Southeastern Land of Fire, on a vast plain.
The Allied Shinobi Forces of the Four Great Villages, twenty-five thousand strong in total, were arrayed neatly on the plain, a mighty host, their gazes fixed intently on the five figures before them.
"This is the strength of the Great Shinobi Villages united." Gaara spread his arms wide. Ever since Akatsuki had emerged, he had advocated for the villages to unite, but his calls had largely gone unanswered.
"To be precise, it's Four Great Shinobi Villages," the Fifth Raikage, Darui, corrected, standing at the very center. Kumogakure's strength and resources had successfully earned him command of the First Division.
"If the Allied Shinobi Forces had been formed sooner, Kirigakure would not have vanished into the river of history," Gaara said, his eyes on the Second Division under his command.
"As the Third Tsuchikage said, you're still too naive. If not for the dire circumstances, the hidden villages would never form an alliance. How could the entangling feuds of past generations be erased simply by changing a forehead protector?" Darui gestured towards two shinobi in his division. Judging by their uniforms, they belonged to Kumogakure and Iwagakure respectively. "See those two?"
Gaara shifted his gaze and nodded slightly.
"If not for the discipline demanded of shinobi, those two would already be at each other's throats." Darui couldn't help but sigh. Shinobi...
"I believe that through our efforts, this situation will not befall the next generation of shinobi," Gaara said, his brow furrowed. The generational feuds between shinobi were truly not something that could be resolved with a few simple words.
"Let's hope so." Darui didn't press the issue further. Regardless of their past relationships, the Four Great Shinobi Villages were now locusts on the same string. The Akatsuki, having revived the Ten-Tails, was their common enemy.
"It's about time, Lord Fifth Raikage." Kakashi, who had been listening to their discussion without offering his own opinion, interjected as their conversation concluded.
Darui nodded slightly, took a step forward, and began his pre-battle speech and rally.
...On the vast ocean, a colossal creature lay half-submerged.
"What's the situation with the other hidden villages?" Nagato opened his eyes and looked at Konan as she flew towards him.
"They've formed an Allied Shinobi Force and are heading this way," Konan relayed the intelligence she had gathered. She glanced peripherally at the massive beast dormant beneath Nagato, hesitated for a moment, then voiced her question. Although she trusted Nagato, the residual might emanating from the Ten-Tails still sent shivers down her spine. Can such power truly be controlled by humans?
"I have it mostly under control. Uchiha Madara wasn't deceiving us on this point; the Ten-Tails truly possesses the power to change the world." As the one controlling the Ten-Tails, no one understood better than Nagato what kind of power this behemoth contained.
"Uchiha Madara said he also commands a Hundred Thousand White Zetsu that can coordinate with us in battle." Recalling the dense, seemingly endless ranks of White Zetsu she had seen not long ago, a flicker of apprehension crossed Konan's eyes. Just as Nagato had said, Uchiha Madara could not be trusted. With these White Zetsu alone, even if he had lost his strength in the battle against Hashirama Senju, he would have been fully capable of collecting all the Tailed Beasts himself. His cooperation with Akatsuki definitely had an ulterior motive.
Thinking this, Konan glanced at the Rinnegan in Nagato's eye sockets. Other than those eyes, she truly couldn't imagine what the then-destitute Akatsuki could have possessed to attract someone like Madara. And then there was Madara's choice to entrust control of the Ten-Tails to Nagato.
She had a general guess about Uchiha Madara and his cohorts' schemes. If it weren't for Uzumaki... no, Namikaze Naruto's strength exceeding Madara's calculations, they would never have gone to such lengths to treat Nagato's hidden ailments. After collecting all the Tailed Beasts, Nagato and she, having outlived their usefulness, would absolutely have been killed. At that point, Uchiha Madara, having obtained the Rinnegan, would undoubtedly retake control and proceed with the Ten-Tails' revival plan himself. Nagato, despite his immobility, was still a Kage-level powerhouse, but facing an siege by a Hundred Thousand White Zetsu, he would inevitably be worn down and killed, no doubt about it.
She was now very hesitant about whether informing Nagato of Uchiha Madara's request had been right or wrong. Cooperating with that man was tantamount to asking a tiger for its skin.
"Send a paper clone. Have them use the Hundred Thousand White Zetsu to wear down the Allied Shinobi Forces first." Freed from the constant pain and having regained control of his body, Nagato was capable of more thought. Uchiha Madara was untrustworthy; on this point, his judgment aligned with Konan's. But unlike Konan's hesitation, he had faith in his Rinnegan, and even more confidence in the Ten-Tails, which was already under his control. Setting a wolf to devour a tiger—he was fully confident that this wolf, Uchiha Madara, could not harm him. With such confidence, he believed the Hundred Thousand White Zetsu would be an excellent tool to punish the Allied Shinobi Forces and make the remaining Four Great Villages feel pain.
"...That is Nagato's order." After speaking, the paper clone dissolved into countless scraps of paper and vanished into the air.
"It seems Nagato has the Ten-Tails under control," Black Zetsu remarked, his gaze fixed on the behemoth nearly at the limit of his vision, his tone as provocative as ever.
"Control the Ten-Tails? It's merely a castrated thing, weakened by seals," Uchiha Obito sneered. "If the true Ten-Tails only had this much power, why would the Sage of Six Paths have had to leave the world in such a devastated state back then? Besides, only partial limbs were collected from several Tailed Beasts. It's already a stroke of luck that they managed to revive the Ten-Tails even to this extent. Two days have only barely allowed that monster in the distance to regain a fraction of the Ten-Tails' true might."
"But it's still the Ten-Tails, and one controlled by the Rinnegan at that, not just a mindless beast of pure violence and destruction," Black Zetsu continued to prod him. Truthfully, Obito's current state felt a little off to him. The chance to reunite with his beloved is right before him, yet he remains so composed. Is this the Uchiha Obito he knew...?
Moreover, with a thousand-year plan on the verge of success, for it to go off track repeatedly like this... even he couldn't help but feel a trace of irritation. Nagato is one thing; he's somewhat still within controllable limits. But Namikaze Naruto is now completely beyond his grasp. Around twenty years old, a prime growth period for a shinobi... He truly feared that the next time they met, Namikaze Naruto would give him a very big, and likely unpleasant, surprise. A strong premonition constantly told him this surprise would be anything but small.
"After Nagato is worn down by the Allied Shinobi Forces, are you certain you can make him use the Rinne Rebirth Technique to revive Uchiha Madara?" Naraka Path Uchiha Obito asked, the peripheral vision of his three-tomoe Sharingan fixed intently on Black Zetsu. This guy is too dangerous. The main body must eliminate him with Yin-Yang Release at the first opportunity.
"Certain!" Black Zetsu answered decisively.
"Then Nagato is your responsibility. I'll go command the White Zetsu." With that, Uchiha Obito vanished from the main world.