Chapter 216 – War Preparations Across the Five Great Nations
It really happened.
The legendary ninja, Uchiha Madara, had appeared in person.
His sudden arrival in the Tsuchikage's Office was enough to scare even seasoned shinobi to death.
Fortunately, after the initial shock, Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki quickly composed himself. Deep down, he felt fortunate—if he had said anything even remotely disloyal to Uchiha Madara before this, the consequences would have been catastrophic.
> "Lord Madara!"
After a few seconds of heavy silence, Ōnoki straightened his back, forced a smile onto his aging face, and asked respectfully:
> "To what do we owe the honor of your presence in Iwagakure?"
> "Did you perhaps sense the chakra of the Fifth Hokage — Uchiha Yuta?"
Uchiha Madara's lips curled slightly. His expression was calm, yet carried a chilling weight.
> "That's right," he said flatly. "And his strength has grown… again."
> "What?!"
Ōnoki's expression hardened. "The Fifth Hokage… has grown even stronger?"
> "Indeed."
Madara shrugged.
> "To tell you the truth, Uchiha Yuta's power may have already surpassed the Sage of Six Paths."
---
> "What?!"
> "Surpassed the Sage of Six Paths?!"
> "That's insane!"
The entire office exploded in disbelief.
Kurotsuchi, Hōntō, Onowa, and the other high-ranking officials of Iwagakure could barely contain their shock. They had known Uchiha Yuta was powerful—but to surpass Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki? The founder of chakra, the first Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, the creator of ninjutsu itself?
It was terrifying.
If Uchiha Madara hadn't said it himself, they would never have believed it.
But since he said it—then it must be true.
Even Ōnoki's usually stern face twitched slightly, unable to mask the dread he felt.
---
> "Let's cut to the point."
At that moment, the masked man — Uchiha Obito stepped forward and spoke in a cold, detached voice.
> "We're going to start the Fourth Great Ninja War. Iwagakure will be the vanguard."
> "What?!"
Ōnoki gasped in shock.
But one look at Uchiha Madara's expression told him everything. This was no request.
It was an order.
---
> "Understood!"
The Third Tsuchikage nodded without hesitation. He knew this was not the time to argue.
The fate of Iwagakure hung by a thread.
Defying Uchiha Madara would bring instant annihilation.
> "Smart choice."
Madara nodded calmly.
> "Wait for my signal. When the time comes—declare war on Konohagakure."
And with that—
BOOM!!
A wave of space-time distortion surged through the office.
Madara, Obito, Black Zetsu, and White Zetsu vanished without another word.
---
Silence.
Total silence.
Once again, the office of the Tsuchikage descended into an eerie quiet.
Ōnoki, Kurotsuchi, Hōntō, and the rest were left staring at the empty space where Madara had stood.
Their expressions were heavy—bitter, even.
> "Big fists speak the loudest in this world…"
That was the harsh truth.
Iwagakure had boarded Madara's ship and there was no getting off.
Now, all they could do was fight to the end and hope that Uchiha Madara had the strength to take on the monster that was Uchiha Yuta.
---
> "Prepare yourselves…"
After a long, grim silence, Ōnoki finally spoke.
> "From this day forward, Iwagakure will enter full wartime readiness. We must be prepared to declare war on Konohagakure at a moment's notice."
> "Understood, Lord Tsuchikage!"
> "We'll follow your lead!"
> "There's no turning back now…"
Everyone responded, albeit with heavy hearts.
There was no other path.
Even if they were to be reduced to cannon fodder in this war—they would march forward regardless.
---
At the same time – Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village)
> "In the end… the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Yuta, still had the last laugh."
Inside the Raikage's Office, the Fourth Raikage — A stood with his arms folded, gazing at the storm clouds beyond the window.
> "He's grown stronger again. That much is obvious."
> "Let's hope Uchiha Madara doesn't disappoint."
Unlike Ōnoki, Raikage A had no regrets about joining Madara's cause.
After all, Killer B, Yugito Nii, Darui, and Mabui had all fallen at the hands of the Fifth Hokage.
There was no peace to be found between Kumogakure and Konohagakure.
Their conflict had already gone beyond diplomacy.
Now it was a war of blood, a battle of vengeance and survival.
> "Even if we perish—we will not bow."
Kumogakure had chosen its side. And they would fight to the death.
---
To be continued...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you like the story please give it some power stones and reviews. And if you want to read 40+ advance chapters or just want to support me please join my patreon at [email protected]/Translatingfanfics