Is Sake Really on the Allied Forces' Side?

Inside the Four Red Yang Formation.

Space distorted once more, Neji reappeared carrying the sealed Kinkaku Ginkaku.

Meanwhile, the battle within the formation had entered a new phase.

Jiraiya stood in the center of the formation, his hands still in Hand Seals posture, the Sage Mode face on his forehead fully revealed. He took a deep breath, compressing and transforming a vast amount of Senjutsu Chakra in his mouth—

"Sage Art: Sage Art: Goemon!"

Oil, fire, and wind—three attributes of Senjutsu Ninjutsu— fused together, transforming into a blazing torrent of fire five meters in diameter, rushing towards Susanoo like an enraged fire dragon. The power of this attack far surpassed the previous Needle Jizō; wherever it passed, the air was completely ionized, and the ground was scorched into glass.

Obito, of course, wouldn't sit idly by and wait to die.

Susanoo suddenly changed—blue Chakra condensed on its surface, forming a thicker suit of armor, with the helmet completely covering its head. The two swords in its hands were raised simultaneously, not to strike at Yanliu, but to strike at Jiraiya himself.

"Gaara!" Mei Terumi shouted.

Gaara clasped his hands together, and the sand once again coalesced into two giant hands. This time, instead of grasping, it grabbed—one giant hand gripped the blade of a samurai sword, clamping it tightly.

"Boil Release: Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique!"

Mei Terumi spewed out high-temperature acid mist, not to attack Susanoo, but to cover the two katana. Under the corrosive effect of Boil Release, the Chakra on the surface of the katana began to become unstable, and the blades made a sizzling sound, showing signs of melting.

"Now!" Ai roared, his entire body crackling with lightning. He pulled his right arm back, compressing all his Lightning Release Chakra into a single point on his index finger—

"Hell Stab - One-Finger Nukite!"

The Strongest Spear.

Boom--!!!

Ai's figure transformed into a true bolt of lightning, instantly traversing fifty meters, his index finger precisely striking the junction of the blade and hilt of the katana in Susanoo's right hand.

Click.

A crisp cracking sound.

It wasn't the sound of metal breaking, but the sound of Chakra structure collapsing. The entire katana broke off at the joint, and the front half of the blade shattered into countless points of light.

Almost simultaneously, Jiraiya's Sage Art: Goemon slammed into Susanoo's chest—

Laugh--!!!

The intense heat and flames clashed violently with the Chakra Armor, causing steam to explode and rise up. The armor on Susanoo's chest melted and peeled away at a visible speed, revealing the deeper skeletal structure beneath.

"We did it!" Mei Terumi's eyes flashed with joy.

But the next second, everyone's expressions froze.

Because Susanoo's melted armor... grew back.

It wasn't repair, it was growth. Like time flowing backward, the melted parts reformed, the shattered fragments flew back to their original places, and within three seconds, Susanoo restored to its original state. Moreover, the katana that had been shattered by A also reformed.

That's not all.

Behind Susanoo, Chakra surged wildly, and a pair of enormous wings made of pure energy tore through the air and unfolded. The wingspan exceeded eighty meters, and each feather was a sharp Chakra blade.

Then, Susanoo's feet left the ground.

It took flight.

A 50-meter-tall, azure-blue giant, wielding newly formed twin swords, with colossal wings spreading behind him that blot out the sky, slowly rose into the air, looking down at the four tiny figures on the ground.

Tsunade and the others outside the formation gasped in shock.

If the Four Red Yang Formation weren't there, and if this flying Susanoo directly charge into Konoha...

The consequences would be unimaginable.

Just then, Neji returned to the formation carrying Kinkaku and Ginkaku.

He saw the winged Susanoo floating in mid-air, and his eyes behind the lenses narrowed slightly.

In the original work, Obito never activated Susanoo. The Susanoo Kakashi activated using Obito's two Sharingan was blue, not this bluish-green. Furthermore, Susanoo fly? And can it self-repair to this extent?

The plot... has completely deviated from its intended course.

"Liquor."

Obito's voice came from inside Susanoo. At the chest of Susanoo, the armor parted, revealing the core space inside—there, Obito stood on a floating platform, his eyes behind the mask looking down at Neji.

"You did a very good job."

The Susanoo gained another pair of arms—not illusions, but real, a second pair of arms made of Chakra. These arms extended downwards, their palms open, grasping Neji and the Kinkaku and Ginkaku he was carrying, before retracting them into the opening in its chest.

Neji stood beside Obito, placed the sealed Kinkaku and Ginkaku on the ground, and bowed. "It is my honor to do something so insignificant for Lord Madara."

His voice was steady, but his mind was racing.

Fortunately, they brought Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Judging from Obito's posture, his Susanoo fly, self-repair, and even grow extra arms—the four members of the Allied Forces couldn't stop him at all. If Kinkaku and Ginkaku weren't there as substitutes, Obito would definitely have gone to great lengths to capture Naruto, and the battle would have completely spiraled out of control.

But there's still one problem...

Why didn't Naruto participate in the battle?

Those Kage of the Allied Forces were afraid Naruto would be captured by Obito, so they hid him? Foolish! Without Naruto and Sasuke working together, how could they force Obito to his limit? How could they create an opportunity to steal the Ten-Tails Chakra?

Damn it, I need to find a way to persuade Obito to use drastic measures and force Naruto to fight.

Obito was unaware of Neji's schemes. He looked at the Kinkaku and Ginkaku on the ground and was indeed in a good mood.

"With them," a rare hint of pleasure crept into his voice, "Although we can't revive the complete Ten-Tails, the Incomplete Ten-Tails is enough to complete the Eye of the Moon Plan."

He looked up at the four people maintaining the barrier outside the formation, then at the four people standing guard inside the formation, and finally his gaze fell on the direction of Konoha.

Should we kill these weaklings first, or revive the Incomplete Ten-Tails?

Obito hesitated.

Meanwhile, the eight people inside and outside the formation, watching "Sake" Susanoo and standing respectfully beside Obito, felt their suspicions grow wildly like vines.

Is this undercover agent... still trustworthy?

Neji felt those gazes, but his face remained expressionless.

The world outside the Four Red Yang Formation has now been transformed into a purgatory.

As Obito was trapped within the crimson cube-shaped barrier, and as he focused all his attention on the four Kage Level ninjas within, the six Jinchuriki and their Six Paths Clones Jinchuriki —or rather, the six Full Tailed-Beast Transformation monsters—received a single, clear command:

Destroy Konoha.

The Two-Tails Matatabi, was the first to move. The giant cat of dark blue flames arched its back, and a dark blue energy ball with a diameter of more than five meters condensed in its mouth. Flames surged inside the ball, and unstable arcs of electricity jumped on its surface. It was the prototype of the Tailed Beast Bomb, a destructive energy formed by the Tailed Beast compressing and transforming its own Chakra.

Immediately afterwards, the Four-Tails Son Gokū opened its molten maw, within which crimson Chakra spun wildly; the Five-Tails Kokuō spewed steam, and a milky-white energy ball condensed and took shape within the steam; the Six-Tails, Saiken spat out acidic Utakata, its pale green sphere gleaming with a dangerous luster; the Seven-Tails Chomei flapped its insect wings, and its seven-colored scales gathered into a dazzling yet deadly energy core; the Eight-Tails Gyuki —though only a fragmented shell with tentacles wrapped around it—also opened its mouth made of tentacles, within which dark purple lightning intertwined.

Six Tailed Beast Bomb of different colors condensed simultaneously.

Then, launch.

There was no sound—or rather, the sound was drowned out by an even more terrifying sight. Six Paths of energy tore through the air, distorting space in their wake, swallowing the light, leaving only Six Paths shocking vacuum trails. Their target was clear: the pale blue Chakra membrane barrier on the outermost layer of Konoha.

When the first impact occurred, the whole world seemed to freeze for a moment.

Boom--------

The belated roar was like a thousand war drums beating simultaneously. The sound waves spread spherically from the point of impact, uprooting all the trees within a one-kilometer radius and tearing up three feet of soil from the ground. The membrane of the Konoha Barrier vibrated violently, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on its surface. These cracks spread wildly from the six impact points, connecting with each other, and eventually forming a shattered relief on the entire surface of the barrier.

Inside the observation tower where the Barrier Team was located, piercing alarms blared incessantly.

"The first layer of the barrier is 47% damaged! The cracks are widening!"

"Energy output overload! Chakra conduction nodes are beginning to collapse!"

"Repair crew, move forward! Quickly!"

Dong Qingzhi's roar almost tore his throat apart. The leader of the Konoha Barrier Team had bloodshot eyes and was frantically pounding on the control panel, trying to mobilize backup energy to fill the gap. Dozens of Barrier Team ninjas rushed onto the city wall, forming the same hand seals, Chakra poured into the barrier nodes like a torrent.

But it's too slow.

The six Tailed Beast Transformation monsters have begun their second round of charging.

Azure, crimson, milky white, pale green, rainbow, and dark purple—six colors of Chakra began to coalesce once more, at a faster pace and with more violent energy fluctuations than the first time. Their empty Rinnegan projections contained no emotion, only absolute, mechanical execution of commands.

"We can't let them complete the second round!" Shikaku's voice transmitted through the communication network to every commander, calm yet tinged with a rare urgency. "Earth Release Team! Combine your spells! Construct a defensive wall outside the barrier!"

The moment the order was given, more than three hundred Earth Release ninjas simultaneously Hand Seals on the walls of Konoha.

"Earth Release · Earth-Style Wall!"

"Earth Release - Earth Release: Earth Return!"

"Earth Release: Earth Release: Opening Earth Rising Excavation!"

Earth Release ninjas from different countries and villages were using their respective styles of Earth Release Ninjutsu, but their goal was the same—to construct thick earthen walls around the outer edge of the barrier, along the trajectory of the Tailed Beast Bomb. The ground rumbled and rose, the rock layers tore apart, and giant earthen walls sprang up like mushrooms after rain, one layer, two layers, three layers... eventually forming a composite defensive fortification with seven layers and a thickness of more than ten meters.

However, the Tailed Beast Bomb is a power that can alter the terrain.

The second wave of attacks has begun.

This time it was a salvo. The six Tailed Beast Bomb did not attack separately, but instead focused their attack on the same area of the barrier—the southeast corner, a weak point that had just been damaged by Kinkaku and Ginkaku and had only been repaired less than ten minutes ago.

Impact.

There was no sound, only light.

Six colors of energy erupted simultaneously, merging into a blinding white that surpassed the limits of human vision. The seven layers of earthen walls crumbled like paper, the rock strata disintegrated into their most basic particles, and the shockwave sent the ninjas on the walls flying like falling leaves. The barrier membrane groaned under the strain, cracks spreading wildly until—

Click.

A crisp sound, like the sound of shattering glass.

The outermost Chakra barrier of Konoha has broken.

The pale blue light membrane dissipated into countless specks of light, revealing the middle layer of Earth Release walls and the final transparent barrier shimmering with sealing runes. Meanwhile, the six Tailed Beasts had begun to condense their third Tailed Beast Bomb.

"Uncle Shikaku! Let me fight!"

Inside the command center, Naruto was practically roaring. The golden Nine-Tails Chakra Cloak around him was burning uncontrollably, and his azure eyes were ablaze with fury. He watched the ninjas fall one after another on the monitor screen, watched the earthen walls crumble layer by layer, watched the barrier shatter—every second of waiting felt like a knife cutting into his heart.

"I can block those Tailed Beast Bomb! I can--"

You can't.

Shikaku's voice was resolute. The strategist of Konoha stood before the tactical map, his hands gripping the edge of the table, his knuckles white from the force. His gaze was fixed on the direction of the Four Red Yang Formation —there, Obito and the Allied Forces' elite forces were facing off.

"Naruto, listen to me." Shikaku turned around, looking at the boy who was almost out of control, his voice low but clear, "Obito has spatial abilities. The core purpose of the Four Red Yang Formation is not only to trap him, but also to limit his attacks within the barrier's range, preventing them from affecting ninjas below the Kage Level. If you go out now, if you are exposed to Obito's sight—"

He paused, each word carrying immense weight. "He will disregard everything to break through the Four Red Yang Formation to capture you. At that point, it won't just be a few Barrier Team ninjas who die, but the entire Konoha."

Naruto clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms, blood dripping from between his fingers. He knew Shikaku was right, he knew he was Obito's ultimate target, and he knew his recklessness might ruin everything.

But he couldn't stand it.

Unable to bear watching their comrades die while they could only hide behind them.

"Then... then are we just going to watch those Jinchuriki break through the barrier layer by layer?" Naruto's voice trembled.

"Of course not." Shikaku looked back at the monitor, his eyes sharp as knives. "Order: Jonin all villages, move out. Target—engage the Jinchuriki in their Tailed Beast Transformation and prevent them from using the Tailed Beast Bomb again. Don't engage in direct combat; focus on harassment, restraint, and disrupting their charging. We need time—to wait for the battle within the Four Red Yang Formation to conclude."

The command spread like ripples.

The next second, hundreds of figures poured out of Konoha's city gates—or rather, the breach in the city wall.

The ninjas of Cloud Village transformed into lightning, the ninjas of Iwagakure merged into the earth, the ninjas of Sand Village rode the sandstorm, the ninjas of Mist Village seeped in like flowing water, and the ninjas of Konoha burst forth from various hidden exits. They had no uniforms, no orderly formations, but at this moment, everyone had only one goal:

Stop those six monsters.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Tiger Massacre!"

"Wind Release · Vacuum Great Sphere!"

"Water Release: Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"

"Earth Release: Earth Release: Rock Fist Technique!"

"Fire Release: Fire Release: Fireball Technique!"

The light of Ninjutsu burst forth in the darkness before dawn, like the most dazzling yet most dangerous fireworks during a festival. Three hundred Jonin —almost all the high-end combat power the Allied Forces could muster for defense—rushed towards the six Tailed Beasts from all directions.

Their attacks could not cause any real damage. The Two-Tails' ghostly blue flames engulfed the Lightning Release, the Four-Tails' lava evaporated the Water Release, the Five-Tails' steam dispersed the Wind Release, the Six-Tails' poisonous mist corroded the Earth Release, the Seven-Tails' scales caused the Fire Release to be reversed, and the Eight-Tails' lightning repelled all those who got close.

But they achieved their goal.

Harassment.

The constant harassment comes from all directions, targeting the eyes, joints, and energy storage areas.

Just as the Two-Tails was about to condense its third Tailed Beast Bomb, seventeen Cloud Village simultaneously unleashed Lightning Release: Earth Walk. Electricity spread along the ground, and although it couldn't harm the Two-Tails, it caused a slight disruption to the condensation of its Chakra.

The Four-Tails opened its mouth to spew forth a powerful attack, but twenty Iwagakure Ninja emerged from the ground and used Earth Release: Rock Collapse to smash the surrounding rocks into its mouth. Although the rocks were instantly melted, the charging process was interrupted for a second.

Five-Tails, Six-Tails, Seven-Tails, Eight-Tails... Each Tailed Beast was entangled by dozens of Jonin. Although they could not cause effective damage, the speed at which the Tailed Beast Bomb was formed was obviously slowed down.

The melee began.

Without the intervention of the White Zetsu army, it was purely a near-suicidal stalemate between the Allied Forces' Jonin and the six Tailed Beast Transformation Jinchuriki. Every second, ninjas were swept away by a casual attack from Tailed Beast, and every second, the light of Ninjutsu was extinguished in the darkness, but the next second, a new ninja would take their place.

They were risking their lives to buy time for the battle within the Four Red Yang Formation.