201 - The Vessel's True Purpose
The marching speed of the Allied Shinobi Forces of Konoha and Kumo was extremely fast. Leading the nearly a thousand-strong surprise attack force were Minato and A.
With the incredible speed of their steel warships, they reached the coastline defenses set up by the militant faction of Kiri at around 3 AM on the second day.
Under the command of Shikaku and others, nearly a thousand carefully selected ninjas—most of whom specialized in speed—fully leveraged their advantage.
Using the cover of night, they launched a surprise attack on Kiri's defensive camp!.
If not for the Zetsu clones being highly energetic and able to stay alert even without much sleep, this ambush could have crushed Kiri's forward troops.
After the successful surprise attack, Minato and A led their forces in a swift retreat, showing no intention of engaging in prolonged battle. Two hours later, they struck again—this time targeting the defensive line along the southern coast of the Land of Water!
After inflicting considerable casualties on the enemy, and with Minato and A providing cover, they once again vanished into the sea.
For almost an entire day, the Kiri ninjas were on high alert.
Even the White Zetsu troops stationed at the rear, under Hikari's command, rushed to the front lines in preparation for battle. However, the thousand-strong surprise attack force never actually struck any of the defensive lines again.
Instead, as night fell, they repeatedly made appearances along the enemy defenses.
Whenever the Kiri ninjas hurried to prepare for battle, ready to charge into the sea for an all-out fight, the ambush force would use their superior mobility to withdraw swiftly, continuing their harassment tactics!
After two consecutive days of such harassment, the Kiri ninjas were exhausted. If not for the fact that ninja stamina far exceeded that of ordinary people, they might have collapsed from exhaustion before even facing a proper attack.
After extensive discussion, the high-ranking members of Kiri's militant faction unanimously agreed that this harassment was likely to continue for several more days.
They repeatedly requested reinforcements from Hikari and placed most of their defensive forces on a rotating rest schedule.
Additionally, they deployed squads of ninjas with water-based summoning creatures to scout for the elusive enemy "vanguard unit."
Yet, before they could locate the attackers, a massive turtle, resembling an island, suddenly appeared in the middle of a previously ambushed camp!
With a terrifying earth-shaking roar, Genbu crushed countless tents, killing nearly a thousand resting Kiri ninjas and several thousand White Zetsu soldiers!
If not for the Zetsu's quick reflexes, allowing them to burrow underground using their unique abilities, the death toll might have been twice as high!
Then, as if packed tightly together, more than ten thousand Allied Shinobi Forces standing atop the giant turtle let out a deafening battle cry the moment it landed!
Under the leadership of A, Hiruzen and others, they charged directly into the disoriented Kiri ninjas and White Zetsu forces!
"Using the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport something this massive? Only you could come up with such an idea!" Mid-battle, Kei muttered his frustration at Shikaku's strategy.
Over ten thousand soldiers, plus an absurdly large turtle—transporting such a force over just a few dozen nautical miles required an astronomical amount of energy.
It definitely wasn't something he could pull off! Even if Minato or Tobirama attempted it, they'd probably exhaust themselves to death trying to perform such a large-scale space-time transfer!
"Move the turtle island back into the sea. Keeping that massive thing around isn't easy. Don't let Kiri or the Zetsu destroy it. Minato, Tobirama—you two, after the First Hokage and Tsuchikage finish summoning their creatures, immediately teleport them back to headquarters. Fugaku, Tobi—you assist Orochimaru…"
Shikaku completely ignored Kei's complaints, continuing to direct battlefield operations.
On both the northern and southern fronts, large-scale summoned creatures were directly teleported into the enemy's camp, forcefully breaking through their formations. Then, elite forces followed up with relentless assaults.
Although these attacks didn't match the effectiveness of the turtle island ambush, the overwhelming superiority of top-tier fighters ensured they crushed the enemy's elite forces. As long as Kushina's sensory-linked shadow clones remained active, allowing the entire Allied Shinobi Force to maintain shared perception—
The Zetsu's shapeshifting deception would not work, and victory was practically guaranteed!
Kei placed a hand on the turtle island's shell.
After confirming that all Allied Shinobi members had disembarked, he once again wrapped the entire island in a spatial jutsu, teleporting it several kilometers away into the open sea.
In the blink of an eye, he returned to the expedition fleet's deck.
Within less than two minutes, Minato and Tobirama had already teleported Hashirama and Tsunade—who had just finished summoning Katsuyu and the Salamander—to headquarters.
Minato returned to the front lines, while Tobirama remained aboard the fleet alongside all the Jinchūriki.
At this moment, the expedition fleet had arrived at the southeastern edge of Kiri.
Above a mist-covered mountain peak, standing at the edge of the fleet's deck, Kei, Hashirama, Madara, Tsunade, the Third Raikage, Ōnoki, and Izuna all gazed downward at the fog-shrouded peaks.
Meanwhile, Tobirama, Kushina, Killer B, Rōshi, Han, Fū, and Yugito entered a pre-prepared multi-layered barrier formation.
Even though the temporary absence of a few top-tier fighters would slightly increase the pressure on the main battlefield, considering the unexpected emergence of Jigen, it was better to be cautious.
The God Tree, an entity created by the Ōtsutsuki clan to harvest planetary energy, was inherently susceptible to their control.
If this were any other Ōtsutsuki member—
Before the God Tree fully revived, they might struggle to wrest control of the White Zetsu army, which was originally created by Kaguya to combat her own clan.
But this God Tree was planted by Isshiki in the parallel world. And since he had been deceived by Kaguya and turned into the Ten-Tails' nourishment, his sudden reappearance meant that Hikari had lost supreme control over the White Zetsu army.
Even if Madara tried using the Rinnegan to seize control, it would likely be far more difficult than expected. Most likely, Jigen hadn't forcefully taken control yet because he still saw Hikari as a useful pawn rather than an immediate threat!
"The Ten-Tails is down there, right?" The Third Raikage wore a solemn expression as he fixed his gaze on the mountain peak below.
Earlier, to ease the unrest caused by the village alliance and reduce unnecessary conflicts, they had collectively decided to first emphasize the terror of the one hundred thousand White Zetsu to the village's ninja.
Once external pressure had pushed most of the ninjas toward a unified stance, they then revealed the plan—to collect Tailed Beast chakra, activate it, and eradicate all the White Zetsu in one sweep.
Under normal circumstances, this strategy posed no issues.
But who could have predicted that this information would lure out an Ōtsutsuki clan member who had been hiding for nearly a thousand years?
"Yeah." Kei's eyes gleamed with a pale light as he casually tossed numerous Flying Thunder God kunai toward the ground.
Thanks to Hikari's secret message, everyone was now aware of Jigen's plan.
According to him, once they activated the God Tree, even if they didn't use the tailed beast chakra to do so, he could still unseal Kaguya before they could react.
And for Jigen, a weakened Kaguya was the perfect "vessel."
If Kaguya, upon resurrection, displayed overwhelming power, then he intended to let the Allied Shinobi Forces battle her first. Meanwhile, he and Hikari would seek an opportunity to strike her down from the shadows, imprinting the Kama seal on her and taking control of her body.
If, however, Kaguya's power had significantly diminished upon revival, Jigen would simply appear and seize her body directly.
His power, combined with Kaguya's, would make even the tailed beasts irrelevant. The so-called Shinobi Alliance would be nothing more than ants in his eyes, easily crushed.
The plan sounded crude—so crude, in fact, that it was almost insulting to one's intelligence.
The moment Kei heard half of it, he realized that this so-called strategy was nothing more than a flimsy excuse Jigen had made up. The Kama seal was, at its core, a compressed package containing an Ōtsutsuki's genes, bloodline, will, memory, abilities, and consciousness.
Genes, bloodlines, and willpower always followed a hierarchy of strength—it was impossible for the weaker to overpower the stronger.
A thousand years ago, Kaguya might not have been a match for Isshiki.
But after consuming the chakra fruit, her bloodline had already evolved into a bloodline encompassing!
Isshiki, who had turned himself into a sacrificial vessel and possessed nothing but a mere bloodline limit, had no business coveting the power of a bloodline encompassing! And yet, he dared to use the Kama seal as a pretext?
Did he really think no one knew the secrets of the Ōtsutsuki clan?
Had Jigen fabricated a more convincing lie, perhaps claiming that he had the ability to forcibly absorb Kaguya's chakra while she was in a weakened state, Kei might have believed him.
After all, in the original timeline, Momoshiki had indeed transformed Kinshiki into a chakra fruit and consumed him.
It wouldn't have been strange for Isshiki to have an ability that hadn't been shown in the original story.
Having immediately seen through this false plan, he consulted the experts, who agreed on one thing: Jigen's true goal was not Kaguya.
More likely than not, he had set his sights on a different vessel.
Since the Kama seal required an incredibly high level of physical resilience and proficiency with natural energy, only a select few could be viable candidates. Excluding the recently revived Hashirama and Madara, those who met the conditions were shockingly few.
They included Tsunade, who possessed a natural Sage Body; Kushina, who could transform into a magical crimson-haired berserker; and… Kei himself. In fact, among the three, he was the most likely target.
Kei agreed at the figures standing beside him.
As the Flying Thunder God technique activated, light flickered, and the seven of them instantly appeared before the cavern where the Five-Tails was sealed.
"Yo~" A deep, humming voice echoed from within, accompanied by the clanking sound of dragging chains.
The Kirininjas stationed there reacted immediately. Seeing the sudden arrival of the seven figures, they didn't hesitate—they attacked on sight!
CRACK!
With a thunderous roar, the hot-tempered Third Raikage struck first. A series of agonized cries followed as the Kiri ninja fell one after another!
RUMBLE—
Kei waved his hand, summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
The colossal figure landed, crushing the already hollowed-out cavern.
Madara leaped onto the statue's head, forming a series of hand seals. Chains shot out from the statue's mouth, binding the dazed Five-Tails, which had been stunned by the collapse of the cave's ceiling.
The beast was forcibly dragged toward the statue's mouth.
Kei tossed the Amber Purifying Pot, containing its chakra, into the statue as well.
Having absorbed both the Five-Tails and the Seven-Tails, along with the chakra of the other seven tailed beasts, the Demonic Statue began to transform.
It shifted into a massive, one-eyed monster.
Its tails, resembling ten writhing tentacles, thrashed violently, causing destruction in all directions!
With an earth-shaking roar, a terrifying shockwave spread in all directions.
"ROOOOAAAR!!!"