With White Zetsu acting as their intelligence network, Madara quickly obtained "evidence" of the Akatsuki's supposed base of operations. Soon after, an army of over a hundred thousand shinobi surged forth, advancing toward the Land of Rain in an unstoppable tide. Wherever they passed, not a blade of grass remained; several small nations along the way were casually wiped out.
Yet this massive army halted the moment it reached the border of the Land of Rain.
Not a single division was willing to take the first step forward.
"So this is it—Amegakure, the base of the Akatsuki?" said a red-bearded old man dressed in purple among the ranks of the Allied Shinobi Forces.
"I thought we'd be dealing with some heinous criminal organization, but it turns out the leader's just the head of a small village in a tiny country."
"And you people made such a fuss over that?"
"Now we've reached the enemy's doorstep, yet no one dares to advance?"
"A bunch of cowards."
"If none of you have the guts, then I'll go first."
With that, he started striding straight toward the Land of Rain.
"Rōshi! Don't be reckless—you're no match for him!"
Floating a meter above the ground, Ōnoki immediately barked out the order. "You didn't live through that battle. You don't understand what kind of monster we're up against."
"That man isn't someone mortals can fight."
"Old man Ōnoki, don't think you can order me around. I'm not your subordinate anymore," Rōshi shot back without hesitation. "I only joined this army because the daimyō asked me to."
As the Four-Tails' jinchūriki, Rōshi had defected from Iwagakure after countless clashes with Ōnoki. Branded an S-rank rogue ninja, he had once been wanted by his own village.
However, since he mostly lingered near the Land of Earth and hadn't committed any real atrocities beyond injuring a few Iwa-nin on his way out, Ōnoki had kept the bounty token—never truly intent on hunting him down.
But now, with the Allied Shinobi Forces in need of powerful fighters, Rōshi had been conscripted by the Land of Earth's daimyō.
"You say I can't go? That just makes me want to go even more!"
Ignoring Ōnoki's shouts, Rōshi dashed straight into the Land of Rain.
Even though he suspected the old man's warning was probably true, he still chose to go alone—more out of stubbornness than anything. If Ōnoki said left, he'd go right.
"You—!" Ōnoki's mustache bristled with rage.
The Hidden Cloud was already in shambles after the Raikage and many elite shinobi had fallen, their strength and influence now greatly diminished. The Hidden Mist, still reeling from the loss of a Byakugan during the last Five Kage Summit, was in disarray; interim Mizukage Mei Terumi's reputation had plummeted, forcing Elder Genji to take over leadership. As for Rasa of the Sand—he clearly had no intention of getting involved.
That left only one choice for Supreme Commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces: Ōnoki himself.
And now, as commander-in-chief, he couldn't even control his own former subordinate.
How humiliating.
"You stubborn fool! Don't come crying to me when you die out there!" Ōnoki growled.
But Rōshi was already gone, vanishing into the misty borderlands of the Land of Rain.
"Not your problem, old man!"
An hour later, the Land of Rain remained eerily quiet.
Two hours later—still no signs of battle.
Three hours later—Rōshi had yet to return.
Someone of Rōshi's power, a jinchūriki of the Four-Tails, shouldn't have vanished without a trace. Even if defeated, there should have been some kind of disturbance.
The mist and drizzle that eternally shrouded the Land of Rain seemed to devour sound itself, as though the entire country were a slumbering beast—patiently waiting for prey to wander into its jaws.
No one knew what hid within that fog… or what had just occurred inside.
Only Madara, currently disguised as the illegitimate son of a former daimyō, knew the truth of what had happened in Amegakure.
"Target One—successfully captured," came Black Zetsu's voice in his ear.
"Commander!" a shinobi reported, kneeling before Ōnoki. "Should we advance?"
"This…" Ōnoki looked toward the Land of Rain, then back at the vast army behind him, hesitating.
"Old man, can you even handle this? You're so indecisive! If you can't lead, then let me take over as commander!"
Kurotsuchi's voice rang out impatiently from his side. "I've always wanted to know what it feels like to lead a massive army like this!"
A vein popped on Ōnoki's forehead. "Brat! This is no time for jokes!"
But her outburst at least snapped him back to focus.
Turning toward the Mist-nin contingent, Ōnoki barked, "Hidden Mist! Your shinobi specialize in fighting within heavy fog. Send your pursuit unit to scout the area ahead!"
The Mist-nin looked at each other uneasily—none eager to obey.
Before they could even move, however, the thick fog covering the Land of Rain began to drift—slowly spreading toward the Allied Forces.
High atop Amegakure's tallest tower, Pain's Deva Path extended both arms toward the enemy army.
"Rain Tiger at Will Technique!"
Drizzling rain fell, carried by the thickening mist until the entire Allied Shinobi Force was enveloped.
Visibility dropped sharply, though most shinobi managed to maintain their formation.
"Hey, what's that? It's huge…" one soldier muttered, pointing into the mist.
There, a colossal silhouette loomed—vague and hulking.
Several shinobi rushed forward to investigate, only to find it wasn't a true giant at all…
but a massive figure sculpted from clay.
Short and stocky, it looked almost harmless.
"Clay… giant?" Ōnoki's eyes widened. "No—this is bad!"
But it was too late.
From high above came a familiar voice, exuberant and manic—
"Art is an explosion! (Hrrr! Drink in the beauty of my art!)"
BOOM!!!
The sky itself seemed to split apart. The world went white.
Then, like mushrooms sprouting from the ground, more and more clay giants appeared all around the Allied camp—each identical in size.
"Drink!"
One by one, the clay giants detonated.
It was like a relentless bombing raid—explosions rippling across the battlefield in waves. In just a single barrage, countless shinobi were killed or maimed.
An ambush?
That was Ōnoki's first thought.
A traitor inside the ranks!
That was his second. Their every move had been predicted—someone had to be feeding information to the enemy.
"Th-that voice… it sounds like Deidara-niisan," Kurotsuchi whimpered, tugging at Ōnoki's sleeve.
"Forget that fool!" Ōnoki snapped. "Use lightning release—quickly! Those clay bombs are weak against Raiton!"
The order spread fast. Despite the chaos, groups of lightning-style shinobi gathered and unleashed their jutsu at the clay giants.
BOOM!!!
But instead of neutralizing them, the moment the lightning struck—the explosions grew even stronger.
"Hahaha! Idiot Ōnoki!"
Deidara's gleeful voice echoed from above. "My new art isn't afraid of lightning anymore! Raiton only makes them stronger! Hmmm!"
"Surprised, old man?! Hahahaha!"
His laughter echoed across the skies, infuriating Ōnoki until his beard bristled and trembled.
No one noticed—in the midst of the chaos—that several figures had quietly vanished from the massive Allied army.
Among the missing were the Six-Tails' jinchūriki Utakata, the Five-Tails' jinchūriki Han…
and the man claiming to be the former daimyō's bastard son.
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