After wrestling with it for a while, Madara finally made a decision.
"You go investigate the whereabouts of the other jinchūriki first. You also must confirm whose hands the sealing scroll containing the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's severed leg has fallen into. Once you have the information, report back immediately."
"Understood, Madara-sama."
Black Zetsu agreed and then sank into the ground.
It was obvious that now that Madara had returned, Black Zetsu no longer intended to bother dealing with Obito.
Obito did not care either. He had never truly believed Black Zetsu was trustworthy.
He offered a suggestion. "What about attacking the feudal lords?"
Madara's expression turned strange. "Attack the daimyō? Why waste time on that trash?"
In Madara's eyes, daimyō were nothing but garbage, rice-eating parasites who knew nothing beyond stuffing themselves, and thus completely beneath his notice.
Obito, however, clearly had a different view. "We don't care about the daimyō, but the Allied Shinobi Forces do. If we capture the daimyō and demand the Alliance hand over the jinchūriki, it might work."
Madara simply waved his hand. "Do as you like. No matter how foolish it is, I won't stop you."
To him, raiding and abducting daimyō was pure stupidity.
But he could not be bothered to restrain Obito. As long as it did not interfere with the Eye of the Moon Plan, he would not care.
Obito only gave a small nod. In truth, he did not think much of the daimyō either, but he felt it was worth a try. At the very least, attacking them would force the Alliance to split their forces, so it was not entirely pointless.
"And what about you? What do you plan to do next?" Obito asked again.
"What do I plan to do? Obviously… tatakae da!"
Madara was a man of action.
For now, even if the locations of the other jinchūriki were unclear, the One-Tails jinchūriki Gaara was already confirmed to be stationed in the rear of the Allied forces, so there was nothing to hesitate over.
They were going to fight sooner or later, so better to fight early.
The moment he made that decision, the White Zetsu army immediately began advancing toward the Land of Lightning.
At the same time, the divisions of the Allied Shinobi Forces had already established defensive lines on the western border and western coast of the Land of Lightning.
Eighty thousand shinobi were spread out, forming a defensive line as tight as an iron barrel.
Soon, the Second Division detected the White Zetsu army moving underground.
Their captain Kitsuchi immediately joined forces with his daughter Kurotsuchi and moved.
"Doton: Kaitsu Shōkutsu (Earth Release: Open Earth Rising Excavation)!"
Boom, boom, boom!
The rocky ground surged upward all at once, forming a towering mountain.
The White Zetsu army lurking beneath the earth was directly forced up from below, erupting like a volcanic blast from the mountain's peak, spewing out in a way that was frankly disgusting to look at.
Besides those underground, there were of course White Zetsu on the surface as well.
In no time at all, the Second Division clashed with the White Zetsu horde.
Looking out, they seemed like swarms of clustered white locusts. One glance made your skin crawl.
"Kill!!!"
At Kitsuchi's order, the Allied shinobi immediately surged forward, the roar of battle shaking heaven and earth.
The Alliance's side began by hurling kunai, shuriken, and all manner of tools, and some even started throwing explosive tags, cutting down large numbers of White Zetsu.
But the White Zetsu were not slow. They quickly closed the distance and crashed into the front lines, engaging the shinobi in close combat.
Most White Zetsu did not use ninjutsu and simply relied on taijutsu to fight.
And in this timeline, they were different from the originals. In the original story, the White Zetsu had been strengthened by Kabuto using Yamato, making them stronger. The ones now lacked that enhancement.
Even so, they were not weak. It was not easy for a mere genin to kill a White Zetsu.
Especially since the shinobi had a limited supply of kunai and shuriken. Once they ran out, they became very passive, and in terms of stamina, they were inferior to the White Zetsu as well, so the battle did not go particularly smoothly.
Compared with the Second Division, the Third Division under Kakashi's command was in even worse shape.
They did not only run into the White Zetsu army, but also encountered an Edo Tensei strike team.
This group of Edo Tensei were mainly the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, including Fuguki, Kushimaru, Jinin, Jinpachi, Ameyuri, Mangetsu, and the others.
Except for Ameyuri, the rest all had their ninja blades in hand, making them extremely troublesome opponents.
Kakashi just felt a headache starting. After all, there were not many people in his division who could perform sealing techniques.
Dealing with Edo Tensei bodies was no easy matter.
Fortunately, he had previously learned Mafūba (Demon Sealing Wave) from Natsuki, so he had to personally take the point, with others providing support.
He immediately gave the order.
"Iwashi, you will temporarily take over command of the Third Division. Ryomizu, Masaki, Fumiya, you three will form the main sealing squad with me to seal these Edo Tensei bodies. Guy, Lee, you two support us!"
"Understood!"
No one wasted a word of nonsense, answering crisply in unison.
Very quickly, the Allied shinobi and the White Zetsu army were locked in combat, while Kakashi's squad engaged the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Kakashi immediately pulled out a scroll and summoned a coffin, then activated Mafūba (Demon Sealing Wave) from a distance, targeting Ameyuri first.
Since she no longer had her ninja blade (the Thunder Fang Blades Kiba were in Tenten's hands), she was relatively easier to deal with.
Sure enough, Ameyuri was sucked into the vortex of the Mafūba with no chance to resist and was stuffed straight into the coffin and sealed away.
"Nice, Kakashi!"
Guy could not hold back his praise, then launched his Konoha Hiten Geri (Leaf Flying Kick) straight at Fuguki.
Guy's sudden appearance left Fuguki, Kushimaru, Jinin, Jinpachi, and the others all shocked and pale.
This form of his dragged their memories back to that assault on Konoha years ago.
Back then, there had also been a "kappa" who exploded with terrifying power and kicked the Seven Swordsmen into something resembling a slapstick comedy act.
Even now, recalling it made them involuntarily tremble.
However, this time they were Edo Tensei bodies and had no fear of death at all, so they quickly straightened their backs again.
Since they had run into another "kappa," this time they would take their revenge.
At the same time, the other Divisions were also facing attacks from Edo Tensei teams and the White Zetsu army.
Darui's First Division came up against Edo Tensei Dan, Hizashi, and others.
The Fifth Division, led by Mifune, crossed blades with Edo Tensei Hanzō of the Salamander, Kanki, and the rest.
For a while, the entire western region of the Land of Lightning shook under the din of battle, with casualties on both sides piling up beyond measure.
A little further back from the front lines, the Medical Division was swamped with work, and the Logistics and Transport Unit was run ragged like dogs.
By comparison, Natsuki in the rear looked quite relaxed.
But it was not that he wanted to be idle, only that this was what he had been ordered to do.
He had to conserve his strength and wait for Madara to move.
The moment Madara appeared, Natsuki would have to head to the front immediately and personally face him in battle.
At present, it seemed that Natsuki was the only one who could stand against Madara.
There was also another group of people, including Neji, Tenten, Jiraiya, Onoki, and others, who were all on standby, ready to rush to the battlefield the moment they were needed.
At this time, reports from the front announced that large numbers of Edo Tensei bodies had appeared and reinforcements were urgently required.
Tenten stood up and stretched lazily.
"Looks like it's my turn to take the stage. My path as a legendary kunoichi starts right here!"
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 500 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]