If the war truly begins, they don't even need to defeat Uchiha Haru outright. They only need to delay him long enough for the others to kill all the ninja from Konoha.
After all, there are nearly a hundred Kage-level strongmen assembled.
Not to mention, Konoha's strength is at its absolute lowest point right now.
Even if they were at their peak, there wouldn't be any chance of victory against such a formidable force.
This is the biggest problem they will face next.
Only Uchiha Haru gazed toward the direction where the masked man had vanished, his expression inscrutable.
He murmured quietly, "What's the plan...?"
…
Elsewhere, the masked man and the Akatsuki shinobi appeared in a barren wilderness.
Just moments ago, in the shadows, they had witnessed Uchiha Haru single-handedly deal with thousands of ninja from the Allied Shinobi Forces, including three Kage-level masters from the Hidden Cloud Village, Hidden Rock Village, and Hidden Sand Village.
Their awe toward Uchiha Haru had reached an unprecedented peak.
Although the strength of each one of them should not be underestimated—they had each already reached the Kage level—in front of Uchiha Haru, they all realized how insignificant they truly were.
Such a realization was rare, even among Kage-level powerhouses.
Yet, despite their reverence for Uchiha Haru, they also felt a flicker of confidence.
That confidence came from seeing their leader—the masked man—still standing unscathed after exchanging a palm strike with Uchiha Haru.
That alone gave them some hope.
Now, only Uchiha Haru inspired fear in them.
As for everyone else, they were dismissed entirely.
As long as there was one person who could hold Uchiha Haru at bay, they believed victory was assured.
Not to mention the countless shinobi revived through Impure World Reincarnation standing behind them.
"'Tobi,' why don't we join forces with the Allied Shinobi Forces?" Deidara asked the masked man.
Although the masked man had revealed himself as Uchiha Madara, Deidara still habitually called him "Tobi." The masked man never rejected this nickname, so it had stuck for now.
The others looked toward him as well.
According to their previous plan, they should have attacked alongside the Allied Shinobi Forces when they fought Uchiha Haru.
So why did they just watch the Allied Forces be crushed? Even when the three powerful Kage-level shinobi were killed, they did nothing.
The masked man turned to face them calmly.
"Because now is not the time," he said.
"The secret weapon we have behind the scenes to counter Uchiha Haru isn't ready yet. Until then, we cannot risk attacking him."
Their alliance with the Allied Shinobi Forces was truly only one of convenience.
They could only blame the Allied Shinobi Forces for being naive enough to believe them.
The Akatsuki members standing nearby frowned slightly at the masked man's words.
Although they served the Akatsuki, they still respected their agreements and tried their best to honor their promises.
But now, the masked man seemed to dismiss his word altogether, betraying their trust with a fickleness that made even those using him feel uneasy.
Yet, no one voiced their displeasure.
Because deep down, everyone knew the masked man was right.
If they had helped the Allied Shinobi Forces attack, they might have delayed Uchiha Haru for a short while, maybe even dealt serious blows to the Hidden Leaf shinobi.
But it would never change the final outcome.
Especially after witnessing Uchiha Haru's overwhelming power firsthand.
It was wiser not to act.
Because by holding back, they were still alive. If they had attacked, they would be corpses by now.
"Where is Uchiha Itachi?" Kisame asked.
When the three major ninja villages planned to jointly attack Konoha, Uchiha Itachi once confronted the masked man to object.
But it was useless.
No one knew what exactly transpired between them, but Uchiha Itachi eventually left the Akatsuki.
Since then, there has been no sign of him.
Originally, they assumed they would meet this former ally on the battlefield when the Allied Shinobi Forces attacked Konoha.
Everyone knew that Uchiha Itachi had always been a spy for Konoha, working in secret to protect the village.
Now that Konoha faced a life-or-death crisis, Itachi would naturally rush to their aid.
That was the most reasonable assumption.
But clearly, Uchiha Itachi did not choose to do so.
Until now, they still didn't know where he had gone.
The masked man said lightly, "We don't need to care about him—as long as he doesn't stand in our way."
"But if he dares to come, we will kill him without mercy!"
Kill without mercy."
Hearing those words, various expressions flickered across the faces of several Akatsuki members.
Kisame frowned deeply.
Over the years, he and Uchiha Itachi had completed countless missions together, forming a strong bond. He could understand why Itachi had defected from the Akatsuki.
He greatly admired Itachi's character, but now, unfortunately, they were enemies.
Deidara's eyes gleamed with excitement.
Itachi was his greatest rival—the one who had humiliated him with his Mangekyō Sharingan, crushing Deidara's pride.
He had longed for a rematch, craving revenge for that shame.
But fighting among Akatsuki members was strictly forbidden.
Now that Itachi was considered a traitor, that barrier seemed to be broken.
"So, what's our next move?" Sasori asked.
Unlike Kisame and Deidara, Sasori was more concerned about the Akatsuki's overall strategy.
Their appearance before Uchiha Haru was essentially a declaration of war—life and death hanging in the balance.
Against an opponent like Uchiha Haru, they had to be fully prepared for any emergency.
The masked man glanced over at Orochimaru and asked, "How close are you to completing the final step?"
Their earlier hesitation to engage was not due to reluctance but because the Impure World Reincarnation technique hadn't been perfected.
Currently, the technique could bring back Kage-level powerhouses—some even surpassing their original strength.
But it was still inadequate for peak-level ninjas.
They needed other methods to perfect the Impure World Reincarnation.
Luckily, Orochimaru had discovered some promising clues.
The bad news was that it would take time.
That was why they refrained from attacking Uchiha Haru directly.
They were simply waiting for Orochimaru to finish his work, hoping to add one more layer of revenge to their victory.
"It won't be long," Orochimaru said, a sinister smile creeping across his face.
They dared to attack in front of Uchiha Haru without fear because they were almost certain that once the Impure World Reincarnation was perfected, they could resurrect Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju at their peak.
With those two by their side, no matter how terrifying Uchiha Haru's power was, it would never be enough.
"Right," the masked man nodded.
"Once Orochimaru completes this final step, we will strike at Uchiha Haru, Konoha, and Kirigakure."
"We will be the ultimate victors, and my dream of creating the perfect world will finally come true!"
The other members said nothing, their focus set.
After discussing this, they departed.
In the large open space, only the masked man remained.
Suddenly, cracks appeared across the mask covering his face; a portion near his mouth broke away.
A mouthful of blood spurted out.
Clutching his chest, the masked man gasped heavily, as if grievously wounded.
It took a long time for him to steady his breath.
"Uchiha… Uchiha Haru is truly formidable," he muttered weakly.
In truth, he had been seriously injured during his confrontation with Uchiha Haru.
But he had forced himself to hide his injuries from the others.
Now, with everyone gone, his weakness finally showed.
In that palm clash with Uchiha Haru, he was utterly outmatched.
A complete and absolute disadvantage.
Even with the power of the Rinnegan and his greatly enhanced strength, he was still nowhere near Uchiha Haru.
It was almost unimaginable how terrifying Uchiha Haru had become.
Others might not know, but the masked man did—right now, Uchiha Haru was even stronger than the original Pain.
Yet, he was so thoroughly defeated by Uchiha Haru that he couldn't even hold his ground for one round, left seriously wounded.
Had he not fled quickly, he would be dead already.
This crushing defeat only hardened his resolve.
He had to revive Uchiha Madara.
Though deep down, he was reluctant.
But facing Uchiha Haru now, he had no other choice.
He could only hope that the resurrected Madara could finally defeat Uchiha Haru.
But could it really happen?
At this moment, he dared not be so sure…
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