Madara Uchiha: I'll hold off thirty thousand Konoha ninja

The first sign of the explosion was a flash of light, a massive pillar of light that stretched from the sky to the ground like a cross.

In that instant, although it wasn't as dazzling as when Shazo wiped out the Sky Ninja, the sky was still made to look like it was at dawn or dusk.

Then----

And that was it.

The pillar of light disappeared, the sky brightened again, and even the boiling earth returned to calm, the magma created by Shazo completely cooled.

The only trace left by Deidara's self-destruction was a circular crater 30 meters in diameter on the ground. The shallow crater was filled with fish-scale patterns, which were traces of intense light radiation.

There was no other trace left.

Whether it was the Third Tsuchikage had flown not far away, or the ten battalions of Iwagakure Ninja who had been bombarded by Sky Ninja nearby, they were all staring blankly in the direction of the bright light, not understanding what had happened.

Even Shazo, the one who started it all, was somewhat stunned at this moment.

He never expected that the Dark Style Secret Technique he developed, [Dark Style: Cold Silence], would be so effective at absorbing Chakra.

Not only did it directly devour Deidara's entire life's worth of Chakra, but it also absorbed the [Nuclear Style: Sunspot] technique Deidara had previously used.

The released Chakra was completely absorbed.

Shazo looked at his hands and murmured, "It's a pity that [Dark Style: Cold Silence] can only absorb released Chakra, but cannot forcibly plunder the Chakra within Human Body."

"Yes, there's another major drawback: it doesn't distinguish between friend and foe, so it can only be used to negate the enemy's ultimate attack. Otherwise, this would be the first divine spell I've developed."

With Deidara defeated, the boiling magma cooled down, and the obstacle in front of the Allied Shinobi Forces disappeared.

The rescue operation for the crashed Konoha Airship has been completed, and the rescue and medical teams are retreating to the rear with the wounded and the bodies of the dead.

Shazo also noted that more than a dozen medical teams had arrived to rescue the Iwagakure Ninja had been bombed a few kilometers away.

After confirming that there was nothing he needed to worry about, Shazo once again transformed into a golden meteor and sped towards Konoha.

Surprisingly, when they saw Shazo's golden Ki aura disappear as he flew away, the Iwagakure Ninja who had been bombarded by Deidara actually cheered in front of the Third Tsuchikage.

The Third Tsuchikage, suspended in mid-air, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest instead of the usual back pain after hearing the cheers of the Iwagakure Ninja.

The hearts of the people, the hearts of the Iwagakure Ninja, have gone astray.

Can we blame those Iwagakure Ninja?

The missing-nin from Iwagakure brought Sky Ninja to bombard them. Their respected Third Tsuchikage had already arrived, but he was entangled with the enemy and hesitated to use his ultimate move to defeat him.

As a result, the Iwagakure Ninja were once again bombarded by the Sky Ninja, who used Deidara's missing-nin dive-bombing tactics, causing them to suffer even greater casualties.

The final result was that the Fifth Hokage descended suddenly like the sun, and in a moment, he turned all the Sky Ninja into dust, just like the sun falling. Then he killed the rogue missing-nin attacked the Iwagakure Ninja.

The Iwagakure Ninja would naturally be grateful to the Fifth Hokage and cheer for his growth.

Third Tsuchikage?

What kind of creature is Tsuchikage who refuses to protect the village and the Iwagakure Ninja?

Ōnoki clearly had the ability to protect the Iwagakure Ninja, but he failed to act due to personal feelings, allowing everyone to get injured or even die.

HE--tui--!!

"Deidara is dead," Black Zetsu said. "He was leading the Sky Ninja to bombard the Iwagakure Ninja when the Fifth Hokage suddenly appeared."

"That drove him to the point of self-destruction."

Uchiha Itachi nodded and said, "I saw a white light tearing through the sky and felt the earth tremble. It was an astonishing explosion."

Zetsu shook his head repeatedly. "No, Deidara's self-destruction was absorbed by the Fifth Hokage using an unknown forbidden technique."

2

He looked at Uchiha Itachi and added, "The light you saw and the earthquake you felt were caused by the air blast created when the Fifth Hokage killed the Sky Ninja."

The meeting room erupted in chaos, with even Nagato abruptly standing up.

He asked in surprise, "You're saying the Fifth Hokage absorbed Deidara's self-destruction? How did he do that?"

The Sky Ninja Leader Shinno, was filled with shock and anger, and anxiously roared, "How are we Sky Ninja?"

Zetsu seemed completely unaffected and answered Nagato's question first, "The Fifth Hokage did indeed use Ninjutsu to absorb Deidara's explosion, and he only acted after the Fireball and flash of the explosion had already appeared."

"We sacrificed hundreds of White Zetsu to witness the Fifth Hokage absorbing the explosive force, confirming that he used the [Dark Style] Secret Technique to forcibly plunder all the Chakra, which caused Deidara's self-destruction to abruptly fail."

Nagato's eyes were filled with caution. The [Preta Path: Chakra Absorption] he had used was Dark Style Secret Technique, and its efficiency in absorbing Chakra was at the level that the Fifth Hokage had achieved today.

Furthermore, the Fifth Hokage was known for his numerous Kekkei Genkai and Kekkei Tōta, but there was no mention of him possessing the rare Dark Style Kekkei Genkai, which was clearly something he had developed himself.

But the problem is that this is too powerful. It's unbelievable that a Kekkei Genkai can achieve the same power as a Rinnegan technique.

Dark Style is not like Wood Release, Swift Style, or Magnet Style; it cannot be forcibly enhanced with one's own Chakra.

When the two fought back then, Nagato wasn't defeated by his Kekkei Genkai, but rather by the unimaginable amount of Chakra that Shazo possessed.

Therefore, although Nagato always acknowledged that the Fifth Hokage Shazo, was the strongest in the Ninja World, he also believed that once he recovered his health and no longer had to bear the burden of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's drain, he would be able to defeat the Fifth Hokage.

But today, he discovered that his Shazo -Chakra absorbing technique was actually quite powerful, and this technique, which was unrelated to the amount of Chakra, proved that even without the burden of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, he still could not defeat Shazo.

This was a fatal blow to Nagato.

As a teenager, Nagato was a shy and introverted child with a rather fragile mentality.

After being betrayed by Hanzō, the destruction of Akatsuki, and the death of his best friend, Nagato was able to pull himself together with the power of the Rinnegan, which led to a drastic change in his personality.

This logical sequence dictates that the Rinnegan is Nagato's current mental support, and there's no need to lose it. The mere fact that he's no longer the strongest in the Ninja World is enough to shake Nagato's resolve.

Previously, he could explain himself by saying he wasn't healthy enough or that he had to bear the burden of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, but today he clearly couldn't deceive himself any longer.

While Nagato was lost in thought, Shinnō was already on the verge of collapse.

He turned to Zetsu and said, "None of the Sky Ninja who were attacked by the Fifth Hokage survived."

"The other two Sky Ninja were intercepted by Konoha's Airship, and both suffered more than half their casualties."

Shinnō was completely dumbfounded. This was the wealth he had painstakingly accumulated over 40 years.

Every Sky Ninja is like a child he raised, and every Ninja Flying Tool Teuchi from materials he painstakingly earned.

The result was that after only a few hours of participating in the war, more than half of them were lost, which was unacceptable to Shinnō.

He roared, "Impossible! My Sky Ninja couldn't have been destroyed so easily! I'm going to prove you wrong with my own eyes!"

Perhaps Shinnō also knew that Jue's words were true, which is why he ran out crying.

Seeing everyone's spirits dampened, Obito Uchiha asked, "Zetsu, how's the Impure World Reincarnation of Gold and Silver Brothers progressing?"

Zetsu replied, "Kabuto Yakushi is still working; he said he'll finish in two days at most."

Obito Uchiha, "Two days. That means if we hold out for just two more days, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path will be fully activated. Then we can use the power of a god to destroy the Allied Shinobi Forces."

"Gentlemen, it's time to unleash our full power and buy time for our victory."

Mifune Admiral was the first to stand up. "The samurai of the Land of Iron have completed their assembly; we will fight to the death to stop the Allied Shinobi Forces ' attack."

Uchiha Itachi suddenly asked with a cold expression, "Just how many samurai have you gathered?"

Mifune sighed, "The Land of Iron has lost half its territory, and only 3,400 samurai can still be mustered."

Obito Uchiha: "Never mind, the samurai aren't the main force anyway."

He looked at Nagato and Konan and said, "All 100,000 White Zetsu have been awakened and are ready to launch a counterattack at any time."

Konan knew that Obito wanted them to use the Impure World Reincarnation army as the backbone to fill the White Zetsu army.

Because Sasori of the Red Sands was one of her people, and Kabuto Yakushi was one of Sasori of the Red Sands's people, Kabuto handed over control of the Impure World Reincarnation army to Konan.

After exchanging a glance with Nagato Konan, Konan said, "The Summoning Technique for the Impure World Reincarnation Ninja ' coffins is complete. I can go to the front lines at any time to summon them to participate in the battle."

Obito Uchiha asked again, "And that one?"

Nagato laughed and countered, "You mean Madara Uchiha, whom you've been impersonating for over a decade?"

He didn't need Obito's answer and said directly, "I have great respect for a strong person like Madara Uchiha, so I accepted Madara Uchiha's suggestion and did not impose any restrictions on him."

"He is free; whether or not to join the war is up to him."

Obito Uchiha was stunned. "What do you mean by that?"

"Nagato means that I can decide for myself whether I want to fight, and how I want to fight." Madara Uchiha walked in from the cave entrance.

His slightly hoarse voice, filled with boundless authority and pride, said, "You gloomy brat, you can't understand our pride, so don't spout nonsense."

Then Madara Uchiha sat down opposite Nagato, instantly silencing the entire room.

After surveying everyone, he spoke with the air of a commander-in-chief, "Let's discuss how to fight the next battle."

"Zetsu, show us the situation map of the Allied Shinobi Forces."

Zetsu glanced at Obito Uchiha, who was lowering his head and gritting his teeth, and then at Nagato, who was frowning and trying his best to remain calm. He knew that Madara Uchiha had taken control of the entire situation.

He began recounting the Allied Shinobi Forces ' intelligence without any emotion. "The Allied Shinobi Forces are divided into five parts, advancing swiftly along five routes to occupy the Land of Iron."

Zetsu Hand Seals and cast a Genjutsu, displaying the formation of the Allied Shinobi Forces on the central table.

"Although it's called the Allied Shinobi Forces, the Fifth Hokage did not accept the Shinobu villages into the ranks, nor did he reorganize the Ninja from the Five Great Shinobi Villages into functional units."

"The five attack teams of the Allied Shinobi Forces consisted mainly of Ninja from the Five Great Shinobi Villages, with Konoha supplementing the other four villages with conscripted Konoha Ninja, ensuring that the total number of Ninja in each direction exceeded 30,000, and that there were no fatal weaknesses."

Madara Uchiha snorted coldly, "A very wise method. The Five Great Shinobi Villages fought three Ninja World Wars, killing each other for decades, accumulating countless blood feuds."

"The Ninja from different villages were filled with suspicion. They were truly mixed together, and the Ninja from each village felt completely disadvantaged because they had to face the hostility of four villages."

"At that time, all Ninja will be worried that someone will stab them in the back, and they won't be able to fight at all."

"However, what's with this troop allocation without any distinction between important and unimportant units? Shouldn't we differentiate between primary and secondary forces?"

Nagato sneered, "The Fifth Hokage is relying on his superior strength, treating every direction as his main attack."

Madara Uchiha chuckled, "So arrogant indeed?"

"That's true. Since the Five Great Shinobi Villages already have 170,000 Ninja, why let the Shinobu villages join and lower the average quality level?"

"Leaving 20,000 Ninja as reserves, and preparing 30,000 Ninja in each of the five directions, ensured sufficient attack power, forcing us to intercept from every direction."

"That Fifth Hokage is a truly formidable character, far stronger than me and even Hashirama."

Hearing Madara Uchiha Shazo, Nagato snorted in dissatisfaction, "Yes, the Fifth Hokage is indeed very strong, which is why we were forced to join forces against him."

Madara Uchiha laughed, "You're not bad either, kid. You're able to see reality clearly and don't refuse to cooperate with me just because you're afraid of losing face."

"Let's divide up the forces and assign tasks to each person."

Nagato nodded. "Okay."

In the Ninja World, strength is paramount. After Madara Uchiha appeared, only he and Nagato spoke; everyone else consciously kept quiet.

The two quickly decided to divide the White Zetsu into three legions, each with 30,000 White Zetsu, to work with the Impure World Reincarnation Ninja from the corresponding villages to deal with the Ninja from Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure.

The last 10,000 White Zetsu, along with 3,400 Land of Iron Samurai, the remaining Ninja from the Hidden Sky Village, and the Impure World Reincarnation Ninja from the Iwagakure, fought against the Iwagakure Ninja.

Nagato asked, "Then what about the Konoha Ninja?"

"Although both sides have 30,000 Ninja, Konoha has Standing Army of Ninja, whose strength far surpasses the other four directions, making them the most difficult to deal with."

Madara Uchiha said, "Leave the Konoha Ninja to me; I'll deal with them."

Nagato asked in surprise, "You really think you can hold them off all by yourself?"

Madara Uchiha pointed to a spot on the map and said, "This is the Stone Forest of the Land of Iron. The terrain is narrow and the roads are difficult to traverse, making it ideal for fighting against overwhelming odds."

"If that Third Raikage can hold off tens of thousands of Iwagakure Ninja by himself, then I can certainly hold off thirty thousand Konoha Ninja."

"Most importantly, I'm already dead, so even if I die from exhaustion again, it doesn't matter."

Nagato stared intently at Madara Uchiha, seemingly trying to see through his thoughts.

After a long silence, Nagato said, "Then it's settled."