Akatsuki Organization Secret Base.
The Masked Man returned here, full of pride!
Zetsu rushed over, anxious: "How's it going?"
The Masked Man grinned: "I've successfully had the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path absorb the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails from Naruto and Killer B! The only flaw is that the Nine-Tails was only half… but it's still a huge step forward! ´∀`"
After speaking, the Masked Man tossed Sasuke out with a Sharingan technique: "I picked him up on the way. Keeping him around might come in handy."
"What's your next plan?" Zetsu continued.
"Of course," the Masked Man replied, "summon the Ten-Tails directly, cast Infinite Tsukuyomi, and plunge the entire world into illusion! ୧⍢⃝୨"
Zetsu hesitated, worried: "But we're still missing the Three-Tails, Four-Tails, and Six-Tails inside the Shinju…"
"The Four-Tails and Six-Tails aren't too bad; some remained in Orochimaru and Fūmō back then. But the Three-Tails…"
The Masked Man fell into thought: "That's indeed tricky… we need to deal with it quickly. The four previous Hokage have already been resurrected by Orochimaru. Even without the Shinju, they're still a huge problem for us…"
Zetsu suggested: "What if we use the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to bring him back…"
The Masked Man turned sharply to Zetsu, eyes fierce under the mask: "Since when do I need you to tell me how to do things? ╰_╯"
Zetsu immediately shut his mouth.
After a moment, Zetsu seemed to have an idea: "Awakening the Rinnegan requires a sage's spiritual power and body. Sasuke is the reincarnation of this generation's Indra chakra. If we transplant cells from Hashirama's body into him, do you think…"
The Masked Man's eyes lit up: "I hadn't considered that before. Trying it wouldn't hurt. (--0027▿--0027)"
Suddenly, the Masked Man's expression shifted slightly: "Huh? Looks like a little mouse has found our base…"
…
Elsewhere.
The Raikage was furiously beating Killer B: "Bee! I told you to stay put on Island Turtle! And now look, the Eight-Tails is gone! Happy now?! (ꐦ ಠ 皿 ಠ)"
"Damn it! The more I think about it, the angrier I get! Take this!! (ꐦ°᷄д°᷅)"
Nearby, the Shinju considered whether to give Naruto another tailed beast…
After thinking it over, he gave up.
Akatsuki was targeting the tailed beasts. Naruto had barely survived once; giving him another beast would basically push him back into the fire…
At that moment, the Fourth Hokage, for some reason, looked gravely at the Shinju:
"I don't think the name of the reincarnation jutsu you just used is very good. I came up with a new one—want to hear it?"
Shinju nodded with some expectation: "Go ahead."
"Ninjutsu: Jet-Black Reincarnation Infinite Demon God Life Technique… how does that sound? ( ˝ᗢ̈˝ )"
Shinju smiled politely, embarrassed: ∩_∩
The name was perfect—sounded like a joke!
By the time it was announced, the corpses would already be cold!
Shinju: "I think it's not bad, but Fourth-sama, could you repeat the previous name once more?"
The Fourth Hokage repeated seriously: "Ninjutsu: Jet-Black Reincarnation Infinite Demon God Life Technique! I'm very confident in my naming! (ﾉ∇︎〃 )"
"Hey, you're a little airheaded," the Second Hokage said seriously, looking at the Fourth.
"I laughed out loud when I first heard the name while alive."
"Even as Hokage, how could you be so silly? 눈_눈"
Fourth Hokage: "..."
The First Hokage placed a hand on the Second's shoulder: "Tobirama, don't say that. If the Fourth could become Hokage, he must have his exceptional qualities!"
"By the way, Fourth, you look barely over twenty. How did you die?"
Minato scratched his head, a little shy facing the First Hokage: "To seal the Nine-Tails. (ꈍᴗꈍ)"
First Hokage: "Huh~ to seal the Nine-Tails…"
The conversation trailed off awkwardly, both sides embarrassed.
Shinju then clapped and stood: "Alright, you guys continue chatting. I'll head back."
After saying goodbye, he immediately used Flying Thunder God to return to Island Turtle!
The First Hokage clapped his hands, full of energy: "Yes! Then we should act quickly too!"
…
Meanwhile, Orochimaru and Kabuto slowly moved from the Land of Lightning toward the Land of Fire border…
Along the way, Orochimaru kept touching the mark the Shinigami had left on his face, growing more and more pained…
"This mark is etched directly into my soul. No matter how many bodies I change, it will always be there! (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)"
"Damn it! Why me? Why me?! (▼ヘ▼#)"
Kabuto asked: "Lord Orochimaru, the Edo Tensei ninja you reanimated are still fighting on the front lines against the Allied Shinobi Forces. What should we do…"
Orochimaru lowered his head, conflicted.
He wanted Shinju's body, but Shinju was too strong to handle!
At this point, it seemed the only choice was to join forces with the Masked Man to attack Shinju.
But if the Masked Man dominated and Infinite Tsukuyomi succeeded, all his previous experiments and dedication to science would be wasted…
"Lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto asked again, seeing him remain silent.
Orochimaru looked up, his gaze sharpening: "Go find the Masked Man…"
…
Land of Lightning, Hidden Cloud Village, Allied Shinobi Forces Headquarters.
The Raikage's and Hokage's reports reached headquarters, and everyone's faces broke into smiles!
"With four Hokage supporting us, we're sure to win this war! ୧⍢⃝୨"
"Yeah! The Third and Fifth Units now have support from the Second and Fourth Units. We can wipe out all the Edo Tensei ninja soon. Victory is in sight!"
"Don't be blindly optimistic. Akatsuki is still missing three tailed beasts to complete all nine. Half of White Zetsu's army hasn't deployed yet. They may have backup…"
"That's true. Since victory is near, we must not slack off!"
"For some reason, I still feel uneasy…"
"You're overthinking it!"
While everyone in headquarters discussed back and forth, the sensor and liaison units continued their diligent work.
Suddenly, the massive chakra detection water ball in front of the sensor unit trembled slightly! Dense ripples on its surface mysteriously disappeared by almost half!
Ao quickly reported: "The chakra signatures of all Edo Tensei ninja have vanished!"
The Mizukage's face showed relief: "Finally, those Edo Tensei ninja are gone! (＾ワ＾)"
The Tsuchikage asked: "Was this done by the strike force?"
Yamashiro Haiichi: "I don't think so. The strike force just arrived at the Akatsuki base…"
"Based on the front-line reports, the disappearance of the Edo Tensei ninja doesn't mean the technique was undone. They were simply 'collected' by the caster."
Nara Shikaku: "The caster likely has another plan for the gathered Edo Tensei ninja!"
"Alert all units—full lockdown!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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