Chapter 182: Obito in Place, Li Yao Dispensable
"Understood, Lord Madara."
White Zetsu nodded. Though he still didn't believe Obito had the strength to carry out the plan, he wasn't in a position to defy Madara's orders.
Fortunately, there was still Li Yao. Even if Obito proved weak, Li Yao's power was enough to help Obito complete the future stages of the plan.
But speaking of Li Yao, White Zetsu immediately grimaced as he reported Li Yao's recent actions—specifically, his extermination of the Daimyō clan in the capital of the Land of Water.
"What should we do, Lord Madara?" White Zetsu asked.
Li Yao's actions had become too extreme. Despite being warned not to attract too much attention, he first attacked Kumogakure, then began hunting down ninja from various villages—and now, he had gone so far as to wipe out an entire Daimyō clan.
White Zetsu hadn't even had time to warn him.
Then again, he hadn't expected Li Yao to go so far. He thought the guy would just take some petty revenge—kill a few people at most—not commit a full-on massacre.
"That brat!!"
Madara's brows furrowed slightly. He wasn't particularly concerned about the Daimyō clan's demise—but Li Yao's intense thirst for revenge was troubling.
It was the Land of Water now. Tomorrow, could it be Konoha?
With Li Yao's current power, the only one in Konoha who could stop him was Uzumaki Mito—but she was already dead. There was no one left to oppose him.
If things continued like this, Konoha would suffer massive damage.
Never mind that Obito could be affected.
Right now, Konoha needed to remain stable.
Obito needed a peaceful environment to grow—he needed people who could nurture the love in his heart until it overflowed. He needed someone he could pour all that love into.
Bottom line: Konoha couldn't be disturbed.
If something happened before Obito's love reached its peak, it could trigger prematurely. Then, when Madara guided him into darkness, the resulting negative emotions wouldn't be nearly as powerful.
That would lead to an underwhelming Sharingan—one that wouldn't meet Madara's expectations.
"Where is that brat?" Madara asked.
"In Kirigakure," Zetsu answered. Thanks to the White Zetsu cells in Li Yao's body, he could always sense Li Yao's location. Even flying into the sky made no difference.
Of course, White Zetsu could only track Li Yao's position. He had no way of knowing what Li Yao was saying or doing up in the air.
"Have him infiltrate Nagato's side and guard the Rinnegan. Without my order, he is not to leave or interfere in anything else."
Madara's eyes gleamed. A pawn must know its place. Now that he had found Obito, Li Yao's existence was no longer essential.
If Li Yao disobeyed, Madara wouldn't hesitate to discard this piece.
No one would stand in the way of the Eye of the Moon Plan.
"I'll inform Li Yao immediately," Zetsu replied and began contacting the White Zetsu stationed near Kirigakure.
Madara had placed White Zetsu units in all five major villages to gather intelligence.
They could communicate with one another through a special network.
However, unlike Li Yao's instant consciousness-sharing with his shadow clones, White Zetsu's messages had to be relayed one-by-one across the network.
And that took time.
During that time, Li Yao had already begun his operation in Kirigakure.
4,000 meters above the village, right above the spherical detection barrier.
With a thought, Li Yao conjured a massive clay orb. From it, dozens of clay birds burst forth, diving down toward various sectors of the village.
Like with Kumogakure, he chose not to use the paper bomb rain he'd deployed against the Daimyō.
Kirigakure was one of the Five Great Hidden Villages, and he couldn't afford to reveal his identity. Paper bombs were easier to detect and defend against—clay birds were faster.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh... The clay birds flew rapidly, piercing the sensory barrier like falling rain.
"Enemy attack—no, a large-scale barrage from directly above!!"
At the barrier center, a Kirigakure sensor ninja's face twisted in shock as he sensed the chakra-filled clay birds breaching the barrier in a dense cluster. He quickly sounded the alarm.
"What?!"
The communication team, stationed at the barrier center to report emergencies to the Mizukage, immediately sprang into action. One ran off to alert the Mizukage, while the others began notifying the rest of the village and activating the intruder alert.
Boom boom boom...
Before the alarm could even sound, Li Yao's clay birds were already dropping.
In the blink of an eye, deafening explosions erupted throughout the village. Blazing fire and thick smoke rose into the sky, signaling to all that Kirigakure was under attack.
There was no need for the communication team to say anything.
The entire village knew.
"Boil Style: Hidden Mist Dissolution!"
On the eastern edge of the village, atop a residential building, stood the future Fifth Mizukage, Terumī Mei. At just eighteen, she had already mastered two kekkei genkai. Her red lips parted as she blew a thick, dark blue acidic mist into the sky toward the incoming clay birds.
One by one, the birds entered the fog and instantly dissolved before they could explode—like they had been dropped into concentrated sulfuric acid.
"Where did the enemy come from?"
"Why was there no warning at all?"
While using her Boil Style to intercept the clay birds, Mei questioned the male ninja beside her with a frown.
"No idea. I was asleep and got woken by the explosions," he admitted, still groggy.
This was Kirigakure—a place with surveillance outposts everywhere. Yet the enemy had made it all the way into the village unnoticed and launched a direct assault?
Whoever was responsible for monitoring the outskirts deserved death.
"But judging from the technique, it's likely Iwagakure. Those clay birds are their kekkei genkai."
The male ninja made his guess.
"Iwagakure..." Mei furrowed her brows, unconvinced that Iwa would attack from such a great distance.
Even if Kirigakure suffered heavy losses, Iwagakure wouldn't gain anything.
The closest and most likely to benefit were Kumogakure, Konohagakure, and Sunagakure.
It made no sense for Iwa to do the dirty work for others.
She couldn't figure it out.
Mei shook her head silently. She was already used to thinking like a Mizukage, but she still couldn't determine who was attacking them.
Now wasn't the time to ponder.
Though she intercepted a large number of clay birds, there were simply too many.
BOOM BOOM... The nearby explosions continued. Kirigakure was sustaining serious damage.
"Help me… my leg… it's broken…"
"Hang on, I'm almost… AHH!"
"Over here, we have injured—AHH!"
"Quick, this way—hide!"
"Earth Style: Earth Formation Wall!"
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
"Lightning Style: Ground Surge!"
Kirigakure's ninja responded quickly, unleashing all manner of jutsu across the village. But they couldn't stop the relentless rain of clay birds.
In just a short time, the casualties began to rise at a horrifying rate.
This was the terror of vast chakra reserves.
With enough chakra, you could do whatever you wanted.
Compared to Deidara's precise, calculated use of Clay Style, Li Yao simply overwhelmed with sheer volume—leaving the Mist shinobi helpless.
And that was only because he enjoyed watching explosions.
If he had used C4-level nano clay bombs from the start, the devastation in Kirigakure would've been even worse.
(END CHAPTER)
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