A Sage's Pursuit of Power

Although Aoba often claimed not to take this war seriously, once he was on the battlefield, he focused with all his might.

In truth, he had a good idea of what kind of tactics Black Zetsu might use. Those were Black Zetsu's trump cards. Aoba was extremely wary of them, but at the same time, he felt a bit of anticipation, even excitement.

The first battle erupted in the Land of Grass.

After Aoba issued his orders, the Grass Ninja initially prepared to betray Konoha outright and align themselves with Iwagakure. However, the internal factions of the Grass Country were reluctant to abandon the gains they had made over the years in the Land of Fire.

As the number one subordinate of the Land of Fire, the Grass Country had countless vested interests tied to it. Thus, when their daimyo issued a decree, the Grass Ninja begrudgingly followed orders and engaged in battle.

The Grass Ninja had a considerable number of fighters, managing to assemble over three thousand ninjas in a short period. Without Ōnoki personally leading Iwagakure's forces, the Grass Ninja actually managed to hold off the first wave of attacks.

However, their casualties were severe, largely because Iwagakure was not going all out.

The rule of thumb in wars between great nations was to confine the conflict within the territory of smaller nations.

Leading Konoha's forces on one front was Kakashi.

At this point, Kakashi was no longer intimidated by the prospect of facing Ōnoki. While Ōnoki's strength on paper surpassed Kakashi's, the old man's age had caught up to him.

His body was riddled with ailments, and he frequently suffered from back pain, rendering his taijutsu virtually useless. During combat, he had to constantly remain airborne.

Although Ōnoki's Dust Release was difficult to counter with conventional means, Kakashi possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique. While not proficient enough to use it for continuous close-range teleportation during combat, evading Dust Release was relatively effortless.

Additionally, Kakashi was equipped with a customized chakra cloak, eliminating concerns about running out of chakra. His Sharingan had also unlocked the offensive potential of Kamui.

At this point, Kakashi's combat ability was at its peak, he could potentially outlast and wear down Ōnoki.

Meanwhile, Aoba led another contingent, facing their old nemesis: the Cloud Ninja. The grievances between Konoha and Kumogakure were too numerous to recount, a saga that could fill three days and nights.

Aoba's reputation as the "Wind-Chasing Sword" had been forged early in his career, built on the blood of the Cloud Ninja and even the Raikage himself.

As Aoba's strength and status continued to rise, the name "Wind-Chasing Sword" grew even more renowned. However, among Konoha's Jonin, many knew that Aoba's greatest strength wasn't his swordsmanship, it was his mastery of Sage Mode.

Battles between ninjas differed significantly from conventional human conflicts. Due to their extraordinary mobility, most terrains had minimal impact on ninjas.

Thus, intelligence became paramount.

Amidst the forest, Aoba's figure flickered. Behind him, two Cloud Ninja collapsed slowly to the ground.

"That's the third scouting team we've encountered. Give me a map."

The accompanying ninja, Byakumo Sokan, immediately handed over a map. Aoba marked the positions of the three scouting teams on it.

"Judging from their locations, these three teams came from the north, northeast, and east, respectively.

This implies that a Cloud Ninja contingent bypassed the Land of Hot Water and entered the Land of Fire by sea.

Dispatch three sensory squads to search the eastern coastal areas. I need to know their location."

"Understood."

Although the Raikage was absent for now, Kumogakure's forces were still formidable. Their strength primarily lay in the perfect jinchūriki, Killer Bee: A top-tier combatant Aoba needed to neutralize.

The main concern was that, apart from Aoba himself, the others in his contingent could not effectively deal with Killer Bee. It wasn't impossible, but the cost in casualties would be too high.

Thus, Aoba needed to locate Killer Bee and eliminate him directly. In this battle, Aoba intended to hold nothing back.

Especially against a jinchūriki—if encountered, he would strike with full force to kill, delaying the unification of the Tailed Beasts and buying more time.

On the second day of their entry into the Land of Hot Water, Konoha's and Kumogakure's forces locked onto each other's positions.

The residents of the Land of Hot Water were trembling in fear but were powerless. As a neutral country, they had excelled in tourism, culture, cuisine, and hot springs, but lacked the means to defend themselves. Ultimately, they remained like a fat piece of meat, perpetually exploited by Konoha and Kumogakure.

The sudden outbreak of war left the nation scrambling for mediation efforts, but it couldn't prevent Konoha and Kumogakure from waging battle on its territory.

What caught Aoba's attention was Kumogakure's deliberate choice of battleground, a city in the Land of Hot Water renowned for its hot springs. The city was now wedged between tens of thousands of ninja troops. Once the battle commenced, the entire city would be reduced to rubble.

This fueled Aoba's disdain for the Cloud Ninja. In the original storyline, Kumogakure wasn't described in great detail, but the limited depictions painted them as warlike, ruthless, domineering, and heavily militaristic.

Aoba now added another label to them: heartless. These bastards seemed intent on using the lives of the Land of Hot Water's citizens to sway Konoha's actions.

Konoha, after all, had long prided itself on being peace-loving and maintaining a respectable image. Before the battle began, emissaries from the Land of Hot Water had directly sought an audience with Aoba, pleading for an end to the war or for Konoha to withdraw from their territory to fight elsewhere.

It was amusing to Aoba. The war had been initiated by the Land of Lightning, yet the Land of Hot Water only dared to make demands of Konoha. Aoba could even picture the scene of them making similar requests to the Land of Lightning.

The Cloud Ninja would likely throw them out on the spot, or bury them then and there.

What was the saying? Nice people always end up at gunpoint?

"Relay my order: hang the envoy from the Land of Hot Water in the center of the city. Inform the citizens that in six hours, we will launch our attack. By then, everything within the city will be regarded as the enemy."

"But, Lord Aoba, the Land of Hot Water has always had good relations with the Land of Fire. Shouldn't we..."

"But the Land of Hot Water has already declared neutrality. Sōkan, you need to understand something: this is a time of war, and in war, there is no such thing as neutrality. The Land of Hot Water must either side with us or with Kumogakure.

Trying to please both sides only leads to pleasing neither. Unfortunately, they don't understand this principle. And even if they do now, it's too late."

Sōkan Hakuyun, who had been serving as Aoba's deputy for over a year, had a good grasp of Aoba's methods. He could sense the deeper meaning behind Aoba's words.

The Land of Hot Water likely wouldn't get another chance to understand this lesson.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Land of Hot Water, Black Zetsu silently appeared at the edge of the battlefield. From a distance, he observed the massive armies locked in a standoff. After taking a few steps back, he formed hand seals with both hands.

"Edo Tensei."

A massive coffin emerged, and from it stepped a man clad in ancient armor and a battle robe.

Standing in the sunlight, the man spread his arms wide but quickly sensed something was amiss.

"What is going on? Why Edo Tensei and not Rinne Rebirth?" he demanded.

Black Zetsu hurriedly approached him.

"My apologies, Lord Madara. There was a problem with the plan. I had no choice but to awaken you ahead of schedule."

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