"W-Wiped out?"
Ao's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
What exactly had that "meteor" falling from the sky been just now?
How had it wiped out every member of Akatsuki in a single strike... Its power was certainly immense, but it shouldn't have been this absurd, right?
Ao was still confused when, the next second, he sensed that something was wrong.
The corpses crushed by Steel Ball quietly began to change.
The faces of the Akatsuki members faded away, replaced by pale white faces.
"It's Zetsu!"
There had never been any Akatsuki members on the ground. They were all substitutes created by Zetsu using the Spore Technique, absorbing the Akatsuki members' chakra to create them as a distraction.
"What?!"
Hayato Kamihara, sitting in the central command center, shot to his feet upon hearing the news and shouted, "Contact the Research Institute and Kyoto immediately!"
There were only three important areas within the Land of Water.
Kirigakure, the training base for mist ninja and the birthplace of the Awakening Ideology.
The Research Institute, the source of Lin Qing's side's technological creations.
Kyoto, the political center of the Land of Water, where Lin Qing's most important ally, Oda Ieyasu, resided.
Lin Qing had previously been floating at the intersection between the three, ensuring that no matter where Akatsuki launched its attack from, he could arrive at once.
Yet no one had expected that the substitutes created by Zetsu could deceive the Byakugan's surveillance.
As the communications officer hurried to establish a connection, Hayato Kamihara stood behind him. Three little Ninja Mice stood on his shoulders, waiting to relay intelligence to Lin Qing.
Before the communications officer could make the call, however, a message arrived first from Kyoto.
"Akatsuki chakra signatures have been detected. Please rest assured, the defensive barrier has been