Chapter 452: 417. Real or Imposter?
"You are…"
Everyone's eye widens in shock as they stare at the figure of the cloaked person. They forget about their battle and focus their eyes on the cloaked figure.
"That face… it can't be?"
Tsunade and Mei fall to their knees, while Minato, Kushina, and the rest of the Konoha shinobi blankly stare at the face of the cloaked figure.
"I… Izuna, is that you?" Kushina musters her courage to speak these words.
The person in front of him has the same chakra signature as Izuna. Every person has a unique chakra signature, and it's almost impossible to replicate the chakra signature of another person.
It's part of the reason no shinobi attempt to infiltrate enemy camps by changing their appearance using transformation jutsu. Since the enemy sensors can easily recognize a different chakra signature than the person they are impersonating.
[A/N:- Zetsu has this property but none of them are aware of it at this point.]
"This chakra signature… there is no mistaking it! He is… Lord Izuna!" Ao mutters as he inspects the cloaked figure with his Byakugan.
"What's going on? Why… why is Izuna Uchiha on Akatsuki's side?" A glare at the cloaked figure and Obito.
"Nii-san… Is that really Nii-san?" Naruto also warily stares at the cloaked figure.
"That's… that's definitely Izuna's chakra signature, but somehow there is something else in his chakra. I can't put my fingers on it but his chakra signature is similar to Izuna and also he is a living person." Kurama confirms Naruto's doubt.
"Hokage, what's the…" Onoki, who was about to question Tsunade, turn silent as he stares at her expression.
The cloaked figure ignores everyone and turns towards Ayaka. The sole person responsible for inflicting damage to his body. He raises his hand and gathers a large amount of lightning chakra in them to create a lightning spear.
He aims the lightning spear toward Ayaka and prepares to throw it.
"Who are you?" Ayaka yells at him.
"You aren't my brother. You can fool everyone's eyes, but you can't fool me." Ayaka yells at the cloaked figure with a face and chakra similar to his beloved brother Izuna.
The cloaked figure flinches at her remark and the attack he prepared dissipates.
Argh…
He clutches his forehead and falls to his knees. A distorted expression appears on the cloaked figure's face.
At a faraway place, Kabuto's expression turns ugly as Izuna struggles free from his control.
"I spent quite a considerable effort on this pawn. How can I allow it to break free from my control?"
Kabuto makes a series of hand signs.
Whoosh…
Numerous curse marks appear on the cloaked figure's body and its eyes turn lifeless. The cloaked figure stops resisting and blankly stares in Ayaka's direction.
"What's happening now?" A question in annoyance.
"Is he really the Izuna Uchiha or an imposter?" He asks in confusion.
"Those fuinjutsu seals… it's a curse seal." Kushina recognizes the curse pattern on the cloaked figure's body.
"He is similar to Nii-san, but at the same time isn't my Izuna Nii-san!" Ayaka firmly shakes her head.
'Looks like things aren't going the way Kabuto expected them to go.' Obito swiftly assesses the situation.
'I will use this opportunity to escape. I am afraid they might retaliate if they are given an opportunity to recover.'
Swirl… whoosh…
Obito activates his Kamui and pulls all his Six paths and the cloaked figure in his Kamui dimension and vanishes from the spot.
"Damn it, he escaped!" A punches the ground.
He turns towards the shinobis of Konoha and demands.
"Konoha owes us an explanation for everything that happened today! Unless I get a satisfactory answer, we can forget about cooperation." He harrumphs.
"C, Darui… let's go!" He returns to his living quarters.
Onoki also glances in Tsunade and Minato's direction before turning to Mifune.
"Iwa also shares the same sentiment as Kumogakure. Trust is the foundation of cooperation and yet with today's events we can no longer trust Konoha." He flies towards his quarters.
Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi also follow him.
Sigh…
Mifune sighs and signals his samurais to help the injured personnel. Sakura assists him with the treatment of the injured people.
"Let's return to our quarters and have a meeting." Minato is the first person to regain his composure.
Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Izumi assist Mifune-san with the situation.
"Yes, Dad… Lord fourth!"
"I am grateful for your assistance Lord Fourth!" Mifune slightly bows to Minato.
"Ao and Chojuro… you too aid them!" Mei orders them.
"Temari… you too!" Rasa remarks.
----------------
Half an hour later,
Minato, Kushina, Tsunade, Mei, Ayaka, Rasa, and Gaara are gathered around a table in Konoha's quarters.
They have gloomy expressions on their face as they recall the series of events that happened today.
"Was that really the Shini… Izuna Uchiha?!" Rasa opens his mouth to break the silence.
"If we identify him based on the chakra signature, then it was definitely him. However…" Minato pauses and turns to Kushina.
Kushina also turns towards him and nods.
"… the feeling he gave me and Kushina was that of a hollow shell with… with no soul," Minato adds.
Mei and Tsunade raise their head and turn toward him.
"What does that mean? Lord Fourth, can you be more specific?" Gaara raises a question.
Minato nods at him to acknowledge his presence.
"After our revival, Kushina and I gained the ability to sense the changes in the soul of a person. Although… that person looked exactly the same as Izuna and has the same chakra signature. He was nothing more than a puppet with a hollow body. His soul seems to be a cluster of various… hmm… it's hard to define… but he was definitely not Izuna."
"It's exactly as Minato says. Though that person has the appearance and chakra signature of Izuna, he wasn't really Izuna." Kushina affirms Minato's claim.
Mei and Tsunade heave a sigh of relief.
"So, who was he exactly?" Rasa raises an important question.
"And also, his power was no joke. His abilities were by far superior to anyone of us. He even pushed back seven Kages all by himself." Rasa adds.
"Hmm… Rasa is right! He was a living person, so Edo Tensei is out of the question. Then who could he be? Also, I noticed a snake slither out of his clothes. So, he must have some connection with Kabuto." Minato speculates.
Everyone ponders the situation.
"Could he be a member of that hidden evil organization?" Tsunade remarks.
"How's that possible? Didn't Izuna Uchiha already deal with the leader of that organization?" Rasa asks.
Everyone turns towards him with annoyance. Rasa gulps his saliva and swallows his words. Since he was also fooled by the members of that hidden evil organization in the past and one of the elders of Sunagakure was a hidden member of that organization. It's part of the reason for Suna's poor economic condition since that dead elder embezzled all of Suna's funds to an evil organization. To this day, Rasa is ashamed of his incompetence. It's the reason he retired from his position as a Kage and transferred his position to Gaara at such a young age.
"Also, since Ayaka confirmed that he wasn't the real Izuna, then we don't have to worry about facing him again. For all we know, he might be a pawn of that hidden organization. We can't stake the lives of our people for such a thing. Also, Izuna isn't such a weak shinobi to get controlled by others." Mei speaks with confidence.
"Very well! That settles it then." Tsunade agrees with Mei.
"Now, we have to think of an explanation to satisfy Raikage and Tsuchikage." Minato points out.
"Ugh… it's so frustrating. But we need their strength to unify the shinobi world and fight against a common enemy." Tsunade pulls her hair in frustration.
"Age is really catching up to me. I will definitely retire after this war." Tsunade plops on the table.
Chapter 453: 418. War Discussion
"So, Hokage, Mizukage, and Kazekage, you all three means to say that a greater threat is lurking in shadows; waiting to destroy the shinobi world?" Onoki throws a skeptical glance at them.
"Why should I trust your words?" He questions them.
"None of you are trustworthy and this fourth shinobi war is not even our problem, but since that damn Akatsuki dared to kidnap B, we have to get involved." A clenches his fist.
"And now you guys are spouting more nonsense about a much greater threat. Why should I believe you?" A bellows.
"What we are talking about isn't some baseless assumptions or information with no ground. We have solid information to back up our claims. Whether you believe it or not is up to you." Tsunade snorts.
"Then show us the proof, Princess!" Onoki opens his eyes and glances at Tsunade.
Tch…
Tsunade clicks her tongue.
"The information regarding the otherworldly threats is confidential. We can't reveal it without any sort of alliance or cooperation." Mei interjects.
"Tch… again with those lies! It's hard to trust you, people, if there is no proof!" Onoki clicks his tongue.
"What should we do?" Rasa turns towards Minato.
"Hmm… looks like revealing a bit of information will do no harm." Minato makes up his mind.
"Very well! Here is the proof."
Minato takes out one of Urashiki's marionettes from his storage. He places it in the center of the table.
"Have a look at it for yourself?"
Onoki, A, and Mifune stand from their seat to inspect the marionette.
"This strange design and this strange material!"
Onoki touches the puppet with his hands and attempts to analyze its material using the Earth Release.
"Hmm… what's the deal with this weapon? This is only the hilt. Where is the blade?" A pick up one of the marionette's weapons.
He swings the empty hilt.
"Infuse your chakra into the blade!" Minato informs him.
"Huh!"
A infuses his chakra into the blade.
Wham…
A purple energy blade erupts from the base of the hilt.
"This looks interesting!" A extends his fingers to touch the blade.
"I would advise against that!" Minato warns him.
"Humph… I am not as fragile as you think!"
Bzzt… Crackle…
A shroud his arm in the lightning cloak and slowly brings the blade near his arm.
The energy blade easily pierces through his lightning cloak and cuts open a layer of his skin. Blood spurts out from his arm.
Whoosh…
A quickly pulls away the blade and stops infusing his chakra into it.
"THIS… THIS BLADE… it easily penetrated my lightning cloak called the absolute defense without any resistance. How could this be?" A's eyes widen in shock as he glances at the empty hilt.
Even Onoki and Mifune are shocked by the display. Both of them are aware of how hard is to pierce through Raikage's defense and yet this blade did it effortlessly.
C quickly uses the Mystic Palm technique to heal Raikage's wounds.
"It's futile!" Tsunade waves her hands.
"Wounds from this blade aren't affected by chakra. So, medical ninjutsu won't work on it."
Tch…
C takes out a vial of medicine from his pocket and applies it on top of the wound. He prevents bleeding and applies a bandage on the wound.
'If Konoha mass produces such weapons, then even a regular jounin can take down a Kage with such powerful weapons. At this rate, Konoha might become the unquestionable overlord of the shinobi world." Numerous thoughts run through Onoki's mind as he glances at A's wound.
Minato notices his expression and gets a hint of his thought process.
"It's not possible to mass produce these weapons!" Minato shakes his head.
"These blades are made of an unknown material not found in the shinobi world. The craftsmanship and the technique used to make these blades are extremely advanced. I am pretty sure that no person in the shinobi world can make weapons of such caliber."
Mifune picks up the blade and inspects it thoroughly.
"Lord Fourth is right! Our Land of Iron is known as the forge of the Shinobi world and makes one of the finest weapons of the shinobi world. And yet we have never seen such material or craftsmanship." Mifune nods in agreement.
"These weapons are almost on par, if not higher than the seven swords of the Mist." Mifune gently taps the sword hilt and praises the weapon.
"The Seven Mist blades are relics of the past excavated from ancient ruins. What are the chances these weapons aren't also the same, excavated from some unknown ancient ruins?" A question the authenticity of the weapons.
"No… they aren't that old!" Mifune shakes his head as he places the weapon back on the table.
"I am sure Tsuchikage-sama will provide a proper answer to your question." A turn to Onoki.
"He is right! These weapons are barely a hundred years old. Using earth release, I can sense the age of a mineral. It's mining and refinement. And it hasn't been even a hundred years since this metal was previously refined."
"Also, while I might not be a blacksmith, but I have some experience in smithing. So, I can say with hundred percent assurance that this weapon was made within the last few decades." Mifune replies with confidence.
"Tch… so there is some truth to their words." A click his tongue.
Onoki eyes the puppet with a glint in his eyes. While A's eyes are hooked on the blades. However, Minato quickly stores them in his storage.
"If you agree on an Alliance and cooperate with us during this fourth Shinobi war and later, then we won't mind sharing more of these secrets." Minato sets the condition.
"Also, you might have seen that giant red mass of energy hovering over the skies of the shinobi world a few years ago," Minato asks them.
Onoki and A raise an eyebrow as they recall the terrifying energy undulation they felt at the sight of that massive storm of energy.
"Could that be?"
"Yes, it was from an otherworldly threat that attacked Konoha. We were barely able to push hold him at bay with the combined efforts of all our elite shinobis. Only when Izuna made a move did we manage to kill him. Now, since Izuna is no longer with us…"
Minato's words trail off, but A and Onoki understand the hint.
"So, as you can see, it's almost impossible to face them alone. The entire shinobi world has to cooperate to stand a slight chance against them." Minato remarks.
"I see!" Onoki and A ponder over the situation. Even though A has quite a brash and unruly side to him, he is still a Raikage and thus possesses the necessary wits to manage a hidden village.
"We would like to see the body of that otherworldly being before we make a decision." Both Onoki and A respond to Minato's words.
Minato glances at Tsunade and Mei. The latter shakes their head.
"Unfortunately, we can't agree to that condition." He shakes his head.
"However, if you form an alliance and sign a non-aggression treaty, then there is a possibility. But you need to visit Konoha for that."
Hmm…
A and Onoki ponder for a while before finally coming to a conclusion.
"Alright, we agree with the alliance. Let's discuss the conditions."
So, after another round of discussion and negotiation, the first shinobi alliance of the shinobi world makes its appearance.
"So, who would be the supreme commander of the alliance?" Onoki raises the most important question.
"I think I am suitable for the task. I have enough experience and strength worthy for this position. So, I will nominate myself for the position." Onoki nominates himself.
"Bullshit! If it's anyone, then it must be me. I can trust you, old fox, for such an important position." A bellows.
"So, I will nominate myself for this position." A proudly declares.
"What about you, Lord Kazekage, Lady Mizukage, and Lady Hokage?" Mifune turns towards the trio.
"I would like to nominate Minato for the position." Tsunade declares.
"I too would nominate Lord Minato for the position of the supreme commander." Gaara also nominates Minato.
"I will also nominate Lord Minato for the position. He has enough strength and experience to hold such a position." Mei declares.
"Damn! These crafty bastards." Onoki clicks his tongue.
"I will concede this time." A also gives in.
"Very well, it's decided then. Lord Minato will be the supreme commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces."
"Now let's discuss the division of the army and the location of our battlefront. I would like Konoha and other nations to share all of their intel on Akatsuki members." Mifune declares.
Thus, after the formation of the alliance, a strategic meeting about the upcoming Fourth Shinobi War takes place.
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