That morning, the Allied Shinobi Forces Headquarters was filled with the leaders of every village, all gathered together as they waited for updates.
In the newly built intelligence center next door, messengers came and went, continuously delivering reports from the various reconnaissance teams.
That was only possible thanks to the battlefield communication system Konohagakure had developed over the past few years—a combination of ninjutsu and modern technology.
Radio communication had already become widespread among ordinary people, and naturally, shinobi had begun making use of it as well.
Rasa glanced over the latest intelligence summary and asked worriedly, "Still no sign of where the enemy is?"
Terumī Mei replied, "It can't be helped. The reconnaissance teams only set out yesterday afternoon. The Land of Rice Fields isn't exactly small, and Otogakure has practically been abandoned. Who knows where the Akatsuki are hiding? It'll take time to find them."
Rasa frowned. "I'm worried the Akatsuki won't even show themselves before our own forces start causing trouble."
The Raikage snorted. "Wasn't this Konoha's idea? Our shinobi could've operated separately just fine. Why insist on breaking everyone up and reorganizing them into mixed units?"
Minato simply smiled, unfazed by the criticism.
Makoto said, "They're just minor frictions. Nothing that'll affect the bigger picture. We've spent decades killing one another. Isn't it nice to finally have a chance to interact under different circumstances?"
Ōnoki gave a dismissive snort. "Hmph. I understand what you two young men are trying to do, but you're being far too idealistic. Hatred built up over generations isn't so easily erased."
The Raikage shot back, "Old man, you're the last person who should be saying that!"
After all, the father he had respected more than anyone had been beaten to death by Ōnoki and his men. That score had been buried in his heart for years, and if the opportunity ever came, he fully intended to settle it.
Minato shook his head. "It's not idealism. Some things have to be started before you can see where the road leads. We don't expect to erase everyone's hatred—we're simply trying to offer another way of looking at it."
Terumī Mei nodded. "I agree with Tsuchikage-sama. The Akatsuki have already proven that trying to forcefully change the status quo only provokes everyone's resistance."
Makoto replied, "That's why force should only be the final safeguard—not the only solution."
Ōnoki sighed. "I'm glad you're not someone like Uchiha Madara, who believed strength was everything. But the world has always been cruel. Without bloodshed, nothing can truly change."
Makoto blinked. "Huh? Senpai, are you encouraging me to slaughter all of you?"
Ōnoki: "..."
'Damn it! That's not what I meant! I was telling you to learn from Senju Hashirama, you idiot!'
Just then, Jiraiya walked in.
"Did I just hear someone mention Madara?"
Ōnoki looked at him. "What? Are we not allowed to mention him in front of Konoha shinobi?"
"Not at all," Jiraiya replied. "In fact, your timing's perfect. We just received word that Uchiha Madara appeared in Konoha yesterday and attempted to capture the Nine-Tails."
Ōnoki shot to his feet.
"What?! That bastard's still alive?"
"No," Jiraiya answered. "He's dead. But some forbidden technique temporarily brought him back into the world of the living."
Terumī Mei immediately asked, "He didn't succeed, did he?"
"Relax. The Nine-Tails is perfectly safe. But according to the report, Madara is the true mastermind behind the Akatsuki. And those Rinnegan... he left them behind before he died."
Everyone found the whole thing absurd.
How could someone still be manipulating events after death? Just what kind of obsessive mastermind kept plotting from beyond the grave?
Ōnoki clicked his tongue.
"That bastard just won't stay dead. Even after dying, he still has to leave the living with this enormous mess."
The moment he finished speaking, a communications shinobi rushed into the room.
"Report! The frontline reconnaissance team has located the Akatsuki's base."
The Raikage's eyes lit up.
"What? We finally found those bastards?"
Once the location had been confirmed, headquarters immediately issued the order. The reorganized combat forces set out, splitting into multiple groups to converge on the target from different directions.
This battle had one objective: wipe the organization out completely. Not even a fly was to be allowed to escape.
Aside from the staff officers remaining behind at headquarters, the Five Kage would also head out personally. After all, the Akatsuki's leader and its S-rank missing-nin were far beyond what ordinary shinobi could handle.
Especially Uchiha Madara. Sending regular shinobi against him was little different from sending them to their deaths.
But just as they stepped out of headquarters, everyone faintly heard a roar.
It hadn't traveled through the air. Instead, it seemed to echo directly inside their minds, born from the resonance of the chakra within their own bodies.
The Ten-Tails was the source of every shinobi's chakra. Now that it had fully awakened, it radiated an overwhelming desire to reclaim all chakra.
Its roar was filled with rage, chaos, and destruction.
A suffocating silence fell over the area as an inexplicable sense of unease gripped everyone.
Moments later, that oppressive feeling intensified—and this time, it became something tangible.
A gigantic black sphere of chakra rapidly expanded in the sky, hurtling straight toward the Allied Shinobi Forces Headquarters.
It was the Ten-Tails' colossal Tailed Beast Ball, so enormous that its sheer size was terrifying.
Nagato had used the Ten-Tails to send the Five Great Shinobi Villages a "welcoming gift." If that thing landed, the entire headquarters—including most of the nearby shinobi—would be blown sky-high in a single blast.
The Raikage stared upward. "Is that a Tailed Beast Ball?"
The Mizukage nodded. "It is... but why is it so enormous? That's just ridiculous!"
"Looks like the Ten-Tails has been revived," Minato said.
The moment he finished speaking, he prepared to fly into the sky and use Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder to redirect the attack. He was quite familiar with the technique—he'd done the same thing over a decade ago.
"I'll handle it."
Makoto was even faster than Minato, instantly teleporting into the path of the colossal Tailed Beast Ball.
He naturally knew Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder as well. But this time, he had no intention of dumping it into the ocean and making marine life suffer. Nor was he going to send it back toward the enemy like he had against the Four-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball during the Third Shinobi World War.
Instead, he intended to deal with it in another way.
And while he was at it, he wanted to examine the composition of the Ten-Tails' chakra.
As he approached the Tailed Beast Ball, Makoto sensed that the balance between Yin and Yang chakra inside it was rapidly destabilizing. The moment it struck the ground, it would detonate.
Using repulsive force, he drastically slowed its flight while simultaneously creating a special Wood Release clone.
Makoto's chakra flowed into the Tailed Beast Ball, forming a seal within it. By readjusting the Yin-Yang ratio, he prevented the imbalance from worsening.
The special Wood Release clone attached itself directly to the Tailed Beast Ball. An overwhelming suction force erupted from its entire body, as though a breach had been torn open in the sphere. Its energy poured into the clone, where it was converted into secondary white natural energy before dispersing throughout the world.
The clone had become a humanoid converter.
The shinobi watching from below witnessed an astonishing sight.
The gigantic Tailed Beast Ball was shrinking at an incredible rate.
By the time it reached the Allied Shinobi Forces Headquarters, it had vanished completely, as though it had never existed.
However, many Konoha shinobi who had achieved considerable mastery of the True Sage system could clearly sense that the natural energy in the area had become far more active.
It was the very energy they had trained with for years. Although they couldn't perceive its color on the level of consciousness the way its founder, Higashino Makoto, could, they could unmistakably feel the difference.
The crisis was resolved without incident. Even if Makoto hadn't been there, Minato would have intervened. Nagato's plan had never stood any chance of succeeding.
Once the mission was complete, the consciousness of Makoto's Wood Release clone returned to him. But as the clone's body fell toward the ground, it began to lose stability. The wood twisted uncontrollably as roots and branches sprouted wildly in every direction.
By the time it hit the ground, it had completely transformed into a grotesque wooden monstrosity, resembling both an ancient tree stump and some bizarre living creature.
It looked like an abstract sculpture crafted by an eccentric woodcarver.
Which raised an interesting question.
Was the God Tree really a tree?
Or was it actually a plant... or an animal?