Chapter 484: Sasuke vs. Itachi (Part 2)

In Daniel's view, the three Great Ninja Wars waged by the Five Great Ninja Villages seemed somewhat juvenile. While the wars did indeed cause many deaths and altered the destinies of countless individuals—like Itachi and Kabuto—the repercussions for the defeated villages were often surprisingly light. Without these wars, Itachi might not have become so radical, and Kabuto might not have become an orphan.

But in truth, the repercussions for the losing villages weren't very severe. At most, they were required to make reparations, and because of their defeat, their missions would decrease in number, leading to reduced income for the village.

For smaller ninja villages, this decrease in mission income might lead to collapse, but the Five Great Villages were different. They had the support of the Five Great Nations backing them. Even the weakest of them, Sunagakure, though frequently subject to budget cuts by the Wind Country Daimyo, was never at risk of total destruction.

The Five Great Villages were the foundation of the Five Great Nations. Without the power of the ninja villages, the existence of these nations would be in jeopardy. While ninja villages would not seek to occupy other countries' lands, the Daimyo certainly would. The decline of the Fuma Clan of the Land of Fields, for instance, was the result of the Daimyo attempting to conquer neighboring territories and failing.

For the Daimyo, the best strategy was to control the ninja villages, rather than treat them as semi-independent entities. The Wind Country Daimyo's decision to reduce Sunagakure's budget, for instance, might not have been mere incompetence but a calculated move to weaken the village, so it could be brought under direct control—much like how the Guardian Twelve had tried to control Konoha.

This mindset of the past wars influenced the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, to urge the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, to surrender when they encountered each other. After all, in previous wars, acknowledging defeat and retreating to their villages typically only resulted in monetary reparations and reduced missions, which, while painful, was a far better outcome than confronting Uchiha Madara head-on.

A wise leader knows when to yield. If reparations could be paid, they would often be handled by the village's Daimyo. Moreover, if the opposing force wasn't strong enough, those monetary reparations might simply remain numbers on a piece of paper—something the victor would struggle to collect. The most powerful nations, like Konoha under Hashirama and Madara, would always get what was owed, but weaker villages might find their claims dismissed with a shrug and a casual "come collect it yourself."

Konoha, with its ideal location and environment, also had a fatal flaw: it had no natural defenses and was the wealthiest target for other villages. That's why the other ninja villages always initiated wars against Konoha. Iwagakure, for example, wouldn't waste resources to march through the desert to attack Sunagakure, nor would it traverse the mountains to fight Kumogakure. Attacking Kirigakure, hidden in the mist and surrounded by water, was out of the question as well.

"Akatsuki's goal is to unify the entire ninja world, including the Five Great Nations," Onoki explained to Mu, who looked confused. Had Akatsuki merely sought to control the ninja villages, Onoki might have already surrendered. Monetary reparations could easily be obtained from the Daimyo of Earth Country.

Among the Five Great Villages, Iwagakure was perhaps the most comfortable. Onoki had a good relationship with the Daimyo, which was far different from the strained relations between other Daimyo and their villages.

"That's impossible!" Mu exclaimed, looking astonished at Madara. Even when both Madara and Hashirama were alive, Konoha had never aimed to unify the entire ninja world, only the Five Great Villages.

"Why not? Times have changed, Mu. No one will stop me this time." Madara's gaze swept toward Mu, a cold smile forming on his lips. The only person who could have stopped him—Hashirama Senju—was no longer a threat.

"Onoki, you're a smart man. You should know you have no chance of victory. For the sake of peace, I'll give you an opportunity—surrender." As he spoke, Madara's Sharingan transformed into the Mangekyo Sharingan.

"I'm afraid I must decline your kind offer, Madara-sama. I won't allow Iwagakure to vanish on my watch." Onoki's hands rapidly formed seals.

"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!" Onoki unleashed his fearsome Bloodline Limit ability, Dust Release, one of the most terrifying techniques in the ninja world. Anything caught in its cubic formation would be reduced to atoms, rendering all defenses useless. Even Madara's Susanoo could be disintegrated by this technique.

The only drawback to Dust Release was the time it took to activate. If the opponent knew its effects and had sufficient skill, they could evade it. During the Third Great Ninja War, Onoki had once tried to ambush the rising star Minato Namikaze but ultimately failed.

Eliminating promising young shinobi was something the Five Great Villages often did. When necessary, even Kage-level shinobi would take action to kill promising talent from rival villages. The Fourth Raikage had personally led a raid to steal a secret technique from a small village. Assassinating a young ninja was far from out of the question.

While the Third Hokage had never done such a thing himself, Danzo certainly had, using the Root division to eliminate potential threats. Root's contributions to the decimation of rising talents in rival villages were considerable. Even in modern society, newcomers were frequently suppressed in the workplace. The ninja world was no different.

Only those who survived could be called true prodigies. Shinobi like Obito Uchiha and Guy Might were perfect examples. If Obito had truly died during the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, no one would have ever known how terrifying his Mangekyo Sharingan could be. Similarly, if Might Guy and his father had died during an early mission, no one would have known that they were the strongest taijutsu users in the ninja world.

"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!" Mu shouted, unleashing his own Dust Release to counter Onoki's attack. Two white cubes collided in midair, causing a massive release of chakra that obliterated everything in their path before dissipating into the atmosphere.

"Dust Release... This technique is second only to the Truth-Seeking Orbs," Daniel remarked from his vantage point in Amegakure's steel tower, observing the Dust Release collision with a sigh of regret.

Dust Release was one of the most terrifying techniques in existence, but sadly, its legacy would likely die with Onoki. Onoki's heir, Kurotsuchi, had only inherited a Bloodline Limit, not Bloodline Selection like Dust Release. Kurotsuchi's father, Kitsuchi, hadn't awakened any Bloodline powers, either.

Bloodline traits didn't always pass on to future generations. Even the powerful Uzumaki clan couldn't guarantee that every descendant would inherit the remarkable vitality of someone like Naruto, Nagato, or Karin.

It was the same with the Uchiha and Hyuga clans—not every member could awaken the Sharingan or Byakugan. Many in both clans were just ordinary people. In general, the stronger the bloodline, the higher the chance of inheriting its abilities, but even then, it was far from guaranteed.

The ninja world thrived on bloodlines. This reality applied even in the modern world. Exceptional talents, like Tony Stark's genius or Stephen Strange's eidetic memory, were essentially their own form of Bloodline Limit.

Even with the abilities granted by the Ope Ope no Mi, Daniel couldn't alter such inherent traits. He could transplant Bloodline Limits, but natural genius, like Tony Stark's brilliance or the innate chakra reserves of the Uzumaki clan, was beyond his reach. Not even the five divine beings of the Marvel universe could change that.

"Stop him! Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!" 

"Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"

Onoki and Mu clashed again, their Dust Release techniques colliding midair in a spectacular display of raw power. Fortunately, Onoki was quick to respond, neutralizing Mu's attack before it could reach the Iwagakure shinobi.

There were only three known ways to counter Dust Release. One was to use the same power to cancel it out. The second was to possess a chakra-absorbing ability to neutralize it. The third was to have enough speed to escape its range before the technique could activate.

For most of Iwagakure's forces, none of these options were viable. Their only hope lay in Onoki's ability to counter Mu's Dust Release.

"Leave Mu to me. The rest of you, focus on Madara. Be careful!" Onoki instructed his troops while keeping his eyes locked on Mu.

Despite being unaware of Akatsuki's Edo Tensei capabilities, the Iwa forces had little choice but to proceed with the battle plan.

"Old man, let's do this," said Roshi, one of Iwagakure's jinchuriki.

"Agreed. We'll handle it from here," added Han.

As Onoki and Mu continued their aerial duel, two figures leaped from the Iwagakure forces to confront Madara: the jinchuriki of the Four-Tails, Roshi, and the jinchuriki of the Five-Tails, Han.

"Jinchuriki, huh?" Madara's interest was piqued as he watched

 the two approach. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Back when the nine-tailed beasts had been scattered across the nations, it was Madara, not Hashirama, who had captured them. His original plan had been to strengthen Konoha with their power, but Hashirama had naively decided to distribute them to maintain balance among the villages.

"Sorry, but I promised the others I'd handle this side alone." Despite his growing impatience with the situation, Madara had no choice but to engage the enemy. He had vowed to take care of the Iwagakure forces personally, and his pride wouldn't allow him to go back on his word now.

"Let's have some fun," Madara muttered, forming two shadow clones to deal with the divided Iwagakure forces. 

"Care to dance?" With an identical smirk, the two clones charged into the ranks of Iwagakure, wreaking havoc without the need for any jutsu.

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Han?"

"Indeed, Roshi. This is a rare opportunity. Let's show them the power of Iwagakure's jinchuriki."

With that, both men began transforming into their respective Tailed Beast forms. For Roshi, it was the enormous lava-spewing Four-Tails. His Lava Release was similar to Akainu's magma powers, able to melt through almost anything. Unfortunately, the watery terrain of the battlefield wasn't ideal for lava techniques.

Still, Roshi had no choice but to charge forward, his massive, magma-coated arm aimed directly at Madara. 

Boom!

Roshi's speed was no match for Madara's, and his enormous body tumbled backward across the water, rolling several times before skidding to a halt.

"Are these the kind of rabble that dare challenge me now?" Madara sneered as his colossal blue Susanoo stood tall above the battlefield, dwarfing even the tailed beasts. Standing on the forehead of his Susanoo, Madara surveyed the chaos below, his Sharingan glowing ominously.

As the massive Susanoo exuded waves of chakra, the force of its mere presence sent water splashing and rising into the air. Even the veteran shinobi in the Allied Forces were stunned. The chakra emanating from Madara's Susanoo was as overwhelming as a Tailed Beast's.

"With such power, how can we possibly win?"

Back at the Allied Shinobi Forces headquarters, Shikaku Nara was deep in thought, his brow furrowed. Though Konoha had been privy to more information than the other villages, they had not anticipated the sheer magnitude of Madara's strength. This overwhelming display of power left Shikaku feeling utterly helpless. As a strategist and trusted advisor to the Hokage, he had dealt with difficult situations before, but nothing like this.

Despite knowing the threat posed by Madara, the reality of confronting such power was far beyond anything they had prepared for.

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