Mifune looked at the sealing of Granny Chiyo, then turned to Naruto and said, "The battle here is basically over. Naruto, you can head to other battlefields and provide support."
Shadow Clone Naruto shook his head. "I'll stay with you for now. By the way, Darui's First Division, half of Shikamaru's Fourth Division, and Captain Kitsuchi's Second Division have already regrouped. The fighting over there is nearly done.
Lord Mifune, gather the Fifth Division, notify the Rear Division, link up with them, and then continue advancing."
Mifune nodded and called over a communication ninja to report the status to headquarters. As for Naruto, he decided to remain with Mifune's unit to prevent unexpected outcomes that could happen differently from his past life.
At the Akatsuki hideout, Kabuto watched as his resurrected pawns were being defeated one after another. He grew furious.
"Tch! Damn Naruto... what a menace. I don't know what Obito and Sasuke are doing, but is the real Naruto this troublesome? Letting his Shadow Clones run wild on the battlefield... it's infuriating!"
He swept the remaining chess pieces off the table. "Most of the powerful ones have been used already. The rest are just small fry. Whatever, I'll throw them out too. They'll confuse the battlefield and snatch back the sealed ones."
Kabuto grinned as he issued a new order. Using the improved version of White Zetsu he developed, he began deploying them with a devious strategy.
"First priority: rescue Deidara."
Deidara sat within the puppet that had imprisoned him, looking depressed.
"Tch, let me out already! Why are you keeping an artist like me locked up in this dump? This is torture! You might as well just kill me. Art is meant to explode, not rot in a cage!"
A samurai approached and scolded, "Shut it! Captain Kankuro will deal with you soon enough!"
Being talked down to enraged Deidara. "You bastard, come here and say that again—"
"Quiet, Deidara. It's me, Zetsu."
The samurai leaned closer and whispered. Deidara immediately stopped and frowned. "Zetsu? Why can't I sense your chakra?"
White Zetsu disguised as a samurai chuckled. "Neat, right? I only need a tiny bit of someone's chakra to perfectly imitate them. Even sensory ninjas can't tell the difference. Don't worry. I'll get you out."
Deidara lit up. "Heh... Finally, I can show my art again! Hurry, Jue! But be careful, I'm low on clay, and I'm still sealed by Lightning Release."
White Zetsu nodded. In one swift slash, he broke the puppet holding Deidara.
"Hahaha! I'm free! Deidara is BACK!"
He jumped out in celebration—but immediately caught the attention of nearby samurai.
White Zetsu palmed his face. "Could you be any louder?!"
"You're still here, right? Help me punish these bastards!"
But when Deidara turned around, White Zetsu had already reverted to his original form and was waving from a nearby tree.
"Move it! Want to get caught again?!"
Deidara growled but dashed off after him. The samurai gave chase and began reporting the situation.
"Hey, Jue, why are you running instead of fighting?!"
"You know I'm not a combat type, right?!"
Deidara groaned. "Still such a coward. Ugh, guess I'll do it myself."
Just then, Kabuto's voice rang in Deidara's mind.
"Deidara, it's me—Kabuto. Don't engage in combat! Return immediately. I have a new mission for you."
"No way! I haven't even shown them my ultimate art yet! Kankuro tricked Sasori-senpai into that emotional nonsense and sealed him. He called it 'inherited art!' Pfft, what a joke. Art is EXPLOSION! That momentary beauty... that's real art!"
Kabuto sighed. As expected, Deidara's obsession made him nearly uncontrollable.
"Listen! This isn't the time for showmanship. You've got limited clay left. Save it. We finally rescued you—don't waste it. There'll be chances later. Retreat for now."
With that, Kabuto cut the link.
Deidara clicked his tongue. "Tch. Even Kabuto doesn't appreciate true art."
White Zetsu spoke up. "I'm doing this for your own good. My transformation technique is working, but once the Alliance studies it, they'll develop counters. If you get caught again, I may not be able to help."
Deidara reluctantly agreed. With limited clay and chakra, he had no choice. He and White Zetsu fled as other Zetsu clones arrived to distract the pursuing samurai.
Meanwhile, Kankuro was regrouping with Mifune.
"Mifune-sama!"
A panicked samurai ran over.
Mifune turned stern. "What is it? Report."
The samurai addressed Kankuro. "Captain, your puppet's been destroyed. Deidara escaped. He was freed by a disguised samurai!"
Kankuro's eyes widened. "What?! That's impossible!"
Mifune's face turned grim. "How was he freed? What were the sensory ninja doing? How could an enemy infiltrate the perimeter?!"
"We don't know, sir! The sensory ninja couldn't detect any foreign chakra. White Zetsu just appeared among us out of nowhere!"
Kankuro clenched his fists.
Shadow Clone Naruto heard the report and instantly realized what was happening.
"So it's begun... Kabuto has launched the White Zetsu impersonation strategy."
At the Allied Shinobi Forces Headquarters, Yamanaka Inoichi received disturbing reports from across the battlefield.
Multiple allied shinobi were being ambushed by supposed comrades.
Some were attacked during bathroom breaks.
Others were assassinated while sleeping.
Some were poisoned during meals.
The pattern was clear—when small groups were isolated, ambushes occurred. A wave of paranoia began sweeping the Allied Forces.
As night fell, fear gripped the battlefield.
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