The longer a person lived, the more bizarre things they were bound to witness.
The older shinobi among the Five Great Shinobi Villages had believed that, after more than a decade of peace, the world was about to plunge into another great Shinobi World War.
At first, they thought this war would be different from the previous three. Instead of every village fighting for itself, it would become a clash between two major factions—three villages against two.
With thirty to forty thousand shinobi gathered in one place, they didn't even want to imagine how horrific the battlefield would become once the fighting began.
Yet events took an unexpected turn.
Rather than fighting one another, the villages had somehow united to wipe out the Akatsuki together.
Unlike the shinobi wars they were familiar with, there were no defensive lines stretching across the battlefield, nor elite squads roaming behind enemy lines in deadly skirmishes.
For the first time in history, all five villages had joined forces. Once they confirmed the Akatsuki's base in the Land of Rice Fields, they decided to steamroll it in one overwhelming offensive.
After all, their enemy was just a rogue organization, supported by a portion of Amegakure's and Otogakure's forces.
The smaller hidden villages had fewer shinobi, and those shinobi were generally weaker.
The advantage was clearly on their side.
Then, the moment they stepped out...
A colossal Tailed Beast Ball came hurtling toward them.
What kind of opening was this?
They hadn't even laid eyes on the enemy before getting greeted with a battlefield-clearing ultimate attack?
This wasn't shinobi combat at all.
Could someone really do whatever they wanted just because they had that much chakra?
Was this the Ten-Tails—the ultimate weapon the Akatsuki had supposedly created by gathering all the Tailed Beasts?
More than ninety-nine percent of the Allied shinobi had never even seen a Tailed Beast, much less faced a Tailed Beast Ball.
And now they were expected to tank what was essentially a Ten-Tails-fired tactical nuke... with their faces?
Fortunately, while the enemy had a monster...
Their side had a god.
After effortlessly resolving the nuclear-scale threat, Higashino Makoto remained suspended in the sky and addressed everyone.
"Don't worry about the Tailed Beast Balls. I'll handle them. Combat units, continue the mission. Move out immediately!"
Using chakra to set the air itself vibrating, Makoto's voice carried across the entire Allied encampment, filled with unwavering confidence.
The suffocating fear left behind by the massive Tailed Beast Ball vanished almost instantly.
The shinobi's fighting spirit blazed to life once again.
"Long live Makoto-sama!" ×N
The first to cheer were the shinobi of Konohagakure.
That was their Makoto-sama—the universally acknowledged God of the Shinobi World, not some so-called "demigod."
Their enthusiasm quickly spread to the other villages, and before long, shinobi from every nation joined in the cheers.
Then, under the leadership of their respective commanders, the Allied forces resumed their march toward the Land of Rice Fields.
At that moment, many of them found their prejudices against shinobi from other villages beginning to soften.
The suspicion and wariness between them eased, if only a little.
Minato smiled.
Things were moving in a good direction.
Rasa had already made up his mind to stick firmly with Konohagakure.
If the shinobi villages truly united, Sunagakure would still occupy an important place within that alliance.
That was far better than slowly declining until it disappeared from the shinobi world—or simply being wiped out by force.
Ōnoki let out a quiet sigh.
He was old.
Iwagakure lacked worthy successors.
If the shinobi world really did become unified, perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad thing for them either.
He no longer had the strength to change the course of history.
All he could do was take things one step at a time.
Terumī Mei was still watching from the sidelines.
If unification truly became the inevitable trend, then Kirigakure could naturally join when the time came.
To be honest, she had never liked the current one-country, one-village system.
Especially not the Daimyō of the Land of Water.
That old fool was always trying to bring Kirigakure under his control by marrying her.
As if she'd ever marry a fat old pig.
The only reason she was still single was because her standards were too high—not because nobody wanted to marry her.
Probably the only one feeling truly miserable was the Fourth Raikage.
Why...
Why did it always have to be Konohagakure?
When would Kumogakure finally stand at the forefront of the shinobi world and become the village that guided history forward?
Still, that was a matter for the future.
Even if Konohagakure hoped to gradually unite the Five Great Villages by using their common enemy as a catalyst, it wouldn't be easy.
Because...
The Akatsuki still weren't strong enough.
Once they were destroyed, the shinobi world would most likely return to the way it had always been.
...
Not long after the Allied Army entered the Land of Rice Fields, a giant bird appeared overhead, circling through the sky.
Shinobi generally possessed excellent eyesight, and many immediately noticed that it wasn't a real bird, but an artificial flying craft.
Fortunately, it merely sped overhead on a reconnaissance mission and made no attempt to attack.
"What a shame the Leader's Tailed Beast Ball got stopped. I didn't get to witness art even greater than my ultimate masterpiece. Hmm... Should I drop a C0 right in the middle of them? That'd make every last one of them remember my magnificent art forever. Hmm!"
The blond on top of the white clay bird muttered excitedly to himself.
Even so, he managed to suppress the urge to blow himself up.
He was an artist.
Not an idiot.
Against enemies flying high in the sky, ordinary shinobi had very few options.
Following their commanders' orders, the Allied forces simply ignored the giant bird flying in the opposite direction and continued advancing.
Following behind the Allied Army were the Five Kage and Higashino Makoto.
Ōnoki recognized the enemy flying overhead at a glance.
It was his beloved disciple.
The rebellious brat who gave him endless headaches—his ninjutsu talent was extraordinary, but something had clearly gone wrong with his brain. He had no interest whatsoever in money, power, or women. All he ever wanted was to blow things up.
'That damned Deidara... Why hasn't he left the Akatsuki? What's he doing here?'
The Raikage snorted.
"Hmph. Old man, he's your disciple. Are you really going to let him run wild?"
"No need for you to remind me. I'll deal with him myself."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ōnoki shot into the sky to confront his troublesome student in person.
Deidara urged his clay bird even higher but made no attempt to flee.
The moment he saw his teacher, the blond showed not the slightest hint of respect.
"Old man, you're getting on in years. Why don't you retire already? If you die here, Iwagakure won't have any future left. Hmm!"
"Bastard! If you really cared about the village, you'd leave the Akatsuki this instant and stay out of this war. After it's over, I'll personally guarantee your safety."
"Hah? I'm about to create the greatest masterpiece of my life, and you're telling me to run away? You're still the same as ever. You never did understand my art."
"Art, my ass. You brain-dead fool. Fine. Then you can die with your precious art."
Ōnoki immediately formed hand seals.
Only...
They seemed a little slower than usual, making the wind-up to his technique painfully obvious.
Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!
A brilliant cylindrical beam of light descended like a gigantic club.
Deidara sent his clay bird into a rapid dive, then deftly swerved out of the beam's path.
"What a terrifying jutsu. Hmm! The old man's really getting old—he's so slow now. But it's getting dangerous around here. Better get out while I still can. Hmm!"
The blond steered his clay bird into a climbing turn, accelerating away from the Five Kage.
As he passed by on their right, he spotted a large group of shinobi below.
Unable to resist, he had the giant bird drop several dozen eggs.
The moment they separated from the main body, each egg sprouted wings and transformed into a bizarre four-winged bird.
This happened to be the rapid-response division, led by the battle-hardened Jiraiya and Chiyo of Sunagakure.
Iwagakure had already made Deidara's abilities public.
No one there was a child.
Everyone knew exactly what those four-winged birds diving toward them were.
And they all knew the weakness of explosive clay.
Kurotsuchi frowned.
"Deidara-niisan is such a jerk. Doesn't he see I'm down here?"
He genuinely didn't.
In this world, Deidara had never been humiliated by Itachi, so he never started wearing the special scope over his left eye. He simply couldn't see that far.
The shinobi of Iwagakure might spoil Deidara.
Everyone else certainly wouldn't.
Sasuke activated his three-tomoe Sharingan.
Lightning Release chakra surged into his right hand. With a casual upward swing, countless needle-like bolts of lightning shot into the air.
Chidori Senbon!
Every lightning needle struck a four-winged bird with perfect accuracy.
The chakra inside the explosive clay was disrupted, instantly robbing the birds of power.
They dropped harmlessly to the ground as nothing more than lumps of useless clay.
"As expected... Lightning Release is so annoying. Hmm!"
Deidara glanced back before accelerating away once more.
He believed his art was perfect.
But shinobi who specialized in Lightning Release were a completely different story.
Unfortunately for him...
Leaving wouldn't be that easy.
The moment Sasuke attacked, Naruto used Wind Release to launch himself into the sky.
He swung his blade at the fleeing Deidara, using Higashino Makoto's signature technique.
Wind Release: Shadowless Sword!
Sensing danger, Deidara frantically steered his clay bird aside.
Even so, the invisible wind blade sliced away the rear half of the giant bird.
Its flight immediately became unstable.
Its speed plummeted as the crippled clay bird tumbled end over end through the air.
By the time Deidara finally managed to regain control, he realized a young kunoichi from Konohagakure—one who could also fly—had nearly caught up to him.
But she didn't rush in.
Once Tenten closed the distance, she threw six kunai in rapid succession.
They appeared above and around Deidara's head, connected by steel wires that formed a massive ring.
Deidara recognized her as Higashino Makoto's eldest disciple.
But...
Wasn't her aim a little too terrible?
Or... could she use the Flying Thunder God Technique too?
Unfortunately for him...
Those weren't Flying Thunder God marker kunai.
Just like her teacher, Tenten clapped her hands together.
She called out her technique, and it answered.
It was a jutsu she had modified herself.
Lightning Release: Six-Pillar Kunai Prison Technique!
Lightning crackled between the six wire-linked kunai.
In an instant, they cast down a giant net of electricity that trapped Deidara squarely in the middle.
It was a technique designed specifically for capturing targets.
Deidara was immediately treated to the full electrotherapy package of a "rehabilitation school for internet addiction."
The lightning net shocked him so thoroughly that every inch of his body went numb.
He let out a miserable scream as both he and his clay bird traced a graceful arc through the sky before crashing toward the distant ground.
He might not have been addicted to the internet...
But he was addicted to making explosions.
Same difference.
He clearly needed a little electroshock therapy to help reform his way of thinking.