Kurotsuchi stepped forward with concern, helping Ōnoki steady himself.
"Grandpa, you should take it easy!"
Ōnoki waved her off. "You don't understand how terrifying that man is."
Then, looking at her with a hint of relief, he added,
"I didn't expect you to save Iwagakure today. Just now, I thought you were going to anger Uchiha Kaede."
Kurotsuchi frowned slightly. "Is he really that strong? We have four Kage-level shinobi!"
Ōnoki gave a bitter smile. "To someone at his level, numbers don't matter.
Let me put it this way — with just one casual strike, he could wipe out tens of miles around Iwagakure.
And I saw it with my own eyes. He was the one who destroyed Konoha.
A few days ago, when he fought the First Hokage, their strongest attacks obliterated an area stretching for dozens, even hundreds of miles!"
"This…" Kurotsuchi was visibly shocked.
She knew Uchiha Kaede was strong, but she never imagined it was to such an extent.
Dozens of miles… even if all of Iwagakure's forces attacked at once, they'd need an entire day of bombing to achieve that!
"One strike… dozens of miles…"
Beside them, Deidara's eyes lit up with golden excitement.
"Art… this is true art!"
He suddenly looked up at Ōnoki. "Old man… sensei, can I become his apprentice?!"
Ōnoki's face darkened instantly.
He smacked him on the head and roared, "Idiot! Am I not enough for you?!"
But Kurotsuchi also seemed tempted by the idea, which only made Ōnoki sigh in defeat.
He started to say, "Do you really think he would—" and then stopped mid-sentence.
Wait… maybe it wasn't impossible.
Ōnoki's mind began racing.
Clearly, Uchiha Kaede had no intention of attacking them — for now. But that was only because of his intimidation.
He knew Tsunade and the others had entered Sunagakure, which meant Uchiha Kaede's influence extended across the entire ninja world.
What if Kaede decided to destroy all the great shinobi villages and create a world under total Uchiha control?
If that happened, how could he talk about reclaiming Iwagakure in ten years?
At the very least, the village's legacy had to survive.
If either Deidara or Kurotsuchi could become his apprentice…
After all, Kaede was known for treating his own people well — the entire shinobi world knew that.
Didn't everyone see how, back in Sunagakure, he never hesitated to give resources and techniques to their shinobi?
Their potential now even surpassed that of the major villages!
Not every leader could afford to nurture all their ninjas so freely.
"This could work," Ōnoki decided.
He turned to Deidara and Kurotsuchi with a calm but serious tone.
"If either of you can become his apprentice, your future might reach heights I can't even imagine.
If that's the case, I'll put aside my pride and beg him for you!"
—
In the Land of Fire.
Uchiha Kaede carefully selected a location, then suddenly made his move.
"Summoning Technique!"
In the next instant, the God Tree appeared, its roots sinking deep into the earth.
With it came the Three-Tails, Six-Tails, Seven-Tails, and Eight-Tails — the tailed beasts that had been roaming free.
For the record, he had taken care of the Six-Tails' jinchūriki in just a few minutes before heading to Iwagakure.
Then, Kaede activated his Rinnegan once more. Space rippled, and the surrounding Edo Tensei shinobi, along with the captured Kage and others, appeared before him.
Naruto was the first to speak. "Sensei, is it time?"
Kaede nodded. "Don't worry, this won't harm you."
Other than Naruto, all jinchūriki and tailed beasts were already fully under his control.
He formed several shadow clones, each infused with vast life force to ensure the jinchūriki would survive the extraction process.
Then, he began removing the tailed beasts.
Inevitably, Naruto and the others grimaced in pain — the beasts had been sealed within them for years, intertwined with their very being.
Soon, all nine tailed beasts stood before Kaede in their true forms.
The Yin and Yang halves of Kurama emerged from Naruto and Minato, merging instantly into one complete Nine-Tails.
"Let's begin…"
Floating upward, Kaede followed the method the system had provided.
"The first!"
Shukaku was enveloped in white light and instantly teleported to a location in the Land of Wind.
"The second!"
Next was Matatabi… and so on, until his gaze fell on Kurama.
"You're the last."
Kurama stared deeply at him, sensing an unprecedented danger.
It resisted, but Kaede only smirked. "I don't lie."
Pressing his hands together, he wrapped the beast in dazzling white light.
A moment later, nine pillars of light shot into the sky from across the ninja world, merging high above to form a colossal net that blanketed the heavens.
All over the world, people looked up in awe.
Kaede's perception spread across the entire planet.
He could feel Tsunade and the others' shock in Sunagakure, Ōnoki's disbelief in Iwagakure, the unsettled shinobi in Kumogakure, and even distant lands beyond the great nations.
He also felt a massive influx of natural energy pouring from the planet into the shinobi world.
The grand formation had been activated.
Kaede chuckled. "Now we just let time do the rest."
With more natural energy, the lands of Wind, Earth, and beyond would slowly return to their state from a thousand years ago, before the God Tree's arrival.
The world's environment would improve even further.
"There's one last step."
Descending, Kaede brought the tailed beasts back together.
They were weaker now — he had extracted a large portion of their essence.
Raising his aura to its peak, he declared, "The final stage!"
From the net above, a vast beam of white light descended, covering dozens of miles.
The nine tailed beasts positioned themselves around the area, forming another net that vanished into the sky.
Natural energy in the region spiked to unprecedented levels.
This place would be the new base for the Uchiha.
With everything complete, Kaede's expression calmed.
"Some of you may have doubted my intentions before. Now you should realize how foolish that was."
"From this moment, you're free. But whenever I call, you will return here instantly through the space I've prepared."
The beasts nodded. They could feel the world changing around them.
Kurama sighed. "You've truly done something great for the shinobi world."
Kaede replied flatly, "I don't need your praise. Now, go."
The beasts left, feeling freer than ever.
Kaede then looked up toward the moon.
"All is ready… time to meet that woman."
With the God Tree firmly rooted in the shinobi world, only a few months of its influence would be enough to bring everyone — except a handful of traitors — under his rule.
It was time for the next stage of his plan.
(End of Chapter)
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