitarashi."
Black Zetsu was extremely frustrated. While he wasn't particularly skilled in combat, when it came to reconnaissance and stealth, he didn't believe anyone in the shinobi world could surpass him.
Especially someone as powerful as Kai Mitarashi—he should have been on Black Zetsu's radar long ago.
"First appearance at the Mitarashi house? And his surname is Mitarashi? There must be some connection between the two! Black Zetsu, you must investigate his identity thoroughly!" Uchiha Madara ordered.
"Understood." Black Zetsu nodded.
Then Black Zetsu continued, "Madara, the more pressing issue now is that both the Demonic Statue and the Rinnegan are in this Kai Mitarashi's possession. What should we do?"
"Damn it!" Uchiha Madara cursed angrily.
Then, looking at Black Zetsu, Madara said with considerable confidence, "Don't worry. Before implanting the Rinnegan into Nagato's eyes, I extracted nearly half of its ocular power. Dealing with him won't be a problem."
Using Hashirama Senju's flesh cells, Uchiha Madara had awakened the Rinnegan. Already a super Kage-level warrior, Madara now possessed the power of the Rinnegan as well!
Uchiha Madara was confident that unless the Sage of Six Paths himself returned, no one in the entire shinobi world could be his match!
What Uchiha Madara didn't know was that even if the Sage of Six Paths did return, he might not necessarily be Kai's opponent!
Hearing Uchiha Madara's words, Black Zetsu also breathed a sigh of relief. If they lost the Demonic Statue, reviving Kaguya Ōtsutsuki would become nothing but empty talk!
So when he heard that the Rinnegan and Demonic Statue had been stolen, Black Zetsu was the most anxious of all.
Konohagakure.
The village was currently in its highest state of alert. All civilians were forbidden from leaving their homes, and all supplies were distributed by ninja squads.
Throughout Konoha, the number of foreign shinobi had reached over four thousand. The quantity might not seem overwhelming, but in terms of quality, they were all at least Chūnin level or above!
If fighting broke out in Konoha, the village would be finished.
In the Hokage's office.
Ōnoki looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen and said coldly, "Third Hokage, you must give both our Iwagakure and Sunagakure a satisfactory explanation!"
In his words, he didn't forget to drag Sunagakure along as well.
"Third Tsuchikage, I've already told you clearly—this Kai Mitarashi is absolutely not one of our Konoha shinobi. Here's a list of all our registered Konoha ninja, complete with ninja ID numbers. If you don't believe it, you can verify it yourself."
As Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke, he took out a roster and placed it on the table in front of Ōnoki.
The registered ninja list, while not exactly classified information, wasn't something that could easily be shown to foreign village ninja either. But it was better than sparking another Great Ninja War.
Shishio Mitarashi standing nearby also stepped forward, pulling out a yellowed book. "This is the Mitarashi clan's genealogy. You Kage can take a look—there's never been anyone named Kai Mitarashi."
"Nonsense! Kai Mitarashi admitted it himself!" Elder Chiyo shouted sternly.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face showed some embarrassment. At this moment, he didn't know how much he wanted to kill Kai, but on the surface, he could only patiently explain to Elder Chiyo: "Elder Chiyo, you also said this person claimed he wasn't from the Konoha you know, which means he's not—"
Before Sarutobi Hiruzen could finish speaking, a Konoha ninja suddenly burst in, panic-stricken: "Lord Hokage, terrible news! Kirigakure's Six-Tails has been captured!"
With a whoosh!
All the Kage present immediately stood up from their chairs, their expressions grave.
After a long moment, the eldest among them, the Third Raikage, spoke: "We can't let this continue. We must unite, or if Kai Mitarashi really manages to collect all nine Tailed Beasts, regardless of his purpose, the shinobi world will surely descend into chaos!"
With those words, the Third Raikage stared intently at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen understood that if he didn't take a stance quickly now, there would definitely be problems. He hurriedly said, "Agreed. All of Konoha's Chūnin-level and above ninja will participate in the battle."
"Iwagakure agrees!" said the Third Tsuchikage.
"Kumogakure agrees!" said the Third Raikage.
"Sunagakure agrees!" said the Third Kazekage.
Under the pressure from Kai Mitarashi, the four great nations of the shinobi continent had united for the first time in history!
As for the Land of Water, upon receiving this news, they would likely join directly as well—after all, Kai had just captured the Six-Tails belonging to Kirigakure.
The Shinobi World United Assault Force was established!
Looking at the armored Three-Tails Isobu before him, Kai smiled with some disdain. Indeed, no matter which timeline it was, Uchiha Madara only had these same tricks.
Utterly boring!
Sage Art: Scorch Release: Light Wheel Gale Black Arrow Zero!
One strike directly hit the armored Three-Tails Isobu. The originally dense Susanoo armor was instantly pierced through, and the immense pain made the Three-Tails howl continuously!
"What's wrong, Uchiha Madara? Still don't intend to show yourself?" Kai raised an eyebrow, looking coldly at the Three-Tails' eyes. Kai knew very well that everything happening here was being watched by Uchiha Madara.
"Youngster, who exactly are you? How do you know of my existence?!"
The Three-Tails Isobu suddenly spoke, but it was Uchiha Madara's voice, filled with astonishment.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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