Kabuto's sudden appearance undoubtedly drove Madara and Black Zetsu into a frenzy!
In just a few short days, these two madmen dropped all pretense and mobilized a massive force of White Zetsu, launching a 360-degree search without any blind spots, radiating outward from the Hidden Sound Village.
Because Kabuto's actions fell entirely outside their predictions, they inevitably became extremely agitated. If Kabuto were to become the Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails without any constraints, not even Black Zetsu would be able to wrest control of the Eye of the Moon Plan back from him.
Furthermore, Kabuto's ambition was merely to become a second Sage of the Six Paths, a god walking the earth. From start to finish, he had no intention or desire to activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
For Black Zetsu, who had plotted for thousands of years to finally reach this stage, such a failure was absolutely intolerable.
Regrettably, he could never have dreamed that Kabuto had hidden himself and the Gedo Statue in the Land of Iron, the last place anyone would think to look.
At the same time, the First, Second, and Fourth Hokages, having broken free from Orochimaru's control, had begun integrating the collapsing Allied Shinobi Forces. They reignited a startling fighting spirit in these people who were about to be rendered obsolete by history.
Not only that, they took the initiative to attack the massive army of White Zetsu that had appeared out of thin air. This sent the already foul-tempered Madara into a towering rage, leading to several consecutive skirmishes with his old rival, Hashirama.
While the outside world was in chaos, Allen, who had been missing for ten full days, finally exited his dungeon instance and appeared in his room back at the Hidden Sound Village.
The moment he appeared, Neji, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately asked, "Is everything ready?"
"Yeah. Everything is sorted," Allen replied with a smile and a nod. "Next, let's resurrect the Ten-Tails and complete an unprecedented feat of deicide."
"That is exactly what I've been looking forward to!"
As he spoke, a deep blue light flashed through Neji's Byakugan. There was no need to ask; his eyes had finally completed their evolution. He was now qualified to join this final battle that would decide the fate of the world.
"Me too!"
Karin suddenly surged a massive amount of Chakra into her eyes, revealing a pair of pale purple Rinnegan.
Undoubtedly, both of them had completed the fusion of Yin and Yang Release. They had become the only other people in this world, following Hagoromo and Hamura, to obtain Six Paths Power.
Looking at the two assistants he had hand-picked, a satisfied smile spread across Allen's face. "Excellent! Then let us begin! First, tell me: where is Kabuto right now?"
"The Land of Iron. During the Uchiha civil war, he secretly delivered the intel into my hands."
Karin didn't waste a word and handed over a simple map.
"A gold-medal mole indeed. I didn't expect him to win Kabuto's trust so quickly," Allen remarked after a quick glance, not holding back his praise for Kisame's professional skill.
Gaining the trust of someone like Kabuto was no easy feat. Having been raised as a spy since childhood, the man fundamentally distrusted anyone but himself.
However, Neji explained with a cold sneer, "It's not just that Kisame did a good job. Nagato actively cooperated and put on a show to ensure the plan's smooth execution, allowing Kabuto to easily seize the Rinnegan and the Gedo Statue. Currently, Madara and Black Zetsu are fuming over this 'accident' and have fought several battles with the Allied Shinobi Forces led by Hashirama Senju."
"What about Orochimaru and Obito? What are they up to?" Allen asked with interest.
"Ever since the First, Second, and Fourth Hokages broke free from the Reanimation Jutsu, Orochimaru has been hiding in the shadows, refusing to show his face. Even Kimimaro and the original Sound Four don't know his location. Clearly, he's waiting for us to make our move. As for Obito, he's been staying by Madara's side, patiently waiting for his chance at revenge. Also, just as you predicted, Kabuto appeared suddenly and stole Itachi's body."
Karin quickly relayed all the intelligence she had gathered. Her Mind's Eye of the Kagura gave her an incredibly vast sensory range, making intelligence gathering easier for her than anyone else. Often, from several kilometers away, she knew exactly what was happening before the target even sensed anything was amiss.
"In other words, despite a few minor surprises, everything is still proceeding according to the script I designed," Allen mused, stroking his chin with a playful expression.
Clearly, his ability to play so many people like fiddles wasn't because his intelligence was vastly superior, but because he fully utilized the advantage of information asymmetry. He had known about Madara and Black Zetsu's conspiracy from the start, while those two knew nothing about him. Coupled with the collective defection of the Akatsuki and Hashirama's constant interference, the enemy simply had no time to settle down and think; they were forced into a passive, exhausted state of damage control.
Once he had processed this, Allen immediately took Karin and Neji and walked openly out of the Hidden Sound Village, heading straight for the secret base in the Land of Iron.
Since he made no effort to hide his tracks, Madara and Black Zetsu received word of his appearance almost immediately.
"Damn it! It seems this guy truly only wants to resurrect the Ten-Tails. He doesn't care who does it or who becomes the Jinchuriki!"
Obito was the first to feign annoyance, cursing under his breath. As one of the participants in the overall plan, he knew very well that Allen's appearance meant the final battle had begun, and his own moment of revenge was close at hand.
"We must stop him! At any cost!"
Madara, a powerhouse forged in the Warring States period, made his decision in seconds. At this stage, no plan or rhetoric could match the weight of direct action.
What he never expected, however, was that his sudden departure immediately drew the attention of the Allied Shinobi Forces. The brothers Hashirama and Tobirama, who knew Madara's personality all too well, immediately abandoned everyone else and gave chase.
The two sides entered the Land of Iron in rapid succession.
Although Mifune, the leader of the samurai, attempted to fulfill his duty, he was no match for these monsters and was floored in less than a second. Had Madara not been in such a hurry, Mifune likely would have been roasted to a crisp by a high-level Fire Release jutsu.
Those samurai following him were not so lucky. All five hundred of them were slaughtered to a man; not a single soul survived.
Looking at the mangled corpses littering the ground, the elderly samurai leader finally shed tears of agony and despair. He realized that the Land of Iron was finished. This place was about to become the main battlefield of the Fourth Shinobi World War!
The peace and stability he had worked so hard to maintain were for naught. He had no power to stop these titans from trampling his nation. Regardless of who won or lost, the Land of Iron would be the ultimate loser. And the samurai who failed in their duty to protect the people would vanish forever along with it.