"Is everyone all right?" Natsuki asked.
"No injuries, just a shame about this operation." Shino shook his head.
The others felt the same. It was such a rare chance to put an end to the Shinobi World War, and yet they had failed to seize it. It was hard not to feel regret.
Natsuki could only spread his hands. Things were never that simple.
Unless he were completely invincible and could slaughter enemies at will, this kind of outcome was inevitable. That was clearly impossible right now. He did not even have a way to deal with Kamui (Divine Authority)'s intangibility, so he basically could not truly pin Obito down.
Obito had practically fought with his life on the line to protect the Gedō Mazō (Demonic Statue of the Outer Path). It was no surprise the operation had not succeeded.
The enemy was not nearly as weak as some might imagine, so they absolutely could not be taken lightly.
Still, it was not as if they had gained nothing. After all, Gedō Mazō was now crippled. Both arms had been erased by Onoki's Jinton (Dust Release), and one leg had been sealed away. In that state, could it still become the Jūbi (Ten-Tails)?
On top of that, they now had intel on Obito's new Six Paths, and they had also learned that he could use White Zetsu's body to repair his own injuries.
Once they returned and worked out a counter-strategy, they would definitely be able to seize the upper hand in the battles to come.
As for the countless White Zetsu here—they had to be wiped out.
No point leaving them to swell the enemy's ranks.
Afterward, Natsuki treated Samui first, since she had the most serious injuries. Konan and Shino took responsibility for clearing out the White Zetsu in the area.
Konan flew up into the sky and rained explosive tags down from above, while Shino sent his bugs everywhere. White Zetsu died in droves; in total, they probably killed nearly ten thousand.
Out of a hundred thousand White Zetsu, that only brought the number down to ninety thousand.
There was nothing they could do about that. There were only so many White Zetsu clustered here, and many of the others had probably not been deployed yet, or had already been destroyed or sent elsewhere.
Once everything was done, Konan left behind a massive carpet of explosive tags and obliterated Akatsuki's former main base, burying it along with her and Nagato's memories.
Natsuki then used Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) to take everyone back to the war council chamber.
A and the others rushed over immediately. "Well? Did you destroy the Gedō Mazō?"
Onoki and Mei both shook their heads, not in the mood to talk.
In the end, it was Samui who gave a serious, orderly report of what had happened. Once everyone finished listening, they all felt it was a great pity, but no one blamed the team. They had already performed spectacularly.
From here on out, it seemed they would have to defeat the enemy head-on on the battlefield.
Before long, a new strategy meeting was convened. All high-ranking personnel attended, including division commanders, squad captains, and others. Even Natsuki and Ten did not escape the summons.
A began speaking. "Right now, the ninja of all the villages have gathered. Next, follow the division allocation plan. Form up your units with all possible speed and get your combat strength fully organized in the shortest time. Then the army will march to the designated positions to block the incoming White Zetsu horde. The Daimyō Guard Unit must also protect the daimyō. Do not let the enemy capture them as bargaining chips. The jinchūriki must be kept absolutely safe. They're the key to our victory."
That was the basic framework. But the matter of protecting the daimyō still left everyone a bit speechless.
In truth, when facing a cataclysm at the scale of the entire world, the lives of the daimyō were not exactly the top priority. But the Allied Shinobi Forces still had to protect them.
After all, this world's people thought a certain way. The daimyō were the symbol of a country, the embodiment of its legitimacy. If the daimyō were not protected, it was tantamount to the country itself being wiped out.
It was complicated. In any case, they had to split off troops to guard them.
Tsunade added, "White Zetsu has underground movement capabilities, so we need to prevent them from tunneling beneath our lines and infiltrating the rear."
Gaara followed up. "White Zetsu can also disguise themselves, so be extremely cautious about spies infiltrating our forces—especially the medical and logistics division. Don't give White Zetsu any chance to slip in and cause chaos."
Others also spoke up one after another, forming a circle and refining the plan together in more and more detail.
Once the meeting ended, they immediately summoned every ninja to assemble in the plaza.
When Natsuki followed the others to the high platform overlooking the plaza, he saw that the once-empty square was now packed shoulder to shoulder with shinobi, along with some samurai from the Land of Iron.
Everyone wore a ninja forehead protector and looked to be in good spirits.
Natsuki spotted quite a few familiar faces: Genma, Raido, Iwashi, Izumo, Kotetsu… pretty much every capable shinobi he could think of had been pulled into the war.
Next, in accordance with the division plan, the commanders of each unit were announced: First Division commander Darui, Second Division commander Kitsuchi, Third Division commander Kakashi, Fourth Division commander Maki, Fifth Division commander Mifune, and medical and logistics division commander Dan, among others.
Once the officers had been named, it was time to sort the rank and file.
Fortunately, the rosters had already been posted, so every ninja quickly found their assigned division. They gathered with their units, received supplies, and prepared to move out.
Natsuki had not yet been specifically assigned, so he returned to the office with Ten for tea.
He had been exhausted earlier; finally, he could rest a little.
Next up would be the battle of the eighty thousand–strong Allied Shinobi Forces. Everyone would be showing off their full abilities. Their primary opponents would be White Zetsu, as well as a sizable contingent of Sand ninja forces.
As for "Dream-Maker" Kabuto, who knew how many graves he had dug up, or how many dead he had turned into Edo Tensei puppets. How many members of the Allied Shinobi Forces would end up seeing the faces of their own relatives and friends—only to be forced to fight those same loved ones?
If they wanted to free those loved ones from control, they would have to kill Kabuto.
The problem was that Kabuto currently had Madara guarding him, which would make killing him no easy task.
However, Natsuki did not believe someone like Madara would be willing to remain under Kabuto's control forever. He would surely look for a way to break free.
That would depend on how the power struggles among the enemy played out.
At that time, in the Land of Fields (Tanokuni), Obito and Black Zetsu arrived and successfully rendezvoused with Kabuto and Madara, then released the heavily wounded Gedō Mazō.
Madara looked at the statue, which had only one leg left. His expression could not have been any darker.
Even that last leg had been severely corroded.
It was truly a sight of utter misery.
He could not help but say, "Obito, you really are a disappointment. You could not even protect Gedō Mazō."
Obito's temper was running hot as well. He jabbed a finger at Kabuto. "I was going to ask you the same thing. Why did you reverse-summon Gedō Mazō out of nowhere? And even if you did, why did it come back missing a leg? Weren't you over here too? Why didn't it lose a leg on your side?"
Madara suddenly felt a bit awkward. "Ahem. You don't understand how strong the enemy over here was."
Obito sneered. "The enemy on my side was strong too! Natsuki came with the Tsuchikage and Mizukage in tow. Gedō Mazō was nearly reduced to atoms by the Tsuchikage's Jinton (Dust Release), and I almost got kicked to death by Natsuki trying to protect it. What else was I supposed to do? The fact that it's still intact at all is already pretty good."
"What did you say? Natsuki showed up on your side too?"
Madara's expression darkened. "So that kid really is something. He blew off one of Gedō Mazō's legs on my side, and then he turned up on yours as well. It's no surprise you couldn't beat him. Even if I ran into that brat myself, I'd end up taking the worse of it."
(End of Chapter)
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