"One ninja village, but multiple Kage?" Ōnoki's expression was heavy as he subconsciously glanced at the nearby Yagura. He hadn't expected that Kei truly had such grand ambitions, just as the other party had claimed.
If the shinobi world had only one ninja village, even if the positions of Tsuchikage, Mizukage, Raikage, and Kazekage were retained, they would be nothing more than symbolic titles—empty positions with no real power.
The one truly in control would still be the Hokage!
Under such conditions, if he, as the Tsuchikage, agreed, how could he face the former Tsuchikage after his death? How could he face the Iwa ninjas who had fought for their village?
Moreover, Kei standing before him was far too arrogant, completely underestimating the power of Iwa. That was precisely why Rōshi and Han were here today. If they combined the power of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, even if they couldn't defeat the enemy, they would never have fallen into such a passive situation.
Damn Kiri!
Damn Yagura!
If you had even a shred of integrity, you wouldn't have put us in such a miserable position!
He felt a surge of rage well up in his chest, but no matter how much he swallowed or exhaled, he couldn't suppress his hatred—he could have killed Yagura right then and there!
But he knew… If he truly attacked Yagura, that would mean accepting Kei's conditions. And if he did that, he might not make it out of this barrier alive today.
And if he died… Who would bear the responsibility of Iwa and resist this terrifying man before them? It wouldn't be long before Iwa became the first village to be swallowed up.
"I, as the Fourth Mizukage, am the first to support the grand unification of the ninja villages. As long as you grant me one small request, I will immediately lead Kiri to merge into Konoha." Black Zetsu, who was controlling Yagura, rapidly calculated his next move and seized the opportunity to speak.
From a thousand years ago, his goal had always been simple, to free his imprisoned mother.
As for the fate of the shinobi world or the great ninja village, he had never cared about any of that. What did it matter if they merged into Konoha?
The stronger a person became, the more they would crave even greater power. As long as this man harbored even the slightest curiosity about the Sage of the Six Paths' power, there would still be a chance to break his mother's seal.
"Sorry, but your death puts my mind at ease." Upon hearing Black Zetsu's words, Kei sneered, then turned his gaze back to the grim-faced Ōnoki.
He clapped his hands together, and the ground began to tremble violently. Giant roots, buried hundreds of meters deep, burst through the surface, extending toward the sky alongside the surrounding trees!
"Roar—!"
A painful roar erupted from Yagura's mouth. Realizing that escape was impossible, Black Zetsu decided to take a gamble—he completely released the seal on Yagura.
Chakra from the Three-Tails surged wildly.
In the blink of an eye, the pressure collapsed countless trees as the fully manifested Three-Tails, standing over dozens of meters tall, took shape!
Taking the opportunity, Tobi withdrew the scattered chakra from the Six Paths' power. He quickly retreated, hiding beneath the Three-Tails' belly. Black Zetsu also detached from Yagura and latched onto the beast!
He pressed one hand against the Three-Tails' abdomen, frantically absorbing its chakra using the Rinnegan's power. With his other hand, he activated the strongest Rinnegan technique he could currently use!
Boom!
The enormous Demonic Statue of the Outer Path—more than ten times the size of the Three-Tails—crashed onto the battlefield, sending the rampaging Three-Tails flying!
The ten tightly shut eyes on its enormous head remained closed, but as it roared, rolling sound waves surged outward, carrying countless vines and shattered trees in all directions. As its massive arms swung wildly, towering trees snapped and crashed to the ground. The colossal figure hunched over before slowly standing up, waving its arms as it lunged toward the golden-red Four Red Yang Formation like a hunting hound!
"Sage Art Wood Release: Four SS Soldiers Helping an Old Jew Lady Cross the Street!" Kei casually named his jutsu as he went.
The massive tree trunks that had just broken through the earth fused with the surrounding forest, stretching even higher into the sky before rapidly transforming into four wrathful, dragon-entwined distinct looking soldiers.
From the edges of the barrier, they pounced on the Gedo Statue.
With shoulders pressing against its waist, fingers gouging at its eyes, kicks landing between its legs, dragging and wrestling—it was forcibly pinned down into the forest below!
Although each enhanced wooden humanoid was slightly smaller than the statue, which was over ten times the size of the Three-Tails, their combined strength was something even a hollow shell of the Ten-Tails could not withstand!
Boom—!
The forest surged and rolled. It transformed into layers upon layers of massive lotus petals, glowing with a golden-red hue, forming an enormous lotus platform over a thousand meters in diameter, rising from the ground.
On the fully Wood Release-formed lotus platform, countless intertwining tree branches twisted and coiled, trapping the statue like a beast sinking into a swamp!
"Roar—!"
Crack! Crack! Crack!
As the Gedo Statue howled in agony, its limbs twisted under the immense force of Wood Release.
Two of the wrathful wood giants grabbed its arms, bending and locking them tightly across its chest. The other two, one in front and one behind, forcibly slammed it down onto the lotus platform!
Kei clapped his hands together, unleashing a flood of senjutsu chakra like a bursting dam.
The four wooden soldiers raised a hand, each palm bearing a massive the sentence "Be humble," and slammed them down onto the statue.
Buzz—!
The unique sealing power of spread instantly.
The struggling Gedo Statue suddenly fell silent.
No matter how desperately Tobi, hidden within, tried to activate it, it no longer responded at all. Realizing the statue was useless, he abandoned it and shot toward the Four Red Yang Formation like an arrow, making a last desperate gamble.
Swoosh—!
At that moment, Kei used Flying Thunder God to teleport atop the highest of the wooden giants. Looking at Tobi to and Black Zetsu still struggling dozens of meters away, he activated his system.
System, remove Black Zetsu's [Creation of Yin-Yang]!
As soon as his words fell, a black light shot into Black Zetsu's body.
"No—! Aaaahhh—!" A human-like, agonized scream erupted from Black Zetsu.
Shrinking to the size of a palm, its pitch-black form curled up before Tobi. Like boiling oil hitting water, black smoke rose from its body as it was forcibly ejected from Tobi's grasp.
The aura of Six Paths Yin-Yang Release rapidly dissipated.
In mere seconds, the mastermind who had orchestrated a thousand years of conflict evaporated into pure chakra and scattered into the sky.
---
[Premature elimination of one of the main bosses.]
[The worldline has significantly deviated.]
[Obtained:
- 1 trait upgrading (Red)
- 3 trait extraction
- 2 trait duplication
- 3 gifting opportunity
- 1 trait downgrading
- 2 trait reset]
---
As the system notification rang out, at that moment, due to the effects of [Fate Weaver], the immense fate energy dispersing from Black Zetsu surged toward Kei, instantly converting into pure luck energy.
His originally sky-blue aura of fortune was forcibly elevated to a deep purple.