Orochimaru's Suggestion

Deep within the Sound Village Base, in a laboratory, the eerie green light from the culture tanks cast strange shadows on the metal walls. Orochimaru was inserting a syringe into a vein in White Zetsu's arm, slowly injecting a pale golden liquid. White Zetsu's body twitched slightly, and something seemed to be moving beneath his skin, like a living thing.

"How is Konoha's reaction?" Orochimaru asked without looking up, his voice echoing in the empty laboratory.

Neji stood on the other side of the lab table, removing his mask and special lenses to reveal his true face. His Byakugan, reflecting the light of the culture tank, looked somewhat weary. "Nervous, but preparations are beginning. Tsunade hopes to forge an alliance of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, but Kakashi thinks it's unlikely."

"That Raikage, that brute, certainly won't cooperate with Konoha." Orochimaru pulled out the syringe, looked at the rapidly healing needle marks on White Zetsu's arm, and nodded in satisfaction. "However, this might not be a bad thing for us. A chaotic chessboard is more suitable for hiding the true player."

He tossed the syringe into the recycling bin and turned to Neji: "So, what's your plan for the order of declaring war?"

"I was just about to ask for your opinion," Neji said sincerely. Of all his "partners," Orochimaru was the only one who knew all of his plans—although their purposes differed, at least at this stage, their interests were highly aligned.

Orochimaru didn't answer directly. He walked to the wall, where a detailed map of the Shinobi World was posted, marking the troop distribution of each ninja village, important facilities, and known defensive barriers. His finger stopped at the location of the Land of Earth.

"Neji- kun, how much do you know about Ōnoki's Dust Release?"

This question caught Neji Dust Release. He thought for a moment and cautiously replied, "I've been researching it for a while, and all I know is that it's a fusion of wind, earth, and fire Chakra Nature Transformation. I've tried many times, but I still have no clue. And in the Shinobi World, only the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, and the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, have mastered Dust Release."

"That's right." Orochimaru's golden snake eyes gleamed with knowledge. "Dust Release —a technique that breaks down matter into atomic-level particles. Theoretically, this power can break down any matter, including Tailed Beast Bomb, and possibly even... the Ten-Tails' shell."

Neji's heart skipped a beat. He understood Orochimaru's meaning.

"You mean, if I learn Dust Release..."

"Your talent in Senjutsu Mode far surpasses that of ordinary people," Orochimaru interrupted him, his tone tinged with the fervor characteristic of a researcher. "Senjutsu Chakra can enhance all Ninjutsu, including Kekkei Tōta. Imagine Sage Art: Dust Release —that might be the closest attack to the 'law' level in this world. Even against the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, it might not be without a fighting chance."

Neji fell into deep thought. Orochimaru's suggestion was tempting, but also dangerous. Who was Ōnoki? The Third Tsuchikage, a cunning old fox who had experienced three Shinobi World Wars, with terrifyingly rich combat experience. Moreover, the Dust Release technique was extremely difficult to master; in the original story, only Ōnoki and his master had mastered it, and even Ōnoki's student, Kurotsuchi, had not been able to learn it.

But Orochimaru's next words made him make up his mind:

"Of course, direct learning is almost impossible. But if... we could obtain Ōnoki's body tissue, or even his complete corpse, and study his cells and brain memories, we might be able to find a shortcut to mastering Dust Release."

Impure World Reincarnation. It's that forbidden technique again. But this time, the target is Ōnoki himself.

Neji closed his eyes, quickly analyzing the situation in his mind. The appointments of the Five Kage during the Fourth Shinobi World War in the original work were very telling: Fourth Raikage A served as the commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces because he was the strongest and most decisive; Tsunade served as the chief strategist because her Medical Ninjutsu was unmatched and she was good at overall planning; Gaara became the commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces because he was young but farsighted and relatively neutral; Ōnoki and Mei Terumi each led their troops, the former because he was too old and the latter because Mist Village was the weakest.

If ranked by strength, it should be: Cloud Village, Konoha, Iwagakure, Sand Village, Mist Village.

However, if we rank them according to the "degree of provocation" against Obito...

"I've made up my mind." Neji opened his eyes, a resolute glint in his Byakugan. "Order of declaration of war: Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Konoha, Sunagakure, Kirigakure."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Putting Iwagakure first? An interesting choice."

"Obito's current mindset is to 'show off his power'," Neji analyzed. "Declaring war according to strength from weakest to strongest seems too cautious. Declaring war according to strength from strongest to weakest seems too deliberate. But what if... we ranked them according to 'the degree of threat I perceive them to be'? Putting Ōnoki, who has Dust Release, first would both show respect and conform to the logic of 'prioritizing the strongest. Obito should be satisfied."

"Moreover," he added, "This also gives me reason to stay in Iwagakure for a while longer, looking for opportunities to obtain Ōnoki's cell samples."

Orochimaru let out a low laugh, "Perfect calculation. So, do you need me to prepare the materials for the Impure World Reincarnation?"

"No rush." Neji put his mask back on. "Let's talk about it when I get back from Iwagakure."

Just then, Chakra Akatsuki on his finger. Neji activated the ring, and Zetsu's voice directly entered his mind:

"Sake, come to the new base. Lord Madara wants to see you; he has something to give you."

The Akatsuki's new base is located deep in the mountains at the border of the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain. A huge, naturally formed cave has been transformed into a secret stronghold. When Neji appeared at the base entrance using the Flying Thunder God, Zetsu was already waiting there for a long time.

"You're really fast." Zetsu's voice was as thick as ever, his expressionless face revealing nothing. "Come with me, Lord Madara is waiting for you."

Neji followed Zetsu through a long tunnel inlaid with glowing minerals.

At the end of the tunnel was a huge natural dome-shaped space. The dome was hundreds of meters high, with glowing stalactites hanging from the top, like an inverted forest of swords. In the center of the space, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path stood silently, its empty eye sockets flowing with eerie green light.

Standing before the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was a figure that Neji recognized and found unfamiliar.

Obito Uchiha —but no longer sporting the Spiral Mask that only revealed one eye. He donned a white Mitsudomoe mask, exposing both eyes. The Rinnegan in his left eye slowly rotated, while the Tomoe floated within the Kamui Mangekyo Sharingan in his right eye. He wore a black robe, beneath which was the Akatsuki's crimson cloud lining. His entire demeanor was more profound than before, and also more... arrogant.

Beside him stood six figures silently: the Two-Tails Jinchuriki Puppet and the Four-Tails to Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Puppets. Their eyes were open, but there was no spirit in them, only the ripples of the Rinnegan on the left side undulating deep within their pupils.