Konoha Notes

Chapter 410 Ebb Tide

Outside the water prison, on the beach.

Obito Uchiha stared at the giant water sphere in front of him, and with the help of Kamui, he easily escaped the water prison.

Yagura's self-destruction was somewhat unexpected, and since they failed to capture the Three-Tails, the plan had already failed in part.

His gaze lingered between two blurry figures in the water dungeon.

At least one of them probably knows the whereabouts of the Six-Tails Jinchuriki.

Of course, for safety reasons, even they may not know all the details.

In any case, cutting off another pillar of Kirigakure here would cause the village's defense and counterattack capabilities to plummet.

Just as Obito had made up his mind.

The massive water prison collapsed without warning.

A large amount of water went out of control, collapsing and flowing back towards the coast.

Just before the water prison collapsed, the two figures shot out in completely different directions at the same time.

Kisame charged toward the inland forest, while Zabuza veered toward the other side of the coastline, instantly disappearing into the shadows of the complex terrain and the lingering mist.

Decisive, straightforward, and without any hesitation.

Kisame and Zabuza are confident of victory when they team up against Kakuzu and Hidan.

But now it's clear that there's an extra person.

If the two choose to fight again, they will basically both lose their lives.

It would be better to retreat separately, with one person dying and the other serving as a fighting force to return to Kirigakure.

Obito looked to both sides.

Zabuza or Kisame, who should I choose...?

In that brief moment of hesitation, Jue appeared beside him.

"Madara," the White Zetsu said in a light tone, while the Black Zetsu's voice was deep and steady, "The situation has changed. The Fourth Raikage has arrived."

Obito stopped what he was doing: "He's not on the Cloud Village's Maritime Mobile Force's surveillance list."

They conducted a thorough simulation and planning for this operation against Kirigakure, calculating the combat power that the five major ninja villages might mobilize and their reaction time.

On the Konoha side, the top combat forces capable of free movement are none other than Shuji, who is constantly on the move, and Jiraiya, who has clearly appeared in the Land of Forest.

As for the remaining fighting force, considering that there are still three Jinchuriki in Konoha, they cannot be easily mobilized.

The same applies to Kumogakure. The Kage would naturally prioritize protecting their own village, and the Raikage's chakra has clearly never left Kumogakure.

In other words, apart from sending out some elite ninjas, they will not be a party to be worried about.

With Payne's intervention, he will undoubtedly be able to take down the enemy's strongest mobile combat force.

Without Shuuji, Jiraiya and the remaining fighting force of Kirigakure have a high probability of obtaining the Three-Tails and Six-Tails.

There's even a chance to obtain the Five-Tails.

But now, an unplanned high-end combat force has emerged.

This means that the initial simulation had flaws, and the situation is sliding into an uncontrollable direction.

Once a stalemate ensues, the people of Kirigakure become so ruthless that they are willing to kill even the current Mizukage, the Jinchuriki of the Three-Tails.

By the same token, they would likely be equally ruthless towards the Six-Tails Jinchuriki. If the raid fails, they might choose to perish together, preferring to kill the Jinchuriki and wait for the Tailed Beast to revive rather than let him fall into enemy hands.

Since we may ultimately have to wait for the Jinchuriki to die and the Tailed Beast to be reborn, it is not worthwhile to waste precious combat power on a high-risk offensive now.

“The Fourth Raikage may have used a special space-time ninjutsu to travel, or temporarily concealed his chakra signature through some kind of barrier technique,” ​​Zetsu replied. “In addition, the Kirigakure mobile force met up with Jiraiya and the others on their way back to provide support, and will arrive at this coast in a few minutes at the latest.”

"What about Pain?" Obito asked.

"We're still locked in a stalemate with Shuji. Hiwa Juzo is dead, and Hiruko is injured," Zetsu replied.

Should we head to Bath Island, join forces with Payne, and take down Shuji first?

The thought flashed through Obito's mind, but he immediately rejected it.

Unless they are fighting in Konoha or can confirm his new location, it is impossible to keep Shuji, who also possesses space-time abilities, at bay.

Obito, who had always relied on Kamui to move freely and control the battlefield, was now starting to feel a bit weary of space-time ninjutsu. After a moment's consideration, he made a decision.

"retreat."
-
Zaoxie Island, near the cliff.

The once lush woodland is now a scene of devastation.

The sturdy ancient trees were either uprooted or broken in half, and most were covered by brown wood structures.

Shuji stood on a particularly thick tree root.

Not far in front of him, five figures stood in a fan shape.

The Heavenly Realm is in the center, with the Asura Realm, Human Realm, Hungry Ghost Realm, and Hell Realm standing on the left and right respectively.

After calming down a bit, Shuji, who was preparing to find an opportunity to eliminate the Hell Path, discovered that the Heaven Path had taken a step forward.

"You succeeded."

Shuji didn't respond; he just watched him quietly.

“After this,” it was Shura who spoke this time, “the five great ninja villages will be closer together. Because Akatsuki has shown new power and demonstrated what we are capable of.”

"In Konoha's plans, I don't see any room for weapons like Tailed Beasts," Human Path continued.

“You can tell them,” Tendo continued, “as long as the Tailed Beasts are not in the village, they will no longer be Akatsuki’s targets.”

“We are only interested in the Tailed Beasts themselves,” Hell Path added, “but if the Five Great Nations stubbornly bind these sources of calamity to the fate of their villages and refuse to let go…”

"Then next time, I won't have any more reservations about choosing such a remote island as the battlefield."

Shuji simply stared at him.

"In the end," Tendo concluded, "when the Tailed Beasts are no longer scattered... you and I will then decide the true future of this world."

Only then did Shuji say, "What you just said... who are you seeking understanding from? Or are you trying to justify everything you've done?"

"This can be considered a formal response to Konoha's series of actions and philosophies over this period of time," Tendo replied, "and also an announcement."

Shuji's lips twitched slightly: "In that case, let's talk about it again when you're truly in a position of power, Nagato."

The Heavenly Dao replied, "Your provocations are meaningless."

After he finished speaking, he fell silent.

The purple light in the five pairs of eyes of reincarnation flickered slightly at the same time, as if reflected in a mirror.

The next moment, the five figures were enveloped by a sudden burst of thick white smoke.

The white smoke dissipated.

The edge of the cliff and the forest floor were completely empty.

All that remained was a devastated woodland.

Shuji stood quietly in place, waiting for a long time, before jumping down from the tree root.

Only then did the little slug, which had been quietly clinging to his collar, whisper, "Shuji."

"Lady Tsunade says that the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, has been confirmed dead."

“Is that so…” Shuji turned towards the Land of Water. “He went into battle?”

"Yes."

Shuji was silent for a moment, then sighed: "That's why I said, whoever wants to sit in the Shadow position can sit there."

“Shuji,” the slug said, “If Lady Tsunade hears this, she will be very angry.”

"You wouldn't have tipped them off, would you, Lord Live Slug?"

After thinking about it seriously for a moment, the slug said, "Um, Shuuji... Lady Tsunade is currently in a linked state with the Slug Sharing Technique."

"She can hear everything you say."

Shuji sighed again.

"I'll go to Kirigakure for a while and won't be going back for the time being."

(End of this chapter)