บท 263: Chapter 263
"Tsk tsk tsk, what a tragedy. Black Zetsu, why do you think Sunagakure decided to launch an attack?"
"Who knows? Maybe it was out of overconfidence."
Black Zetsu watched the battle unfold in Sunagakure, where the fighting was heavily one-sided. Konoha had deployed fewer than two thousand shinobi, and combined with the thousand or so Sunagakure shinobi, there were less than three thousand participants in total.
"It seems like Hashirama's strength has almost fully returned. I wonder if he can still use Sage Mode. Madara-sama would be thrilled to know this."
"This is becoming a problem. How exactly did Hashirama revive? Aside from the Rinne Tensei, there shouldn't be any other resurrection techniques in the shinobi world."
This question troubled Black Zetsu, especially since the revival of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails had been delayed for too long. If they could be revived sooner, there might still be a chance for Madara to gather the Ten-Tails.
The longer it dragged on, the stronger Konoha would become. Black Zetsu no longer dared to send White Zetsu clones into Konoha to gather information, especially after learning that the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki had gained control over the tailed beast's power. The golden chakra mode now allowed him to sense malice, much like Uzumaki Mito had in the past.
There was one instance where Black Zetsu thought it would be captured while outside Konoha, but fortunately, Fugaku and Tobi created enough of a distraction for it to escape.
"It looks like the war is about to end. Hashirama is too strong. Pakura's Scorch Release alone has left the Fourth Kazekage struggling. Look, Rasa is about to die!"
"There's nothing more to see. Let's report back to Madara-sama. We've learned enough about Hashirama's situation."
After saying this, Black Zetsu urged White Zetsu to leave immediately.
Though they hadn't witnessed Hashirama using Sage Mode, the fact that he had created several wood clones during the battle and set up two barriers to protect Sunagakure's civilians suggested that he was still the same Hashirama in both strength and character.
Konoha's power was not to be underestimated.
After Black Zetsu left, the war in Sunagakure reached its conclusion.
In this small village, with four to five thousand shinobi fighting, the battle was fierce, but Konoha, having anticipated the attack, ultimately claimed victory.
When it came to reconnaissance, Konoha had the upper hand due to its many clans specializing in secret techniques and Kekkei Genkai. The Hyūga, Inuzuka, Aburame, and Yamanaka clans were all skilled in reconnaissance, so Tobirama had known about Sunagakure's movements well in advance.
This allowed him to set up the trap for tonight's ambush.
As dawn broke, the battle came to a close. Most of Sunagakure's leadership had been killed. Ebizō died trying to save Chiyo, cut down by Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Slash.
Though devastated by her brother's death, Chiyo managed to organize a group of Sunagakure shinobi and retreat from the village.
Rasa, meanwhile, couldn't escape Pakura's pursuit. Since their last encounter, Pakura's strength had grown thanks to the enhancements from the Sage Curse Seal, while Rasa's abilities had stagnated.
This led to Rasa's crushing defeat at Pakura's hands.
However, Pakura wasn't in great shape either. She had exhausted nearly all her chakra and could no longer maintain her Sage Curse Seal after defeating Rasa.
Approaching the immobilized Rasa, Pakura formed a Scorch Release fireball in her hand and asked, "Rasa, any last words?"
"It... has nothing to do with Temari and the others..."
"Do you think I'm like you?!"
Boom!
The fireball fell, and Rasa was instantly reduced to a dried corpse. From a distance, Hashirama, who had been managing the barrier, remembered Tobirama's warning but realized he had forgotten in the heat of the moment.
With Rasa dead and Chiyo fleeing with a handful of loyalists, the other high-ranking Sunagakure shinobi were either dead or had surrendered. Without a leader, and with Pakura's forces loudly calling for them to surrender during the attack, the battle finally ended just before dawn.
Thanks to Hashirama's barrier, nearly all of the civilians were protected.
The barrier also played a role in the surrender of Sunagakure. If they wanted to retreat, they had no choice but to flee sideways, as the barrier completely blocked their rear exit. Outside the village, over two thousand Konoha shinobi lay in wait.
With Sunagakure's resistance crushed, the next step was to organize and manage the surrendered shinobi, fully occupying the village.
Once Sunagakure was dealt with, it would be time to address the Land of Wind itself. According to Yoichi's plans, the Land of Wind would not be handed over to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. Although the Land of Wind was largely desert, its underground resources were abundant.
The Land of Wind, the Land of Rivers, and the Land of Rain were the first steps in Konoha's integration of military and government.
...
Kumogakure, Hero Memorial Garden.
This was the place where Kumogakure honored their fallen shinobi—the village's cemetery.
Suddenly, the space distorted, and a figure appeared in the Hero Memorial Garden of Kumogakure.
It was Yoichi's Kamui clone, who had infiltrated Kumogakure to gather information about the previous Two-Tails Jinchūriki, and now stood in the cemetery.
"Aside from the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, I should be able to revive the Second and First Raikage as well, assuming their bodies are well-preserved."
If the bodies had completely decomposed, it would be impossible to use them for the Edo Tensei. The reason Tobirama and Hashirama could be revived was due to the excellent preservation of their bodies.
After returning to Konoha, Tobirama had even ensured that his own body was preserved in a special way.
"Found it—Timuyi, the previous Two-Tails Jinchūriki. This is the one."
The Kamui clone found the grave marker for Timuyi, the former Two-Tails Jinchūriki, and used Inorganic Reincarnation to lift the coffin from the ground. Upon opening it, the stench of decay filled the air, revealing the rotten corpse inside.
"Tch, this is a nasty job... but at least the body is still usable."
Shaking his head, the clone cut off a small piece of flesh and prepared to leave.
However, before leaving, the clone noticed two nameless gravestones behind Timuyi's. After looking around the other grave markers, he found one for Blue B, the previous Eight-Tails Jinchūriki.
"Could those be the graves of Kinkaku and Ginkaku? Since they used the Nine-Tails' chakra, maybe they were buried here as Jinchūriki as well?"
Rather than speculate, the Kamui clone decided to check for himself. Using Inorganic Reincarnation once more, he lifted three coffins from the ground, including Blue B's.
When he opened the coffins, the sight of two horned figures confirmed his guess. Their appearance was clearly not human.
"Not bad, even got my hands on some Nine-Tails Jinchūriki for the Edo Tensei."
After taking samples of flesh from each, the clone carefully returned the coffins and graves to their original state. He planned to gather more strong candidates for Edo Tensei and use them to build infrastructure for the Land of Fire.
However, just as the clone was selecting more materials, several shuriken flew toward him, accompanied by a shout: "Who goes there!?"
The shuriken passed through the clone as though they had struck air, embedding themselves in the gravestones behind him.
Several Kumogakure shinobi appeared and surrounded the clone. One of them fired a signal flare into the sky.
The clone, slightly annoyed, muttered, "You noticed me this quickly? I didn't even make much noise."
One of the shinobi, recognizing the clone's appearance, pointed in fear, stammering, "It's... it's Konoha's Thunder Fang!"
Though the clone's appearance wasn't an exact match for Yoichi's, it was close enough that only small differences in height and facial features would distinguish them.
"No, no, that can't be right. This is a kid, way too young!"
Another shinobi, a jōnin, noticed the clone's age and breathed a sigh of relief, though he remained wary. "Even if he's not Thunder Fang, he's got the Mangekyō Sharingan! Stay alert and wait for reinforcements!"
"You can wait for your reinforcements all you like."
The clone spoke calmly before vanishing into the Kamui dimension. His mission was complete, and there was no need to waste time with the Kumogakure shinobi.
After all, the clone only had the chakra reserves of a Kage-level shinobi and wasn't as invincible as the original.
Upon returning, Yoichi planned to use Edo Tensei to revive the previous Two-Tails Jinchūriki, as well as Kinkaku and Ginkaku. With their Nine-Tails and Two-Tails chakra in the Edo Tensei bodies, Yoichi could simply flaunt them in front of Uchiha Madara.
Madara would likely rush to complete the Ten-Tails' revival and become its Jinchūriki, before attempting to reclaim the Nine-Tails and Two-Tails from Konoha. But by then, it might no longer be Madara he was dealing with.
Before, Yoichi had taken Uchiha Madara's Ten-Tails Jinchūriki form seriously, but with the Potara earrings, even the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki couldn't intimidate him anymore.
The Potara earrings had given Yoichi a power boost equivalent to consuming the entire Nine-Tails.
What's more, Yoichi had noticed that his body was undergoing changes, seemingly related to his genetic energy and the Godzilla power within him.
Godzilla would be key to breaking through to the planetary level in his genetic energy.
...
Konoha Village.
The space distorted as Yoichi arrived in Konoha, using his Kamui clone to transport him. This time, he was here to borrow some Nine-Tails chakra from Kushina, as well as check in on the village's stunning widow.
As Hokage, Yoichi made it a point to stay connected with the people, even making time for more "personal" matters amidst his busy schedule.
However, Kushina wasn't home at the moment, though Yoichi could sense that she would be back soon.
"She should've finished the vitamins I gave her last time... Wait, why is there an extra bottle?"
Opening the bedside drawer, Yoichi noticed two bottles of pills. Had Kushina noticed?
"That doesn't seem right... This looks like... Oh, taking too much of this isn't good for the body. Better replace it with vitamins."
After swapping out the bottles, Yoichi heard the sound of the door opening downstairs.
It seemed the Uzumaki mother and son had been frequenting his house lately. They had probably just returned from lunch, ready to rest for a while.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!! For Only $5!!][www.p@treon.com/zaelum]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง