Madara Uchiha frowned at Black Zetsu's words, then suddenly said something that left Black Zetsu momentarily stunned.
"Black Zetsu, your technique lets you move through terrain. Are you sure you've searched the entire Ninja World?"
"As far as I know, the Five Great Nations are only part of it."
"The Forbidden Desert? The snow regions? Have you been there?"
Black Zetsu froze.
The Forbidden Desert? The deepest part of the Land of Wind? There was nothing but sand.
And the snowy mountains? The Land of Iron?
From his expression, Madara immediately understood—he hadn't been anywhere near those places.
Madara sighed helplessly. He wanted to scold him, but the words wouldn't come out.
"Black Zetsu, you're underestimating the Ninja World."
"North of the Land of Iron is a land completely buried in ice and snow—the Land of Snow."
"Forget it. At least you know now."
"If I remember correctly, Muren's dōjutsu allows teleportation, doesn't it?"
Madara turned toward Muren Uchiha. Every Mangekyō Sharingan held tremendous power, and Muren's was no exception.
"Yes, my dōjutsu allows instantaneous movement regardless of distance."
"What about it?"
Madara nodded, then issued his first order since his revival.
"Black Zetsu, once Muren's eyes finish integrating, you'll go with him to the Land of Snow and the deepest regions of the desert."
"If the tailed beasts or their Jinchūriki aren't within the major nations, I suspect they're hiding there."
Black Zetsu and Muren both nodded.
But another problem quickly surfaced.
If the two of them left to search… what about the Allied Shinobi Forces?
"Hmph. What are you afraid of?"
"A mere Allied Shinobi Forces? I'll handle them. After sleeping for so many years, it's time to stretch my limbs."
"The One-Tail and Nine-Tails are in Konoha, correct?"
"Hmph… Konohagakure. Looks like I'll be paying that place another visit."
Madara's aura surged violently, especially when he mentioned Konoha. A nameless anger rose within him—but he suppressed it almost instantly.
"And where is that kid named Kabuto?"
"He's already moved to the front lines. Since he's a puppeteer, he has to be present for his puppets to show their full potential."
"Understood. I'll head to Konohagakure directly. I wonder if it's still as prosperous as before."
Madara nodded lightly and walked toward the cave entrance.
Seeing him take action, Black Zetsu finally let out a breath of relief.
Beside him, Muren Uchiha was swept up by Madara's overwhelming presence, powerful chakra leaking uncontrollably from his body.
"Muren, calm yourself. Your eyes aren't fully fused yet."
"I know! I'm just impatient! Aoi awakened his eyes at the moment of death. I don't know what his dōjutsu is, but I can feel it—it'll greatly boost my strength."
Muren and Aoi Uchiha had grown up together, with a deep bond. In the face of death, their shared hatred awakened their eyes one after the other.
But Aoi sacrificed himself to let Muren escape. His eyes were recovered by Black Zetsu and preserved until now.
...
Atop a mountain near the border of the Land of Earth.
Kabuto stood alone. As the saying went, the higher you stood, the more you saw. Beside him was the puppet of Kakuzu.
"Kakuzu, do you know? Puppeteers will rise to new heights because of me!"
"War is the true home of puppeteers."
"Let it begin. Let the entire Ninja World tremble because of me! My name will be etched into history!"
"Come forth—my colossal puppets!"
Kabuto flicked out a scroll and unfurled it with puppet threads. Fifty giant-sized puppets materialized out of thin air.
And that was only the beginning.
He tossed several more scrolls. Smoke exploded across the area as tens of thousands of puppets activated.
At the same moment, within the White Zetsu forces below, certain uniquely-shaped White Zetsu snapped their heads upward. In perfect sync, they spread their arms as their chest cavities opened to reveal puppet cores within.
Countless puppet threads spilled out from those cores.
Seeing it, Kabuto burst into wild laughter.
Under his arrangement, there were exactly one thousand and fifty such White Zetsu; each controlled one hundred puppets.
And the White Zetsu controlling the colossal puppets—each handled only one.
Thus, a vast puppet army appeared on the border of the Land of Earth and began marching forward.
...
Allied Forces Headquarters, Land of Waterfalls.
"Commander-in-Chief! We have a situation—massive enemy movement detected from the Land of Earth border!"
"And that chakra signature… it should be the puppeteer who attacked the villages earlier!"
As the head of large-scale sensory operations, Inoichi Yamanaka was the first to notice something wrong. Puppets had no chakra and couldn't be sensed—but their master certainly could.
The Land of Earth wasn't far. With support from dozens of sensors, Inoichi could even detect the chakra threads drifting in the air.
And the chakra was immense—it was impossible to miss.
"A puppeteer from Akatsuki… Kabuto?"
"Inoichi Yamanaka, notify the First Division. Send Rasa to suppress them."
"All other divisions, continue advancing as planned."
Since the beginning of the war, Minato Namikaze had become extremely solemn. Upon detecting enemy movement, he calmly sent out the appropriate response.
"The other divisions have already engaged the Haku creatures."
"Good. Maintain sensory coverage."
Minato rose slowly, battle intent surging around him.
Even as the commander-in-chief, there was a part of him that longed to be on the front lines. But he couldn't leave.
In that moment, he felt a flicker of envy toward Kazuyama.
Little did he know Kazuyama had his own reasons to envy others.
...
Konohagakure.
"Kazuyama, the war has already started. Isn't it inappropriate for you to still be here?"
"What's inappropriate? It's only just begun. The Allied Forces are still on the move, and none of the enemy's elite fighters have shown up yet. I left two clones over there—it's fine. Also, Pakura, your fish-cooking skills just keep improving."
While others fought at the front, Kazuyama was at home eating fish.
Pakura, despite her strength, hadn't been deployed. She stayed in the village to assist with evacuations.
All of Konoha was now encased within a barrier, with the One-Tail and Nine-Tails kept inside for protection.
Each of the Five Great Villages had sent elite squads to safeguard the village against unexpected threats.
"That's only because you like fish so much."
"But Michihito and Senko don't like it at all. Honestly…"
"Speaking of them, where did those two little troublemakers run off to?"
Whether it was Michihito Gekkō or Senko Gekkō, Pakura was constantly worried. Originally, there had only been one source of chaos—Michihito.
But once Senko grew older, she became no less troublesome than her brother—if anything, even worse.