Momoshiki stood within the barrier, his gaze icy and sharp.
Though the shockwaves from the clash between Isshiki and Aizen were immense, their weak aftershocks couldn't even reach him.
What truly enraged him was the current situation before his eyes.
"One of the God Tree Festival hosts like Isshiki is not even a match for the enemy? What's going on with this planet?" Momoshiki mentally roared, his once-unshakable belief in the Otsutsuki's invincibility now slipping away.
He wanted to intervene, but Toneri was watching him like a hawk.
Considering his body was still intact, he gave up on the idea of letting that guy install new limbs for free.
"We must notify the Main Family and have the clan send someone who has presided over the God Tree Festival more than twice to eliminate this threat!"
Just then, the barrier covering the Grand Arena suddenly shattered!
Momoshiki immediately looked up and quickly figured out Isshiki's plan from the latter's movements. "Pitting two enemies against each other, huh? Although he was the one who caused all this chaos, he's got some tricks up his sleeve..."
As Momoshiki was thinking this, he suddenly saw Isshiki kicked violently by Seiki, crashing toward the ground like a meteor!
Several question marks instantly appeared in his mind—was this development somewhat off?
Wasn't the plan to "pit two enemies against each other"?
Isshiki shared his confusion. Flying out from the crater, he glared angrily at Seiki, "Why did you attack me?"
Seiki replied concisely, "Because you're easier to hit!"
"Damn it, don't think I'm really afraid of you!" Isshiki's face darkened. No matter how far he had fallen, he was once the mightiest in the cosmos. How could he tolerate these inferior beings who relied only on 'effort' to insult him!
Aizen shrugged, "Whether you feel anger or fear is up to you. Anyway, you're just an expendable character!"
Seiki completely ignored his presence, turning to Aizen instead, "Your subordinates participating in the tournament weren't just meant to flatter me, right?"
"Of course not..."
Isshiki, seeing this, had his forehead veins bulging and attacked both of them at once, "You better not push it! There's a limit to how much you can underestimate someone!"
Seiki didn't want to overdo his performance either, simultaneously countering Isshiki while also attacking Aizen.
Soon, the three were locked in a fierce battle!
The fight could be roughly summarized as: each of the three attacked the other two simultaneously, but Seiki and Aizen merely blocked while leaving Isshiki as the only one being continuously beaten!
It wasn't just because his power was slightly weaker than theirs; it was also because the other two were cooperating in "performing" against him!
Under those circumstances, there was no way he'd come out of this unharmed!
Within just a few dozen seconds, more than ten wounds had appeared on Isshiki's body. If it weren't for his strong life force, he'd be dead by now!
Seeing this, everyone had a rough idea of how the three ranked in terms of combat strength.
Leader-sama and the Leader of the Xu organization were tied for first place, followed by Isshiki in third. Continuing down the list, it would be roughly Toneri and Momoshiki in fourth and fifth places...
Finally, Isshiki couldn't take it anymore and shouted, "Stop! None of us can defeat each other today. Let's end it here!"
Although this statement somewhat exaggerated his own importance, it wasn't entirely far from the truth.
The two of them were indeed slightly stronger than him, but such a small gap meant nothing. Unless they teamed up to kill him, he might not be able to defeat them, but couldn't he at least escape?
Yet once again, Seiki completely ignored his presence and turned to Aizen. "Speak. What is your purpose!"
Aizen spread his arms wide, as if to embrace this world. "I've come today to announce something to you all—the Fifth Great Ninja World War officially begins now!"
The Grand Arena first fell silent, then erupted into a cacophony of voices!
"What did he say? The Fifth Great Ninja World War?"
"Must be a joke, right? How can a world war suddenly break out like this?"
After so many years of peace, war had become a distant memory in their daily lives. But now that it was spoken again, everyone couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions.
"The Fifth Great Ninja World War!" Isshiki swept his gaze back and forth between the two with great interest, no longer caring about the humiliation of being ignored.
"The Fifth Great Ninja World War?" Seiki pretended to frown. "Ordinary people can't interfere in our battles. There's no need to drag them into this. If you want to fight for control of this world, we can just go fight beyond the stars!"
Aizen laughed. "Lose a Genin, lose a squad. Lose a war, lose a world! Victory is accumulated bit by bit through small advantages. Surely you understand this principle?"
Hearing Aizen's words, the Alliance members angrily shouted out.
"Leader-sama, let us join the battle too!"
"We're more numerous! Even if it's a hundred to one odds, we'll still win!"
"Although we can't influence Leader-sama's battle, we can affect Naruto and his group. They can decide the final outcome!"
Seiki didn't respond to them. Instead, his gaze turned heavy as he stared at Aizen. "You've declared war—what exactly is your purpose?"
"Very well. If you won't cooperate unless I explain clearly," Aizen concealed his smile and spoke solemnly, "I want to use this war to awaken Gaia's consciousness within this planet beneath our feet, and then..."
Before Seiki could speak, Isshiki already shouted, "Impossible! How could a planetary consciousness ever be artificially cultivated?"
Aizen smiled and asked, "So it really does exist then?"
Isshiki didn't mind revealing the information he'd just given away. He spoke heavily, "Among the infinite stars, any miracle is possible. A living planetary body is the greatest miracle of all!"
Aizen looked toward Seiki. "Surely you understand the might of the Otsutsuki clan. If we want to resist threats from outer space, even counterattack the Otsutsuki, trampling them beneath our feet, our individual powers are still far from enough!"
Isshiki and Momoshiki's mouths twitched slightly. Discussing how to strike back at the Otsutsuki star right in front of two Otsutsuki themselves—wasn't that an enormous slap to their faces?
The crowd below listened in stunned silence. They now understood the Otsutsuki's strength, and even the most audacious among them had only considered how to resist the threat or perhaps wander the cosmos with the planet itself.
But this man—his words spoke of trampling the Otsutsuki underfoot. What kind of audacity and ambition was that!
The few members of the Xu organization felt equally astonished. Previously, they had only followed Aizen out of gratitude, but now, they suddenly felt a sense of honor and purpose!
Xianglin's eyes sparkled with stars. "I knew it all along—Aizen-sama's ambition is definitely beyond simply ruling the world!"
Kisame sighed thoughtfully, "Although Aizen launched this war for this world, most people probably won't appreciate him... Of course, Aizen-sama wouldn't care about that anyway! He and Seiki Shimaseki are like two extremes. Both carry the world upon their shoulders, yet Seiki is burdened with too many concerns, while Aizen does exactly as he pleases! If they could unite, they might actually stand a chance of counterattacking the Otsutsuki!"
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