At the same time, the headquarters of the Land of Waterfalls Alliance was in complete turmoil.
"What is going on, Inoichi Yamanaka!"
"Can't you explain it more clearly? What exactly happened!"
The Fourth Raikage's temper flared once again. Even C, who was assisting with the large-scale sensory technique, looked horrified. As for the person leading the technique, Inoichi Yamanaka, he was no better.
Just moments earlier, the sensory field had experienced a violent chakra disturbance. The circular water sphere that represented the detection range had warped severely. To keep the technique active, Inoichi and the others had to pour all their focus and chakra into stabilizing it, leaving no time to speak.
"Hokage-sama, Raikage-sama, we detected an extremely terrifying chakra fluctuation from the direction of Konohagakure."
"But it disappeared quickly. Immediately afterward, that terrifying chakra signature shifted toward the ocean."
"And the intensity was extraordinarily high. Not just one signature—multiple."
Inoichi summarized the situation as concisely as he could.
Hearing that the disturbance came from Konoha, Minato Namikaze and Nara Shikaku both turned pale. A bad feeling washed over them in an instant. After all, the One-Tails and Nine-Tails were both in the village. If such overwhelming chakra appeared, it could only mean one thing—an attack.
"So you're saying the enemy attacked Konoha, disappeared, and then reappeared over the sea?"
"Well, that's not surprising, Hokage. Isn't this exactly your specialty?"
"The Flying Thunder God Technique? Then Kazuyama must be involved?"
"But I have a question—shouldn't he be leading the Allied Forces' offensive right now?"
The Fourth Raikage racked his brain but still couldn't understand why Kazuyama would suddenly show up in Konoha instead of on the battlefield.
Minato and Shikaku exchanged a glance and sighed in unison.
This only made the Raikage even more confused.
"Raikage-sama, please remain calm. Based on the current situation, it seems the enemy attacked Konoha."
"But fortunately, Kazuyama should have been inside the village. That's why he could protect it and use Flying Thunder God to teleport the enemy awa—"
"Oh. No need for me to continue. He's here."
Before Shikaku could finish, a figure appeared in the command room.
Kazuyama.
Landing lightly, he immediately started talking.
"Minato, something terrible happened!"
"Really, really terrible!"
"Konoha was attacked—the attacker was Madara Uchiha!!!"
Shock spread across the room. Everyone knew the name Madara Uchiha. He was the Uchiha clan leader who rivaled the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju—a monster whose power once forced the entire shinobi world to bow.
But… shouldn't Uchiha Madara have appeared long ago?
"Oh, not the masked one. The real Madara Uchiha."
"Do you know how Konoha was attacked? Meteorites! Meteorites, you hear me? Massive meteorites."
"If I hadn't been in the village, Konoha would be gone."
"I threw the meteorite—and Madara Uchiha—into the ocean. I figure it'll take him a while to fly back."
Everyone felt as though an invisible force had frozen their minds.
Madara Uchiha? Summoning meteorites?
Wait, how could they confirm it was truly that Madara?
"It was absolutely him. I once asked old man Sarutobi what Madara looked like."
"He said: black hair, murderous aura, eyes that kill with a single glare. I don't think I mistook him."
"And his Susanoo… unbelievably strong."
"I threw him to the ocean floor and launched a whole chain of attacks. Didn't even make much difference."
The group still hadn't fully recovered, but the main picture was clear.
The enemy attacked Konoha. Kazuyama intervened. Teleported the fight to the ocean. Launched an intense assault. That explained the massive chakra waves detected earlier.
"Kazuyama! Putting aside whether you prevented a catastrophe—I have a question."
"Why were you not with the Allied Forces?"
"As a captain of the alliance, how could you abandon the front lines?"
The Fourth Raikage stepped forward, preparing to assert his authority as deputy commander. He had to reprimand Kazuyama.
But his words earned him only a look of pure disbelief from Kazuyama.
"Hey, muscle-head, are you stupid?"
"Compared to leading troops, protecting our Jinchūriki is the top priority."
"And Madara's appearance means this war has already deviated from our expectations."
"If we don't take precautions, even united, we'll be the ones who lose."
"Why do you care where I was? As long as I was useful, isn't that enough?"
Fourth Raikage: ??? The script isn't going this way… it's not supposed to…
"You were appointed deputy commander to oversee the whole operation."
"Who told you to nitpick everything?"
"Ask Minato, ask Shikaku—did my temporary withdrawal from the alliance affect anything?"
"In fact, it's because I returned to the village that the Jinchūriki was protected."
"Understand?"
Kazuyama fired his words like a machine gun, leaving the Raikage stunned speechless.
Minato and Shikaku both lowered their heads immediately, hiding the twitching corners of their mouths. They wanted to laugh, but the Raikage still had to save face. Still, after years of being on the receiving end themselves, watching someone else take the heat was incredibly satisfying.
"You—"
"You what? What me? Stop wasting time and think about how we're supposed to deal with Madara Uchiha! Inoichi Yamanaka, track the chakra fluctuation over the sea. If he wants to return to land, he'll have to fly back with Susanoo."
Kazuyama's focus was fully locked on Madara. He was the true threat—the source of everything. Only by eliminating him could they win.
As for Black Zetsu and Madara's clone, they had been pushed down the priority list. Compared to the real Madara, their threat level was negligible.
"Are you sure?"
"If we do that, our perception of the main battlefield will weaken."
Shikaku's smile faded. He began analyzing the proposal seriously. But soon, the conclusion became obvious.
Kazuyama had already revealed part of Madara's capabilities—he could summon colossal meteorites. If someone like that appeared on the battlefield, not even countless troops would be enough to hold him back.