"The true body… has awakened." The instant Meruem woke, all three of his clones sensed it.
Musashi glanced, expressionless, at the miniature Meruem on Pitou's shoulder. The tiny Meruem met his gaze. Nothing more needed to be said.
The main body had grown several times stronger than before. Shinobi Alliance, keep grinding against Obito's hundred thousand White Zetsu. When our Chimera Ants launch for real, you'll learn what a million-strong Chimera Ant army means.
A mere hundred thousand is nothing to worry about. And Edo Tensei… what an overbearing jutsu, summoning souls that don't even belong to this world.
"Mizukage, why do your troops always give people a strange feeling?" The Kirigakure forces Pitou brought had all been remodeled by the Chimera Ants. They still counted as human, but in essence were no different from puppets. Outwardly human, yes, but their manner of answering and acting was stiff.
If they had fielded the Chimera Ant regular army, the sheer numbers would have tipped off the other villages that something was off.
Who knew whether the Alliance would make a fuss over "non-humans." At least now, though stiff, it could be chalked up to management style or Kirigakure's "special character."
So to outsiders there was a strong sense of dissonance, but only that—everything else seemed fine.
The strongest "puppet" was the former Fifth Mizukage—Mei Terumi. Her Lava Release and Boil Release were perfect for chewing through swaths of White Zetsu.
At this point, you could barely find a normal human left in the Land of Water.
On one battlefield, two youths with fans on their backs faced off—Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi. They had met at last.
"Is that man the enemy? An S-rank rogue of Akatsuki! Captain Sasuke, leave this one to us!" One of the hundreds in Sasuke's command—an Iwagakure elite jōnin with a modest reputation back home—eagerly spoke up.
He had been assigned to Sasuke's close-combat division. Sasuke's performance at the front overshadowed everyone else, but because of his sharp judgment, analysis, planning, and overwhelming strength, most still recognized the fifteen-year-old as a worthy captain.
Only a few, confident in their own strength, balked at his authority—the Iwa-nin most prominently. In raw power he ranked just below Sasuke—though the gap was far wider than he imagined.
He knew full well Konoha's S-rank rogue, the former Uchiha Itachi of Akatsuki, was Sasuke's brother. He said it on purpose: if he could beat Itachi alone, it would rally morale and put Sasuke in his place.
But only if he could actually beat him.
"Do as you like. Just don't blame me if you die." Sasuke gave the Iwa-nin a dismissive look. He knew exactly what the man was plotting.
He'd had his eye on this thorn for a while. He certainly didn't think the Iwa-nin could defeat Itachi.
This was Uchiha Itachi—one of the foremost powerhouses in the shinobi world. Even a village Kage might not be able to kill him.
Crushing a few troublemakers would also make management easier. Even with five villages in one Alliance, backbiting and politicking would be inevitable.
Where there are people, there are feuds.
"Watch me! Earth Release: Rock Coffin!" The elite Iwa-nin ignored Sasuke's tone. He had only one thought left.
Kill Uchiha Itachi!
He was already picturing Itachi falling to his prized Earth Release, the cheers and acclaim that would follow.
Huh? That figure looks familiar—wait, isn't that my own body?
One stroke—just one. The elite Iwa-nin's head spun into the air.
The headless corpse crumpled to the side.
"Impossible! He was elite among elite jōnin! How could he die in a single strike? No way!" The Allied ranks erupted with a cry like they'd seen a ghost.
In a single clash, Itachi had cut down their top-three bruiser—second only to Captain Uchiha Sasuke in overall strength.
Any way you sliced it, it was hard to accept. The gulf in level was simply too large.
Unlike the others, Sasuke saw it clearly. Don't be fooled by the clean kill—Itachi had already gone all-out.
His opponent had been a top-tier elite jōnin. Even dying by Itachi's hand, it shouldn't have been that easy.
Just now, Itachi had used the Mangekyō Sharingan's supreme genjutsu—Tsukuyomi.
"Fall back. Leave this to me. I'll handle him." Sasuke's cold eyes locked on Uchiha Itachi.
Hearing him, most of the Allied shinobi felt an inexplicable sense of relief, though they couldn't say why. With Sasuke standing there, they felt safe.
The rest also exhaled. After what Itachi had done to the Iwa-nin, the pressure was suffocating. Having someone step up was good.
At last—the time had come to settle this between us.
The Uchiha clan's traitor. The murderer of my parents. And the brother I love most.
Uchiha Itachi.
While Sasuke faced his brother, Naruto's side wasn't much easier.
As the Alliance's last jinchuriki, Naruto was powerful enough to have almost no equals, yet the others still protected him.
If the Nine-Tails were lost, the Alliance would lose its final hope. No one would be left to stop the masked man's madness.
With time on their side, Musashi had Naruto, already prepared, face the greatest trial of his life:
Meeting the parents he had never known.
Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze (soul fragment).
"Go or stay—it's your choice, Naruto. But… all of Konoha is already in my hands. What will the Fourth's last fragment and Kushina decide? I'm curious. Don't let my years of teaching go to waste, or I'll hate having to kill you." Musashi murmured, watching the layers of guard around Naruto. Even if Minato and Kushina wished him to protect Konoha, that didn't really conflict with his plans.
He had no intention of destroying Konoha. He only worried they might sway Naruto against him.
But what right did these irresponsible parents have to do so? It wasn't that they hadn't wanted to raise him. And now he was Hokage. By reason and sentiment, barring surprises, Naruto would pass this test.
The same with Sasuke. He now served Konoha, and Musashi was Hokage. Itachi had no standing to turn Sasuke against him—and Sasuke might not agree anyway, even with Shisui's other eye and the Kotoamatsukami.
Once Naruto resolved this knot, his power would surge again. The same for Sasuke. After Itachi, both might reach a point even this Meruem-clone could not oppose.
Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan Sasuke and Kurama Mode Naruto—once they resolved their burdens, they would reach that level.
They would be a step away from the Rinnegan and Six Paths Sage Mode of the final battle.
The war between the Alliance and the White Zetsu and Edo Tensei corps had reached a fever pitch.
Though immortal, Edo Tensei took time to recover—and that was the Alliance's best window to seal them.
Countless bloodline limits and the younger generation shone brightly in this battle.
The Konoha Twelve stood out most.
Among the Ino–Shika–Cho trio, the Akimichi of the Butterfly Form were the strongest—their Perfect Multi-Size Technique multiplied their power.
Once overlooked and underwhelming during the Konoha Crush, Chōji Akimichi drew intense attention in this war.
His combat ability was fully on par with the veteran elite bodyguards who had long protected their Kage. In addition were the Hyuga prodigy Neji and the taijutsu ace Rock Lee.
And then there was Sasuke—only fifteen and already commanding a division, overwhelming his peers.
If not for Naruto's status as the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki keeping him out of the fight, shinobi from other villages would have been green with envy.
Suna, Iwa, and Kumo had their own standouts, but they still fell short of Konoha's elites.
As for Kiri—no one particularly shone, but no one dragged the rear either. Of all the villages, they were the most middle-of-the-road, and never caused trouble.
In wartime, people don't pay much attention to the average. Over time, eyes drifted away from Kirigakure's shinobi.
After all, the "moderate" are always the least noticed.
Most believed Kiri was on the brink of decline. Only a few—like Shikamaru—felt something was off.
(End of Chapter)
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