Chapter 248: Impure World Reincarnation

"Is our village a gathering place for tailed beasts or something?"

Amid the deafening roar of the Five-Tails, many Konoha shinobi suddenly felt like they couldn't hold it together anymore.

Three years ago, it was the Nine-Tails.

Two years ago, it was the Three-Tails.

And now, it's the Five-Tails.

Even though no one was bored enough to specifically keep track of this, every Konoha shinobi knew that their village was undoubtedly the place that suffered the most tailed beast attacks.

But with great challenges come great experience. For such attacks by these massive chakra conglomerates, Konoha had developed a wealth of experience. The newly built houses used lightweight materials, so even if the buildings collapsed, it was hard for them to crush people.

Despite the absence of the Hokage and the head of the Anbu, Konoha's shinobi swiftly organized themselves. Some experts stayed behind to deal with the members of the Phantom Organization, while the remaining shinobi gathered according to their proficiency in different types of jutsu.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall…"

Shinobi with an affinity for Earth Release began the attack, creating a Earth wall to trap the tailed beast with combined Earth Release techniques before unleashing a bombardment. Even if they couldn't trap it, at the very least, they wanted to block an incoming Tailed Beast Bomb.

However, what the Konoha shinobi didn't know was that, despite all tailed beasts being massive chakra entities, there were still significant differences between them. In addition to excelling at Boil Release, Water Release, and Fire Release, the Five-Tails loved close combat!

With horns on its head and a body resembling a combination of a horse and a dolphin, its charge was unstoppable.

With a bloodcurdling roar, the Five-Tails didn't unleash a Tailed Beast Bomb but instead launched itself forward, its hooved claws tearing through the earth as it charged.

Boom!

The incomplete Earth Release wall barely held for a fraction of a second before the Five-Tails shattered it and rushed toward the group of shinobi.

At this critical moment, a green skeletal structure stood between the tailed beast and the Konoha shinobi.

"Get out of here! Its strength is even greater than the Three-Tails!"

Shisui's eyes were bloodshot as he poured his chakra into his Mangekyō Sharingan. Layers of muscle and skin began forming on the Susanoo's skeleton, wrapping around with Shisui inside.

Once the face was fully formed, the half-body giant stopped retreating. Shisui crossed his hands in front of his chest, and the giant mimicked his movements, grabbing hold of the Five-Tails' horns.

Rumble…

The sheer clash of power between Shisui and the Five-Tails tore apart the ground beneath them, sending shockwaves rippling outward.

Shisui coughed up blood.

Just moments ago, he had been battling Sasori of the Red Sand. After Sasori used his Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets and the Human Puppet of the Third Kazekage, the fight had been evenly matched. It wasn't until Shisui activated his Mangekyō Sharingan that he gained the upper hand.

But just as he was about to use his Mangekyō technique, the Five-Tails descended upon Konoha. Being the closest, he had no choice but to abandon his opponent and use his Susanoo to stop the tailed beast from causing further destruction.

"Ugh…" Shisui endured the excruciating pain that came with using the Susanoo, holding the Five-Tails in place so that Konoha shinobi could hurled jutsu at it. He is doing everything he could to limit its movements.

All Konoha shinobi, including Shisui, were confident that victory would ultimately belong to the village.

…

"Kamui!"

Kakashi focused on the masked man in the distance. Seizing the opportunity while the masked man was performing a summoning technique, Kakashi distorted the space around him, attempting to twist and snap his neck.

But just as Kakashi thought he had succeeded, a white humanoid creature emerged from the ground, taking the hit for the masked man and being torn in half.

The masked man stood up, seemingly annoyed, and kicked aside his bisected companion.

Seeing this, Kakashi was overcome with grief. "Obito, have you fallen this far? You were the one who once told me, 'Those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash,' but now look at you…"

"Kakashi, don't waver," Orochimaru said, removing the Hokage's hat. His golden, snake-like eyes turned toward the masked man. "The person in front of us now is merely a weapon driven by revenge."

"Yes, I understand, Hokage-sama."

"Ruri, take some people to assist Shisui. Kakashi, your left eye is something Obito desires greatly. Stay by my side…"

Although Orochimaru was speaking quickly due to the battlefield situation, it was still enough time for the masked man.

Once again, the masked man placed his palm on the ground.

Several humanoid figures were summoned, their pale skin emitting steam.

If Yuto were here, he might have clapped in amusement.

—For the past two years, Obito had been doing things quite similarly to Yuto. Yuto captured the Four-Tails to create bioengineered beast soldiers, and Obito had also acquired the Five-Tails and conducted similar experiments. Both involved a large number of Hashirama cells, with shockingly similar research directions.

However… these creations, based on tailed beasts and Hashirama's cells, were ultimately just disposable pawns. They weren't strong enough to reclaim Kamui under Konoha's watchful eye. Who knew what other tricks Obito had up his sleeve?

Yuto couldn't figure this out, and Konoha certainly didn't understand either.

But the most dangerous part was that Konoha was unaware that these bioengineered beast soldiers were weak. They were nothing more than mindless drones.

Their intelligence reports only contained information about these creatures holding off Konoha's vanguard forces.

As the saying goes, "Information is a shinobi's lifeline."

Thus, in their war against the Phantom Organization, Konoha made a fatal mistake—they overestimated the combat capabilities of the bioengineered beast soldiers!

"This is bad…" Kakashi's expression darkened. "These things will self-destruct!"

The fact that they could self-destruct meant the battle had to be resolved quickly. Otherwise, even if Konoha won the war, there wouldn't be many survivors left.

Getting to Obito was not difficult for Kakashi or Orochimaru, but they both knew better than to underestimate his strength, even without the Sharingan.

With a puff of white smoke, a man in a crimson robe was summoned by Orochimaru.

This was a captured member of the Phantom Organization.

"At this point, there's no choice but to use a forbidden technique," Orochimaru said calmly. "Kakashi, remember what I told you. If I'm not around, you must follow Shisui's lead."

The white-haired young man was moved, finally understanding Orochimaru's meaning. Using this forbidden technique would burden him with the stigma of desecrating the dead. For the sake of the village's reputation, Orochimaru might one day have to resign and live in seclusion.

"Don't make that face. A shinobi must walk their path to the end," Orochimaru said, pulling out a black jar containing flesh and blood. A sly smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Naruto has grown up, so let him meet his father…"

He formed a series of hand seals to activate the forbidden technique.

Tiger—Snake—Dog—Dragon...!

"Impure World Reincarnation…"

(End of Chapter)