Chapter Fifty-Eight: The Plan for the Shinobi War

The Shinobi War had officially erupted, and someone intended to use the Sound Village as the breakthrough point, aiming to cripple it as the opening move. Orochimaru did not immediately return to the Sound Village to take charge; instead, he piloted his mobile fortress northward. He wrote a letter and sent it to Kabuto Yakushi through the Snake Organization.

Upon receiving the news, Kabuto was greatly excited—finally, there was word from Orochimaru! Instantly, he felt reassured and had no worries about the upcoming Shinobi War.

“Kabuto, I took a trip to the moon and discovered that technology is of utmost importance. Strength is essential, but without the advancement of science, we are nothing more than savages wielding power crudely. You know well that a single shuriken in the hands of a child is quite different from when wielded by an adult. The Land of Snow in the north possesses advanced chakra technology, and I am going to subdue them.”

The first part made sense to Kabuto; their experiments relied on technology, and he fully understood its importance. However, the latter part was incomprehensible—the enemy would soon be at their doorstep, yet Lord Orochimaru still had the mind to conquer the Land of Snow?

He hurriedly wrote back: “Lord Orochimaru, I deeply understand the importance of technology, but the Four Nations Shinobi Allied Forces are already on their way to the Sound Village. War will break out soon, and without you, we will suffer immense losses!”

He had put it as delicately as possible; without Orochimaru, the Sound Village might very well be annihilated.

Orochimaru’s reply soon arrived: “The Shinobi War, you say? Kabuto, even if I rush back now, it would only result in mutual destruction. Our army is only half complete, and we lack the advantage in elite forces, not to mention the watchful Akatsuki. I must conquer the Land of Snow and transform the mobile fortress into a war bastion to end the fighting once and for all. I have already sent Edo Tensei warriors to support you. Wait for my return.”

Kabuto immediately began complex calculations on his instruments. The Four Nations Allied Forces were currently at the border of the Land of Grass and the Land of Fire; it would take them some time to reach the Sound Village. Upon arrival, they would still need to battle the Sound Village’s shinobi, which would also take time. Kabuto crunched the numbers and determined that it would take at least half a month for the Allied Forces to completely destroy the Sound Village. Accounting for errors, the minimum was ten days.

From a military standpoint, that was an extremely short window.

Kabuto replied: “Lord Orochimaru, are you saying you will return within ten days with the war bastion?”

Orochimaru answered: “Not exactly. The Sound Village currently holds about a quarter of the Allied Forces’ strength. What I want to tell you is this—hold them off for one month.”

“One month... hold them for a month?” Kabuto felt a headache coming on. The enemy was counting on a blitzkrieg—the faster, the better. His calculations provided a critical period of ten days, but a month was twenty days longer.

Holding out for a month seemed nearly impossible.

Orochimaru’s letter continued: “Kabuto, I recommend someone to you. His name is Shikamaru Nara, a high-IQ prisoner from the Leaf Village who has a passion for strategy, and a candidate for experimental research. You should have his dossier—make good use of him.”

Shikamaru, Sakura, and Rock Lee, along with the Edo Tensei warriors, would return to the Sound Village. They would help Kabuto hold off the Allied Forces for a month. Perhaps it wouldn’t even take a full month; that was just a margin calculated by Orochimaru. Half a month might suffice.

The one-month timeline was set so that even if both he and Kabuto made mistakes, success would still be highly likely. This was a saturation tactic.

Kabuto massaged his temples—he could only do his best to delay the enemy for a month.

…

Meanwhile, after spreading the news, Black Zetsu descended into the underground of the Rain Village, where a hundred thousand White Zetsu lay dormant.

“Strengthen and awaken them,” he commanded.

A man was brought in—Yamato, whom Black and White Zetsu had seized while infiltrating the Sound Village.

“Black Zetsu, you’ve learned from Orochimaru’s wisdom, actually thinking to use this man to strengthen the White Zetsu army,” said White Zetsu.

That was the reason they had kidnapped Yamato.

Black Zetsu snorted, “If only those others weren’t so useless.”

The failures of Pain and Obito had left Black Zetsu frustrated.

White Zetsu remarked, “If only we could capture the Nine-Tails kid—his Wood Release is approaching the First Hokage’s level. If we used him to enhance the White Zetsu army, who knows how powerful they would become?”

Each of the hundred thousand White Zetsu was already formidable; if they were strengthened by Naruto’s Wood Release and Nine-Tails power, the outcome would be unimaginable. A hundred thousand jonin? A hundred thousand elite jonin? Or perhaps a hundred thousand Kage-level shinobi?

Black Zetsu declared, “It’s only a matter of time. The plan to collect the Tailed Beasts remains unchanged. The Eye of the Moon Plan must be realized!”

“Fine, fine,” White Zetsu replied, glancing at Madara’s corpse, which they had not left behind in the Sound Village.

“What do you plan to do with Madara?” White Zetsu asked.

With Pain’s Rinnegan taken and Orochimaru missing, it seemed impossible to revive Madara.

Black Zetsu was also troubled, but not all hope was lost.

“The Rinnegan is in Orochimaru’s hands. As long as those eyes are used, Uchiha Madara can be resurrected!”

Black Zetsu possessed a technique to infiltrate and control a person’s mind; as soon as the Rinnegan was used, he could invade the user’s consciousness and forcibly revive Madara. That was one method.

“Besides, I refuse to believe Orochimaru won’t show up. If he does, I’ll offer him Madara’s corpse—how could he resist?”

Everyone knew Orochimaru coveted power above all; Madara’s body would be an irresistible lure for him.

Black Zetsu had the utmost confidence in Madara; once revived, no matter the method, the Eye of the Moon Plan would succeed. There would be no failures like Pain or Obito.

White Zetsu looked at the hundred thousand dormant White Zetsu and suddenly felt overwhelmed. “Without the Ten-Tails’ shell, using this man to enhance the White Zetsu army is exhausting.”

Indeed, White Zetsu were products of the Divine Tree, closely connected to the Ten-Tails’ shell. Now, without it, everything fell to White Zetsu himself, which was draining.

“Enough talk, let’s begin,” said Black Zetsu.

He and White Zetsu separated into two independent entities.

“Once you’ve strengthened the White Zetsu army, head secretly to the Sound Village and give them a surprise,” instructed Black Zetsu.

White Zetsu nodded, extending his hand, which sprouted white tendrils that connected to each White Zetsu. His body unfolded like armor, enveloping the unconscious Yamato.

“Ah!” Yamato roared in fury as his power was extracted and transferred through White Zetsu to the hundred thousand White Zetsu army. His body shriveled visibly.

But he did not die; White Zetsu’s body gradually merged with his, forming a symbiotic bond to prevent him from being completely drained.

“All right, I’m off,” said Black Zetsu, melting into a shadow and slipping through a crack.

“I need to assemble all the Akatsuki members. Without the Rinnegan’s communication ability, it really is troublesome.”

As the Shinobi War loomed, Akatsuki would not be absent. This time, all its members would move together, joining forces against their enemies.