Chapter 104

[A/N: Been a while, but I was studying for my exams since mid-December, because France likes to give mid-term exams starting from the 3rd of January, and I had the last one today. I didn't even get to celebrate Christmas and New Year properly because I caught covid somehow, and I'm still under some annoying after-effects as of today, like coughing to the point of having a hard time breathing afterward.

Anyway, I hope 2023 started nicely for all of you, 2022 was pretty rough for me so I wish 2023 to be different.

I won't keep you with my rambling any longer, I hope you enjoy today's chapter!]

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*Third Person POV*

"So, what did you see?" a man with an almost fully shaved head, if not for the mohawk tied in a long ponytail, as well as the Roman numeral 'IV' tattooed below his left eye asked as he was sitting at the end of a rectangular table, his chin resting on his clenched hand as he wore a bored expression

The person he talked to was a tall and muscular adult woman with tan skin, short spiky orange hair, and piercing all around her body, her abdomen being visible because of her black sport-like attire and the Roman numeral 'I' just above her navel, between her muscled abdominals, but what was the most noticeable was her right eye's pupil that looked like an incomplete Senringan, and right now, blood was dripping from it.

"Shit, I couldn't hear anything, it looked like they talked with each other somehow since their expressions changed from time to time, and most of them shifted their gaze toward someone as if they were listening to what he was saying... But at least, that woman was here." the tanned woman said as she was holding the side of her head from the sudden headache

"Mh, so they either simply became cautious after Gochi's intervention, or Kaguya realized where his power came from and warned them... I didn't expect her to become smart over the years, but if she was in the meeting, then she will surely join the fray." the man who was seemingly the leader of the group exclaimed as he smirked

"Well, it doesn't matter if you didn't hear anything, it's not like I expected you to successfully do it in the first place, you aren't the number one for nothing." the man added as he made it clear that this woman was the most 'failed' product out of everyone inside this room

And with six people inside the room, all of them had a Roman numeral number tattooed somewhere on their body.

The Roman numeral 'II' was tattooed on the back of a small girl's left hand, with claw-like nails, long and dense light-green hair that reached the ground, golden tiger-like pupils, sharp teeth, and an overall petite appearance, though her expression seemed to always stay feral, with brownish clothes that seemed to be made of leather and fur, covering all her body except for her hands and feet as she didn't have shoes.

The Roman numeral 'III' was tattooed on the right shoulder of an elderly yet well-muscled man with brown eyes, grey hair sweeping up from behind his ears, and a mustache, but otherwise completely bald, while wearing a black sleeveless karate gi tied with a red belt making him look more like a martial artist than a shinobi.

While the Roman numeral 'IV' was none other than Jigen, or Isshiki Ōtsutsuki, and 'V' was the young girly blond boy, the Roman numeral 'VI' was tattooed on the right thigh of a beautiful slender mature, too mature, woman with green eyes and white hair, wearing a flashy red tight qipao, revealing her right leg completely, while a large gap was noticeable around her abdomen, revealing it.

It didn't cover her arms and shoulders as it was only tied around her neck, and a large snake tattoo could be seen going from her left shoulder, passing by her abdomen, and its mouth ending around the 'VI'.

Nevertheless, the woman who used Clairvoyance knew she was outrightly insulted, but she didn't utter a word and simply looked down, knowing herself that she was the weaker one of the group, and while she did so, the boy who goes by the name of Gochi exclaimed "Boss! If that woman is coming then I don't need to go and catch her, so what's my job? Should I take care of her?"

"No, I will face her, you, on the other hand, will need to occupy Yuichi Senju for as long as possible. As for everyone else... Since they know about our numbers, just take care of whoever they send against you, but before they do, go wild and kill as many as you can, if possible." the man replied before going into some deep thoughts

'It doesn't matter if Kaguya is hiding or participating, as long as Yuichi is here my plan will work... Though you will all have to die for that' Jigen thought as his gaze roamed on every single member of the Inners with a dangerous glint that none of them noticed

"As for the Outers, it doesn't matter what happens to them, they are sacrificial pawns so you can throw them to wreak havoc in their respective villages while they are fighting here." Jigen declared which made all Inners more confident about their upcoming battle

Unfortunately for them, they didn't know that they, too, were to be disposed of for Isshiki's plan to be successful... Something that only he knew.

'Soon... Soon I will become even stronger than Shibai ever was' Isshiki thought which made the dangerous glint in his eyes even stronger before leaving his chair as it was finally time for them to move

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*Yuichi Senju's POV*

'All citizens have been evacuated from the city' I thought as I was standing on Shiromari's head as he was hovering above it

"I never thought I would live to see the day when such a thriving city suddenly became quiet... If we don't consider the rumbling noises west." Mifune, who was on Shiromari's head with me, said as we both could hear the march of the Ten-Tails and the weather he was conjuring to destroy his surrounding

"The monsters are certainly coming closer, and they would have already decimated this place if it weren't for Madara and his group... As well as Hashirama." I replied as I saw the first few waves of shinobi coming out of the gate

"Tell them to stay a bit further from the city's vicinity, I don't want to crush some of them by mistake." I then said as I called upon my chakra wing and left Mifune riding Shiromari back toward the gate

I then flew above what was, more or less because it wasn't a flawless circle, the center of the city, and, after waiting for the first shinobi who arrived to be far enough, I brought my left hand toward the ground and mumbled 'Shinra Tensei' in my mind which created a small repulsive force from my hand that, while invisible to the naked eye, grew larger as it neared the ground, until it began crushing the tallest buildings first and then quickly followed by everything else.

In the end, a large crater was now below me, with not even a piece of any building spared as I intentionally made it larger than the city.

I then flew where the shinobi army was gathered and ordered "Earth Release users' squad, stand forward and fill that crater, don't worry about your chakra consumption, and do not leave a single empty space, I want our battleground to be perfect."

All of them then replied "Yes!" in unison before surrounding the crater I made, spread in a way that would allow each of them to cover their own area without troubling their neighbor.

Of course, I also helped as I flew above the center since it was too much to handle for them, and began filling it from there, making it easier for them since it would have been too far from the edge.

All it took was a few minutes, all while more and more shinobi poured from the gate I made, and once the ground was perfectly flat, all shinobi who helped were surprised to still be full of chakra before quickly going back to join the regiments.

Many familiar faces, mostly from Konoha, were present in the biggest corps which would be tasked to deal with the monsters.

Kushina, Yugito Nii, Death B, and even Hirotaka the Third Mizukage and Jinchūriki of the Six-Tails was here as I rejuvenated him in between my speech and my arrival here.

Rasa and the Raikage were also in this corps, leading them as they stood in the front since they were able to damage large areas with their abilities, the first using Magnet Release with golden sand and the latter using Typhoon Release.

There were also Konan, Dan Kato, Shibi Aburame, Akimichi Chōza, Hiruzen's oldest son Konoyomi Sarutobi, Kakashi's mother Aiko Hatake, and then a few known faces from other villages such as Tooka who was the Tsuchikage bodyguard and user of Steel Release, Toroi who was a user of Magnet Release from Kumo, Kozue, a woman from Suna who could use Mud Release, and finally a group of weird looking people only known as the Beekeepers from Iwa.

As for the rest, well, they won't be facing the monsters but will face the Outers and Inners, usually in groups of two to three shinobi, except for Madara, Nagato, Kaguya, and myself.

Hashirama would still take care of hindering the Ten-Tails, while Malice would make clones out of some of us to help against the monsters and help Hashirama as well.

Nevertheless, it was time for Madara and his group to retreat to us so the war could begin.

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*Yuichi Clone's POV*

"It doesn't matter how many times we kill them, this thing keeps creating more and more!" Tomoko, the tomboy girl and childhood friend of both Yahiko and Nagato let out as she was using her ink to blow up the beasts from the inside

"That's why I want to take care of the big one!" Madara shouted before readying himself to leap toward it but I caught him by the collar and said "No you don't, you are more useful by easily dealing with these things in number rather than the big one."

'And I don't know how the hell did Isshiki create a Ten-Tails with such an enormous life force... It's almost as if it already devoured a massive amount, but it's the first time it appeared on the continent...' I thought before Madara shouted "Why can Hashirama get all the fun?! It's unfair!" before pouting as he crossed his arms, making me wonder how could a grown man like him could act so childishly once his lost love, I mean, childhood friend, was around

"Because his abilities are perfect to deal with it, even though it's slow, it wouldn't be of use to simply beat the shit out of it as you would probably try." I said before sensing something wrong in the space-time fabric around us which prompted me to throw Madara away

Then, in a single instant, a black orb was hurled at me and while I was able to teleport away, it looked like I wasn't able to perfectly evade it as I now missed my left arm, shoulder, and part of my chest.

No blood leaked from the wound since I was made of wood, but strangely enough, I couldn't regrow the parts I lost.

I then looked at the place I was before and instead of a small black orb was now a slowly growing ball with an extremely powerful attraction force, making me glad that only myself and Madara were there.

"Oh? Even as a clone with limited abilities you still sensed and dodged that? Impressive." a voice I didn't know but could easily attribute to Isshiki exclaimed as I saw him, as well as five other people, appear out of nowhere

I then noticed that the old woman with revealing, too revealing, clothes called back the orb before making it disappear.

'So she inherited the Absorption ability of Shibai' I thought before shouting "Everyone, fall back!" which prompted the entire group to do as I asked as they activated the tag I gave them to go back safely

Well, some were reluctant but since I was a clone they didn't think too much about it and left.

"Should I go after them?" the blond boy said but Isshiki shook his head left and right and replied "All of you will, just get rid of that clone before."

But as he finished talking, they didn't expect me to suddenly teleport in front of them and, in another instant, I was switched with the real me who suddenly disappeared along with the six of them.

Back to where the army was, I merged with another clone to recover my lost members and was neared by Hashirama who asked "Are you sure this is going to work?"

Looking at him as I flexed my recovered arm, I replied "Of course, Amenominaka is a technique from which they can't leave, since mine is better than Kaguya's, and I trust each of our allies to deal with their opponents... As for the real me, he will prevent the boy from leaving since he's the only one that might be able to get out."

That's right, once everything was ready at the front and after Madara's group was teleported back, the real me sent eight people, nine with himself, to deal with the Inners by separating them into six different dimensions.

Minato and Tobirama will both work together against number VI, the real Yuichi will deal with number V, Kaguya will be facing Isshiki since she knew the most about him, Madara will take care of number III, Nagato will confront number II, and finally, the legendary trio of Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru will be facing the number I.

They were in a way the most powerful shinobi on our side, Yuichi, Kaguya, and Madara for obvious reasons, Nagato because he was now capable of using his Rinnegan without drawbacks, and Minato plus Tobirama were both extremely competent in space-time Ninjutsu while capable of using Sage Mode.

As for the Sannin, well, Tsunade was the greatest Kunoichi and she actually continued to train despite working at the hospital, having learned Sage Mode, being able to shape chakra, and her self-created technique was now flawless.

Orochimaru, despite not fighting for more than two decades, something that was offset by the real Yuichi's forced training, now had an excellent homunculus body and could use many different Kekkei Genkai, being virtually immortal since he prepared a lot of substitutes.

Finally, Jiraiya learned how to use a perfect Sage Mode a long time ago, and the missions I sent him to greatly helped him experience-wise, while he also learned a lot more techniques than he ever expected to in the first place.

Nevertheless, I then coughed and flew above the army who became nervous as they noticed the massive Ten-Tails and its spawn rampaging their way toward us before shouting "The time for our battle is near, and as you can see, some legendary shinobi from the past came to our aid. I know most of you are wondering how it is possible, however, you should know that now isn't the time for questions, so, steady yourself and be proud to be part of the heroes who will save the continent!"

All of them then shouted in unison, a battle cry that gave them hope and dreams for a better future, something that will definitely allow our villages' shared enmities to be, if not forever, put aside for several decades and maybe centuries.

Hashirama stood in the front along with Rasa, A, and Hirotaka, all being Kage who will be facing the rampaging Ten-Tails' army and thus appointed as 'leaders'.

Malice also stayed just behind them since she would be creating copies of our strongest assets with her technique, something that would cost her a massive amount of chakra but I already prepared for that by giving her something similar to a chakra battery.

I, on the other hand, learned thanks to the real Yuichi but also my fellow clones staying in all six villages, the five hidden villages as well as the Land of Iron's capital, that the Outers were sent to deal as much damage as possible, as such, I flew where the gate was and landed in front of twenty-three people who wouldn't take part in the battle against the Ten-Tails.

"As expected, they sent the Outers to our villages while we all grouped here. From what I sensed, five groups of two are moving towards the five hidden villages, while only one will be attacking your home, Mifune." I explained as I activated the gate here while my fellow clones did the same in all other villages

"Before making the teams, in case any of you took care of your opponents, go back to the gate and help the frontline. If you're wounded then you will be brought to the Medical-Nins before joining the fray." I added as I was sure that some of them would finish their battle quite quickly and thus could continue fighting at the frontline

"Mifune, you will go protect your home along with Sakumo. Both of you are powerful swordsmen and thus can easily work as a team despite doing so for the first time." I said as the General of the Land of Iron smiled and exclaimed "It would be an honor to fight alongside Konoha's White Fang." as he raised his hand in front of Sakumo who smiled back, shook hands with him, and replied "The honor is mine."

While they moved towards the gate, I shifted my gaze toward a certain redhead and said "Mei, you will team up with Osha and deal with one of the Outers going to Kiri. You will be able to use both your Lava Release and Boil Release even with her in the area because of her Glass Release which allows her to protect herself from both."

"A Glassmaker uh? I didn't know they ever left their home and even took part in battles, still, I hope you won't mind protecting a village that isn't yours." Mei said as she attached her hair before Osha replied "I will do my utmost as long as it is to help the Chosen One." with a smile that made me twitch an eyebrow since I didn't think of myself as that 'Chosen One', still, regardless of her beliefs, I was glad to have someone like her on my side

"For the second Outer, Hayato will also go to Kiri since you were born there and you will be paired with Daibutsu since his divine chakra will completely protect him from your Frostbite Release, while also alleviating the drawbacks you will experience and thus allow you to use it longer." I then said as I looked at Mei's extremely handsome bodyguard, when he didn't wear his mask, who silently nodded before looking at the big monk who silently bowed before both of them followed Mei and Osha by taking the gate

While all teams would take the gate to different places, I could change the coordinate in between teleportation, thus, only one gate was needed from this side.

"Michiko, you will obviously go to Iwa and will be accompanied by Pakura, both of you are mixing your Ninjutsu with your Taijutsu, so don't let your foe any time to rest." I said to the now rejuvenated Tsuchikage who was still slightly nervous since her family's revival was at stake, while her life was at my mercy in case she tried to betray us somehow

"Leave it to us!" Pakura said as she was eager to fight something human after facing the monsters for the last few hours, completely uncaring toward Michiko, though she wouldn't let that affect her professionalism while they teamed up

"Good." I let out while smiling before looking at the two siblings I considered family since they were with me the longest after my close friends and Tsunade

"You two will also go to Iwa, and I think I don't need to explain why you are teaming up." I said as both of them nodded, one serious and one joyful, before fist bumping each other as they took their stiletto and finger claw before walking into the gate

I then looked toward a small old woman and said "I know you have many questions and regrets about Sasori but please, put them aside for the time being, I promise you will have all the time you want to talk with him, well, if he wants." before looking at Sasori, or his fourth massive puppet appearance, who replied "As long as she doesn't hold me back, maybe, just maybe I will accept her nagging, but not for long."

Chiyo was definitely thoughtful but she clenched her hands, raised her head, and exclaimed "I know, my priority is to deal with the upcoming threat, my personal feelings can wait."

They didn't have time to chat with each other since Sasori appeared not too long ago... Maybe I should have warned her, but it's too late to think about it.

Nonetheless, Sasori stayed silent as he passed the gate without even looking at Chiyo, a childish move but I knew he wouldn't make a mistake afterward since I felt his eagerness to get new puppets out of the Outers.

My gaze was then directed toward my two closest friends, one as silent as ever while the other was creating smoke only because he was excited to fight.

"Well, the three of us were a team for a while so I know myself how good you two are when fighting together... Try to take your fight in the desert, this way you won't accidentally kill someone with your poison Shikuro while you, Dai, will be able to go all out without destroying anything of importance." I declared before Dai shouted "YEAH!" as he made a weird pose by raising his arms in the air with only one finger from each hand not clenched while Shikuro only muttered something I couldn't even understand because of how quiet it was

Shikuro was then dragged by Dai before he could even finish talking as he jumped inside the gate, making everyone still around surprised by Dai's energetic behavior and wonder how could someone so... Quiet could cope with him.

Coughing to bring back their attention to me, I said "Dodai, Kyūsuke, and Fuyō, the three of you will team up and go to Kumo. I know that you only met today but the three of you can use Lava Release, with different forms, sure, but they don't clash with each other."

Dodai was using vulcanized rubber and being from Kumo, he knew the place better than anyone else.

Kyūsuke was using both corrosive quicklime and volcanic ash, along with his weird cat-related abilities.

As for Fuyō, he was a shinobi from Iwa who could use liquid flames, or the closest one could get to flowing lava, as his version of Lava Release.

The three of them were still not trusting each other fully, regardless, they all nodded and walked inside the gate.

'Hopefully they won't do mistakes because of that' I thought before looking at the two lovebirds, namely Yahiko and Tomoko who still didn't go out with each other

"You two will also go to Kumo. While I never saw how you two work together, I'm sure years of being stuck with each other allowed you to cover each other's weaknesses." I exclaimed as Tomoko replied "Don't worry, no one knows Yahiko better than me!"

Yahiko, on the other hand, simply scratched his head before walking toward the gate as he mumbled "Yeah, yeah..."

He was then quickly followed by Tomoko, now only leaving four shinobi around me.

"Alright, now the four of you will go to Konoha. Hizashi and Hiashi together. Leaving Chikako with Fugaku." I said as I lost the 'politeness' I previously had since the four of them were from Konoha

"You can count on us!" Chikako let out while Hiashi said "We won't let them touch a single hair of anyone." as he looked towards his brother who nodded and smiled back since both put aside their differences a few years ago

"We have to protect the village, let's not waste time." Fugaku exclaimed as he moved toward the gate first which prompted Chikako to quickly follow him

He was a serious man when it came to protecting Konoha, or acting as the current Uchiha Clan's leader, which made me glad that their Clan had a great reputation within the village.

Now that everyone left, I let out a sigh of relief and readied myself as I would be the clone who was going to oversee everything going on, allowing the real Yuichi to stay focused, though I would relay important information if there were any.

I just hoped that everyone will successfully face their foes, and in case it prove to be too much, Yuichi always have backup plans.

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[A/N: It's me again, just to say that I didn't intend to write the individual battles against the Outers, since I will already write six battles with the Inners, I don't really want to lengthen the story by writing ELEVEN more battles WITHOUT the MC, in a mostly first-person based story... You know how I more or less make fast-paced battles since I don't believe that battles should take ages, so doing the six battles will give enough action without dragging it for too long.

Unless you guys absolutely want me to write the eleven battles...

And don't worry, you will see Dai in action even without seeing his battle against one of the Outers, I have something in mind for him.]