"Move faster."
From the Allied Shinobi Forces Headquarters, chief strategist Shikaku Nara used his teammate Inoichi Yamanaka's Mind Transmission Jutsu to relay his orders to the various divisions.
"The battle between the Akatsuki and Uchiha Obito has already started. We must get there before their fight ends—we absolutely cannot let the situation get any worse."
"Why?" a voice naturally questioned from one of the units. "Wouldn't it be better if we let them fight and weaken each other, and only go in afterward? That way, we might sacrifice fewer shinobi and have an easier time winning this war."
It was a common thought among the ranks.
"We can't think like that," Shikaku patiently explained, hoping they would understand the true gravity of this war. "For them, the current battle is all about the Ten-Tails. The Ten-Tails is a massive military asset. No matter which side claims it, they will become an extremely dangerous enemy for us."
Of course, Shikaku also withheld some information.
Based on his own assessment, if the Ten-Tails ended up in the hands of Shirou and Madara's Akatsuki, it would be even more dangerous—a true nightmare for the Allied Forces.
If possible, Shikaku secretly hoped the Allied Forces could reach a strange, temporary understanding with Uchiha Obito in this war, working together to get rid of the huge threats of Shirou and Madara.
That way, the Allied Forces would have a slightly easier time.
After all, they had one ninja who could counter Uchiha Obito: Kakashi Hatake. Shikaku already knew a lot about Kamui and could quickly develop strategies to use against him.
"Command," a voice suddenly reported. "The advance troops have reached the outskirts of the battlefield."
Riding a strange ink bird, a Konoha ANBU named Sai had arrived first, leading a small team. He reported their current status.
"We've already… seen the Ten-Tails."
Sai's face was pale to begin with, but at that moment, it grew even whiter. He continued his report in a dull, emotionless tone.
"What about the others?" Shikaku immediately asked for more updates, focusing on the three enemies he cared about most. "Uchiha Madara, Shirou, Uchiha Obito—did you see them? Are they fighting? What's the current situation?"
"The situation… is a bit strange," added Kankuro, the Fifth Kazekage's brother, who was seated beside Sai. "It looks like something happened between them. The battle has stalled. Right now, it seems like there's no movement at all."
"But," Kankuro glanced at the huge, town-sized crater in the ground and continued, "judging from the surroundings, there must have just been a fierce fight. Some kind of massive explosion. We're not sure exactly how it happened."
"That matches what we guessed," Shikaku nodded back at headquarters. "Our own Sensory Division picked up some extraordinarily strong chakra fluctuations, too. According to intel from other scouts, there must have just been a huge explosion, and the aftershocks were felt even near them."
"Stay in place and keep watching," Shikaku ordered. "Transmit intel immediately and wait for the main army." He didn't believe their small squad could affect the battle much; staying put as observers was far more valuable.
"Understood," Sai and Kankuro both acknowledged.
-----
However, their movements did not go unnoticed by those at the center of the battlefield. Both Obito's side and Shirou's quickly detected the small team's approach—but none of them cared.
"Just a few little ants," Madara said, completely indifferent toward the Allied Forces. He tried again to use a talisman to control Obito, but it yielded no result.
"My binding seal has been blocked," Madara frowned.
"It must be the power of a curse mark," Shirou said with his eyes closed, inhaling as if he could sense the different power on Obito. "He has one of Orochimaru's curse marks on him."
That curse mark was also one of Obito's triggers for danger.
-----
"Obito," Orochimaru, whose presence had been uncertain, once again appeared beside him.
He could see the complications in trying to use the Ten-Tails against Shirou and urged, "When are you finally going to become the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki?"
"The Ten-Tails needs to continue evolving," Obito casually made up an excuse and glanced at his own chest, hiding a secret from Orochimaru.
Or rather, he hadn't told Orochimaru the whole truth.
Inside Obito's heart was a binding seal Madara had placed there before dying, making it impossible for Obito to take his own life and allowing Madara to control him.
But over his heart was a curse mark Orochimaru had placed to help block Madara's control. This curse mark, in turn, could be a trigger for Orochimaru to seize Obito's body.
These two different powers barely kept each other in check, both controlling his body and leaving Obito wary of making any move.
If Madara tried to use the seal to control him, Obito could draw on Orochimaru's curse mark to resist, but that risked Orochimaru taking over his body.
If Orochimaru tried to seize his body, the seal would sense the destabilization, allowing Madara to seize control instead.
Right now, the most important thing was to have both Madara's seal and Orochimaru's curse mark removed at the same time. Only then could Obito truly become the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki.
But he couldn't tell Orochimaru any of this.
Obito had always known how ambitious this ally was. Even though they stuck together out of shared necessity against Shirou, they were still scheming against each other.
Of course, Obito wasn't entirely lying to Orochimaru, since the Ten-Tails really did need to evolve further to make him a perfect jinchuriki.
At present, the Ten-Tails wasn't in its full-power state. The chakra it had was only a fraction of the Nine-Tails' chakra—it was far from perfect. Obito could only take it step by step.
"It still needs to evolve?" All of Orochimaru's intel about the Ten-Tails came from Obito, and he couldn't help but frown. "So, what needs to happen next for it to evolve?"
"It will evolve on its own," Obito said, his gaze resting on the Ten-Tails. Its differently colored red and purple eyes looked especially eerie. "From what I see, it probably reacts to attacks and threats."
Just as Obito was planning to keep stalling for time with Orochimaru, looking for a chance to break free from both curse marks, a pitch-black portal appeared behind him, and a hand silently reached for his back.