After the Nine-Tails fell for Hoshiyomi's "sweet talk," everything that followed proceeded smoothly.
There was no need for a "True Waterfall," nor any whole-family-beats-the-fox routine. After calling Naruto in for a short talk, when he came back out, he had already entered the golden chakra mode seen in the original story.
This form wasn't yet the most perfect Kurama Mode—not because the Nine-Tails was holding back, but because he believed Naruto still wasn't capable of fully controlling the Nine-Tails' chakra. As such, this form was created specifically as a temporary transitional state.
Even as a transitional mode, however, its power was already terrifying. Since Kisame wasn't around to serve as a test dummy, Killer B volunteered to spar with Naruto himself.
Killer B had originally thought that, having become a perfect jinchūriki years earlier, there was no way he could lose to Naruto. Reality, however, slapped him hard in the face.
Facing Naruto in Golden Mode, Killer B used every move he had, yet still couldn't defeat him.
The boost this mode gave Naruto was simply enormous. Previously, Naruto only barely reached Kage level with Sage Mode. Now, once Golden Mode was activated, he leapt straight to the peak of Kage level.
Naruto's movements could now easily keep up with the Fourth Raikage's body flicker enhanced by years of Lightning Release Armor training, and the chakra cloak around his body was both offensively and defensively formidable.
Killer B's Acrobat swordsmanship couldn't even pierce Naruto's golden chakra cloak, showing just how absurd the growth of Nine-Tails Mode truly was.
Not long after Naruto officially mastered this Nine-Tails Mode, preparations across the Five Great Shinobi Villages were largely complete.
Although time was short and the tasks heavy, shinobi were, by nature, iron-blooded tools born for missions. As such, the formation of the allied forces progressed at remarkable speed.
Once troop mobilization in all villages was ready, the Five Kage gave the order, and the Shinobi Alliance officially set out.
Three days before the outbreak of the war, the Shinobi Alliance gathered in the Land of Frost for the final pre-war mobilization.
Because the overall situation and deployment plans had changed significantly, the battlefield location also shifted accordingly.
A total of roughly eighty thousand shinobi, under the leadership of the Five Kage and Mifune, the general of the Land of Iron, departed from their respective villages in an encircling formation toward Amegakure. They ultimately completed their assembly in the regions that had once been the Lands of Grass, Rivers, and Frost.
As for those three nations, from civilians to daimyō, all had already been evacuated by the Five Great Villages into the territories of the Five Great Nations.
The shinobi world was not so merciful as to spare them entirely—but preventing the complete annihilation of their people and leaders in this war was the greatest mercy the Five Kage could offer.
...
Land of Frost — Shinobi Alliance General Headquarters
Inside the headquarters, elites from all Five Great Shinobi Villages were gathered in one place.
Everyone seated here represented the absolute upper echelon of their respective villages. Even so, when combined, the high-ranking members of the other four villages still numbered fewer than those from Konoha alone.
There was no helping it—Konoha's shinobi were simply too strong.
Among Konoha's high-level representatives present, even the youngest—Kakashi and Might Guy—were a full Kage-level fighter and a near-Kage-level powerhouse, respectively. With strength like that, how could they not be included?
No matter how much the other four villages wanted to curse internally, they could only grit their teeth and accept the fact that command authority of the alliance was firmly in Konoha's hands.
Fortunately, what reassured them somewhat was that although Konoha's leadership was large in number, they were all surprisingly approachable.
Once the meeting preparations were complete, Minato glanced at Shikaku beside him. Understanding immediately, Shikaku stood up, bowed to the assembled leaders, and began calmly explaining the Shinobi Alliance's overall tactical arrangements.
In truth, there wasn't much to explain.
No matter how impressive it sounded, the Shinobi Alliance was still a newly cobbled-together force. Under such circumstances, trying to deploy overly sophisticated or intricate tactics would only be asking for trouble—lifting a stone just to smash one's own foot.
Therefore, Shikaku's tactical arrangements focused on being straightforward and forceful. Simply put, the Shinobi Alliance mixed all eighty thousand troops together and then regrouped them according to their individual strengths and specialties.
At Shikaku's proposal, the Shinobi Alliance was divided into five major divisions:
Vanguard Surprise Attack Division
Rear Medical Support Division
Intelligence Transmission Division
Sensory Division
Main Combat Force.
For the Surprise Attack Division, the overall commander was Hatake Sakumo, with Kankurō of Sunagakure serving as deputy commander.
For the Rear Medical Support Division, the overall commander was Tsunade. The deputy commander was neither Sakura nor Shizune; for the sake of balance, the position was instead given to C of Kumogakure.
For the Sensory Division, the overall commander was Ao of Kirigakure, with Karin, personally trained by Kushina, serving as deputy commander.
For the Intelligence Transmission Division, the overall commander was Inoichi Yamanaka, with Darui of Kumogakure serving as deputy commander.
The Main Combat Force, which needed to handle attacks of different types and directions, was further divided into five sub-corps:
First Sub-Corps: Close-Combat Unit
Commander: Hoshiyomi
Deputy Commander: Kitsuchi of Iwagakure
Second Sub-Corps: Mid-to-Close Range Unit
Commander: Jiraiya
Deputy Commander: Darui of Kumogakure
Third Sub-Corps: Long-Range Unit
Commander: Nawaki
Deputy Commander: Kakashi Hatake
Fourth Sub-Corps: Rear Support Combat Unit
Commander: Gaara
Deputy Commander: Kuugetsu
Fifth Sub-Corps: Special Operations Unit
Commander: Mifune
Deputy Commander: Kimimaro
Each of the five sub-corps was also assigned a Sealing Team, distributed in the order of Fire, Wind, Water, Lightning, and Earth.
The above constituted the full combat deployment of the Shinobi Alliance. After Shikaku finished his explanation, everyone present expressed no objections
(any objections, even if they existed, didn't dare to be voiced—after all, the First and Second Hokage were sitting right there).
Once the alliance's combat deployment was finalized, all high-ranking leaders—aside from the rear analysts and strategists—left the command tent at Minato's order.
The high-ranking members of the Five Great Shinobi Villages appeared together atop the platform overlooking the allied forces, forming an unprecedented, ultra-luxurious all-star lineup.
This lineup instantly stunned the assembled troops. The noise of whispers, arguments, and flattery abruptly fell silent. Everyone stared upward with excitement, gazing at their leaders and listening intently for the upcoming orders.
At that moment, a figure clad in dark red armor stepped forward from among the leaders. Seeing this unfamiliar figure, the crowd initially began murmuring again, confused as to who would dare step out before the Five Kage.
But the instant the armored figure spoke his name, everyone present shut their mouths at once:
"Everyone, I am Konoha's First Hokage—Senju Hashirama!"
Boom!
Those words were like a divine pillar stabilizing the sea, instantly suppressing the entire crowd of shinobi.
Every head lifted high as they stared at the figure in dark red armor above them.
The legendary God of Shinobi—Senju Hashirama!
...
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