What kind of tactic is this? The White Zetsus couldn't make heads or tails of it. What were the Konoha ninja trying to do? They could use Earth Release jutsu to shift underground, so these walls wouldn't hold them.
What exactly was Konoha planning?
A group of White Zetsus broke through the encirclement and entered an open park. They paused to observe their surroundings before continuing forward.
"What's going on? Lord Tobi never mentioned Konoha having defenses like this."
"He said Konoha would draw us in and ambush us with concentrated forces. But that's not what's happening at all, is it?"
They'd braced themselves for a fight to the death against the Konoha ninja, yet the Konoha ninja had actually retreated, making them uneasy.
"What are you afraid of?" one White Zetsu loudly declared. "Let's keep moving! If the Konoha ninja are too scared to fight us, that just shows how cowardly they are. So why back down now? Our mission's to reach the Uchiha territory and build a stronghold there, so we…"
Without warning, the ground began to quake violently, and the tremors intensified as if some enormous creature was approaching.
"What is that?"
Before their eyes appeared dozens of giant statues—over ten meters tall—each sculpted to resemble a bearded warrior clad in armor, brandishing a weapon. On their foreheads, each wore a Konoha Forehead Protector.
"St... Statues? The statues can actually move?"
And move they did—swinging their massive weapons, they launched relentless attacks, trampling the White Zetsus wherever they went.
******
Perched atop a school building, Tsunade watched events unfold below. By her side stood her guards and Anbu ninjas.
"They've entered the encirclement," Tsunade murmured to herself. Beside her lay a massive drum. [Phase Two: Puppet Eight Gates Formation—engage!]
Tsunade struck the giant drum. With the beat, walls erupted from the earth before them, dividing the entire Hidden Leaf village into countless sections.
These walls transformed Konoha into one gigantic battlefield—where only hand-to-hand combat decided the outcome.
And close-quarters fighting was precisely what the White Zetsus excelled at, because any part of their bodies could transform into a weapon.
But would Konoha really give the White Zetsus such an edge? Not a chance—they'd laid traps long before.
Precisely those chakra-draining statues now prowled the streets like monsters guarding a labyrinth.
Perfect. Everything was going according to plan.
Tsunade could clearly see the White Zetsus being pushed into a desperate position.
"What a clever kid."
She murmured to herself before striking the war drum again, kicking off the third phase of the assault. This time, it was an all-out offensive with the sole goal of eradicating every last White Zetsu.
The plan was simple yet effective. Nara Shikaku had already deployed his Ino–Shika–Cho unit, setting up an inescapable trap around the village's perimeter, leaving no chance for the White Zetsus to escape.
As the drumbeat rang out once more, the walls that had divided the battlefield collapsed with a thunderous crash. The Konoha ninja surged forward in another wave against the White Zetsus. Following the plan, they would continue to divide and surround their foes until none remained.
******
Since helping Naruto settle into his new home, she had been busily working on his behalf.
It all began when Naruto was sent on a year-long mission—a mission so perilous that she had to prepare everything ahead of time. Drawing upon knowledge gained in the Land of Sea, along with some of her own research, she reinforced Konoha's defenses.
After her defeat in the Land of Sea and Konoha's hard-earned lessons from the invasion by Sunagakure, Konoha's defensive tactics had been completely overhauled.
One thing never changed—evacuating civilians first, luring enemies into the village, then concentrating forces to annihilate them decisively.
At this moment, in the center of the living room sat a massive wooden table topped with a detailed map of Konoha. Color-coded pawns marked the positions of various ninja units—and enemy forces.
"Good grief, we actually did it!" Tamako said excitedly, her hands deftly shifting pawns across the board. Her fingers glided gracefully over the board, her amber eyes occasionally flicking toward the window before quickly returning to focus.
This place served as Konoha's command center for defense. Although the responsibility weighed heavily, she found herself loving the role. After all, nobody else could do this job but her. If not her, then who? What other choice did she have—fleeing to the mountains like the rest of the civilians?
Of course, she wasn't alone in this. To protect her, Tsunade had personally assigned an Anbu squads to guard her.
"All right," Tamako said as she molded several hand seals and then pressed her index and middle fingers onto a specific point on the map. "Konoha forces in Sector 7, fall back now! Activate Boulder Soldiers 12, 31, and 36—stop those guys right there!"
After speaking, she used her other hand to pick up three pawns and placed them precisely where she'd indicated moments ago.
Lifting her gaze toward the window, she saw three colossal stone figures advancing through the streets toward their designated locations while the Konoha ninja had already evacuated beforehand.
Clearly, the trap had been triggered successfully.
Everything was unfolding even smoother than she'd imagined. There was barely any lag between her commands and their execution in the field.
Just then, she suddenly heard a faint sound of footsteps behind her. Her heart lurched with alarm as she quickly turned around, watching the approaching figure with caution.
"Sorry, I forgot to take off my shoes. You don't mind, do you?" The man spoke in an arrogant tone. Tamako felt irritated but didn't dare to show her anger.
"You..." Tamako took a slow step back as she spoke, her eyes locked tightly on him. "You are... Madara Uchiha?"
This masked man—none other than the legendary Madara Uchiha—was the most terrifying enemy in this war.
Even if he wasn't really Madara, he had to be an extremely powerful ninja. In contrast, she was just a frail girl with no combat power, someone who only knew some sealing techniques. And yet, he was a ruthless demon who could kill without blinking an eye.
"You actually know me?" Tobi said, stepping slowly into the room, his eyes scanning every corner inside. "Who would've thought Konoha would assign such an important mission to a woman with absolutely no combat skills? That's pretty surprising."
Could he already know she was Konoha's defensive commander?
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