The Wuyou Flowers had already helped everyone set up the cannons, hoping that when the enemy armies arrived, they could hold out a little longer.
The fiercest battle, however, raged where Shigeo himself fought. Every elite ninja from the major villages had gathered against him—Cloud's Two-Tails jinchūriki Yugito Nii, Stone's Han, Mist's Ao, and even the Five Kage themselves all joined the assault.
Shigeo unleashed his full arsenal of jutsu. Mokuton (Wood Release) clashed against the Tailed Beasts, Susanoo faced the Alliance forces, and flaming dragons surged and dove through the skies.
"Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Multi-Shadow Clone Technique!)"
Even amid the chaos, he still had the time to cast more jutsu.
Activating Sage Mode, he freely drew on the Tailed Beasts' chakra.
"Bunki Ishiki Kagami! (Mirror of Divided Consciousness!)"
Within his system, he opened the Mirror of Divided Consciousness. Every ninja who appeared within his awareness would now gain access to his ninjutsu abilities.
Not only did the frontline Namako ninjas grow stronger, but even the thousand disciples of the Blue Gate Sect arriving from the rear suddenly found their power surging.
Two-front assault—soon the Alliance forces across the sea began to crumble.
Then, a drastic shift struck the battlefield.
From the northwest appeared several shadow-level figures: the First Hokage Senju Hashirama, the Second Mizukage Hōzuki Gengetsu, the Second Tsuchikage Mū, and the Second Raikage A. Four in total—each one alone worth a thousand soldiers—charging forth on the ocean waves with overwhelming chakra.
Shigeo's heart trembled. Edo Tensei (Reanimation)? Friend or foe?
If they were enemies, he wouldn't hesitate to unleash all the Tailed Beasts within him. So far, he'd only released two to fight the jinchūriki.
"System report: detected replicable individuals. Begin Mirror Copy?"
"Copy. Copy them all!"
He'd long wanted to learn several of their unique techniques—especially the Second Mizukage's Jōki Bōi (Steaming Danger Tyranny) and the Second Tsuchikage's Jinton: Mūjin Meisai (Dust Release: Silent Killing Camouflage).
"Affirmative. Copying initiated."
The four shadows surged forward from behind the Allied forces, stepping on the wind and stirring the seas like descending gods.
The Kage present were dumbstruck. The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, stared in disbelief. He knew that Edo Tensei was a forbidden technique. No one in the current ninja world should be able to use it. Could it be Shigeo?
He turned to look—but Shigeo's astonished expression told him otherwise. It wasn't his doing.
Though those four were once the predecessors of the Allied villages, the moment they appeared within the Alliance ranks, they began slaughtering indiscriminately—they were Shigeo's people!
The news exploded through the Allied ranks like wildfire.
Shigeo's lips curled into a cold smile. "Orochimaru… is this your way of pledging allegiance to me?"
The war raged on. With the Mirror of Divided Consciousness active and four reanimated Kage fighting for him, the battle turned completely in his favor.
The ten-thousand-strong Alliance collapsed in less than an hour.
The eastern, southern, and western fronts all fell back toward the north.
Wood Release, Water Release, Wind Release, Susanoo, Summoning Techniques, Edo Tensei… the combined assaults closed in from every direction.
The Allied Ninja Army was annihilated.
Hundreds of warships were sunk by Water Release techniques. The Kage from the Five Great Villages paled in shock. Could it truly be over in less than an hour?
They could hardly believe the weakness of their own alliance.
Under waves of Hyōton (Ice Release) and Water Release, the survivors retreated north, soon vanishing from the coast.
The Kage were exhausted from merely holding off the reanimated predecessors—let alone facing Shigeo himself in Sage Mode.
Meanwhile, the Akatsuki, having defeated one of Shigeo's clones and preparing to advance, froze at the sight of the collapsing Alliance. To avoid exposure, they vanished swiftly as well.
"I hereby declare—the Nanmo Nation ends its isolation! From this day forward, we open our borders to the world!"
Hovering above the battlefield, golden chakra flaring from his entire body, Shigeo's voice thundered across the heavens and sea.
Since they refused him any path to survival, he would carve out his own through conquest.
The Nanmo Nation had always pursued self-growth and avoided conflict, choosing seclusion to escape strife. But could hiding truly bring peace?
Reality had proven otherwise—weakness only invited attack. Only by growing stronger could they protect their home and people.
"Senpō: Doton – Dai Kyojitsu no Jutsu! (Sage Art: Earth Release – Great Uprising Technique!)"
No half-measures now. His body radiated golden light; a seven-colored mask pattern formed across his face. Descending from the sky, he placed his hand in a seal, pressing it against the reef below.
Rumble! The earth quaked. Seas roiled. From beneath the ocean, land began to rise. Waves crashed down as a vast new landmass emerged, encircling the Nanmo Nation.
Ninjas flying overhead stared in disbelief.
What kind of power was this? How much chakra could one man possess—to move mountains and raise seas, creating new land by sheer will?
The Five Kage watched in awe and terror. Was he… creating a new continent?
"Retreat! Full retreat!"
The Raikage A shouted in panic. Only now did he realize what kind of being they had provoked.
The Third Hokage Hiruzen and Ōnoki also ordered retreat, their faces pale. Shigeo had gone beyond mortal limits—raising a landmass larger than Tea Country and Bear Country combined. Such power was beyond the reach of any Kage.
The Akatsuki had already returned to Amegakure via Kamui, leaving only Zetsu at the southern coast of the River Country. He stared up at the golden figure in the sky, eyes burning with longing.
If only… he were part of Akatsuki, too.
Over the southern seas, a new continent had been born. After performing the Sage Art: Earth Release – Great Uprising Technique, Shigeo vanished in an instant.
When he reappeared, he was already back in Namako Village, summoning every ninja within the Nanmo Nation.
After three years of growth, the village now had seven hundred trained shinobi—not counting the disciples of the Blue Gate Sect.
He would leave part of them to defend their homeland. The Blue Gate disciples were already en route; soon they would join the main force.
"If a tiger never roars, they think it's a sick cat. Even the petty nations nearby dare to bully us. Fine then—since they won't let us live in peace, we'll settle every score while we can! If I can't rest, neither will they!"
Personally selecting a hundred elite Namako ninjas, Shigeo left behind ten Wood Clones as guards, then turned toward the nearest nation to the new continent—Tea Country.
(End of Chapter)
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