Black Zetsu recounted everything in detail to Madara Uchiha, emphasizing how Obito was defeated and how Black Zetsu was forced to take over Obito's body.
"So, the Tailed Beast Collection Plan hasn't even started. I've already lost one of my most critical pieces. The Rinnegan hasn't been retrieved, and the entire plan has come to a standstill. Is that correct?"
"Yes, Lord Madara. Aoba Kamikawa's combat power is astounding, likely surpassing the level of the current Five Kage. He also knows Sage Mode and possesses a pair of exceptionally powerful genjutsu-capable Sharingan.
At present, it's nearly impossible for me to defeat him. Additionally, the inheritor of the Rinnegan is essentially out of my control. He has grown suspicious of me. I've tried several times but have had no opportunity to recover the Rinnegan."
Surprisingly, upon hearing about the setbacks in the plan, Madara was not angry. Instead, he appeared somewhat excited.
"Interesting, very interesting. I didn't expect that during the years I've been dead, such a fascinating individual would appear in the shinobi world. Let's go. Take me to see this Aoba Kamikawa who has suppressed you so thoroughly."
Aoba had no intention of negotiating or discussing terms with Kumogakure. Once the six-hour deadline expired, he launched the attack without hesitation.
To Kumogakure, only absolute defeat would force them to sit down and listen, or total annihilation.
At first, Aoba had not been proactive in starting wars. He had hoped to preserve as much of the shinobi world's strength as possible in preparation for the inevitable confrontation with the Ōtsutsuki clan.
However, as time went on, he realized how naive that idea was.
Human beings are complex creatures. Simply put, unless the Ōtsutsuki appeared now and outright destroyed one of the Five Great Nations, demonstrating an insurmountable power, the five nations would never fully unite. There wasn't even a sliver of hope for that.
In the original storyline, it took Kabuto's army of a hundred thousand to force the five villages into an alliance. This principle was no different here.
Leading Kumogakure's forces was Killer Bee. Kumogakure was well aware that without a Kage-level powerhouse to contain him, facing someone of Aoba Kamikawa's caliber was tantamount to throwing lives away.
Killer Bee, known for his confidence, dared not take Aoba lightly, especially since Aoba had nearly killed his brother, the Raikage. Alongside him, over a dozen elite ninja formed a specialized squad.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Pillar."
Over a dozen ninjas simultaneously unleashed a lightning-based genjutsu. Blinding blue light, ten times brighter than the sun, pierced the entire Konoha army.
The intense light rendered the Konoha ninja unable to advance, or even open their eyes. Taking advantage of this, Kumogakure's forces charged forward.
But then, at the front lines of Konoha's troops, the ninjas suddenly and uniformly pulled out thick, dark goggles and put them on.
These goggles were a type of ninja tool developed by Konoha's research institute. By injecting a small amount of chakra, they could resist genjutsu and block intense light—practically tailor-made to counter this Kumogakure technique.
After the collapse of Konoha's defenses during the earlier battles, Aoba had faced the Raikage and witnessed this technique firsthand. He realized then that if used on a large-scale battlefield, it would be a powerful war tactic. Thus, he had developed a countermeasure.
Immediately after, the dozen ninja at the forefront formed hand seals in unison.
"Water Style: Waterfall Technique."
Twelve massive Waterfall Techniques transformed the battlefield into a vast ocean. The Land of Hot Water's famous hot spring city was reduced to rubble within moments of the war's onset.
Although large-scale Water Style techniques didn't deal significant damage to Kumogakure's forces, they effectively slowed their advance.
The key factor was that the twelve ninja, after releasing the Waterfall Technique, didn't pause for a moment. They immediately began forming seals again.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet."
And then once more:
"Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave."
"..."
The Cloud Ninjas on the other side were utterly stunned. Large-scale elemental ninjutsu like this might look impressive, but it consumed an enormous amount of chakra. It wasn't that the techniques weren't powerful, but using them effectively required precise timing and an extraordinary amount of chakra reserves from the caster.
Yet, the Konoha ninjas opposite them seemed to have an endless supply of chakra. A series of Water Style techniques had already submerged the entire city. This greatly amplified the damage potential of follow-up techniques like Water Cannon and Wild Water Wave.
The battle had turned into an all-out ranged ninjutsu slugfest right from the start. Unfortunately for the Cloud Ninjas, this was the kind of fight they were worst at.
Kumogakure was known for its emphasis on ninja-taijutsu hybrids, focusing on close-quarters combat. But now? They couldn't even get close!
From a distance, Black Zetsu and Madara watched the chaotic battle unfold.
"There's something wrong with the chakra levels of those ninjas casting techniques. They're just ordinary shinobi, they shouldn't have so much chakra," Madara remarked.
"There's definitely an issue. It's Hashirama's cells. That chakra carries traces of Hashirama's energy. They must have transplanted Hashirama's cells."
As the shinobi world's foremost admirer of Hashirama, Madara was far too familiar with Hashirama's chakra. A mere glance was enough for him to notice the anomaly.
What Madara didn't know, however, was that these ninjas hadn't undergone Hashirama cell transplants. Instead, they were using chakra cloaks developed by Konoha's research institute.
This technology, though not made public, had been steadily progressing behind the scenes. The team led by Haruno Sakura had never given up on optimizing and improving it.
Meanwhile, the village had secretly collected genetic samples from numerous ninjas and conducted targeted cultivation.
The chakra cloaks these ninjas were using were fully functional end products.
Before the war, these shinobi hadn't even known about the cloaks. At most, they remembered the research institute collecting blood samples from them.
It wasn't until the eve of the war that they underwent emergency training. However, since the chakra cloaks were cultivated using their own cells, there were no compatibility issues. With just a few hours of training, they could use the cloaks proficiently.
This was what led to the spectacular scene on the battlefield.
Boom!
The water erupted violently, blasted apart by a massive force. Ferocious chakra surged as Killer Bee entered a state of partial Tailed Beast transformation.
Shrouded in a cloak of Tailed Beast chakra, he wielded a long blade and charged toward Aoba.
Killer Bee's swordsmanship, whether it was Seven Swords Style or Eight Swords Style, was always extravagant with blades in his hands, feet, and even his mouth. His flashy techniques were both iconic and effective.
In the original story, it only took him a few moves to turn Sasuke into a pincushion.
But against Aoba, Killer Bee abandoned all the flashy moves and went straight for one of his strongest techniques.
"Lightning Style: Lariat!"
In response, Aoba activated Sage Mode with a single thought. With the Kusanagi Sword in hand, he moved to meet Killer Bee head-on.
"Gale Severing Strike!"
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