The energy shield above Shinobi Planet was still glowing with a pale blue aura. Just as Tsubasa returned to the Immortal Venerable Hall, a series of urgent red alerts suddenly popped up on the crystal screen on the command center's desktop. On the screen, the face of Shikamaru Nara, the new generation's intellectual leader and the chief of staff of the command center, was as tense as an iron plate. His fingers flew across the virtual keyboard, and even his signature lazy tone was nowhere to be seen.
" Lord Tsubasa, the sensing sentries on the outskirts of Mars have reported a message—the spatial fluctuations are extremely abnormal. It's not our teleportation array, it's... the spatial channel characteristics of the Ōtsutsuki!" Shikamaru Nara immediately reported the message to Immortal King Tsubasa.
Tsubasa clenched his fists tightly, his nails almost digging into his palms. He knew this day would come, but he hadn't expected it to come so soon. Just as he was about to speak, the crystal screen beside him lit up again. Rasa at the Sand City Research Base was covered in sweat, and Deidara's boisterous voice could be heard in the background. " Immortal King! The final adjustments to the superconducting nuclear bomb aren't even finished yet! How come these Ōtsutsuki Clan are here so quickly!"
"What's the panic?" Tsubasa's voice was as steady as a boulder. " Shikamaru, immediately activate the interstellar defense plan and have the Mars garrison protect the civilians and evacuate back to Shinobi Planet in an orderly manner. Pass on my order for all Tailed Beast Carriers to be deployed and annihilate the invading Ōtsutsuki Clan."
"Order Rasa and Deidara to accelerate the process; the superconducting nuclear bomb must be combat-ready within three days. Also, notify Sasori that the mass production of the rune mechs should be accelerated across the board."
"Speed up? My Immortal King, do you think we're gods?!" Scorpion's shout came through the communicator, accompanied by the roar of furnaces and the clanging of metal. "The production line has been running non-stop for thirty days, and several robotic arms have burned out! But don't worry, we'll have three hundred sets of mechs for the Immortal Level soldiers by tomorrow. After that, we'll have to wait for materials—if only Lord Tenpi could speed up the ore transport..."
"I'll expedite the ore matter," Tsubasa interrupted him, turning to look at another screen. On the screen, Tenpi was standing in a mining base on Jupiter, with a massive rune excavator behind him loading ultra-rare ore, gleaming with purple light, into transport containers. " Tenpi, this is wartime. Ore transport is of the highest priority. Allocate as much transport capacity as possible from the teleportation array; Shinobi Planet urgently needs it."
"No problem!" Tenpi wiped the dust off his face, his eyes full of enthusiasm. "The helium-3 from Jupiter has been loaded onto the spaceship, and we'll arrive at Shinobi Planet tomorrow. We have enough fuel for the nuclear engines. However, we've run into some trouble with the planetary terraforming on Mercury — the Ōtsutsuki's sacrifice ritual doesn't seem to have fully activated the planet's will. The temperature difference between day and night is still too great, and the energy loss from the solar panels is higher than expected."
Tsubasa frowned, about to speak, when the command center door was suddenly kicked open. Zombie scientist Orochimaru, draped in a white lab coat, his hair disheveled and lifeless, clutched a glowing green test tube, his face a mixture of fanaticism and tension. " Immortal King Tsubasa! The Ōtsutsuki Clan invaders have arrived! Our Zombie Corps requests permission to fight! We want to be the vanguard! This time, we're going to have a good time!"
Tsubasa smiled wryly, " Orochimaru, don't be too impulsive. Go back and organize! But last time the Ōtsutsuki Clan sent three companies, a total of eighty-one people, and they were all wiped out. The number and quality of the Ōtsutsuki Clan's next attack will definitely be extraordinary."
These words exploded like a thunderbolt in the command center. Shikamaru's fingers paused, his expression darkening further. "So, this time it's not just a small group of mercenaries, but the regular army of the Ōtsutsuki Clan?"
"Most likely." Tsubasa walked to the huge interstellar map and pointed to the red dot representing the God Tree City. " Shikamaru, estimate how long it would take for the Ōtsutsuki spaceship to travel from the Space Fluctuation Starfield to Mars at the fastest speed? And how long would it take our interstellar carrier behemoth to reach the vicinity of Mars at the fastest speed?"
Shikamaru closed his eyes, rubbed his temples with his fingers, and opened them a few seconds later. "If it's their Divine Tree spaceship, it will take at least seven hours and at most ten hours. We don't have much time. The closest interstellar carrier to Mars is the Nine-Tails Kurama, which can reach the Mars battlefield in ten hours. Further away are the God Tree and Chōmei, which will take about twenty hours."
The Immortal King Tsubasa commanded, "Three interstellar carriers must proceed to Mars at full speed. All experts with the strength of High Immortal Level must assemble and use the Ultra-Long-Distance Space Teleportation Array to travel to Mars to confront the Ōtsutsuki Clan's army. We must defend against the enemy in outer space beyond Mars."
Outside the atmosphere of Shinobi Planet, a pale blue energy shield, like a layer of flowing glass, completely enveloped this planet, which had been transformed by Senjutsu and technology. Inside the command center of the Immortal Venerable Hall, the red light on the crystal screen was still flashing wildly, and Shikamaru's fingers were clattering on the virtual keyboard, causing the veins on his forehead to bulge.
"My lord, I'll get the message out first!" Shikamaru suddenly looked up, his black-rimmed glasses sliding down to the tip of his nose. "The seven ninja villages, the four sacred lands, and the various clans—we must get them to act immediately. Time is of the essence!"
Tsubasa nodded and pointed to a giant, unused crystal screen on the side. "Use satellite communication, an encrypted channel, to directly connect to the main halls of the major sects."
Shikamaru's hand speed was so fast that afterimages appeared. In just a few seconds, more than a dozen small windows popped up on the screen, each showing a different scene—some were the misty Shikkotsu Forest, some were the brightly lit Ryūchi Cave, some were the Moon Palace floating in the sky, and some were the Ten Directions of Hell shrouded in yin energy, and so on.
"Gentlemen, this is Tsubasa." Tsubasa stepped forward, his voice carrying across satellites to every corner of the sacred cultivation grounds of the Shinobi Planet. "Prediction indicates that the Ōtsutsuki Clan's regular army has already set out. The spatial passage should be located in the outer asteroid belt of Mars, and they are expected to arrive at Mars in as little as seven hours. I hereby issue the following order: All High Immortal Level and Golden Core Immortal Venerable Level combatants, immediately cease cultivation, abandon all current missions, and assemble at the Immortal Venerable Hall via teleportation arrays in various locations. Follow me to Mars at top speed to defend against the enemy beyond space!"
The first to speak was Konoha Senju, the Yang Faction's Yang Shadow Tsunade. She had just run out of the apothecary, her white coat still covered in medicinal powder, and her voice was deafening. " Immortal King Tsubasa, are you kidding me? Is this really the Ōtsutsuki's regular army? Those three companies last time cost us quite a few good men!"
" Tsunade, there's no time for jokes right now." Tsubasa's tone was completely calm. " The Mars Azure Dragon Corps is evacuating its civilians. We must set up a defensive line in Mars orbit before the Ōtsutsuki Clan spaceship arrives."
Immediately afterward, Mei Terumi, the new Mizukage of the Water Faction, also received the communication. Behind her were the top Water Faction experts who were urgently assembling, and the clanging of their armor could be heard clearly. "Please rest assured, Your Immortal King, our Water Faction has assembled immediately. However, the little Immortal Level guys have just broken through; should we bring them along?"
"Bring them!" Tsubasa declared decisively. "This time, they're not small fry. Every extra person helps. Tell them this is about protecting our homeland, not playing a ninja game!"
The communicator was noisy, but no one said "no." Kakuzu of the Wind Faction was calculating the mine's accounts when he heard this and immediately slammed his abacus down. "Damn it, the Ōtsutsuki are here just in time! I missed out on so many battle merits and bonuses last time because I didn't participate! This time I'll take the ' Earth Grudge Fear Corps ' over!"
The quietest was Earth Faction new Tsuchikage, Kabuto, who was making medicine. He said slowly, "My medical team will arrive shortly. Also, Lord Orochimaru's Zombie Corps... seems to have already set off?"
The words had barely left his lips when a gust of cold wind flung open the door to the command center. Orochimaru stood in formation at the entrance, leading a dozen or so Flying Zombie, each with a blue face and fangs, their corpse aura almost tangible. The Ōtsutsuki Isshiki Flying Zombie, carrying a massive sword, shouted in a stiff, lifeless voice, " Lord Orochimaru has ordered! Our Flying Zombie Corps is to advance to Mars and clear all obstacles for the Immortal King!"
Orochimaru sauntered out from behind, the test tube in his hand still glowing green, a sinister smile on his face, " Immortal King Tsubasa, look how eager my children are. They haven't even finished digesting the Ōtsutsuki blood they absorbed last time, this is a good opportunity to replenish it—after all, research materials can't be blasted to pieces by technological weapons."
Tsubasa didn't have time to argue with him. He waved his hand and said, "Let them use the teleportation array to connect with Tenmei of the Azure Dragon Corps. Stop focusing on sucking blood and protect the evacuees!"
"Don't worry, don't worry." Orochimaru waved his hand, then turned and roared at the Flying Zombie, "Listen up, all of you! Anyone who dares to cause trouble during the evacuation will be torn apart and used as a puppet!"
The Flying Zombie responded in unison, their voices devoid of any human warmth, and turned to run towards the teleportation array with a thud, shaking the floor tiles of the main hall.
Shikamaru watched the communication windows on the screen close one by one and breathed a sigh of relief, "Fortunately, all the major sects are giving us face. It's estimated that all the High Immortal each sect will arrive within three hours."
"Three hours..." Tsubasa rubbed his temples. "Whether that's enough depends on Tenmei's situation."