Shikaku's plan was met with serious discussion. Tsunade and the others went over the details, and after careful consideration, they all agreed—it was highly feasible.
Besides, they had already deployed a reconnaissance team to infiltrate enemy lines and gather intelligence.
Reconnaissance Team
Captain: Anko Mitarashi
Members: Hyūga Tokuma, Yamanaka Inoichi, Aburame Shibi, and others.
Each member had exceptional sensory abilities, along with solid combat skills. They had already set out, carefully moving behind enemy lines to locate vital information.
Meanwhile, on the front lines, the five main battle units were fully mobilized, ready to act at a moment's notice.
---
Deep Underground…
In a vast underground chamber, Obito stood among a sea of coffins, each standing upright with its lid removed.
Inside them lay some of the most famous shinobi in history—reanimated through Edo Tensei.
Obito, however, felt frustrated.
I still have no control over who gets reanimated…
For a moment, he found himself missing Orochimaru. If not for his unpredictable nature, Obito might have considered recruiting him instead of Kabuto.
He let out a sigh.
"At least I don't need to give White Zetsu orders," he muttered. "That much is convenient."
At that moment, Nagato stepped forward, his expression cold and unreadable.
"Has it begun?"
Obito turned to him.
"Yes, but it's not your time to move yet," he said. "Your job is to eliminate the more troublesome enemies first."
"As for the small fry, we'll leave them to White Zetsu."
Deep beneath the ground, the White Zetsu clones had already begun their advance, tunneling swiftly through the earth toward the ninja forces.
---
Outside the Enemy's Base…
The reconnaissance team moved cautiously through the terrain, using their sensory abilities to locate the enemy's underground hideout.
Suddenly, one of the sensory-type ninjas turned to Anko, his voice urgent.
"I'm detecting a massive chakra presence nearby!"
Anko's expression hardened.
"Tokuma!" she called out.
Hyūga Tokuma nodded, activating his Byakugan. The veins around his temples bulged as his vision pierced through the rock, revealing the horrifying sight below.
The moment he saw what was inside, his face went pale with shock, cold sweat forming on his forehead.
"...This is… unbelievable…"
Anko and the others immediately picked up on his reaction.
"Tokuma! What do you see!?"
Tokuma swallowed hard before finally speaking.
"There's an enormous number of enemies… At least tens of thousands. No… It's more like 100,000!"
"One hundred thousand!?"
The entire team was stunned.
"That's impossible!" Anko gasped. "Where the hell did they get an army that big!?"
Inoichi shook his head in disbelief. "There's no way… right!?"
Tokuma, still staring through the ground, suddenly tensed.
"They're moving!" he exclaimed. "They're underground—and they're on the move!"
Anko didn't hesitate.
"This is it! We've found their base!"
She turned sharply to Shibi Aburame.
"You remember one of our missions, right?"
Shibi's eyes widened, a spark of excitement flashing in them.
"Apostle's beacon!"
"Yes! Apostle Beacon!"
Anko nodded firmly, her expression serious.
"The final seal… It's a large-scale precision strike! The beacon marks the target, and then the Withering Light Strike follows!"
She turned to the team, explaining quickly.
"We're requesting the enhanced version of the strike. Once the beacon is activated, the attack will hit in two minutes—meaning we must be at least twenty miles away by then.
But for the enhanced version, we need to retreat even further—at least fifty miles away within three minutes!"
Her eyes sharpened as she looked at her teammates.
"So, you all evacuate first! I'll activate the Apostle Beacon!"
"Alone!? That's too dangerous!"
Hyūga Tokuma protested immediately, concern clear in his voice.
At that moment, Inoichi hesitated before speaking up.
"Wait… doesn't the Apostle Beacon have a delayed activation setting?"
The words hung in the air.
Silence fell over the team.
Anko froze, her expression stiff.
Tokuma blinked, suddenly realizing.
Anko's face twitched in embarrassment.
"...Right. I, uh… may not have paid attention to that part."
At this moment, both Obito and Nagato sensed someone approaching.
Obito spoke indifferently. "I didn't expect rats to sneak in this far."
Nagato glanced outside, his expression unreadable.
"Want me to handle it?"
Obito shook his head. "No, I'll take care of it."
The next moment, Obito activated his Kamui, his Mangekyō Sharingan spinning. Space twisted into a vortex, pulling him in.
---
Meanwhile, Anko was ready to begin the operation.
Just then, a distortion in space appeared beside them—Obito materialized in an instant, grabbing a nearby ninja by the neck. Before anyone could react, he pulled the ninja into his Kamui dimension.
The sudden attack disrupted Anko's hand seals.
"Anko!" Hyūga Tokuma shouted.
Reacting immediately, he shifted into a Gentle Fist stance and struck toward Obito with a powerful palm thrust.
But the attack passed right through him.
Anko's eyes narrowed as she shouted, "Careful! This is the masked man! Suspected to be Madara's agent! He has space-warping abilities and is immune to physical attacks!"
The team stiffened in fear.
"How do we fight something like that!?"
Inoichi gritted his teeth. "I'm ready to sacrifice myself! But we need to get this intel back to HQ! Captain, you can't hesitate now!"
Tokuma and the others nodded in agreement.
"Captain! Don't let our efforts go to waste!"
But Anko ignored them. Instead, she lashed out at Obito.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hand!"
Her arm shot forward, transforming into a swarm of venomous snakes that lunged at Obito.
At the same time, she shouted to her team.
"It's not safe to leave this to me—but I'll buy you time! Split up and run! Now! No hesitation!"
The others hesitated for only a moment before gritting their teeth and retreating.
Obito, uninterested in their escape, simply watched the snakes phase through him.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he recognized the technique.
"...So, you're one of Orochimaru's disciples? How amusing."
Then, with blinding speed, he slipped past the snakes and appeared directly beside Anko.
She instinctively jumped back, her eyes locked onto him, heart pounding.
She had seen what happened to Hana moments ago.
She couldn't let herself be caught.
At this moment, Obito didn't rush toward Anko recklessly.
Instead, the space around his Mangekyō Sharingan began to distort once more.
The next second, several massive shurikens shot out from the swirling vortex.
Anko barely had time to react. She hastily formed hand seals.
"Giant Snake Wrist Burst!"
With a loud bang, a massive serpent erupted from the ground, coiling protectively in front of her.
Two of the shurikens were deflected—but two more slipped through.
One slashed across her waist.
Anko gasped in pain, staggering slightly. Before she could react—
A hand suddenly wrapped around her throat from behind.
Her pupils dilated.
Too fast!
"I've got you," Obito's voice murmured coldly beside her ear.
The space around them began to warp.
Anko's body started twisting into the vortex—
But at that exact moment—
"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!"
A chakra blast shot toward Obito.
Just before it could hit, he canceled the absorption and phased out of reach.
The attack passed right through him and slammed into the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, Anko lunged forward, breaking free and rolling to safety.
She landed a few meters away, panting heavily, clutching her waist.
Looking up, her eyes widened in shock.
"Tokuma!? Why are you back!?"
Tokuma was in bad shape—his body was covered in blood, his face pale, his breathing weak.
"We were ambushed… Everyone else was cut down almost instantly. I barely escaped… but I have to at least activate the beacon! If nothing else, I can still do this… for you, Captain!"
With that, Hyuga Tokuma turned toward the cave entrance and began forming hand seals.
Anko's eyes widened.
Before she could react, a white blur streaked past Tokuma—
Slash!
Blood sprayed from Tokuma's throat.
His hands faltered mid-seal, his eyes filled with disbelief and regret as he collapsed.
Anko's gaze snapped to the attacker.
White hair. Blue armor.
Her breath caught.
"The Second Hokage!?"
A sinking realization hit her—Reanimation Jutsu.
No hesitation. She immediately started forming seals.
Obito's gaze narrowed.
"An unfamiliar jutsu… But it doesn't matter anymore."
Tobirama moved swiftly. Water Release: Water Severing Wave.
A razor-thin, high-pressure stream of water shot toward Anko.
Too fast.
But—her jutsu was already complete.
The water blade pierced her chest, sending her staggering backward, coughing up blood.
Yet, despite the pain, she smiled.
A wide, satisfied smile.
"The beacon is set. Judgment is coming."
Above the cave, a massive seal appeared, etching itself into the rocky surface.
Obito felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of unease.
Then—
The seal ignited.
A blinding pillar of light erupted from the ground, shooting straight into the sky.
Obito instinctively shielded his eyes from the radiance.
Nagato, finally stepping outside, frowned as he saw the beacon flare to life.
"What is this?"
Obito shook his head, his expression dark.
"I don't know… but I have a bad feeling about it."
_________________
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