Inside one of the towering structures of Amegakure, the headquarters of the Akatsuki had fallen unusually quiet.
The reason was simple. After the previous operation, most of the organization's members had either deserted or been captured, leaving only Fugaku, Nagato, Konan, and Black Zetsu.
Following the Five Kage Summit, the Five Great Nations formally declared war on Amegakure. As the true rulers of the Hidden Rain, they naturally received the news immediately.
Nagato and Konan had already departed to confront the Shinobi Allied Forces, leaving only the two veteran schemers, Fugaku and Black Zetsu, behind.
Neither of them intended to join the battlefield directly.
Instead, they quietly waited for the inevitable clash between the White Zetsu Army and the Shinobi Allied Forces.
When Fugaku first learned that the Five Great Nations had formed a united alliance, even he, the mastermind behind everything, was momentarily stunned.
However, his surprise quickly faded, replaced by careful preparations.
After all, they had been waiting for this day for a long time.
In war, victory was determined by two things: intelligence and manpower.
Although the White Zetsu had been unable to obtain the Allied Forces' most closely guarded secrets, their unparalleled infiltration abilities allowed the Akatsuki to gather a tremendous amount of battlefield intelligence.
As for manpower, the Shinobi Allied Forces certainly possessed overwhelming numbers.
Yet Fugaku remained completely calm.
Over the years, he had secretly cultivated an enormous army of White Zetsu within the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Nearly sixty thousand White Zetsu clones now lay hidden beneath Amegakure.
Their numbers were more than double those of the current Shinobi Allied Forces.
If he had continued cultivating them, the army could have easily surpassed one hundred thousand, or even several hundred thousand. But in Fugaku's opinion, there was no need.
A two-to-one numerical advantage was already more than enough to crush the Allied Forces with ease.
This confidence wasn't born from arrogance.
It was based on careful calculation.
Individually, the White Zetsu were undeniably weaker than the shinobi of the Allied Forces. The difference in elite combat power alone was enormous.
But that was never their greatest strength.
The true value of the White Zetsu lay in their transformation technique.
They could perfectly disguise themselves as members of the Allied Forces, and even sensor-type ninja were unable to detect the deception.
That single ability had the potential to shatter the Alliance from within.
After all, the Shinobi Allied Forces had only recently united. The Five Great Nations carried generations of bloodshed and hatred against one another.
If a disguised White Zetsu posing as a Konoha shinobi suddenly attacked a Kumogakure ninja, what would happen?
Old grudges would immediately resurface.
The fragile trust holding the Alliance together would collapse, and if handled correctly, the battlefield could descend into chaos, perhaps even a full-scale mutiny.
Should that happen, the united front of the Five Great Nations would crumble almost instantly.
Even if the Five Kage somehow managed to suppress the growing distrust, there was still another problem.
Casualties.
Shinobi might be trained as weapons, but they were still human.
They felt fear.
They knew despair.
The White Zetsu, however, felt neither.
With a single order from Fugaku, every one of them would charge to their deaths without hesitation.
To him, all sixty thousand White Zetsu were disposable pieces on a board.
Even if every last one of them perished, he would not feel the slightest regret.
Could the Shinobi Allied Forces make the same sacrifice?
The answer was obvious.
The White Zetsu Army outnumbered the Allied Forces by more than two to one.
Even if each White Zetsu only managed to take down a single enemy before dying, eliminating ten thousand Allied shinobi would already secure Fugaku's victory.
Faced with casualties approaching one-third of their total strength, could the Shinobi Allied Forces truly maintain their unity?
No matter how he examined the situation, victory seemed firmly within his grasp.
Holding the fate of sixty thousand White Zetsu in his hands, Fugaku felt unprecedented confidence.
For the first time in years, he was overcome with such pride that he nearly wanted to let out a triumphant roar.
His strategy was, without question, brilliant.
Had everything unfolded according to his calculations, the Five Great Nations might have been defeated without even resurrecting the Ten-Tails.
Unfortunately for him, his entire plan relied on one critical assumption.
That no one within the Allied Forces could expose the White Zetsu's transformation technique.
But Kushina possessed the ability to sense both malice and goodwill.
Because of that single advantage, Fugaku's strategy had already failed before the battle had even begun.
Naturally, he knew nothing of this.
He remained immersed in his vision of crushing the Allied Forces.
Even so, he retained enough composure to remember the true objective.
The purpose of this war was not simply to defeat the Shinobi Allied Forces.
It was to resurrect the Ten-Tails and cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Without obtaining the Nine-Tails' chakra, every battlefield victory would ultimately be meaningless.
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had already absorbed a portion of the Eight-Tails' chakra through one of its severed tentacles.
Although the amount was limited, it was enough to serve as a substitute.
Now, only the Nine-Tails remained.
What troubled Fugaku most was Kushina's whereabouts.
Hayashi had hidden her exceptionally well.
Just then, a pitcher plant emerged silently from the ground.
White Zetsu appeared.
"Fugaku, I've located the Nine-Tails' chakra."
"What?"
Excitement immediately flashed across Fugaku's face.
"Where is Kushina?"
White Zetsu shook his head.
"It isn't Kushina. It's Kinkaku and Ginkaku from Kumogakure."
"Kinkaku and Ginkaku?"
Fugaku frowned in surprise.
Black Zetsu calmly explained,
"Kinkaku and Ginkaku were rogue shinobi from Kumogakure. They once gained the Nine-Tails' chakra after consuming its flesh."
"But if I remember correctly," Fugaku said thoughtfully, "during the First Great Ninja War, they attacked the Second Raikage. Later, they pursued the Second Hokage and ultimately died alongside him."
"That's correct," Black Zetsu replied with a nod.
The truth, however, was more complicated.
Madara had secretly interfered, preventing Tobirama from escaping with the Flying Thunder God Technique, creating the opportunity that allowed Kinkaku and Ginkaku to corner him.
"Since they're already dead, how were they brought back?" Fugaku asked.
"It should be the Second Hokage's Edo Tensei," Black Zetsu replied with a meaningful smile. "It seems Konoha still has quite a few hidden cards."
Fugaku fell silent.
The fragment of Eight-Tails chakra sealed within the Demonic Statue was only a temporary solution.
He still wanted the complete Nine-Tails sealed inside.
Otherwise, the resurrected Ten-Tails would inevitably be weaker than intended.
"What about Kushina?" he asked unwillingly. "Have you found her?"
White Zetsu shook his head once more.
"She's not with the Shinobi Allied Forces."
"I see..."
"If the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki isn't on the battlefield," Black Zetsu said calmly, "then she's either hidden somewhere behind the front lines or possibly inside Ryūchi Cave. There's no way to confirm it."
Its meaning was obvious.
Secure the available Nine-Tails chakra first.
Black Zetsu had waited thousands of years for this moment.
It refused to let the opportunity slip away.
"Very well."
Fugaku nodded decisively.
"I'll capture Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Inform Nagato that he can deploy the White Zetsu Army to intercept the Shinobi Allied Forces."
White Zetsu chuckled.
"With the White Zetsu Army in place, you have nothing to worry about."
Fugaku ignored him and turned his gaze toward Black Zetsu.
"I'll leave this place in your hands."
Black Zetsu smiled faintly.
"As long as I'm here, there's no need to worry."
A strange smile slowly spread across his face.