radicalducati Chapter 527 Preparations
Chapter 527 Preparations
In the exceptionally spacious command center, the previously noisy discussions vanished instantly, as if time had frozen. This was all because Tsuchikage Onoki's words, like a thunderclap ripped through the sky, resonating deafeningly in everyone's ears.
All eyes turned to Tsunade, the Hokage. Their expressions varied: some were utterly astonished, their mouths agape; others frowned, their faces full of suspicion; still others remained expressionless, showing no emotion whatsoever. Yet, regardless of their expressions, a sense of gravity and tension permeated their gazes.
This pointed question was like a sharp dagger, mercilessly tearing open the long-hidden scars of Konoha. The faces of all the Konoha ninja present instantly turned incredibly serious, like the gloomy sky before a storm. At the same time, their eyes burned with a raging fire, their anger as fiery and violent as volcanic lava about to erupt.
Onoki's reckless and reckless behavior was undoubtedly a serious breach of the Allied Shinobi Forces' unity and a blatant provocation against Konoha's dignity and prestige. If it weren't for Tsunade, the Hokage, sitting there with her imposing presence, the Konoha ninja present would likely have already succumbed to their rage and charged at Onoki, ready to defend Konoha's honor with their weapons. Onoki's actions were a blatant trampling and trampling of the reputation Konoha had painstakingly built up!
Tsunade, the Hokage, showed a subtle, almost imperceptible change in her delicate features, even her brows furrowing slightly. However, she quickly suppressed this fleeting expression, replacing it with her usual calm and composure. Faced with the Tsuchikage's undisguised provocation, Tsunade's anger surged like a volcano about to erupt. However, as the leader of Konoha, she knew that the situation in the ninja world was already extremely precarious; any small conflict could ignite a full-scale war, shattering the already fragile balance of the Allied Shinobi Forces.
Especially Iwagakure, which has always been one of Konoha's most powerful and formidable adversaries. The deep-seated hatred between the two sides is like a bottomless chasm, not something that can be easily eliminated simply because they share a common enemy. Despite her burning anger, Tsunade understood that she bore the heavy responsibility of maintaining peace throughout the ninja world. To ensure the stability of the Allied Shinobi Forces at this moment, she had to suppress her rage and deal with this difficult situation with a calm and rational attitude.
She parted her lips slightly and spoke slowly in an unusually calm tone: "To be honest, I personally feel quite regretful that the Hyuga clan's ninjas failed to join the allied forces in time. However, fortunately, they have given a clear answer that they will definitely send capable men to reinforce our allied forces when the war begins. On the contrary, it is rather inappropriate for you gentlemen of your village to watch someone of your advanced age still have to exert yourself so much!"
When Hokage Tsunade gave her answer, the ninjas from the other villages present all breathed a slight sigh of relief. They secretly admired Tsunade, thinking that she truly considered the bigger picture! At the same time, their dissatisfaction with Tsuchikage Onoki intensified. The ninja world was facing an unprecedentedly severe situation, and at this critical juncture, he was attempting to stir up internal instability, undoubtedly creating unnecessary trouble and problems for the already unstable Allied Shinobi Forces.
As for Tsunade's veiled mockery of Iwagakure's lack of successors, everyone except the Iwagakure ninja secretly felt a sense of satisfaction. After all, the Tsuchikage, Onoki, had always acted like a wise elder, pointing fingers at the Kage of his own village. This behavior genuinely alienated many ninja from other villages. They were all Kage from prestigious major villages, and their status should be equal. However, Onoki always adopted a condescending, senior-to-junior attitude, as if placing himself in a superior position. Naturally, ninja from other villages felt their village was being slighted, and how could they possibly feel comfortable with that?
As a seasoned and experienced politician, Tsuchikage Onoki was naturally aware of the discontent among the ninja from other villages present. However, having long held a high position in Iwagakure and accustomed to considering himself superior, he had developed an unchangeable attitude and tone of voice. Even now, in the Allied Shinobi Forces' command center, facing the Kage of each village—his equals—he still unconsciously displayed the mannerisms he had adopted in Iwagakure.
Realizing his lapse in composure, Onoki inwardly regretted it, but long-standing habits were difficult for him to break completely in a short time. Left with no other choice, he remained silent to avoid further escalating the already tense situation.
Just then, Nara Shikaku keenly sensed the heavy and oppressive atmosphere. To prevent this atmosphere from continuing and affecting the unity and cooperation of the entire allied forces and the progress of subsequent missions, he quickly stepped forward and broke the deadlock, saying, "Gentlemen, the most urgent task at hand is to quickly determine who will be in charge of intelligence gathering! Time is of the essence, and we cannot afford to delay. After all, only by accurately ascertaining when the enemy will launch their attack can we formulate a response strategy and make relevant deployments as soon as possible."
Just as everyone was lost in thought, Nara Shikaku's calm and powerful voice pierced the heavy atmosphere like a bolt of lightning, abruptly pulling the Kage's thoughts back to reality from their confusion and bewilderment.
At this moment, everyone knows perfectly well that blaming each other and shifting responsibility will not solve the imminent crisis. Nara Shikaku is right; the most urgent task is to work together to deal with this unprecedented war.
The leaders of the various ninja villages realized that the most critical and thorny issue at hand was intelligence gathering. After all, they had no idea when the enemy would launch their attack, a situation that was undoubtedly extremely dangerous and serious. Without accurate and reliable intelligence support, subsequent strategic deployments were impossible, let alone effectively repelling the enemy's invasion.
At this critical juncture of life and death, every minute and every second is exceptionally precious. All the major ninja villages must set aside past grievances, cooperate closely, and concentrate all their efforts on obtaining detailed information about the enemy. Only in this way can they hope to remain invincible in this brutal war.
Before long, each ninja village swiftly completed the deployment of its intelligence-gathering personnel. These selected elites embarked on their journey without hesitation, heading straight for the designated area, shouldering an important mission—to gather all crucial intelligence about the enemy.
Meanwhile, the Kage of each village were not slacking off in the slightest. They knew the current situation was tense and that they had to act quickly. Therefore, the Kage immediately devoted themselves to calming the restless Allied Shinobi Forces, who were somewhat agitated by the turbulent situation. With their exceptional leadership and composure, they patiently communicated with each ninja, stabilizing morale.
Furthermore, the Kage tirelessly began meticulously allocating and flexibly deploying the Allied Shinobi Forces. Based on each ninja's strengths, abilities, and experience, they were rationally assigned to different combat groups to ensure the entire force could unleash its maximum combat power. This series of methodical actions was all in preparation for any potential war, ensuring the safety of villages and people.
Meanwhile, on the masked man's side, their war preparations were proceeding smoothly. After Hiruko successfully completed his in-depth study of the forbidden technique, the Impure World Reincarnation, his desire to wage war could no longer be suppressed. After all, they had White Zetsu, a master of intelligence gathering! Thanks to White Zetsu's exceptional abilities, the genetic information of powerful ninja from various villages who had died on the battlefield was being continuously transported to their secret base. All this precious genetic material fell into Hiruko's hands, for his use in performing the Impure World Reincarnation technique.
Among the genes sent were not only those of the former Kage of various ninja villages, but also many renowned and powerful top-tier ninja. Even the genes of some former members of the mysterious organization "Akatsuki" were not spared. Faced with such a large number of powerful combat resources, Hiruko was naturally overjoyed and couldn't wait to begin resurrecting them one by one using the Impure World Reincarnation technique.
Meanwhile, the masked man himself dared not slacken in the slightest. While everyone else was busy, he had already raced against time to begin the Rinnegan transplant surgery. The Rinnegan he had taken from Nagato, after a series of meticulous operations, was finally firmly embedded in his own eye socket. From then on, the masked man's strength increased dramatically, as if he had been reborn.
However, this was just the beginning. The masked man then turned his attention to the various Jinchūriki he had previously captured. He devised a plan to cleverly utilize these Jinchūriki to further strengthen his forces. Thus, a modification project targeting the Jinchūriki quietly began. After a series of complex and precise techniques, these already powerful Jinchūriki were transformed into the masked man's own Six Paths clones. As a result, the masked man's overall combat power was greatly enhanced, becoming astonishingly strong.