Konoha.
Present-day Konoha was more desolate than it had ever been.
Even Konoha during the worst days of the Third Shinobi World War had not looked like this.
The scale and intensity of the Fourth Great Ninja War surpassed every previous shinobi war. Nearly all shinobi had been deployed to the battlefield.
Even the forces guarding the villages had been transferred away, leaving virtually every village undefended.
Konoha was no exception.
"Finally succeeded, Kakashi. You now possess the Chakra of eight Tailed Beasts. You'll soon be able to take the final step." Genitsu studied the man before him and gave a slight nod.
Not bad. Kakashi had not disappointed him.
"Now all that's left is the Seven-Tails."
The Chakra of the One-Tail, Three-Tails, Four-Tails, and Five-Tails had been partially seized by Genitsu on the battlefield during the Third Shinobi World War.
During the Nine-Tails' Rampage, Kakashi had acquired Chakra dispersed by the Nine-Tails.
Then, during the border conflict between Hidden Cloud and Konoha, Genitsu captured the Two-Tails and took part of the Eight-Tails' Chakra.
Now, only the Seven-Tails remained.
"This feels strange. The Chakra of different Tailed Beasts is colliding inside my body," Kakashi said coldly.
"That's normal. After all, you haven't earned those Tailed Beasts' recognition. Those beasts will instinctively reject you," Genitsu said. "But there's one thing you need to watch out for. The Tailed Beasts may contact you on a spiritual level. There's no need to respond to them."
"On a spiritual level? The Tailed Beasts can do that?"
"Yes. Those beasts share a common mental space, and they can even pull in the consciousnesses of Jinchuriki they acknowledge. You don't need such flashy nonsense. Absolute power is enough," Genitsu said.
Kakashi nodded expressionlessly.
No matter what, he only needed to carry out Genitsu's orders as arranged.