Chapter 254: Chapter 253: The Beginning of the Fourth Great Shinobi War
"Don't ever mention that name with that traitor mouth of yours!!"
Kushina roared with fury. Without any visible effort, she shot forward like a comet. Her violent and chaotic chakra tore through the ground and air, resembling a natural disaster.
"Kumoniba."
Yuto spoke calmly. A golden sword swiftly formed in his right hand like a stream of light. Without any preparation, he raised his sword horizontally to block the incoming attack.
Boom!
The air within a few hundred meters was completely displaced, and a fierce windstorm destroyed buildings and cracked streets, sweeping away all the watching shinobi of Konoha.
The young man did not take a single step back. His repulsive force turned into a massive hand, wrapping around Kushina and pressing in from all sides. The pressure was so immense that it could crush even a mountain.
Kushina's bone armor emitted creaking sounds under the strain. Facing the current him, her six tails were naturally no match.
"Kushina-senpai, give up," Yuto suddenly spoke. "The Tailed Beasts are nothing but a source of calamity. Konoha already holds the Three-Tails, Nine-Tails, and now the Five-Tails, making it the target of everyone. Frankly, I'm determined to get the Tailed Beasts... Obito must be thinking the same. Why face both of us? If you hand them over willingly, you might avoid the coming chaos."
Kushina scoffed coldly, too annoyed to respond. The seal within her body opened wider, and the seventh tail began to form.
Yuto knew that this woman would never surrender, and words wouldn't work. So, he formed hand signs with his free hand. A black mask quickly appeared over his face, as he activated both Sage Mode and Mask Mode, preparing to take Kushina down in one swift move.
In the instant that Yuto began circulating his Sage Chakra, his sensory abilities were greatly heightened. A vague sense of danger erupted in his mind. Without hesitation, he stomped on Kushina's face, and with a loud boom, he pulled back a hundred meters.
The spot where Yuto had been standing was suddenly distorted by a vortex of space.
Before he could regain his balance, a bone spike emerged from the ground, towering like a skyscraper, aimed directly at him.
'Ruri has developed the Shikotsumyaku very well, nearing the level of a Kage. It seems that my fusion with the four clones is just around the corner...' With this thought, Yuto dodged the mountain-like bone spike.
The next moment, he heard the sound of a blade slicing through the air.
Shisui used the giant bone spike created by Ruri as a bridge, successfully closing in on him.
For the first time, Yuto chose not to engage directly, retreating instead. His Body Flicker Technique was equally fast, and since he could fly, Shisui could only watch as his sensei moved farther and farther away.
'That was close...' Yuto stared at Shisui's Mangekyō from afar, knowing that a moment's hesitation would have subjected him to the world's most powerful genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami, altering his thoughts entirely.
Thankfully, Kotoamatsukami, that broken-level eye technique, couldn't be cast from a distance.
'The Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, Kamui, and Kotoamatsukami,' Yuto mused, battle strategies swirling in his mind.
The greatest threat was undoubtedly Kotoamatsukami. With his current physical abilities, he was confident he could withstand the fierce blows from Kushina and Kakashi. But to take the Nine-Tails, he had to eliminate Shisui first...
Yuto sighed slightly, glancing at the short-haired boy.
At that moment, accompanied by the sound of a summoning puff, Manda suddenly appeared behind Yuto.
With a cold and murderous expression, Orochimaru stood atop the massive snake, holding several small black jars, ready to summon the past Hokages at any moment.
Behind him was Orochimaru, and in front, Shisui.
'Impure World Reincarnation and Kotoamatsukami, Konoha's two most powerful trump cards.' He clicked his tongue, realizing that if he fought them head-on, things wouldn't go well.
It's not that he feared death. If this were the final battle, he wouldn't hesitate to charge forward. But with his four clones' power fully matured, he was on the brink of absorbing them and gaining the pure Otsutsuki bloodline. Once he did, ordinary Kage-level shinobi would stand no chance against him, and his strength would far surpass the current Tenseigan Sage Mode.
'Hold on, just a little longer. After absorbing them, no one will be able to stand against me.' Yuto took a deep breath, restraining the scattered power of his Tenseigan.
In truth, Yuto was unaware that if he chose to fight Konoha head-on right now, Orochimaru might not have the guts to use Impure World Reincarnation.
Just a few minutes earlier, Orochimaru had intended to resurrect the Fourth Hokage, but instead, Obito had been brought back. This suggested that there was a traitor among Konoha's higher-ups. If someone could swap out Minato's remains, who knew what tricks they had pulled with the other jars?
Orochimaru was betting that Yuto didn't know about Obito's resurrection.
Fortunately for him, his gamble paid off.
In a flash of gold, Yuto's Kumoniba pierced through the Five-Tails. The massive Tailed Beast was hoisted onto his shoulders, blotting out the sky like a dark cloud. The shinobi of Konoha stared in shock, too terrified to stop him.
Without a word to his former village, Yuto turned and disappeared into the sky with the Five-Tails.
Once the sensory-type shinobi confirmed that Yuto had left the village, Konoha collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Kakashi collapsed to the ground, his chakra reserves depleted after the battle against the Five-Tails and his attempt to ambush Yuto.
Kushina's Tailed Beast cloak slowly retracted, leaving countless bloodstains on her skin, which began to heal with a sizzling sound.
Shisui wasn't in much better shape. He tried to walk over to Orochimaru, but after a few steps, he stumbled. Ruri caught him, allowing him to rest against her. At first, Shisui resisted, but after a glare from her, he relented.
The Hokage wasn't physically injured, but the overwhelming pressure left him struggling to breathe.
'Obito had been resurrected through Impure World Reincarnation and regained his right eye and Rinnegan. There was a traitor among Konoha's higher-ups, Jiraiya had potentially betrayed them, and both Yuto and Obito seemed determined to claim the Tailed Beasts...'
In just a few minutes, Konoha was shaken to its core. The pressure was even greater than that of the Crimson Night six years ago.
While Orochimaru was deep in thought, the sound of a frog croak reached his ears. Anyone else might have ignored it, but the Hokage knew it was a summons from an old friend.
'But... I need to know, Jiraiya, are you still a shinobi of Konoha?' Without informing anyone of his destination, Orochimaru gave a few orders before leaving through the destroyed gates of Konoha, heading into the dense forest.
At the same time, in the western direction of Konoha...
A vortex of space dissipated, revealing a man in an Impure body.
Black and White Zetsu emerged from the ground, astonished.
"I can't believe such a reckless plan worked... It's a pity the Five-Tails was taken by Yuto."
"It doesn't matter," Obito replied, patting the small box containing the Rinnegan. "Since he's also after the Tailed Beasts, he'll come to me eventually."
"Are you alright?" Zetsu asked while making a concerned face.
"I've never felt better."
(End of Chapter)
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