"Is this really the power of Uchiha Shisui?"
On Turtle Island, staring at the deep, searing slash-mark carved into the Gedo Statue, White Zetsu's jaw hung open. Even Black Zetsu could not help but feel a ripple of shock.
The Gedo Statue was the husk of the Ten-Tails itself. Even if its chakra had long since been divided into nine and scattered across the world, its body remained immensely powerful—the vessel of the so-called One-Eyed God.
This body had endured millennia of chaos, survived the scrutiny and experiments of Hamura's descendants on the moon, and had never once suffered damage.
Even in the battle against Yuki Yoru, it had remained unyielding.
Yet under Shisui's single strike, not only was it damaged—the wound was grievous.
Obito stared blankly at the scar gouged into the statue. Without question, had he not summoned the Gedo Statue in time, with only his current ocular power he could never have withstood that blow. At best, he would have been forced to sacrifice his sight by activating Izanagi.
"Where's Shisui?"
"He's already gone," White Zetsu replied. He seemed to have noticed that his words were not accurate, so he added: "After he used that technique, his body completely collapsed. The Rinnegan and everything else dissipated."
Did he die?
That makes sense. With his life force already at its end, he still used this level of power. He must have used up everything.
"What a pity."
Obito murmured softly. Whether it was for the loss of the Rinnegan, or for the passing of a fellow Uchiha genius, even he could not say.
But such emotions no longer mattered to the Obito of now. His hollowed heart had long since lost the ability to be swayed by sentiment. Only a grander vision—his true ideal—could fill that void.
With a puff, the towering Gedo Statue dispersed into white smoke. For a being of its level, such damage was nothing. With sufficient chakra, it would repair itself swiftly.
And at present, the statue still contained chakra from the One-Tail and a portion of the Nine-Tails. Repairing these wounds posed no issue.
Not to mention—the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails, soon to fall into his hands…
Wait!
Where were the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails?!
Beneath the white mask, Obito's expression darkened. Turtle Island was not far, yet he could sense neither beast's chakra at all.
"During the battle just now, the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails took advantage of the chaos to escape from Turtle Island." Black Zetsu seemed to have seen through Obito's thoughts and slowly said: "They hid in the ocean. If you want to search for them, it won't be easy, even with the Zetsu spores to pinpoint their location."
"We still have to find them!"
Obito said coldly.
The remaining Tailed Beasts had not appeared in recent years. No matter how foolish Obito was, he could figure out that this was definitely a trick by Yuki Yoru.
In other words, these were the only two Tailed Beasts that Yuki Yoru had not interfered with. If he couldn't even get these two Tailed Beasts, his chances of winning the war against Yuki Yoru would be infinitely close to zero.
Tailed Beasts were not merely weapons of mass destruction. They vastly amplified the Gedo Statue's power, turning it into a spearhead to pierce through Yuki Yoru.
"Understood."
White Zetsu burrowed into the ground, quickly pinpointed the spores on the Jinchūriki, and after confirming the general location, he took Obito and went straight for them.
Six Paths Obito's powerful attack, coupled with the location of the spores, made it impossible for Killer Bee, who was in Tailed Beast form and hiding deep in the sea, to escape. In just a moment, with a deafening explosion, a huge Gyūki and a large flaming cat suddenly appeared on the sea surface.
"ROOOAR!!"
Vast chakra condensed before them, forming terrifying Tailed Beast Bombs.
But faced with this level of threat, a look of mockery appeared in Obito's eyes.
Tailed Beasts… were nothing more than toys for the Uchiha.
The Rinnegan under the white mask returned to a Mangekyō Sharingan. A demonic red light flashed. The two Tailed Beasts that were condensing Tailed Beast Bombs suddenly stopped for a moment.
The Tailed Beast Bombs that were condensed in their mouths actually sped up a bit, and then they fiercely roared and spat them out at Obito.
"What?!"
A look of shock flashed in Obito's eyes. He immediately activated his invincible Kamui to avoid the chakra explosion that seemed to be able to destroy the heavens and the earth.
"Yugito, cover the area with Tailed Beast Bombs—create chaos! Otherwise, we won't escape!"
The huge Eight-Tails Gyūki spoke in a human voice. Its mountain-like body continuously trembled. The eight octopus tails continuously condensed chakra, and a dense amount of small Tailed Beast Bombs were released one after another.
The Two-Tails Matatabi also bellowed, unleashing a relentless storm of smaller Tailed Beast Bombs from its maw, like raindrops pouring down.
Wherever the small Tailed Beast Bombs landed, there was a strong explosion. For a moment, countless waves were set off on the entire sea surface.
RUMBLE—!!
This is our chance!
A sharp gleam flashed in Killer Bee's eyes as he prepared to withdraw. But before he could act, a crushing force of terrifying gravity descended from above, driving both beasts' massive forms down into the depths of the sea.
The repulsive force then shifted—into suction.
The Eight-Tails and Two-Tails were yanked upward against their will. They both gathered Tailed Beast Bombs in their mouths, but from the heavens rained down countless Wood Release branches, instantly binding their bodies tight.
From those trees pulsed a devouring force. The two beasts struggled at first, but under this suction their power rapidly diminished, until they could no longer muster their strength.
As the tress devoured more chakra, their half-transformed bodies receded, shrinking back into their human forms.
"So because you're a perfect Jinchūriki, you're immune to my genjutsu, huh."
Obito's body descended from the sky. He looked down at Killer Bee and Yugito with a sneer: "It's nothing special."
With a flick of his wrist, four black rods shot out from his sleeve, pinning both their hands firmly against the wooden restraints, cutting off any chance of escape.
"As expected of you, Obito! With these two Tailed Beasts secured, our odds against Yuki Yoru just rose once again!" Black Zetsu emerged at the perfect moment, showering him with praise.
"So? Should we take them away first, or extract their chakra directly into the Gedo Statue?"
"Delays invite disaster. Devour them here."
The subordinates under Yuki Yoru wielded bizarre techniques: Shinigami's Zanpakutō releases, Quincy's Schrift abilities—uncanny, unpredictable. To keep Tailed Beasts by his side was folly.
Obito did not hesitate. He summoned the Gedo Statue once more. Controlling its chakra chains, he pierced the chests of Yugito and Killer Bee, dragging them both into the statue's gaping maw.
"ROOOAR!!"
In an instant, the Gedo Statue, which was a little listless after taking a sword from Shisui, roared. Its aura surged.
Two more of its tightly closed eyes also opened!
"Six more to go..." Looking at the five tightly closed eyes and one half-opened eye of the Gedō Mazō, Obito's eyes did not relax because he had gotten two Tailed Beasts. Instead, they became even more solemn.
According to the original intel, the remaining six Tailed Beasts were basically in Yuki Yoru's hands. In other words, if he wanted to get the Tailed Beasts, he had to go head-to-head with Yuki Yoru.
This was clearly a tough battle.
Originally, Obito's heart was full of confidence. In his eyes, he had already stepped into the realm of the Sage of Six Paths. No matter how strong Yoru was, once the ritual was complete, they would surely be equals.
But Shisui's appearance had shattered that dream. If not for the Gedo Statue shielding him, Obito might have been slain by Shisui alone.
If even Uchiha Shisui possessed such power—then how terrifying must Yuki Yoru himself truly be?
A creeping dread welled up inside him once again: the growing "Fear of Yoru."
"What's the situation on the front lines?"
To suppress the terror swelling in his chest, Obito changed the subject, forcing his focus elsewhere.
"Difficult," White Zetsu replied after collecting his thoughts.
"Every division of the Allied Shinobi Forces is led by a Shinigami captain. With them, Suna and Iwa's forces are no match at all. The battlefield's situation… we can only call it a total rout."
Obito fell into silence.
In truth, he had already foreseen this outcome.
Sunagakure and Iwagakure were nothing more than bait he had released to draw attention. But that they would be defeated so quickly—this, Obito still found hard to accept.
"But there is one matter that might concern you."
"On the battlefield, a strange new force seems to have appeared. While we clash with the Allied Shinobi Forces, they've been steadily collecting the corpses of the fallen."
"Collecting corpses?"
Obito's brow furrowed. "Yuki Yoru's people?"
He had long noticed Yoru's Shinigami spreading across the world, gathering souls. Could it be that this was yet another of Yoru's teams sent to harvest spirits?
No—wrong.
Yoru's subordinates typically used specialized instruments to extract souls, never bothering with corpses. That was why they could wander the shinobi world for so long, collecting unnoticed.
"It shouldn't be Yoru's people. The power within them is chakra, not spiritual power," White Zetsu explained. "And they act secretly, avoiding the Shinigami's eyes. The corpses they select are only those of kekkei genkai users. In that sense, they're quite similar to Orochimaru back in the day."
When Orochimaru had been with Akatsuki, he often relied on White Zetsu to help capture kekkei genkai bearers for his experiments.
But now Orochimaru was under Yoru's banner—and these people even went out of their way to avoid Shinigami attention. That made things… interesting.
"How strong are they?"
"Very strong."
"Oh?" Obito gave White Zetsu a surprised look, not expecting the term "very strong."
"While collecting bodies, they clashed with the Allied Shinobi Forces. Their strength was overwhelming… at least not weaker than the Akatsuki from back then."." White Zetsu was organizing the intelligence he got from the spores. He said in a deep voice:
"But many of their fighting techniques are… peculiar. Or rather—familiar."
"Familiar?" Obito's interest sharpened. "What do you mean?"
"Among them… someone used Earth Grudge Fear!"
"What?!"
…
Meanwhile, in Konoha.
The Fourth Shinobi World War raged like wildfire. As one of the Allied villages, Konoha too had dispatched much of its strength to the front.
But to prevent another incident like the Uchiha massacre, and to safeguard his village, the Hokage—Uchiha Fugaku—did not go to the front lines. Like the Raikage, he remained in the village to lead its defense.
"You are all aware of the situation on the front lines. To prevent another disaster like what befell the Uchiha compound, we must place security measures in every corner of the village."
Inside the Hokage's office, Fugaku spoke in a low, steady voice:
"In addition, we must send reinforcements to the Grass Country front in the east. Who among you will step forward?"
No one spoke.
Even though the war's momentum clearly favored the Allied Shinobi Forces, a battlefield was still a battlefield.
Konoha's great clans, after suffering blow after blow in recent years, were already stretched thin. When the war began, a contingent had already been sent out. Now, to send another…
If nothing happened, fine. But if disaster struck, what future would their clans have left?
Beside, this war was different from before. In the allied operation, the rewards for merits were all handled by those Shinigami from the Kirigakure. It wasn't like before, where the more people they sent out, the more benefits they would get.
They naturally didn't want to do this kind of thankless job.
Looking at the silent people, Fugaku's face was a little grim. Just as he was about to say something, a sudden voice rang out.
"As the Hokage, why don't the Fifth Hokage lead by example?"
Half his body wrapped in bandages, one arm deliberately concealed, Shimura Danzō pushed open the door and strode inside. His piercing gaze locked onto Fugaku—or rather, onto the Hokage's seat beneath him.
"So long as the Fifth leads by example, dispatching the elite of the Uchiha clan to the front, my Shimura clan's men will naturally not shrink back."
"But if someone intends to throw our clans' young talents onto the battlefield as mere cannon fodder…"
Ignoring the shock of his colleagues around him and the dark expression on Uchiha Fugaku's face, Shimura Danzō declared in a ringing voice:
"I, Shimura Danzō, will be the first to oppose it!"
"Danzō, you—!"
Fugaku snarled, his face ashen with fury.
In the past, as Hokage, he would of course have led by example. With the Uchiha clan's deep reserves, sending their strongest to serve as captains was no problem. Not only would it win prestige, but it would also secure favorable shares in the spoils.
But after Obito's schemes, fewer than a dozen Uchiha remained.
And in order to protect his son and adopted son, Fugaku had also sent half of them to the Kirigakure.
Even if those who remained were all elite Uchiha, formidable shinobi—these were the ones meant to carry on the clan's bloodline. If they were to die on the battlefield, wouldn't the Uchiha clan be extinguished?
This guy Danzō was sure that there weren't many people left in the Uchiha clan!
Fugaku was a little angry, but he was also a little strange in his heart.
It wasn't just because Danzō, whom he thought had already 'submitted', had suddenly jumped out at this point in time.
It was also because.
He felt a strange feeling that he couldn't put into words on Danzō in front of him...