The Ninja War Begins, I Sit Alone Before the Lines

In the dim, deep underground space, thick darkness spread like dense ink, with only one area emitting patches of strange white light.

It was a bottomless region, as though it led to another mysterious world!

Obito stood at the edge, his figure hidden in the darkness, revealing only the faintly glowing Sharingan and the wicked smile at the corner of his mouth.

He looked down from above.

As far as his eyes could see, sixty thousand White Zetsu soldiers stood in dense, orderly ranks!

These White Zetsu all had identical builds, their skin an eerie white. Their expressions were vacant, yet they carried an inexplicable ferocity!

Of course, they had the strength to back up that ferocity.

In fact, any single White Zetsu taken on its own possessed Taijutsu above the level of a Chunin, roughly comparable to a weak Jonin.

Hinata had worked hard for seven hundred episodes and fought a total of seven major battles. In the Fourth Great Ninja War, she used the ultimate technique Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists against White Zetsu, and if Naruto had not appeared, she would have nearly been killed in return.

That was enough to prove how terrifying White Zetsu were.

The key was that these things did not fear death. They would trade their lives for yours head-on, and ordinary ninja simply could not withstand them.

Although the size of this army fell short of Obito’s originally planned one hundred thousand, he did not feel much regret. Instead, he felt that putting the plan into motion ahead of schedule might bring unexpected benefits.

He slightly raised his hand. The light in his Sharingan flowed as he murmured, "It’s time to move…"

At Obito’s command, the White Zetsu Army began to surge forward like a raging white tide, advancing toward its predetermined target. The ground trembled faintly wherever they passed, as though even the earth was shaking at the deployment of this evil force!

At the same time, in a corner of the Sound Hidden Village, sunlight filtered through gaps in the branches and leaves, casting patches of mottled light and shadow.

The surviving members of the Uchiha Clan were busy with their own tasks. Some wielded axes, chopping firewood with heavy, dull thuds. Others carried buckets of water, hurrying along the paths as the water inside swayed lightly with each step.

Their faces bore exhaustion and hardship. The Uchiha Clan’s former glory had long since faded, and now they lived in the Sound Hidden Village, leading ordinary yet stifling lives.

Suddenly, a figure slowly approached, and everyone froze mid-motion.

The newcomer was none other than Orochimaru, the Sound Shadow!

The Uchiha clansmen stopped their work and silently watched him, and the atmosphere instantly became tense and oppressive.

To Konoha’s people, Orochimaru was the murderer who had killed the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, whom they respected!

Yet in the eyes of these Uchiha remnants, Orochimaru was the savior who had rescued them from despair.

Orochimaru swept his gaze across the crowd. The corners of his mouth curled slightly, revealing a meaningful smile as he said, "Sunagakure and Konoha are about to go to war. I know that your hatred for Konoha has never faded."

At those words, anger flashed in the eyes of the Uchiha clansmen. Their fists clenched unconsciously, their teeth gritted as they suppressed the fury in their hearts.

All the injustice and persecution Konoha had once inflicted upon the Uchiha Clan surged back into their minds like a tide.

Seeing this, Orochimaru understood and continued, "Times have changed. Konoha’s current Hokage is no longer Hiruzen Sarutobi."

At the mention of "Hiruzen Sarutobi," the anger on their faces became even more obvious, and some could not help muttering curses under their breath.

Orochimaru paused, then offered another option. "If you do not wish to involve yourselves in this, you may participate in Kirigakure’s battle to capture Isobu. The Three-Tails possesses tremendous power. Capturing it will surely bring considerable benefits and provide financial support for the Sound Hidden Village." As he spoke, he observed their reactions. "The Sharingan, huh."

The Uchiha clansmen exchanged glances, their eyes conveying their thoughts.

After a moment, they all nodded. One of them stepped forward, dropped to one knee, and declared loudly, "We swear loyalty unto death to Lord Orochimaru and swear to defend the Sound Hidden Village unto death!"

Orochimaru nodded in satisfaction. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly turned back. "Oh, right. If necessary, you may activate your Ghoul forms."

Red light flickered in everyone’s eyes. "Yes, Lord Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru returned to the Underground Laboratory. Hashirama Senju looked around left and right, seemingly interested in everything.

Tobirama Senju was making the most of his time to research the Impure World Reincarnation. The moment he heard that Orochimaru had returned, he hurriedly called out, "Hurry up. Stop dragging your feet."

Orochimaru nodded. "All right."

Inside Konoha’s Hokage Office Building, the atmosphere was solemn and oppressive.

Tsunade sat behind the Hokage’s desk, her brows tightly furrowed. She had thrown a die onto the desk so hard that it looked somewhat deformed.

Jiraiya stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall. His usual carefree expression was gone, replaced by deep contemplation.

Shikaku Nara wore a grave expression as he held an intelligence scroll, lowering his head to check it from time to time.

Hyuga Hiashi stood tall nearby. In this Fourth Great Ninja War, the Hyuga Family would conservatively lose at least half its ninja.

Uchiha Yu stood before everyone and began analyzing the current situation. "This time, the Akatsuki has turned the ninja world upside down. Their purpose is obvious: to reduce the military strength of the major ninja villages. Once the villages have been weakened, obtaining the Tailed Beasts will become much easier for them."

He shook his head slightly, a trace of disdain flashing through his eyes as he continued, "Rasa of Sunagakure is simply an idiot. He still naively believes the Akatsuki is helping him. In my opinion, before this war is even over, the One-Tails Shukaku will likely be taken by the Akatsuki."

"With Rasa’s abilities, he simply cannot protect Shukaku."

As he said this, Uchiha Yu reached up and scratched his face, feeling helpless at Rasa’s stupidity.

After a brief pause, he reminded them, "Furthermore, we must be especially wary of Amegakure. As the Akatsuki’s headquarters, they will definitely be marching out this time as well." Uchiha Yu’s gaze sharpened. "And… according to reliable intelligence, there is a mysterious force numbering over ten thousand. They do not fear death and are similar to suicide troops. We must prepare our defenses in advance and cannot let down our guard."

Upon hearing this, everyone’s expressions grew even more solemn.

Tsunade nodded slightly and asked, "Then in your opinion, how should we respond?"

"First, we must strengthen our intelligence-gathering efforts and closely monitor every move made by the Akatsuki, Amegakure, and that mysterious force. Know ourselves and know our enemies. Second, in terms of battle preparations, we must deploy our forces sensibly and station elite troops at crucial locations."

He turned to Hyuga Hiashi. "The Hyuga Clan’s Byakugan holds enormous advantages in both reconnaissance and combat. I hope the Hyuga Clan can play an important role in this crisis."

Hyuga Hiashi gave the young Uchiha Yu a slight bow and replied, "You are absolutely right. The Hyuga Clan will certainly give our all and contribute our strength to protecting Konoha."

"The medical corps is equally critical," Uchiha Yu continued. "There must be experts stationed there to deal with the large number of casualties that may arise during battle. I believe Might Guy would be a good choice. With him leading the medical corps, he can both rescue the wounded at critical moments and protect the medical corps if they come under enemy attack."

After thinking for a moment, Tsunade nodded in agreement. "Mm, that makes sense."

"Also, I suggest we deploy our troops like this."

As Uchiha Yu spoke, he drew lines across the map. He circled the area around Konoha, but left a gap on the side directly facing Sunagakure.

Jiraiya nodded. "We’ll deploy our strongest forces here, right? I think that works too. Rather than scheme against them, we should drive straight into the enemy camp! Great idea!"

Uchiha Yu shook his head. "The gap does not mean the main force should all be stationed here. It means I alone will be enough here. But since I will be letting quite a few people through, you all need to stay alert."

"O-One person?" Utatane Koharu, who was sitting on a bench nearby, could not hold it in any longer. "Brat, do you understand warfare?"

Uchiha Yu lifted his eyelids slightly. "Old lady, do you understand Beyond Kage?"

Three days later, the Fourth Great Ninja War began!

When Chiyo’s puppet forces arrived at the edge of the forest and saw Uchiha Yu standing alone in a vast open space, not only Chiyo but all the Foot Soldiers were dumbfounded!

Although Chiyo had never read Romance of the Three Kingdoms and did not know what the Empty Fort Strategy was, she still sensed that something was amiss and did not dare advance.

Of course, the greatest difference between the Three Kingdoms and the ninja world was attack range.

If there had been a bow capable of shooting far enough to hit Zhuge Liang back then, the Empty Fort Strategy would have been completely useless.

Chiyo casually flung out a kunai, sending it straight toward Uchiha Yu’s forehead!

BOOM!

An earth-shaking roar echoed across the battlefield!

This was not something Chiyo’s kunai could possibly have caused.

It was the Fist Wind of Sage Art: Welcoming Approach: Thousand-Hand Kill!

Uchiha Yu withdrew his fist. Far ahead of him lay a massive crater that could hold hundreds of Sunagakure ninja!

His teeth itched with rage as he shouted at Chiyo, "Throwing something at me the moment we meet is unreasonable, but if you want someone to blame, blame the person who made that swimsuit picture for you!"

Chiyo’s expression darkened with fury. She adjusted the swimsuit beneath her coat, took out a scroll, and threw it into the air. "White Secret Technique: Collection of 10 Puppets!"

Uchiha Yu did not explain himself at all. His hands rapidly formed Hand Seals. "Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"

The instant his words fell, the forest Rasa had wanted more than anything in his life appeared beneath Chiyo’s feet.

Together with over a thousand puppet Vanguard troops, they were buried beneath the forest.