Plans could never keep up with changes.
Because of one small action from Ye Zi, Orochimaru was forced to summon the Edo Tensei corps earlier than planned. As a result the squad led by Tsunade was naturally blocked by those reanimated shinobi, they could only watch helplessly as Ye Zi slipped away.
It was frustrating, but there was nothing they could do.
The Edo Tensei forces Orochimaru deployed to the third battlefield were anything but weak. Among them were Fugaku Uchiha, wielder of the Mangekyō Sharingan, Kato Dan with his Spirit Transformation Technique, and jinchūriki from multiple villages…
Ye Zi swept his gaze over the third battlefield, taking in everything at once. As expected, the clone army was at a disadvantage. At this rate, even with the enhancement drugs, total victory over the Allied Forces was unlikely, they might at best reduce the enemy's numbers drastically.
"It still comes down to relying on the Edo Tensei and the Hebi Squad…"
Retracting his gaze, Ye Zi left the Third Division behind and continued moving forward.
His location was not reported immediately; instead, it was relayed back to headquarters and then passed on to the Fourth Division.
Once his general direction was confirmed, Shisui Uchiha and his companions broke away from their main forces, determined the route, and set out toward Ye Zi.
In the rear command post, Shikaku Nara rubbed his chin, his expression stern.
The four Kage needed an hour to reach the fourth battlefield. If Ye Zi could be stalled there for just that long, once the Kage arrived, their chances of killing him would be high.
At the moment, the ambush unit was engaging the Sharingan corps.
Kakashi's First Division was being suppressed by the Edo Tensei unit led by the First Hokage himself.
Kurotsuchi's father, Kitsuchi, led the Second Division, which was successfully holding back the clone army. However, the tenacity of the Edo Tensei troops was causing the casualty rate to rise rapidly.
The Third Division's situation was similar to the Second's. The only unit maintaining absolute advantage was Pakura's Fourth Division.
Information about the battlefields was being updated every minute.
"If only we could find a trace of the real culprit," Shikaku muttered, eyes flashing.
If they could locate the one controlling the Edo Tensei and stop the Reanimation Jutsu, this war could end immediately.
"Let's just hope Lord Hokage and the others can stop Ye Zi…"
After leaving the Third Division's battlefield behind, Ye Zi continued for three more minutes before stopping in a barren region filled with jagged rocks.
A squad of over a hundred shinobi halted as soon as they saw him.
Ye Zi's eyes narrowed, fixing on the figures at the front, almost all from the Uchiha clan. It was a pity Fugaku was deployed to the third battlefield; otherwise, he could've been quite useful here.
"Find the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki's location."
He spoke coldly toward the empty air beside him.
White Zetsu, who had been lurking at his feet, silently obeyed and slipped away, circling around the squad led by Uchiha Shisui.
"Madara has released the Edo Tensei binding. That will make cooperation smoother. Once Ye Zi revives the Ten-Tails, we'll bring Madara back…" Black Zetsu thought quietly to himself.
While White Zetsu departed soundlessly, Ye Zi stayed put.
"Three Uchiha with awakened Mangekyō, troublesome. The most dangerous one is the one who can use Flying Thunder God."
He drew his long blade, and in an instant, entered Sage Mode.
"There are too many of them. Wood Clones won't be enough to restrain them. In that case… no need to hold back. I'll finish this quickly."
Since the start of the war Ye Zi had been conserving chakra, but now, for the first time he faced a situation where restraint was no longer possible.
He could ignore the hundred or so other shinobi, but not the three with Mangekyō Sharingan, Shisui, Obito, and Itachi.
He already had a grasp of their Mangekyō abilities, but what made them even more troublesome was Susanoo.
Crackle…
Black lightning surged around him.
The snake-like eyes of Sage Mode, the Rinnegan of the Sage of Six Paths, the Mangekyō Sharingan of the Uchiha. The three different powers merged together into one pair of eerie, inhuman eyes, gleaming coldly amid the lightning.
"Don't forget," came a voice from within the sealed space, "if your chakra runs dry, you'll die too."
It was Shokui, the being whose chakra Ye Zi had been continuously absorbing. He could sense Ye Zi preparing to go all out, and quickly issued a reminder.
He didn't want to die in such a pathetic way, despite his grim situation, as long as he lived there was hope.
"Even if you die, I won't," Ye Zi shot back flatly.
Shokui snorted coldly. "You're the stupidest human I've ever met. But fine, I like it this way. That's exactly why I'm cooperating with you, not because I'm afraid of death."
"Enough talk. Just focus on condensing your chakra."
Ye Zi's face hardened as he cut off the mental link then, rather than attacking immediately, he dropped a coffin onto the ground and charged straight toward Shisui's unit.
"He's coming, so fast!"
There were 112 shinobi in total, sixty-seven of them Uchiha jōnin with three-tomoe Sharingan.
Yet when Ye Zi attacked, even their Sharingan couldn't keep up with his speed.
"Scatter!"
Shisui barked sharply. The blade in his hand flared with blazing fire as he opened his Mangekyō Sharingan and rushed to meet Ye Zi head-on.
At his command, the formation split to both sides.
Itachi and Obito didn't hesitate either; both activated their Mangekyō, flanking Shisui to the left and right.
Every volunteer on this mission had already accepted death as their fate. That resolve left no room for fear.
"Coming straight at me? You know genjutsu won't work on me, yet you're still so confident. Your trump card must be… Susanoo."
Ye Zi's eyes widened slightly, killing intent surging through him. His body blurred into black lightning, flashing across the battlefield to appear right in front of Shisui. Their gazes locked for a split second.
Just as Ye Zi predicted, Shisui dared to confront him directly only because he had Susanoo as his shield. And now, Shisui was acting as bait.
As black lightning closed in, brilliant green chakra instantly enveloped Shisui, forming into the upper half of a gigantic armored warrior, his Susanoo.
But Ye Zi only feinted, vanishing from his position in a burst of Lightning Body Flicker just as Susanoo took form.
"Huh?" Shisui's eyes widened.
Itachi and Obito, who had prepared Amaterasu and Kamui, were also caught off guard.
Their original plan was for the three of them to coordinate an assault, Shisui would block Ye Zi's attack with Susanoo while Itachi and Obito countered with Amaterasu and Kamui. But Ye Zi's apparent killing strike at Shisui had only been a distraction.
Knowing that all three possessed Susanoo, Ye Zi had chosen the smarter approach, to pick off the weaker ones first.
In a flash of lightning, he appeared before five shinobi. Before they could even react, five slashes landed, five lives extinguished in a single second.
"Using the sword conserves the most chakra. Those three Mangekyō users will take more effort to handle."
After cutting down five foes in an instant, Ye Zi ignored Shisui and the others completely and plunged into the rest of the squad.
Even for him, breaking through Susanoo's defense wouldn't be easy, so his plan was simple: finish off everyone else first, and leave Shisui, Itachi, and Obito for last.
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Currently on Chapter 632 - The Weight of a Life