Chapter 269: Madara's Move
Bang!
Kirigakure.
Mizukage Building.
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, slammed both hands on his desk. His youthful face twisted with fury.
"What did you say?!"
"They're all dead!"
The bloodstained, exhausted messenger ninja standing before him trembled as he spoke, eyes filled with fear.
"All dead!"
"We don't know what jutsu the Fourth Kazekage used—everyone was sliced into countless pieces in an instant. Blood soaked the ground."
"All our outposts in the Land of Wind are gone. Even the coastal island bases are being wiped out one by one."
"The Fourth Kazekage… he's too powerful!"
Even now, the ninja couldn't forget that day. Under the blazing midday sun, the Fourth Kazekage had suddenly appeared in the sky above the island—carrying a woman in his arms. With one hand pointed at them—
In the blink of an eye…
Hell descended around him. He alone survived.
He knew the enemy had left him alive on purpose—to send a message.
Yagura fell silent and sat back down.
Elder Amatsuru stepped forward. "Are you certain it was the Fourth Kazekage?"
"I'm certain."
"Alright. You may rest now," Amatsuru nodded.
Once the messenger had left, Amatsuru turned to Yagura and said, "That must be the Fourth Kazekage's Wind Release – Slash. It's said to be a terrifying jutsu capable of cutting even a Tailed Beast Bomb."
"My advice…" Amatsuru paused, glancing at Yagura, who showed no response, then continued, "Pause all operations in the Land of Wind. Focus entirely on gathering intel about the Fourth Kazekage's abilities."
Every village had heard of Li Yao's Wind Clone to some degree. He'd been a renowned genius since the Second Shinobi War.
The Wind Slash was no secret either.
But the details of his battle against Shukaku, or the incident when Li Yao's main body attacked Sunagakure, were scarcely known.
No one had a complete picture of this now-bloodline-elimination-level Wind Release.
But now, learning that the Fourth Kazekage had single-handedly wiped out Kirigakure's forces in the Land of Wind—
That level of power warranted extreme caution.
"I'll go myself," Yagura said.
"The village is in your hands, Elder."
He stood, lifting a black staff adorned with green floral decorations from the wall and strapped it to his back.
"Be careful," Amatsuru said after some hesitation.
Only Yagura could match the Fourth Kazekage. If the intel was true—if the entire Kiri war front had been annihilated—it would be a catastrophic loss for the village.
They couldn't afford another one.
Someone had to stop him.
And that someone could only be the Fourth Mizukage.
Yagura soon departed with a team of shinobi, heading toward the Land of Wind.
Meanwhile, Li Yao's Wind Clone and Pakura waited at a coastal oasis outpost for his arrival.
Only by defeating the Fourth Mizukage could they show Kirigakure that continued hostility with Sunagakure would cost more than it could bear.
Only then could Sunagakure redirect its forces toward the Land of Rivers—forcing Konoha to split its troops.
…
Land of Grass.
In an underground base near the border with the Land of Earth—
Uchiha Madara sat on a stone throne. His face was withered, eyes dim. His life was nearing its end.
The battle years ago, where his clone's consciousness had been devoured by Li Yao's Black Hole Space, had left deep scars.
Afterward, he'd been forced to flee and relocate, suffering repeated losses.
Now, he could tell: this body had maybe three years left at most.
He needed to corrupt Obito and turn him into a pawn within that time.
"Still nothing from that guy?"
"Not yet," replied White Zetsu, speaking through a body controlled by Black Zetsu.
A year ago, they'd sensed Li Yao lingering in the Land of Wind to study the Dragon Vein.
Ever since their clash, Black Zetsu had kept a close watch on him. Though his words had persuaded Li Yao not to destroy the Rinnegan, Black Zetsu never let down his guard.
Unlike the Uchiha, Li Yao was too unpredictable. Impossible to control.
Their goal remained the same as Madara's—to find a successor who could gather the Tailed Beasts and cast Infinite Tsukuyomi.
After Li Yao's prolonged presence near the Dragon Vein, he had eventually been swallowed by it and vanished into another dimension.
Zetsu remained at the spot, watching and waiting.
A year had passed. Still no sign of him.
Yet Madara remained uneasy. "Have you found any trace of him anywhere in the ninja world?"
"No."
White Zetsu shook his head. "We've checked nearly the entire continent. There's no sign of Li Yao. That Uzumaki woman who always followed him is still waiting at the site where the Dragon Vein vanished."
"Ahahaha… Looks like he's really not coming back!"
Madara laughed heartily, the weight in his heart finally lifting.
He had once studied the Dragon Vein's power while serving as Uchiha clan leader.
Long ago, during Rōran's existence, several people had vanished into alternate dimensions due to its eruptions.
But without exception, when those people reappeared, only an instant had passed in real time. No one could tell they had even been gone.
Because of this, the ninja world believed those people had merely experienced illusions brought on by the Dragon Vein's chakra.
Only the Uchiha clan believed in the alternate dimension theory—because one of their own had gone in and come back alive.
That shinobi had possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, making him immune to illusionary genjutsu—proof it was real.
No genjutsu could fool an awakened Mangekyō. That was the Uchiha's pride.
So now, Madara was convinced—Li Yao was gone for good.
All historical records showed: if someone didn't come back from the Dragon Vein immediately, they never came back at all.
Had Li Yao not left a shadow clone behind, giving the illusion that he might return…
And had he not mastered an unusual time-space jutsu…
Madara would've declared him lost long ago.
But now, with an entire year passed, Li Yao had not returned.
That meant—he likely never would.
With Li Yao out of the picture, no one else in this world could stop Madara.
"How's Obito progressing?" Madara asked.
"He's graduated," White Zetsu replied. "He's been placed under the care of that Flying Thunder God user, Namikaze Minato."
Half a year ago, Obito had completed his ninja academy training and joined a squad with his crush, Rin Nohara, and the prodigy Kakashi Hatake, who had graduated early.
Minato was now a rising star—famed for his use of the Flying Thunder God jutsu on the battlefield, earning the nickname "Yellow Flash."
Because three of the five Great Villages were attacking Iwagakure, Konoha faced less pressure.
Minato alternated between battlefield missions and training his students. So Obito and his peers hadn't yet been sent to the frontlines.
"Begin the next phase. We need the Four Great Nations to attack the Land of Fire. Get Obito into the war."
Only when Konoha was under extreme pressure would young shinobi like Obito be sent to the front.
And once he was on the battlefield—Madara could twist fate.
"Yes, Lord Madara."
White Zetsu received the order and began dispatching clones to the borders of the Five Great Nations—transforming into enemy shinobi and attacking random targets to escalate tensions.
(END CHAPTER)
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