— — — — — —
"I think I'm the right choice for this too."
Minato finally showed a rare flash of dominance, smiling calmly as he glanced at the Raikage and Onoki.
"...And what makes you think that?" Onoki and the Raikage both asked at once, clearly annoyed.
Minato's smile didn't fade. "Because Konoha is the strongest village right now."
"Because you couldn't stop Uchiha Madara or that shadowy guy—Black Zetsu."
"Because a strong Uchiha will join us. And honestly... I think I've earned it."
His voice turned serious.
When the time came to fight for something that mattered, you had to step up.
Leading the Allied Shinobi Forces was the first real step in his plan to unite the ninja world. He wasn't about to pass it up.
"You..."
Onoki and the Raikage were both at a loss for words.
Because... he wasn't wrong.
Konoha really was that strong.
And so, Minato was named Supreme Commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces.
With that decision made, the five great nations kicked into action. Each village began mobilizing troops rapidly, preparing for the coming war.
The battlefield Madara had chosen was just on the edge of the Land of Fire, near Kusagakure (Grass Village).
The Allied Forces' scouts located it quickly, and their armies began moving in.
The war had officially begun.
---
High above the battlefield, floating calmly on a flying carpet, a small group looked down at the chaos unfolding below—ninjas clashing, jutsu lighting up the landscape, explosions shaking the earth.
Renzo lounged casually, snacking on sunflower seeds and fruit. Kurenai sat beside him, watching the battle, visibly uneasy.
"Are we really just going to sit up here and do nothing?" she asked.
Before Renzo could respond, Tsunade waved her hand dismissively.
"Why not? Things are going fine. It's not like they need us. With Kakashi and the others down there, it's more than enough. Also, we can send that cat and mouse anytime."
She took another bite of fruit, perfectly content to spectate.
Honestly, why would they jump in now? Sitting here, enjoying the show, was way more relaxing.
Tsunade glanced at Kurenai like she couldn't understand what was going through the girl's head.
"But if we joined, wouldn't fewer people die?" Kurenai asked softly, her voice full of concern.
Renzo chuckled and gently pulled her into his arms.
"We want to unite the ninja world. That's not going to happen without real conflict. Sacrifice is part of it."
He looked down at the battlefield, his tone calm but serious.
"Only when the ninja from all the villages face a common enemy—when they go through life-and-death battles together—will they truly start to understand one another. That's how you build bonds, trust, empathy. That's how you erase old grudges and hatred between villages."
"And that's how you make the unification smoother in the long run—with fewer casualties overall."
"So no—we shouldn't step in. Not yet, at least. Of course, if you want to help, you can head to the rear medical unit. But no frontline fighting."
After all, Kurenai was no ordinary ninja anymore.
Her power had long surpassed even Kakashi and Minato—she was already on a semi-Six Paths level.
If she jumped into the fight now and confronted Madara directly, there was a good chance the entire war would end way too early.
And that... would ruin everything.
Kurenai's overwhelming growth wasn't just due to natural talent. No, it was mostly thanks to Renzo spoiling her with power-ups and support.
Same with Tsunade.
Same with Uchiha Tom & Senju Jerry.
"Alright, then I'll go to the medical unit."
Kurenai nodded, understanding his reasoning. She could see how much thought he'd put into this, and she didn't want to mess it up.
"Perfect. I'll send you over."
With a simple wave of his hand, Renzo teleported her straight to the rear medical base, where she could help out safely.
...
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
The battle only grew more intense with each day. Both sides were taking heavy losses.
Of course, Madara and Black Zetsu didn't care about that in the slightest.
After all, most of their losses were just mass-produced White Zetsu clones. As long as they had chakra and the Gedo Statue, they could make more whenever they wanted.
The only real loss was a few reanimated powerhouse-level shinobi getting sealed—nothing they hadn't accounted for.
Besides, things were going according to plan.
The Allied Forces had been bloodied and weakened over the past week. It wasn't enough to break them, but it did shake their confidence and thin their numbers.
It was the perfect setup.
"The time has come," Madara said, standing up and looking out over the battlefield. "Let's end this."
"You're finally stepping in?" Black Zetsu chuckled darkly. "That's good, Lord Madara. The only one who could stand against you… isn't even here."
"Indeed. Prepare to revive Hashirama soon. He needs to witness this," Madara said calmly—so casually that it left Black Zetsu momentarily speechless.
Did Madara truly only have eyes for Senju Hashirama?
Had he forgotten about that other monster— Uchiha Renzo?
He was even about to bring up those cat-and-mouse Pokémon—almost mentioned how the way they fought each other felt oddly similar to those two fated lovers.
But in the end, he simply smiled at Madara and said, "Then that's it for the Allied Forces. They're finished."
Madara didn't reply.
He just smirked—and then shot toward the frontlines like a black meteor streaking across the battlefield.
---
Back at Allied Headquarters, Yamanaka Inoichi was monitoring the battlefield using a chakra amplifier when his face suddenly went pale.
"I just picked up an insane chakra signature—it's Uchiha Madara! He's heading straight for the Second Front!"
That chakra… it was terrifying. On par with the Fourth Hokage's, maybe even stronger. He quickly sent out a warning.
"Oh?" Minato raised an eyebrow. "So he's finally moving."
"Then we should too," the Raikage said, already getting to his feet.
The two exchanged a quick glance and nodded. Minato placed a hand on the Raikage's shoulder—and in a flash of yellow light, they vanished from the command center.
— — —
Second Front – Battlefield
Onoki, Mei Terumi, and Gaara were already engaged in fierce battles here.
Gaara had just sealed away the reanimated version of his father, and was now clashing with the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hozuki.
Mei was dealing with the Third Kazekage, while Onoki was locking horns with Mu, the Second Tsuchikage.
When Minato and the Raikage suddenly appeared out of nowhere, everyone on the battlefield was caught off guard.
What the hell? Why were they here?
Did something serious happen?
"Lord Hokage! Lord Raikage!" Gaara called out while still manipulating his sand against Gengetsu. "What's going on? Why are you here?"
"Madara is on his way to this battlefield," the Raikage said grimly.
"You need to pull the troops back—now. What's coming next... it's not something ordinary soldiers can handle."
"We've already lost too many," Minato added, sweeping his gaze across the battlefield. With his Sage Mind's Eye, he quickly assessed the whole situation. Then he turned to Kakashi and the other field commanders.
"Get everyone out of here. The fight that's coming... regular troops won't stand a chance. Keeping them here will only lead to unnecessary deaths."
"What? Is that really necessary?" the Raikage asked with a frown. "Even if they're not top-tier, our troops can still contribute. You don't really think Madara can take on thousands of ninja by himself, do you?"
Sure, Madara was strong—legendary, even. But the Raikage couldn't believe anyone could compare to his father, the Third Raikage, when it came to raw strength and durability.
Even he couldn't take on an entire army alone. Why was Minato acting like Madara could?
But Minato just shook his head.
"No time to explain. I'm the Supreme Commander. Trust me on this."
"You have no idea how powerful Madara really is."
"A man like that... numbers won't matter."
"Kakashi—start the evacuation. Now."
"Yes, sir!"
Kakashi immediately began issuing orders to pull back.
At the same time, Minato contacted Allied HQ and asked Inoichi to relay a mass retreat order through the sensory network to every ninja on the Second Front.
"All forces, fall back!"
"Huh? Retreat? What's going on?"
"Why did Lord Hokage issue a withdrawal order?"
"Probably because he wants at least some of us alive to tell the story."
"Yeah! If the Hokage says retreat, it's probably because we're about to die."
"Wait, what about our formation?!"
"Screw the formation! You wanna form a line into the afterlife?!"
"Guys, move your asses!"
"Everyone, pull back now! If you're still here in ten seconds, you're volunteering to be part of the terrain!"
"...."
"I'm not dying in a war where we're background characters, dammit!"
.
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