Under the blue sky and open sea, Six Sky Ninja warships were docked near the coast.
All of them had just mobilized to carry out the plan to destroy Konoha.
Only a small number of operators were left on the ships.
A Sky Ninja named Kawashima was in charge of matters aboard the ship.
When scattered Sky Ninja started flying back, Kawashima was stunned.
"Eijin, why are only a few of you back?"
Eijin had just taken part in the attack on Konoha. His face was lifeless, his eyes full of emptiness and pain.
"It's over... they're all gone..."
Without even taking off his gear, Eijin dropped to his knees. He didn't have many injuries.
But one of his teammates had been blown into pieces by an explosive tag right in front of him, and he completely broke down.
"What do you mean gone?"
"Say something already!"
Eijin looked dazed as he knelt there muttering to himself.
Kawashima panicked. He rushed over and slapped him several times in a row.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Eijin's face turned red from the hits, but he quickly came back to his senses.
When he saw Kawashima standing in front of him, he immediately cried out, "Kawashima, everyone died."
"Konoha's defenses were too strong. Their barrier directly sealed off the sky. Nobody could return. Everyone got trapped inside Konoha."
"My position was near the edge, so I wasn't covered by it. That's the only reason I got back," Eijin collapsed on the ground crying.
Kawashima, meanwhile, looked completely shaken.
The Sky Ninja were not idiots. They knew Konoha was extremely powerful, so they naturally had some confidence before seeking revenge.
That confidence came from the fact that ordinary people couldn't reach several hundred meters into the air.
Even if there were a few who could fly, they couldn't possibly match thousands of Sky Ninja.
According to their estimates, Konoha would definitely suffer heavy damage this time.
Once that happened, the entire ninja world would immediately fall into chaos. Konoha was too powerful, and both Kumogakure and Iwagakure were wary of them.
Even if Konoha's defenses were strong and the Sky Ninja suffered losses, at least most of them should have been able to return.
After the first strike, they could decide whether to launch a second attack or lie low and rebuild their strength.
But things had gone far beyond expectations. The Sky Ninja had only attacked once, and almost all of them had been trapped in Konoha.
The total number that returned was less than fifty.
Kawashima shook his head and forced himself to stay calm.
'No, I need to report this to Lord Shinno immediately!'
Just as that thought appeared in his mind, he heard Eijin scream beside him.
"Ah!"
Before Kawashima could react, a large amount of black threads had already descended from the sky and wrapped around them.
———
[Inside the Forest Outside Konoha]
Moryo had originally been watching over the Lightning Release Four-Man Group as they carried out the Lightning Dream Lightning People secret technique.
But when he saw Minato activate the Blazing Heaven Brilliant Flash Flowing Blade Instant Light Soul-Locking God-Sealing World-Destroying Final Formation - Extreme - Zero Style Formation, he knew the Sky Ninja's surprise attack would not end well.
Moryo had lived for many years. He recognized the power of the Nine-Tails.
Although he still hadn't confirmed who the Nine-Tails jinchuriki was, the other side was at least a master of sealing techniques and barrier techniques.
The most likely person was the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.
Namikaze Minato with the Flying Thunder God Technique and Nine-Tails chakra was already someone who hardly had an opponent.
Moryo possessed all of Shinno's memories, so he naturally knew the Sky Ninja's original plan.
But he hadn't expected Konoha's formation to defend even the sky hundreds of meters above them.
And the person activating the formation was most likely Namikaze Minato. Naturally, the Sky Ninja had been wiped out in a single attempt.
Though it was a pity these people had died, things had already reached this point, and Moryo had no intention of entering to rescue anyone.
At that moment, a power Moryo knew very well rose from the Uchiha district in Konoha.
That purple formation was clearly power from the shrine maiden system.
And among shrine maidens, only Shion possessed power at that level.
'As expected, Shion has been staying inside the Uchiha district the whole time. Looks like absorbing the shrine maiden is impossible.'
'I'll need another way to strengthen myself.'
When Moryo had first revived, he had been full of confidence, planning to rely on the Stone Puppet Army to destroy Konoha.
In the end, Monk Senku wiped them all out at the border of the Land of Fire, and Moryo himself was nearly blown to death.
Moryo had always suspected Shion was hiding in Konoha. Either he sneaked into Konoha and killed Shion, or he waited for Shion to leave Konoha herself.
The first option was impossible. Konoha had too many experts. He couldn't get in.
The second option was impossible as well.
As a shrine maiden, Shion was an extreme shut-in. Back in the Land of Demons, she had stayed inside the temple for more than thirty years without leaving.
Now this shut-in even had the job of maintaining Konoha's various formations and barriers, so she was even less likely to leave the village.
With both paths blocked, Moryo could only continue cooperating with Obito to strengthen himself.
Shinno's body had excellent physical ability, but Moryo was not an extremely emotional person, so he was incompatible with the Zero-Tails.
Obito becoming the Zero-Tails jinchuriki was far better than Moryo becoming one himself.
Seeing there was no chance left on Konoha's side, Moryo prepared to return first and move Ancor Vantian away.
If Konoha followed the clues there, this great weapon would only end up handed over to them.
At that moment, space distorted, and a figure emerged from the void.
It was Obito, who had escaped from Konoha.
The moment Moryo saw him, he froze for a second.
"You... the Zero-Tails hatched?"
There was some surprise in his voice. Ancor Vantian required a massive amount of energy to activate. Without the hatched Zero-Tails, it couldn't be used.
Obito answered with a pale face, "Yeah. Not many people died in Konoha, but it was enough."
His head had just been cut off. Although he had reattached it later using the Zero-Tails' power, the energy he lost could not recover out of nowhere.
Obito now possessed both Kamui eyes, but he was in an extremely weakened state.
Moryo immediately noticed something wrong with him.
"Your injuries are pretty serious."
"Hehehehe!"
"It's fine. It was all worth it."
As he spoke, Obito switched his eyes, and the dual Kamui appeared before Moryo.
Moryo was somewhat shocked.
"It actually went this smoothly?"
Those words instantly stirred up painful memories in Obito's mind.
That mental pain was quickly converted into dark chakra by the Zero-Tails.
The power was rapidly absorbed into Obito's body, and his condition recovered slightly.
But Obito's expression became even uglier.
Seeing that such a simple sentence had caused Obito so much pain, Moryo guessed that his trip had not gone smoothly.
Still, he did not continue pressing the issue. Fighting was still going on inside Konoha.
"I've gathered almost all the information I needed. What about you? Have you confirmed who the Nine-Tails jinchuriki is?"
Obito looked toward Konoha. Even after obtaining dual Kamui, Minato with the Nine-Tails was still far too powerful.
"I've gathered most of my information too. Your earlier guess was right. The Nine-Tails jinchuriki is Namikaze Minato."
Moryo understood immediately.
"The Zero-Tails has hatched at the perfect time. These Sky Ninja are finished. We need to hurry back and move Ancor Vantian."
Ancor Vantian was an excellent base, and Obito also valued it highly.
"Then let's go first."
Obito gave Konoha one last look. Black Zetsu was still over at the Uchiha district.
But their relationship was bad now, and Obito had no interest in caring about Black Zetsu.
After having the Lightning Release Four-Man Group begin releasing Lightning Dream Lightning People, Moryo and Obito both left the area.