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After ensuring that the six reanimated shinobi had fully withdrawn from the Hidden Mist Village, Kabuto immediately hastened to catch up with Obito.
"Have they been notified?" Obito inquired.
"Yes," Kabuto confirmed with a curt nod.
"Good." Obito stood beside a narrow mountain trail, his gaze lifted towards a towering peak. This particular mountain was even loftier than the summit they had previously occupied.
Zetsu's clone had relayed Pain's words to him in full. He understood the situation with crystal clarity. The order to assemble the reanimated shinobi at the shoreline was, at its core, a declaration of intent to engage the Allied Shinobi Forces in a direct, head-on clash of mutual annihilation.
However, relying solely on those forces, their chances of victory were catastrophically, vanishingly low. The only remaining hope, perhaps, was pinned entirely upon him. The moment Terauchi Yusuke revealed himself, he was to immediately seize and capture him. What Pain did not know, however, was that Obito had already secured the Six-Tails' chakra. His primary target had now shifted entirely from Terauchi Yusuke to Nagato himself.
Naturally, he had no intention of making his move immediately. After all, the Allied Shinobi Forces were an exceedingly tough bone to crack. And if he were to shift his focus directly onto Nagato right now, it would inevitably draw Nagato's undivided, hostile attention. Should the Six Paths of Pain be recalled to his position, he would then have to face the full might of the Rinnegan and the Six Paths simultaneously. His odds of prevailing under those circumstances were genuinely slim. The optimal strategy was, without question, to let the Akatsuki and the Allied Forces maul each other into utter ruin. Ideally, the Six Paths of Pain would be completely annihilated in the process. Only then could he effortlessly crush Nagato and claim the Rinnegan for himself without expending any significant effort.
It had been Madara Uchiha who had originally bestowed the Rinnegan upon Nagato. And now, the time had come for him to reclaim it. Obito tilted his head back, his gaze fixed firmly upon the mountain's peak. "This should be the place."
Kabuto remained utterly bewildered but knew better than to ask any questions.
"Are you planning to deal with Nagato right now? Isn't that far too great a risk?" Zetsu's clone interjected.
"Of course not. As I am now, I am still incapable of killing Nagato outright," Obito replied, shaking his head. "However, since the Akatsuki is preparing for a direct confrontation with the Allied Forces, doesn't that inherently mean that Pain and the others are meant to die in this battle? Isn't that right?"
"That is true. The task of resurrecting Lord Madara will rest entirely upon your shoulders," Zetsu's clone stated.
Obito nodded. "That is my solemn duty... One more thing. If Pain and his contingent are routed too swiftly, you are to step in and lend them a hand. There should be a legion of your clone soldiers stationed on this island, correct?"
"Indeed. Though this may only be a single island, we have nonetheless stationed at least ten thousand White Zetsu clones here. Should a large-scale, pitched battle erupt, the clone army will provide immediate support to Pain."
"That is reassuring to hear." The Akatsuki had come here with the sole objective of capturing the Six-Tails' jinchuriki. And once they truly obtained the power of the Ten-Tails, they might very well need to cross back over the sea regardless.
Of course, that was merely his own plan. Whether it could be executed smoothly would depend entirely on how the battle unfolded from this point forward. After seeing Zetsu off, Obito let out a soft, derisive snort.
Resurrect Madara? Once he possessed the Ten-Tails, what conceivable reason would there be to bring Madara back? Obito could not fathom the logic. But at this moment, he had no intention of voicing these thoughts to Zetsu. After all, the fewer who knew his true intentions, the better.
"Nagato... I do hope you won't choose to go into hiding," Obito muttered. He waved his hand dismissively. "You two, remain here and stay out of sight for the time being."
Kabuto and the reanimated Utakata were absolutely critical pieces to his endgame. Before he had successfully secured the Rinnegan, unforeseen complications could arise at any moment. Konan might very well fight to the death in a desperate, suicidal last stand. If Kabuto or Utakata were to be accidentally caught in the crossfire and harmed, the consequences would be catastrophic.
"Understood."
Kabuto nodded obediently and promptly led Utakata into concealment. Obito then turned and advanced swiftly towards the mountain's summit.
...
Itachi stared out over the vast, fog-shrouded sea, his expression a perfectly blank, unreadable mask. Yet his mind was churning with entirely different thoughts. Ever since he had infiltrated the Akatsuki, he had been relentlessly seeking an opportunity to unearth the organization's deepest secrets. But that chance had never materialized. In a dazed, bewildering blur, the moment of the "final decisive battle" was suddenly upon them.
Anyone with even a modicum of intelligence could see that the Akatsuki stood virtually no chance of victory against the combined might of the Allied Shinobi Forces. Itachi did not fear death. What he feared was dying without meaning, without purpose. That masked "Madara" had once used Sasuke Uchiha as bait to force him out of the Hidden Leaf Village. If he did not unmask, or even outright kill, that so-called "Madara," the threat to Sasuke would likely never truly be extinguished.
But to simply abandon his post now was also utterly unfeasible. Pain was right beside him, and Zetsu's watchful, scrutinizing eyes were constantly fixed upon his every move. The very instant he displayed any sign of aberrant behavior, Pain would likely execute him without a second thought, not even requiring the Allied Forces to lift a finger. He had to wait, to be patient. Everything hinged on the opportune moment. If there was ever to be a chance to slip away, it would only come when the Six Paths of Pain were so thoroughly engaged and overwhelmed that they had no attention to spare for him. He absolutely had to hold out until that precise, critical juncture arrived.
As Itachi mulled over his strategy in the depths of his mind, the reanimated shinobi, led by the Second Mizukage, arrived at the shoreline.
"What is the current status of the Allied Shinobi Forces?" Pain asked, tilting his head upwards to address Deidara, who had taken to the skies once more.
"The outline of the island is now visible, though still extremely hazy. It's approximately two nautical miles out. However, their advance strike force is already much closer... less than a single nautical mile, I'd estimate. They're approaching by ship this time. Should I commence bombing them right now?" Deidara shouted from above.
"No, hold your fire," Pain commanded. He turned his gaze towards Hozuki Gengetsu. "We are at the sea. I imagine there is no one in the entire shinobi world who understands Water Release more profoundly than you. Capsize their vessels."
"It makes no difference to me. But if they are traveling aboard large ships, ordinary waves and swells won't be enough to stop them. And we are positioned dangerously close to the shoreline. I worry I might inadvertently sweep all of you into the sea as well," Hozuki Gengetsu remarked, utterly unoffended by being so directly commanded. Of course, given his state as a reanimated corpse, even if he were angered, no one would care in the slightest.
"That is of no consequence. Unleash your technique without restraint," Pain dismissed Gengetsu's concern.
Gengetsu clicked his tongue softly, then strode directly to the water's edge. He brought his hands together into a seal. Instantly, two high-speed, spiraling water dragons erupted violently from the surface of the sea. They arched upwards like two colossal, sweeping bridges, their gaping maws plunging back down into the ocean. They bored into the water with a ferocious, rotating, drill-like motion. In an instant, the once relatively calm sea surface was thrown into a churning, high-velocity maelstrom. The surrounding water bulged and swelled upwards, rapidly forming two enormous, gaping whirlpools.
Many of the ships racing towards the shore had no time whatsoever to evade. Caught helplessly in the violent currents, they were sucked inexorably into the heart of the maelstroms and swiftly dragged down into the depths of the sea. Hiruzen, witnessing this catastrophic scene, immediately understood that someone was unleashing a large-scale, immensely powerful Water Release technique.
"Who could possibly execute a Water Release technique of this overwhelming magnitude?"
"It couldn't possibly be a shinobi from the Hidden Mist Village, could it?" Kakashi exclaimed, his face etched with shock.
"No. We are here to provide them with assistance. They would never do this," Hiruzen replied.
Even as he spoke, however, Hiruzen privately conceded that a Mist shinobi was, objectively, the most likely culprit. He himself was completely incapable of performing a Water Release technique of such devastating scale.
"Lord Hokage! Our own ship is beginning to lose control!" The helmsman was fighting desperately to maintain their heading, but it was a losing, grueling struggle.
"All shinobi proficient in Wind Release, hear my command! Unleash your Wind Release techniques in the direction opposite the pull of the whirlpools!" Hiruzen bellowed at the top of his lungs. The crews of the surrounding vessels, upon receiving Hiruzen's urgent order, immediately began to unleash their Wind Release techniques in the same, coordinated direction. A powerful, sudden gale surged against the sails, forcibly altering the ships' trajectories while simultaneously boosting their speed.
The sails of two vessels were snapped clean off by the sheer force of the concentrated Wind Release. Those ships immediately lost all control and were mercilessly devoured by the raging sea. The remaining six ships, however, all managed to successfully navigate around the two monstrous whirlpools. But the maneuver had cost them a significant, precious amount of time.
Through this harrowing, unexpected ordeal, Hiruzen was searingly reminded of just how invaluable time had become. To minimize further, catastrophic losses in personnel, they could afford no more delays. He gave the order for all remaining vessels to maintain their current, maximum speed. Before long, the coastline was looming directly before them, close enough to touch.