Chapter 161

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Soon, the Iwa ninja group arrived at the Kumogakure camp on the border of the Land of Lightning.

A welcomed Kitsuchi and his fellow Iwa jonin, inviting them into the tent to discuss their plans to attack Konoha.

This time, Kumogakure was going all out. To deliver a heavy blow to Konoha, even the Third Raikage had gone to act as a "hostage," bringing together three jinchuriki with near-perfect control over their tailed beasts.

If they were defeated by Konoha again, the Third Raikage wouldn't need to orchestrate an alliance. Onoki, facing such a powerful Konoha, would be restless and might even seek to rally the four great ninja villages to attack Konoha simultaneously.

"Yo, welcome, welcome everyone~"

Killer Bee's eyes lit up when he saw Rōshi and Han, greeting them in his unique rap style.

A's face darkened at this and he immediately scolded, "Bee, properly welcome our guests."

"No worries, A. We can feel the enthusiasm of the Eight-Tails jinchuriki. It's understandable for a jinchuriki to be a bit unusual,"

Rōshi said, then looked at Killer Bee and introduced himself, "I am Rōshi."

The Five-Tails jinchuriki spoke up, "I am Han."

"I'm Killer Bee,"

Killer Bee also introduced himself more formally, as A had previously informed him that the two from Iwagakure could also fully control their tailed beasts.

"Let's talk outside. I'm sure you're not interested in these tedious meetings. Just tell us the mission afterward,"

Rōshi said to Killer Bee. Han remained silent, as both he and Rōshi disliked participating in high-level meetings in Iwagakure.

Before they could control their tailed beasts, the beasts had caused significant destruction in Iwagakure, making Rōshi and Han's jinchuriki status despised by others.

So, even after achieving perfect control over their tailed beasts, they preferred to live around Iwagakure and would only take on missions when necessary.

Upon hearing this, Killer Bee turned to A and asked, "Is that okay, brother?"

Kitsuchi also spoke up, "Sorry, Rōshi rarely participates in meetings back in our village."

A nodded and told Killer Bee, "Go ahead, don't neglect our guests."

With permission granted, Killer Bee led Rōshi and Han out of the meeting tent. Their presence or absence made no difference since they wouldn't be contributing to the discussion and were only needed for the mission execution.

Outside, Rōshi looked at Killer Bee and remarked, "You reached an understanding with the being inside you at such a young age. I envy you."

"The Eight-Tails is my friend. We are mutual friends~"

Killer Bee responded with gestures and rap, then added, "You two are also impressive."

Rōshi shook his head, "It took me ten years to persuade the being inside me to reach an agreement; Han took a bit less time, but it was still nearly ten years. Yet you managed to befriend such a temperamental tailed beast."

"Bastard, who are you calling temperamental? It's not like you ninjas haven't been capturing us all this time."

After Rōshi spoke, the Four-Tails, Son Goku, roared angrily from inside him. Despite the protest, it had spent ten years negotiating with Rōshi and finally reached an agreement: Rōshi could use its power, but whatever amount he used had to be repaid after the battle.

Unlike Killer Bee, who knew the Eight-Tails' name and received its voluntary assistance in battles, Rōshi and Han had not achieved such rapport.

"Let's share some information. What formidable ninjas does Konoha have this time? That Lightning Fang of Konoha?"

Rōshi asked, "We've heard his name in Iwa, known as the Reaper of the Battlefield. Ordinary ninjas can't survive an encounter with him."

"He's indeed formidable. He has mastered our Kumogakure's Lightning Release Chakra Mode. His speed and kenjutsu are both swift and fierce, his ninjutsu incredibly powerful, and his genjutsu is not something ordinary ninjas can resist. Without the help of the being inside you, you would definitely fall to his Mangekyō Sharingan."

Killer Bee said, causing Rōshi and Han to fall silent. They also inwardly urged their tailed beasts, hoping they could persuade the Four-Tails and Five-Tails to help during the battle.

After a few minutes of silence, with exchanges between tailed beasts and their hosts, smiles appeared on Rōshi and Killer Bee's faces.

They had managed to convince the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, thanks largely to the Eight-Tails.

Killer Bee continued, "Defending against his Sharingan genjutsu is secondary. The Mangekyō has two abilities. One is an ocular technique my brother has experienced many times, which instantly weakens you, making your entire body feeble, even disrupting your chakra flow."

"There's also Susanoo, which can be over sixty meters tall, taller than the Eight-Tails, with incredible defense. It takes four to five seconds of concentrated tailed beast bombs to break through its defense."

"He has another trump card, the technique that once severed the Third Raikage's arm. When his body lights up with a purple glow, be very careful."

After hearing this, Rōshi asked after a moment of silence, "What about his weaknesses?"

"I don't know. He has no weaknesses in ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu, and there's also Susanoo. He's a perfect ninja."

When talking about Uchiha Yoichi, Killer Bee spoke seriously, abandoning his usual rap style.

If Konoha's Lightning Fang were easy to deal with, Kumogakure wouldn't need an alliance with Iwagakure. For the Third Raikage to willingly step down required immense determination and sacrifice.

After sharing information, the three began discussing how to deal with Konoha's Lightning Fang.

Knowing about the Mangekyō technique that weakens opponents, they decided to protect themselves with tailed beast cloaks from the start. The first stage of the tailed beast cloak was insufficient, so they opted for the second stage, partial transformation.

Even with the speed and strength enhancements from partial transformation, they would find it difficult to gain an advantage in close combat.

Killer Bee had previously fought his brother A in partial transformation. While he had the upper hand in strength and destructive power, A was slightly faster.

Comparatively, if Yoichi's speed exceeded A's and his strength and destructive power were greater, Killer Bee would have no chance. He knew Yoichi had mastered the Third Raikage's signature technique, the Hell Stab.

However, they were three jinchuriki. Three fully transformed jinchuriki against one would certainly give them the upper hand. Now they just needed to devise a method to completely eliminate Yoichi.

A and Kitsuchi discussed for a long time. Their secret arrival aimed to catch Konoha off guard.

On the third day, A noticed some movements from Konoha, such as the publicized alliance with Yugakure and the state of Yugakure.

Kitsuchi suggested, "Konoha knows nothing about our information. We can let them gain some small victories and then deliver a fatal blow!"

A pondered over this suggestion. It would mean sacrificing some Kumogakure ninjas; having Yugakure's ninjas in Kumogakure uniforms and headbands would have been ideal to deceive Konoha.

After extensive discussions with Dodai and other high-ranking Kumogakure officials, A agreed with Kitsuchi's proposal.

Determined to cripple Konoha, A was willing to sacrifice some Kumogakure ninjas, believing it was worth the cost.

A, Dodai, Kitsuchi, and others formulated their plan. Initially excluding Kitsuchi was an option, but to ensure Iwagakure's cooperation on the battlefield, A and Dodai showed Kitsuchi great respect.

While Konoha ninjas explored and gathered intelligence on the Yugakure battlefield, Kumogakure remained unresponsive.

On another front, in the Land of Grass, Iwagakure launched a large-scale attack. However, they didn't engage Kusagakure, instead appearing with Takigakure within Kusagakure territory to pressure Kusagakure into joining their side against Konoha.

After the Seven-Tails' rampage, Takigakure managed to reseal it but suffered significant losses.

Takigakure's leader and a dozen elite jonin consumed large amounts of Hero Water, amplifying their chakra dozens of times.

This burst of power allowed them to reseal the Seven-Tails.

However, that night, nearly two hundred Takigakure ninjas and over seven hundred villagers died due to the Seven-Tails' rampage. The Takigakure leader's quick decision to use Hero Water prevented even greater casualties.

With the two villages united, Kusagakure's leader quickly decided to join Iwagakure and Takigakure against Konoha.

Now, with enemies at the borders of both the Land of Grass and the Land of Waterfalls, Jiraiya promptly reported this to the village and led some ninjas to intercept the enemies at the Land of Waterfalls.

Meanwhile, Iwagakure and Kusagakure launched attacks, causing great distress for Konoha.

Iwagakure preferred direct confrontations, their combined jutsu difficult for other villages to counter, especially with Earth Release's synergy in combined jutsu.

Lightning Release, which counters Earth Release, couldn't form combined jutsu on the battlefield, making individual Lightning Release jutsu ineffective.

Konoha ninjas struggled to cope, and Iwagakure and Kusagakure continued organizing assault teams to infiltrate the Land of Fire and cause havoc, forcing Konoha to divert resources to handle these incursions.

In just half a month since the war began, Konoha found itself continuously retreating. Iwagakure and Kusagakure amassed over seventeen hundred ninjas on the front lines, while the Land of Waterfalls had six hundred.

Minato had only fifteen hundred ninjas, five hundred of whom were assigned to Jiraiya, making their situation extremely tight.

Half a month into the conflict, Minato reported the battlefield situation to the village and requested reinforcements.

The ferocity of Iwagakure's assault resulted in over a hundred Konoha casualties within two weeks, making it impossible for them to cope.

In the village, Hiruzen didn't anticipate Iwagakure's onslaught to be so fierce, and they hadn't even deployed their jinchuriki, showing a willingness to go all out.

Hiruzen, after discussions with Koharu, Homura, and Danzo, dispatched two hundred reinforcements and a medical team.

Danzo also led thirty Root ninjas and ten ANBU members to alleviate the pressure on Minato at the front.

Initially, Hiruzen considered sending Mina with the medical team, but upon learning of her pregnancy, he dismissed the idea.

Doing so would not only upset Mina but also likely provoke the Uchiha clan.

Although not yet married, Mina had moved in with Yoichi. With her pregnancy, she was effectively the future mother of the Uchiha clan's young leader. Sending her to the front would risk Yoichi returning from the battlefield in rage.

The current situation had Hiruzen prepared to join the battle anytime. If Onoki appeared on the battlefield, even with Minato and Jiraiya, dealing with the cunning old man would be challenging, requiring Hiruzen's personal intervention.

The battlefield in the Land of Hot Water seemed relatively calm. Orochimaru provoked Kumogakure, but their response was minimal and lacked intensity.

Thus, Hiruzen focused more on the conflicts at the borders of the Land of Grass and the Land of Waterfalls.

The sudden large-scale war involving Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Konoha captured everyone's attention in the ninja world, even Madara.

After obtaining substantial information through White Zetsu, Madara decided to use this war to plunge Uchiha Obito into darkness.

"With the purest emotions of the Uchiha, when you lose this love, you will awaken the ultimate power of the Uchiha."

Connecting himself to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Madara absorbed power, preparing to execute his plan personally.

"Obito, when you see the darkness of this world, you will become my successor!"

(End of Chapter)