Kakashi suddenly raised his head and looked into the distance. Even Might Guy turned sharply toward a nearby building.
Ōnoki and the others, who had been locked in heated discussion, abruptly fell silent.
A powerful chakra fluctuation rippled through the air. Space itself distorted, spreading outward like concentric waves.
A figure emerged from the distortion.
Clad in a black cloak, the Masked Man stood before them. A white mask covered his face, etched with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan pattern. Through the hollow eye sockets, a terrifying glow flickered—blood-red and deep purple intertwining.
A white sash was tied at his waist.
The sudden intruder drew the attention of everyone present, their expressions growing heavy and guarded.
The Masked Man—Tobi—let out a low, mocking laugh.
"So… you've all gathered in one place?"
"That saves me the trouble of hunting you down one by one."
His voice dropped, sharp and resolute.
"Are you prepared to welcome war?"
The Fourth Raikage roared in anger and lunged forward, his fist smashing straight through the Masked Man's body—only to pass harmlessly through and crash into the wall behind him.
"Masked man!" the Raikage barked. "Abandon this madness! The shinobi world is not yours to toy with!"
Ōnoki stepped forward, his expression grim as his gaze fixed on the Masked Man—especially those eyes.
So it's true…
The Umbrella Organization hadn't lied.
The Rinnegan had indeed been taken.
The Masked Man calmly swept his gaze across the Five Kage and the gathered shinobi.
"Your Five Great Nations have been locked in endless war for generations," he said slowly.
"Life and death intertwine across this world, and the land itself is soaked in blood."
"For this reason…"
"I will end your rule."
He spread his arms, his voice rising with fanatic conviction.
"I will create a new world—one without slaughter, without pain. A world where everyone can live beautifully… forever."
"Wouldn't that be ideal?"
Tsunade slammed her hand against the table and stood.
"That's nothing but false peace," she said coldly.
"Humanity is full of contradictions, yes—but reality, no matter how cruel, is still more meaningful than a fabricated dream."
At that moment, Uchiha Shisui also stepped forward, his voice steady and unwavering.
"Masked man," he said, "the moment we picked up our weapons, we accepted the price."
Shisui's eyes darkened as memories surfaced—his journey from the day he met Naruto to now.
He had once been an idealist.
Now, he was a pragmatist.
Blood was an unavoidable cost of revolution.
Differences in ideology gave rise to conflict. Differences in status and power bred injustice.
Only one ideology could exist in the shinobi world.
Only then could decades of chaos truly end.
The red ideology.
What came after… would be left to future generations.
The Masked Man looked at Shisui—the once-celebrated Uchiha prodigy whose words cut short his speech.
Slowly, he spread his arms once more.
"Very well," he declared.
"Since you've made your resolve…"
"I hereby announce—"
"The war has begun."
With that, space twisted once again.
Kamui.
The Masked Man vanished.
Silence followed.
Everyone exchanged solemn looks. There was nothing left to discuss.
Preparations began immediately. Orders were issued. Shinobi forces across the nations were mobilized.
The Konoha delegation soon prepared to return.
Kakashi, sensing that his training had reached a sufficient stage, also made plans to head back to the village and prepare for the coming storm.
Everything unfolded with terrifying speed.
Back in Konoha
Tsunade convened an emergency meeting and informed the village's senior officials of everything that had transpired.
The entire village entered a state of readiness, anticipation and tension interwoven.
After the meeting dispersed—
"Lady Tsunade."
Tsunade turned to see Hyūga Hiashi standing behind her.
"Clan Head Hiashi," she said, surprised. "Is there something else?"
"Hokage-sama…"
His voice was heavy.
"I wanted to ask about Neji… and the other clan members."
Neji's defection had once weighed heavily on his heart. He had believed himself to have failed his brother—and his clan.
Yet everything that followed filled him with pride.
The Hyūga clan needed change.
Neji had shattered the curse of the Caged Bird—and with it, the invisible prison that bound their clan for generations.
Tsunade looked at him and understood immediately.
"Don't worry," she said gently.
"Neji is doing exceptionally well. To be honest… even you may no longer be his match."
"He's grown into a truly outstanding shinobi."
"As for the other Hyūga members who left—"
"They're doing well too. You have nothing to fear."
Tsunade paused briefly before adding,
"Compared to them, the Hyūga who remained in Konoha… are a bit restrained."
After all, the Hyūga clan was no longer solely defined—or led—by Hyūga Hiashi alone.
And as Naruto himself would have put it—the new Hyūga, having liberated their true nature and shattered the cages that bound them, were finally ready to soar.
Their smiles, their bearing, even their spirit—none of it could be compared to the Hyūga who remained in Konoha.
Soon after, the Shinobi Allied Forces, formed by the Five Great Nations together with the Umbrella Organization's army, officially converged.
Compared to the standard shinobi flak jackets, the equipment used by Umbrella was visibly more advanced. Their Chakra Armor carried a cold metallic sheen, exuding a powerful and oppressive aura.
It left many shinobi deeply shaken.
Countless shinobi gathered under the banner of the Allied Forces. According to intelligence reports, Obito had already dispatched his Edo Tensei army across various regions of the ninja world, deliberately splitting the battlefield.
At the same time, he had released all one hundred thousand White Zetsu under his command.
The White Zetsu were meant for attrition.
The true threat—the one that inspired dread—was the Edo Tensei army.
The Shinobi Allied Forces, formed from the combined strength of every nation, were divided into five divisions.
The First Division, a close-quarters combat corps specializing in martial arts, was led by Takuma Genji.
The Second Division, a mid-to-close-range assault unit emphasizing speed and power, was commanded by Kakashi Hatake.
The Third Division, responsible for surprise attacks, assassination, and intelligence operations, was led by Darui, the Raikage's right-hand man.
Beyond these, the Allied Forces also assembled specialists from across the ninja world—logistics teams, sealing units, sensory-type shinobi, and medical corps—ensuring full operational coverage.
Yet despite the involvement of all five nations, the position of overall commander did not belong to any Kage.
It belonged to Uchiha Shisui.
Both the Raikage and the Tsuchikage had requested that one of their own enter the Alliance's highest command structure.
The meaning behind that was obvious.
Umbrella's rise was unstoppable.
And if they wished to secure future benefits, they needed merit—real, undeniable merit. This war was the perfect opportunity.
Shisui understood these political undercurrents perfectly.
Years of experience had made him adept at navigating such matters, and he had long since stopped caring what Ōnoki or the others truly thought.
In the future, as long as you possessed ability, the ninja world itself would lie within your grasp.
They didn't fear talent.
They feared incompetence.
Standing before a vast formation of Allied shinobi, Shisui felt a rare surge of emotion well up inside him.
He stepped forward, standing atop a hillside, and spoke slowly—his voice calm, yet firm.
"I know you all come from different lands," he said.
"Some of you once stood on opposite sides of the battlefield. Some of you may even have hated one another."
"But today, for the sake of peace in the ninja world, you have chosen to stand together."
"Our enemy is powerful," Shisui continued.
"So powerful that we may be forced to fight former teachers… former comrades… even old friends."
"The ninja world does not need war."
"I believe every one of you here has lost someone—family, friends, fellow shinobi—because of war."
His words fell like a heavy weight.
The Shinobi Allied Forces fell completely silent.
Most of those present had lived through war.
Some had watched their loved ones die with their own eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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