420.The Return of Nawaki

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Hearing Zetsu's words, Aizen's lips curved into a smile as he softly said. 

"Zetsu, sometimes, hiding in the shadows makes it easier to observe the situation. Only by withdrawing one's presence from the chessboard can the otherwise complicated situation appear simpler."

At this, a gleam of brilliance flashed in his deep eyes as he continued in a low voice. 

"Madara Uchiha is not a foolish man. It's clear that he knows certain truths that we are not aware of. If we want to understand, it's simple—let him proceed smoothly with his plan. At the final moment, we will seize what he relies on. That is our task."

Upon hearing his words, Zetsu's face froze for a moment, then he respectfully lowered his head and softly said. 

"I understand, Lord Aizen."

Aizen smiled gently, his eyes flickering with a sharp gleam as he softly replied. 

"Don't worry. I will stay in contact with you. You just need to assist Madara in completing his plan. When necessary, I will inform you of what needs to be done."

At this moment, Gin, standing nearby, squinted his eyes, a sly, fox-like smile appearing on his face as he chuckled softly. 

"Speaking of which, this reminds me of when we seized the Hōgyoku. Aizen, you always play this game. Won't you get tired of it?"

Hearing Gin's words, Aizen didn't show any anger but maintained his light smile. He glanced at Gin and replied softly. 

"Gin, you must understand, plans should be practical. They don't need to be overly complicated, as long as they can have a fatal effect at the critical moment. Given the current situation, I am eager to know what Madara Uchiha is relying on. After all, his plan pits him against the entire shinobi world. Even with the current forces of Las Noches, we wouldn't dare directly confront the entire shinobi world so easily. Simply relying on the Tailed Beasts won't be enough to fulfill his somewhat extravagant dream. Moreover, with his intelligence, he should have noticed some of the anomalies in the history of the shinobi world. So what gives him such confidence?"

As he spoke, Aizen's eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze showing a deep, thoughtful gleam.

Gin smirked slightly, tilted his head back, his eyes squinting. Through the gaps in the tree leaves, he slightly opened his eyes to look at the sky and softly said. 

"I didn't expect that even in this world, I can't escape such a laborious fate. This clear and pure sky... It's been so long since I've seen it."

There was something unsaid. 

"Hey, Rangiku, how are you doing in that world without me?"

Aizen glanced at him lightly, not saying much.

The three continued to move forward.

The sky was nearing noon.

This unprecedented invasion war had been going on for an entire night.

Both the Iwa Nin and Konoha ninjas were in a fatigued state. However, neither side dared to slack off even slightly, afraid of being caught off guard by the other.

Iwa Nin had the help of Sunagakure, while Konoha had received support from the Cloud Nin.

At this point, the two sides were in a stalemate, neither gaining the upper hand.

At this very moment, deep in a secluded forest far from Konoha, several figures wearing matching black-and-white uniforms stood on the tall tree trunks.

They gazed from a distance at the war-torn Konoha village, where black smoke billowed into the sky.

"Does this mean that Nawaki has already entered Konoha by now?" 

One of them, hidden in the reddish-brown scorpion armor on the lower part of the tree trunk, spoke in a hoarse voice.

Upon hearing his words, Kakuzu's oil-green eyes remained as indifferent as ever as he spoke in a low voice. 

"After all, he carries the name of the First Hokage's grandson. No matter how he returns, he has a legitimate reason. There's no way he'll be discovered or leave any trace."

On another tree higher up, sitting with his eyes slightly closed, Baraggan, upon hearing their conversation, couldn't help but scoff and said in an old voice. 

"I still don't understand Aizen's thoughts. They're just a bunch of ants. Why go to all this trouble?"

As Baraggan's words fell, the others fell silent.

Ulquiorra, however, glanced at him with a calm gaze and replied calmly. 

"Baraggan, don't underestimate the power of ninjas. If you underestimate them carelessly, you may suffer deeply from them in the future."

After saying this, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and his mind recalled a certain golden-haired youth who had left a deep impression on him.

Baraggan snorted, not saying anything further, and closed his eyes once more.

He had absolute confidence that no matter how miraculous ninjutsu might be in this world, it would be meaningless in the face of his power over aging.

At the very top of the tree trunk, a person stood with a calm expression, his pale eyes staring in the direction of Konoha. It was unclear what he was thinking.

In the center of Konoha, inside the Hokage Building.

At this moment, the faint worry on the faces of the Konoha ninjas guarding the building finally dissipated, replaced by a look of full energy.

What caused this change was not the arrival of the Cloud ninjas relieving them of their pressure.

It was because the Hokage, who had been absent from the village for some time, had finally returned!

The battle between Sarutobi Hiruzen and the Tsuchikage, Onoki, had lasted nearly the entire night.

Although it was highly risky for the Hokage to appear on the battlefield and engage Onoki, given Konoha's current situation, if he had not chosen to stop Onoki at that moment, it would have been difficult for the remaining Konoha ninjas to resist the terrifying strength of Onoki.

In that situation, if the Iwa ninjas, under Onoki's leadership, pushed directly towards Konoha, the current state of the village would make it difficult to defend.

Considering all these factors, Sarutobi decided to leave the internal affairs of Konoha to Ibiki, while he personally took to the battlefield to delay Onoki, preventing him from distracting himself with the Iwa ninja situation.

After battling for nearly the entire night, the fight finally ended when reinforcements from both sides arrived.

When Rasa led the Sand ninjas to the battlefield, the Iwa ninjas initially thought that with the cooperation of Rasa and the Tsuchikage, they would be able to defeat Sarutobi and secure the battle.

However, to their surprise, almost simultaneously, the Cloud ninjas, led by A, B, and Darui, along with Konoha ninjas, arrived at the scene.

The situation immediately became tense again, and after a prolonged deadlock, both sides tacitly chose to call a halt.

But this only marked the end of the personal duel; determining the outcome of the war was not reliant solely on individual strength.

Inside the Hokage office, Sarutobi, while receiving treatment from medical ninjas, listened as Ibiki analyzed the current battlefield situation.

When he heard that the members of the Espada were indiscriminately slaughtering both Iwa and Konoha ninjas, his brows furrowed tightly.

At this moment, Ibiki's voice turned serious as he spoke.

"Lord Hokage, Nawaki has returned."