The shinobi of Kirigakure and Kumogakure were watching Iwagakure and Sunagakure's movements closely.
Confusion—and a restless kind of expectation—swirled through their ranks. Why hadn't their own Kage joined Ōnoki and the others to strike? Why were they still holding back?
In the shadows, Yagura's eyes were cold, as though he could see through everything.
"Everyone, calm down. Kirigakure must be cautious. Iwagakure and Sunagakure have already joined forces, but we still don't know how strong they truly are. If we rush in, we'll only end up on the back foot."
"Yes, Yagura-sama!"
The shinobi obeyed. They were still dissatisfied, but they understood his concern.
In a war that could decide the fate of a village, every choice carried weight.
So they swallowed their complaints and waited for Yagura's next order.
Kumogakure was the same.
The Acting Raikage—the man who stepped up after the Raikage vanished—stood on a high platform at the village entrance, staring out at the sky beyond the clouds.
"Kumogakure shinobi, I know you want to fight. I know you want to prove yourselves. But now isn't the time."
"We wait for the best moment. Let Iwagakure and Sunagakure probe Konoha first."
The shinobi clenched their teeth, unwilling—but they followed the order.
In this kind of war, Kumogakure had to stay rational if it wanted to win.
Elsewhere, Obito was discussing plans with Nagato.
"What? Ōnoki is already moving to attack Konoha?"
When the news reached him, his heart jolted.
He had assumed he'd need to put in work to spark this war.
Instead, the villages were tearing into each other on their own.
"Hah… heaven's helping me."
Obito's smile widened as he calculated quickly.
"This chance is rare. I'm going to use it."
He immediately arranged people to watch the battle.
He knew this war wasn't just about Konoha's survival.
It was about whether his own plan could finally move forward.
At this moment, Shuoye stood atop Konoha's wall, gaze fixed on the horizon.
He had already sensed the allied army of Iwagakure and Sunagakure closing in.
Yet he did nothing.
He had deliberately made Konoha the center of the storm—for one reason:
To force Obito to act, and to draw out Black Zetsu.
Obito was too good at hiding. Finding him directly was a headache.
But if Obito moved, Black Zetsu would have to show himself.
"Fugaku," Shuoye said without looking away, "how are the deployments for each clan?"
Fugaku answered at once. "Hokage-sama, every clan is in position. We can engage at any time."
Shuoye nodded, a hard light settling in his eyes.
"Good. The war is about to begin."
"This time, everyone will learn one thing—Konoha isn't something they can touch whenever they feel like it."
As his words fell, the entire village sank into a tense, killing stillness.
When the allied forces of Iwagakure and Sunagakure drew near Konoha's border, unease crept into their ranks.
They had expected patrols. Ambushes. Interception.
Yet along the whole route, they hadn't even seen the shadow of a Konoha shinobi.
The Five-Tails jinchūriki, Rōshi, felt alarm bells screaming in his chest.
"Ōnoki-sama… is this a trap? Why is there nobody?"
"It's fine."
Ōnoki only laughed, full of contempt.
He was in his prime—powerful, confident.
And in an era where the older monsters like Madara had vanished, most villages were led by newer Kage.
But Ōnoki?
He was the old guard. The veteran.
"Don't worry, Rōshi. In front of absolute strength, everything is paper."
"Even if Konoha prepared something, what then? Iwagakure and Sunagakure together can crush them head-on!"
Chiyo and the others also realized a sneak attack was no longer possible.
But they didn't lose heart.
They stopped hiding, accelerated their march, and made no effort to conceal their presence.
They were already here.
Retreat without fighting was impossible.
Ōnoki was already imagining how they'd split the spoils after swallowing Konoha—
When his eyes caught something near the path they'd just passed.
A paper tag.
His expression changed.
"Not good! Everyone, watch out!"
The warning had barely left his mouth when explosions tore through the forest not far ahead.
Shockwaves slammed into the allied troops. Shinobi were thrown off their feet, tumbling in chaos.
"Explosive tags!" Ōnoki's eyes widened in fury.
He hadn't expected Konoha to greet them like this.
Boom—boom—boom!
Explosions chained together, fire roaring upward, swallowing the woods until the forest became ash.
"Don't panic!"
Rōshi's face darkened as he tried to organize a retreat.
But it was too late.
Bodies already lay at the forest's edge.
He could feel the doom settling in.
"This is Konoha's trick! Hold the line—hold it!"
Ōnoki's face turned iron-blue.
Casualties rose by the second.
Most shinobi weren't built for defense.
They survived with toughness and overwhelming jutsu, not shields.
And now, before they had even seen an enemy…
They were bleeding.
Rōshi clenched his jaw, pain and anger mixing in his chest.
"Ōnoki-sama… what do we do now?"
Ōnoki's brows knitted tight. He stared at the chaos, then made his decision.
"I'll carve a path."
"Follow me—charge out! Push through!"
With a thunderous roar, a wide stretch of forest was violently forced open.
The allied army burst out like wild horses breaking a fence.
But there was no relief on their faces—
Only fear and rage.
Explosive tags had ripped them apart.
Shinobi lay in pools of blood.
Ōnoki's expression was ugly.
Just moments ago he'd been dreaming of dividing Konoha's wealth.
Now he'd eaten a brutal slap to the face.
He was furious—yet helpless.
Konoha's defenses were airtight.
A surprise attack was impossible.
Chiyo's teeth ground together.
How had Konoha known their exact timing and prepared this perfectly?
"Is there a traitor?"
The thought rose in multiple minds—but there was no time to chase it.
In the shadows, the Acting Raikage, Yagura, and their shinobi watched the carnage and felt quiet relief.
They were glad they hadn't marched with Ōnoki.
Let Iwagakure and Sunagakure take the first hit.
Test Konoha's depth.
Avoid walking into a grave.
Back in Iwagakure, the second-in-command who stayed behind received a message that turned his blood cold.
"What?! Shuoye Uchiha destroyed Kirigakure and Sunagakure?!"
"No wonder Chiyo that crazy old woman was desperate to drag us into attacking Konoha…"
"No—this is bad! Get this to Ōnoki-sama, now!"
His face went white as he dispatched someone immediately.
At the battlefield outside Konoha—
Thousands of shinobi surrounded the village.
And Shuoye stood atop the wall with his people, looking down like he was watching a scene already decided.
"Shuoye Uchiha!" Chiyo drew a harsh breath, forcing down her fury as she shouted up at him.
"Today, you pay!"
"Hand over our Kazekage! Pay compensation to rebuild Sunagakure!"
"Or Konoha will be wiped out today!"
"Hmm?"
Ōnoki's heart jumped.
Sunagakure… had already been destroyed?
His eyes narrowed at once.
So that was it.
Sunagakure was gone—and that was why Chiyo had been so eager to rope Iwagakure into this war.
She'd been using him.
Treating him like a fool.
On the wall, Shuoye let out a quiet laugh.
Empty threats—did Chiyo think everyone else was stupid?
He refused calmly.
"You want people back?"
"Come and take them."
His Mangekyō Sharingan opened.
That calm, domineering gaze swept across the allied army below.
A heavy, invisible pressure crashed down over the battlefield.
Ōnoki glanced at Chiyo, then looked up at Shuoye, voice turning sharp with extortion.
"Shuoye. If you know what's good for you, hand over the Kazekage, and compensate Iwagakure and Sunagakure for our losses."
"Otherwise, Konoha will drown in blood today."
Shuoye didn't even bother answering.
He only stared at Ōnoki—cold, contemptuous, already seeing through him.
They wanted the biggest gain at the smallest cost.
A fantasy.
Beside Ōnoki, Rōshi's chest tightened.
He was already in a partial Tailed Beast state, power surging—
And yet Ōnoki still dreamed of forcing surrender without a real fight.
It felt stupid.
Rōshi inhaled slowly.
He could feel Konoha's spirit—alive, fierce, unified.
Something other villages simply didn't have.
After this battle…
I'll go find my freedom.
He clenched his fist, the thought settling like a vow.
"Attack!"
With a single order, Ōnoki and Chiyo moved together.
Allied forces slammed into Konoha's defenders.
The war erupted.
Jutsu flashed everywhere. Chakra pressure thickened until the air felt heavy.
Konoha's shinobi held firm—
But they were outnumbered.
Ōnoki and Chiyo watched the battlefield and felt their blood rise.
In their eyes, Konoha was doomed.
Yet as she fought, Chiyo couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing.
Her instincts kept dragging her attention back to Shuoye.
"…You little brat."
"I don't believe you can still turn this around."
She told herself that with so many Kage-level fighters present, Shuoye would have to kneel.
Still—she didn't dare relax.
"Three Legendary Sannin…"
At the edge of the field, Nagato and the others spotted Jiraiya and the rest on Konoha's wall.
Their expressions shifted. Calculations stirred behind their eyes.
Those were Konoha's top-tier fighters.
If they joined the field, everything could twist.
Fugaku watched their side getting pressed and couldn't help asking:
"Shuoye—why are we only sending this many into battle? If this continues, we could lose!"
Shuoye smiled faintly, eyes deep as a well.
"If we don't do it this way… some people won't move."
"Relax. Everything is still inside my plan."
Fugaku and the others felt a little steadier—
Even if they still didn't understand what Shuoye was planning.
The battlefield remained locked in a brutal stalemate.
Konoha resisted under Shuoye's command, grinding through wave after wave.
On one flank, Yagura—still watching from the shadows—studied the situation.
Konoha was tied down. Iwagakure and Sunagakure were tied down.
His eyes sharpened.
A spark of excitement rose.
His subordinates urged him urgently.
"My lord, this is a perfect chance! If we strike now, we can crush Konoha in one blow!"
A vicious light flashed in Yagura's gaze.
He nodded.
"Today, I take back what's mine."
"I'll kill Shuoye—take the village back!"
He led his shinobi in a wide arc, preparing to cut into the battlefield from the side.
But he still didn't rush in.
He chose to watch a little longer.
He knew how fast war could flip.
In another hidden place, Obito watched through a long-range technique, eyes fixed on the battlefield.
"Shuoye…"
After last time, he knew he no longer had a clean chance to ambush Shuoye.
Even using White Zetsu clones would only be sending them to die.
Still—
Something about this battle felt wrong.
"Is Konoha really about to be broken like this?"
Obito couldn't stop the doubt.
He remembered the weight of Shuoye's Susanoo.
From the start, Shuoye had been a question mark to him.
Now that fear only grew:
If Shuoye kept rising…
Even Madara at his peak might not be enough.
Maybe only the Rinnegan's power could stand against Shuoye.
At this moment, Ōnoki clasped his hands behind his back and called up to the wall again:
"Shuoye! You can still surrender!"
"Give us the resources we want, and we'll withdraw immediately!"
The audacity stunned people across the field.
They couldn't believe Ōnoki dared to say that to Shuoye in the middle of war.
Meanwhile, inside Orochimaru's laboratory—
The Third Mizukage, soaking inside a chakra battery tank, heard Ōnoki's words through the commotion and went blank.
"Has Ōnoki gotten this bold now…?"
"This posturing is flawless."
On the wall, Shuoye's gaze stayed sharp as he read the battlefield.
The situation looked unfavorable.
But it still wasn't time for him to move.
"Chiyo… makes a decent whetstone."
He gave a slight signal to Uchiha Xuanjing.
Xuanjing understood immediately.
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