A person's reputation is like the shadow of a tree. The title "God of Shinobi" for Hashirama had long since become common consensus. Even though Hoshiyomi had already surpassed Hashirama in terms of raw strength, it would still be difficult to overturn this perception in a short amount of time.
Hashirama's revival was no longer much of a secret within the Allied Shinobi Forces. Now that they were seeing Senju Hashirama standing before them in the flesh, the morale of the Shinobi Alliance soared to its absolute peak almost instantly.
Facing the countless gazes directed at him below, even the usually carefree Hashirama became exceptionally serious. Looking at the Allied Shinobi Forces beneath him, he spoke:
"I'm a clumsy person, not very good at preaching or speeches. I only understand one simple truth—that only by winning this war can we protect our families and safeguard our future.
This Great Ninja War is different from every war you've seen or heard about before. What's at stake this time isn't the rise or fall of a single village or family—we're wagering the lives of the entire shinobi world.
In other words, we're fighting a war we cannot afford to lose. If we lose, it won't just be us who perish—our descendants and our civilization will be reduced to ashes, and this world will fall into complete silence.
Tell me—can you accept an ending like that?"
"No!"
The thunderous response shook the ground itself. Watching the Shinobi Alliance shout at the top of their lungs, Hoshiyomi glanced at the imposing Hashirama and instinctively smacked his lips.
So much for saying he wasn't good at talk-no-jutsu—eighty thousand shinobi were practically being fired up out of their minds.
Looking at the burning gazes directed toward him, Hashirama, despite being a man who had already died once, still felt his blood surge with passion. He broke into a satisfied smile and shouted:
"In that case—Shinobi Alliance, advance!"
With Hashirama's command, the already-organized high-ranking leaders leapt down from the platform in unison. Landing in different sectors, they loudly called for their respective units to follow as the operation officially began.
Eighty thousand shinobi surged forward like a torrent of steel, collectively advancing toward the Land of Rain.
Meanwhile, within the Akatsuki base in Amegakure.
"Lord Madara, the Shinobi Alliance has officially mobilized. At this rate, they should reach the borders of the Land of Rain by tomorrow or the day after."
On the central platform, Madara listened lazily to Black Zetsu's report. Upon hearing that the Shinobi Alliance would arrive soon, Madara revealed an amused expression and asked:
"How many shinobi did the Five Great Villages manage to gather in the end?"
Black Zetsu recalled the numbers reported by White Zetsu and replied:
"About eighty thousand. Most of them are elites—their overall strength is fairly considerable."
Madara clearly didn't believe in such notions of "considerable strength." In his eyes, even ordinary Kage-level fighters were nothing more than slightly larger ants. As for these so-called elites, he didn't take them seriously at all.
"I understand. Send the White Zetsu and those corpses you dug up to test their strength first. There are still two days before the war I personally set begins. You know what I mean, right?"
Black Zetsu sneered inwardly—showing off this much, aren't you afraid you'll end up showing yourself into death?
But outwardly, he maintained an extremely respectful demeanor and said:
"Lord Madara, that may be so, but having Tobi alone control both the Edo Tensei army and the hundred thousand White Zetsu will be quite difficult."
Madara nodded after hearing this, realizing it would indeed be pushing things too far. With that thought, he spoke:
"Then in that case, temporarily possess that… what was it—Danzō? You'll be responsible for controlling the Edo Tensei forces. Let Tobi handle the hundred thousand White Zetsu on his own.
"I specially strengthened Tobi's body before the war. Even without that useless body, he should now be able to freely use those Mangekyō Sharingan."
With Danzō's body as a medium, Black Zetsu would also be able to observe the alliance's strength more clearly. He quickly withdrew to discuss occupying Danzō's body with Tobi.
Although he had lived alongside Danzō day and night for many years, Tobi had never developed any real attachment to him. Upon hearing Madara's order, Tobi decisively abandoned Danzō's body and instead sank underground, quietly going off to rally the White Zetsu army.
On the other side, Black Zetsu let out a low chuckle and silently attached himself to Danzō's body, beginning to manipulate the corpse as he revived one Edo Tensei warrior after another.
After so many years of cooperation, Black Zetsu and Tobi could be considered a perfect duo. After coordinating with each other, they quickly arranged their battle formations.
Different Edo Tensei powerhouses each led varying numbers of White Zetsu. Abandoning defense entirely, they launched attacks toward the advancing Allied Shinobi Forces.
Because they had a thorough understanding of the Shinobi Alliance's deployment, the various units encountered their respective enemies not long after beginning their advance toward Amegakure.
As the vanguard attack unit, Sakumo was leading Kankurō and their subordinates rapidly through the forests of the Land of Grass. Halfway through their march, Hyūga Himon of the attack unit suddenly spoke up:
"There's chakra activity ahead—everyone, get down!"
Although the attack unit was a newly formed force, it displayed impressive responsiveness. At Himon's shout, everyone dropped flat to the ground at once.
The instant they halted, a piercing shriek rang out from above. Three white clay birds plunged down from the sky, blasting massive craters into the ground in front of the attack unit.
The soot-covered members of the unit looked up and saw three figures standing atop the clay birds, gazing down at them from above.
The shinobi from various villages exchanged glances, their expressions changing all at once. An Iwagakure shinobi said:
"That's our village's rogue shinobi —Deidara."
After identifying them, Sakumo spoke: "A member of Root who was previously recruited by Danzō?"
Ōmoi of Kumogakure also wore a grim expression: "The one in the back is a jōnin from our village."
Kankurō didn't look at the clay birds in the sky. With a flick of his wrist, several chakra threads shot out. As he yanked them hard, a puppet burst out of the forest. Seeing this, Kankurō snorted coldly and said:
"So you already made puppets right after being revived? Stop hiding—Sasori!"
Sakumo cast an appreciative glance at Kankurō, then turned back and said to Himon behind him:
"Notify the intelligence division. The attack unit has encountered Edo Tensei combatants. The other units will face the same situation soon. Have all divisions protect their sealing teams—according to Orochimaru, that's the most effective way to deal with Edo Tensei."
Hearing this, Deidara in the sky couldn't help but grin:
"Yo, looks like you know your stuff. You look a lot like Kakashi from Konoha—don't tell me you're Kakashi's old man?"
Sakumo didn't rush to reply. Calmly, he drew the short blade from his back and at the same time said to the sealing team members behind him:
"Watch for the right moment. Once the enemy loses their ability to fight, don't hesitate—use sealing techniques immediately."
...
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