Failsafe

"In the Land of Water?"

Mei Terumi had not rested either.

As soon as she received this intelligence, she hurriedly brought over a map.

Minato pointed to a location in the Land of Water.

"Obito should be somewhere nearby."

Mei Terumi looked astonished. "There's only an ordinary civilian city here, Jibei City. What would Obito be doing there?"

Shamu recalled Obito's prior record of abducting civilians.

"Could he have gone there to capture civilians?"

Minato closed his eyes and sensed the area. "He's already disappeared from there."

"I'll go take a look. Wait for me to return."

Minato had distributed many Flying Thunder God Kunai long ago, and naturally, some had been brought to the Land of Water.

As he spoke, he activated the Flying Thunder God and vanished.

Mei Terumi did not know how Shamu and the others had learned of Obito's whereabouts, but she trusted the Fourth Hokage and Shamu completely.

It was good that the Fourth Hokage could go investigate.

Mei Terumi also had an uneasy feeling.

The Land of Water's foundations had basically been squandered away. Those with even a little strength on the battlefield now were either the older generation of swordsmen or the three people Shamu had brought back.

If not for Mei Terumi being a bombardment-type mage so well-suited to the battlefield—

Hidden Mist Village would probably have killed the fewest enemies.

By comparison, even Hidden Sand Village was slightly stronger than Hidden Mist Village.

Hidden Mist Village was practically cannon fodder now.

Mei Terumi tried not to expend Hidden Mist Village's strength too much. Many times, she sought help from either the Fourth Hokage or Shamu.

She knew she probably could not contribute in top-tier battles, so she was far more active on ordinary battlefields.

Minato did not take long to return.

His expression was extremely grave. "Obito brought the Box of Paradise to Jibei City and performed a living sacrifice of several thousand people."

"What!?" Mei Terumi's face turned livid.

Her fingers clenched until they cracked. "Damn Obito!"

Minato continued, "I detected the presence of the Six-Tails, Saiken, at the scene."

"Saiken may have been resurrected."

Mei Terumi said incredulously, "Wasn't Saiken taken by Kara?"

Shamu frowned. The Box of Paradise could grant wishes, that much was true, but he knew nothing about it.

He had not known that the Box of Paradise could resurrect the Six-Tails.

Although Obito and Black Zetsu launching this war meant they had a way to deal with the Six-Tails—

Shamu had not expected them to solve it by sacrificing several thousand living people.

Shamu recalled the last Konoha Chunin Exams. That Box of Paradise really did seem capable of eating people.

It seemed he had neglected the Box of Paradise too much.

"The Six-Tails may already be dead."

"As a wishing device, the Box of Paradise might be able to create a replacement."

"Otherwise, there would have been no need for him to sacrifice so many people."

Mei Terumi's expression was utterly unpleasant. Behind her, Biwa Juzo, Zabuza, and Suigetsu all wore grim expressions.

Since Obito had targeted ordinary people, he could have done it in any country.

But why the Land of Water?

Obviously, he considered the Land of Water a soft target, easy to bully.

Obito had controlled the Land of Water through Karatachi Yagura for so many years. The Land of Water was full of his Kamui coordinates.

He could truly come and go whenever he pleased.

Yet Mei Terumi had no way to deal with it. Even if she returned now, she would not be able to find Obito.

Although Mei Terumi had arranged Hidden Mist Village well, with contingency plans in place should the village come under attack—

No one had expected Obito to go slaughter ordinary civilians.

"Damn Obito!"

Suigetsu was so furious that ripples spread across his body.

It was a sign that his Chakra was boiling after using the Hydrification Technique.

"If Senior Flying Waterfall were here, he'd definitely beat him until he was crawling around looking for his teeth."

Hearing Suigetsu's words, Mei Terumi sighed inwardly. She knew Flying Waterfall's condition. The current Flying Waterfall was practically a dead man.

If Senior Flying Waterfall were alive, how could Obito possibly be this arrogant?

Shamu's gaze drifted from Suigetsu to Mei Terumi.

Mei Terumi caught Shamu's look and roughly understood what he meant.

She shook her head slightly at him. She did not want to disturb Flying Waterfall's rest.

Shamu shrugged, putting on an expression that said it was inconvenient to discuss in front of the others.

"You can only take revenge on the battlefield tomorrow."

Mei Terumi was left speechless. How could she take revenge? She could not defeat Obito, could not defeat Hiruko, and could not defeat that Satori either.

The Land of Water was like Obito's backyard. He came when he wanted and left when he wanted.

He slaughtered her people like livestock, yet she could not even avenge them.

That sense of powerlessness stabbed deeply into Mei Terumi's heart.

Seeing Mei Terumi like that, Shamu could not find any more words of comfort.

"Get some proper rest. Tomorrow may be a hard battle."

After offering that consolation, Shamu left with Minato.

But Shamu figured Mei Terumi probably would not be able to sleep.

Shamu and Minato returned to the tent and replanned the next day's matters.

"Obito should have finished scouting the battlefield today. He'll probably launch a full-scale assault tomorrow."

"We need to avoid as many losses as possible tomorrow."

Minato nodded slightly. "After a day of fighting, although many were injured, the death toll is already far lower than expected."

"The Allied Forces' hatred has also eased considerably. Your plan has gone smoothly."

Shamu did not relax. "The real test will come when Obito activates the Infinite Tsukuyomi."

"Many people aren't that strong. You'll need to connect them with your Nine-Tails Chakra."

"Be careful with Tailed Beast Cloaks for over ten thousand people."

Minato was not worried at all. "This battle was meant to preserve as many sparks of the shinobi world as possible."

"I've already made the preliminary preparations."

Shamu patted Minato on the shoulder. "Don't worry. You have me."

He looked at Kurama Mode, which had sat in his system skills for many years.

A new plan formed in his mind.

Shamu returned to his quarters and reviewed the situation. Other than the Nine-Tails, Obito had already gathered every Tailed Beast.

But without the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Chakra, Shamu did not know whether the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path could be unsealed.

Shamu had specifically asked the people of Cloud Village. Whether it was Kinkaku and Ginkaku or the Six Paths Ninja Tools, they had all been hidden away.

Not only could Obito not find them, even Cloud Village would have to put in some effort to locate them.

The idea was that no one would get to use them.

If there was neither Kinkaku and Ginkaku's Chakra nor the Six Paths Ninja Tools, then an enormous amount of Chakra would be required.

Still, that was only Shamu's guess. He did not know how much Chakra the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path needed at minimum to revive into the Ten-Tails.

But one thing was clear in Shamu's mind: Obito would probably launch his full-scale assault tomorrow.

After Kakuzu and Scorpion held that meeting last time, Shamu had no idea how many more troops Obito had produced.

Even the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had already transformed into that bizarre, misshapen form.

At this point, Shamu would not be surprised by any unexpected development.

Obito had caused such a huge incident in the Land of Water. Shamu considered whether to give Flying Waterfall a temporary return.

Given the personality Shamu had set for Flying Waterfall, after being humiliated like that, he should retaliate viciously.

Shamu looked over the skills he had kept. He still had a Cursed Seal, as well as Water Release, Shield Hat.

With Shamu's current Energy Storage, which was nearly at the level of Kekkei Mōra, once he activated the Cursed Seal, his Chakra could only be described as vast and boundless as the sea.

There was no need to mention Water Release. It could be upgraded directly into Sea Release.

Shield Hat could directly disguise him as a member of the Hozuki Clan, and even...

Shamu looked at the skill in the corner, his eyes carrying a hint of excitement.

Obito had far more people than in the original timeline. Letting Flying Waterfall have a spectacular final curtain call would naturally be for the best.

He sensed the Flying Thunder God marks on Naruto and Hinata. Mm, the two were together, very close to each other.

He then sensed Hanabi, Kimimaro, and Haku's locations.

Then Ajisai and Tenten.

As well as the entire Uchiha Clan, ensuring that the previous plan could be backed up with absolute certainty.

It was already dawn, but Shamu had no desire to sleep at all.

I'll practice Water Release in the Dream Realm.

Then he closed his eyes.