"Madara-sama."
Deep within the dark cavern, White Zetsu rose out of the ground.
At the moment, Black Zetsu was not attached to him, so his body was nothing but pure white.
"Madara-sama, Sunagakure has been defeated again."
"That Yagami is seriously incredible. The Sand shinobi were running the moment they saw him."
"They even gave him a new title too—Konoha's Light!"
White Zetsu swayed as he excitedly reported everything to Uchiha Madara.
Of course, the information he brought was from yesterday, so he still did not know that Sunagakure had already been forced to surrender that very morning.
"Konoha's Light...?"
Madara let out a faint scoff as he slowly opened his eyes.
The three tomoe in his Sharingan turned quietly in the darkness.
"So even Sunagakure has fallen that low."
"Madara-sama?"
White Zetsu tilted his head.
"Should we move the plan forward?"
"At this rate, Sunagakure may surrender within the next few days."
"And once that happens, the Konoha forces tied down against the Sand will be freed up. With pressure from Konoha's higher-ups, they may stop sending genin to the battlefield altogether."
At that moment, Black Zetsu emerged from Madara's shadow.
For the sake of reviving his mother, Black Zetsu had long since hidden himself within Madara's shadow, making Madara believe that he was merely an extension of Madara's own will.
"Hm. You're not wrong."
Madara gave a small nod, then closed his eyes again as his thoughts turned.
A moment later, his eyes opened once more, and a sharp glint flashed through them.
"Come. We're going to Kirigakure."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Madara formed a hand seal.
The white tube connected to his back immediately began drawing an enormous amount of chakra from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
His withered skin slowly regained a trace of life and color.
Even his long white hair began to darken into gray.
With a sharp sound, Madara tore the white tube away from his body and stepped forward without hesitation.
Black Zetsu quickly slipped out from Madara's shadow, attached himself to White Zetsu once more, and followed after him.
The one who had lurked in the shadows of the shinobi world for so many years, plotting everything from behind the scenes, was in truth even more impatient than Madara himself.
The next day.
After an entire day of nonstop travel, the Konoha army led by Yagami had crossed from the border of the Land of Wind and reached the border of the Land of Rain.
"Yagami-sama, the Land of Rain is just ahead. Shouldn't we go around?"
One of the Konoha jōnin running behind him called out with concern.
During wartime, entering another nation's territory without permission could easily spark conflict or create unnecessary diplomatic trouble.
"No need."
"We're cutting through the Land of Rain."
Yagami did not slow down in the slightest.
The moment his words fell, he took the lead and stepped straight into Rain Country territory.
If they took the long way around now, it would cost them at least another half a day before they could reach the battlefield where Iwagakure was pressing the attack.
No one knew what the front lines looked like right now, and Yagami had no intention of wasting even a little more time than necessary.
Besides...
If Hanzo of the Salamander really dared to come looking for trouble, then Yagami would simply make him understand one thing.
The Konoha of today was no longer the same village Hanzo once looked down on while handing out the title of Sannin.
"Don't worry."
"The Land of Rain sits between three great nations. Their situation is even more troublesome than ours."
Nara Shikaku, running not far behind Yagami, spoke up calmly to reassure the others.
"As long as we don't start anything inside their borders, they won't dare interfere too heavily. At most, they'll make a show of stopping us."
"I see..."
The Konoha jōnin visibly relaxed after hearing Shikaku's explanation.
Yagami might be fearless, but that did not mean the others felt the same.
If this really escalated into a conflict with the Land of Rain—or worse, another war—then it would mean Konoha had made yet another enemy while already trapped in the middle of a crisis.
If that happened, they would go down as sinners in the village's history.
At the very front of the column, Yagami heard Shikaku calming the others and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
Having someone like that in the unit really did make things easier.
A sharp mind was useful in more ways than one.
Then—
The rain came down harder.
A relentless curtain of water poured from the sky, shrouding the entire Hidden Rain Village in a gray, oppressive haze.
Inside a hall, Hanzo of the Salamander, leader of Amegakure, was in the middle of a meal.
"Report!!"
A loud voice suddenly rang out from outside, cutting through the roar of the downpour.
There was obvious urgency in it.
"Enter."
Hanzo frowned and set down his chopsticks.
Outside, a Rain shinobi wearing a gas mask quickly pushed open the door after receiving permission and hurried inside.
"My lord!"
"The sensory unit has detected a thousand-man force advancing straight from the direction of the Land of Wind toward our territory!"
After catching his breath, the Rain shinobi delivered his report as fast as he could.
"What?!"
Hanzo shot to his feet at once.
"Isn't Sunagakure supposed to be attacking the Land of Fire?"
"So why are they moving into the Land of Rain now?"
"Don't tell me they think that just because they're fighting Konoha, they can casually split their forces and pressure us too?"
Hearing that the force was coming from the direction of the Land of Wind, Hanzo naturally assumed it belonged to Sunagakure.
After all, news of Sunagakure's surrender had not yet reached the Land of Rain.
At this point, no one in Amegakure knew that the Sand had already been crushed.
"Quickly! Pass down the order!"
"Mobilize the troops!"
Hanzo kicked the table in front of him aside.
The dishes and food scattered across the floor at once.
"Yes, sir!"
The Rain shinobi immediately acknowledged the command, then turned and dashed out of the hall.
Not long after that, Hanzo finished making preparations and stepped out from the main building.
By then, a two-thousand-man Rain shinobi force had already been assembled.
Ever since the war between the great nations had broken out, Amegakure had remained on constant alert.
They had prepared for exactly this kind of emergency from the very beginning.
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