As the leader of the Dawnbreak Alliance and Supreme Commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces, Chiba chose the only posture that ever truly mattered when the world narrowed to a single point.
He stood at the front.
He personally held Turtle Island - not from a distant command tent, but from the ground Akatsuki would have to cross if they wanted to reach their prey. The five great nations still had six Jinchūriki in play: Yugito Nii of the Nibi, Meiru of the Sanbi, Utakata of the Rokubi, Fū of the Nanabi, Killer B of the Hachibi, and Uzumaki Naruto of the Kyuubi.
Under Chiba's direct orders, all six were secured deep within Turtle Island, protected behind layered defenses and strict secrecy. The shinobi assigned to guard them weren't picked for reputation alone; they were chosen for composure, judgment, and the ability to hold formation when panic tried to split the line.
Even so, unity had limits. The five great nations could not afford to station every last blade on Turtle Island. If they stripped their homelands bare, Akatsuki would simply pivot - striking the exposed heartlands, collapsing villages from within, and forcing the alliance to fracture under pressure.
They'd already paid for that mistake once.
When Sunagakure invaded Konoha, Suna's rear had been left hollow, and Deidara and Sasori had slipped into the gap - seizing Gaara and the Ichibi with humiliating ease. Chiba never forgot that lesson. A fortress was only as valuable as the land it didn't leave undefended.
So the deployment was deliberate.
In Iwagakure, the Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, remained in the Land of Earth to stabilize his village. From Iwa's elites, Chiba selected Kitsuchi - Ōnoki's son - and Gari, wielder of Explosion Release.
In Sunagakure, the acting Kazekage, Maki, stayed behind to keep the village standing. Chiba brought Gaara and Kankurō.
In Konohagakure, Chiba left the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade, to manage internal affairs. The shinobi he pulled from Konoha were Jiraiya, Hatake Kakashi, and Might Guy - three names that didn't need explanation.
In Kirigakure, Terumī Mei held the village as acting leader on Chiba's behalf. Chiba's chosen Kiri guards were Hoshigaki Kisame and Hōzuki Mangetsu.
And in Kumogakure, distance favored speed. The Yondaime Raikage did not remain on the island, but his forces could reinforce it quickly if the situation turned. For that reason, Chiba only selected Darui and C from Kumo's ranks.
On Turtle Island, those elites formed the alliance's spearpoint under Chiba's command:
Konoha: Jiraiya, Hatake Kakashi, Might Guy.
Kiri: Hoshigaki Kisame, Hōzuki Mangetsu.
Suna: Gaara, Kankurō.
Kumo: Darui, C.
Iwa: Kitsuchi, Gari.
Beyond them, thousands of shinobi formed the broader garrison - patrols, sentries, reinforcements, and rapid-response units. Turtle Island, once a primeval wilderness sealed away from the world's noise, had become the five great nations' most critical fortress.
Chiba understood what that truly meant.
This wasn't defense in the ordinary sense.
It was a statement - an open challenge. Akatsuki could no longer isolate targets and harvest them in silence. If they wanted the remaining beasts and their hosts, they would have to take them in full view of the world.
They would have to wage war.
…
Deep within Akatsuki's shadows, Pain gathered the organization again. He activated the Rinnegan's projection technique, Gentōshin no Jutsu ("Hologram Body Technique"), summoning every member to the same meeting space.
"I assume you've all heard," Pain said, voice stripped of emotion. "The five great nations have restarted the Dawnbreak Alliance. They've branded it the Allied Shinobi Forces, and Kirigakure's Mizukage - Chiba - has been named Supreme Commander."
His gaze moved across the group, measuring reactions without bothering to hide the fact he was measuring them.
"Their objective is to stop our capture plan. They've consolidated every remaining Jinchūriki into one location and placed them under concentrated protection. We've confirmed the location as well - Turtle Island, off the coast near Kumogakure."
He let the final piece settle, heavy and unavoidable.
"Chiba is personally stationed there. He's gathered the strongest elites from the five great nations, supported by thousands more. In practical terms, it's a fortress."
Konan's voice was calm, precise. "And that fortress is bait. He's forcing our hand - either we abandon the plan, or we confront the five great nations directly."
Pain nodded. "Exactly."
"So we have two options."
"The first is to halt operations. The alliance between the five great nations is fragile by nature. If we stop moving, their contradictions will resurface, and their conflicts will reignite. When they fall into disorder again, we can exploit the openings as we always have."
His eyes sharpened, the second option already waiting behind the first.
"The second is to strike Turtle Island head-on. Confront Chiba and the Allied Shinobi Forces directly, and seize every remaining Jinchūriki."
Pain's tone didn't rise, but the air around the words tightened anyway.
"Which do you choose?"
Danzō frowned. "The forces gathered on Turtle Island… even if Akatsuki attacks with everyone, victory isn't guaranteed. Chiba is there, and the elites he gathered aren't weak. Even the Jinchūriki themselves are dangerous opponents."
Sasori's hoarse voice followed. "He's right. Jinchūriki aren't targets waiting to be collected."
"Especially Killer B," he continued. "The Hachibi Jinchūriki is a perfect Jinchūriki. The Hachibi's power is second only to the Kyuubi."
Deidara tilted his head, grin intact. "I'm in favor of war, yeah. But we can't underestimate them either, hmm!"
Kakuzu's voice was colder than the rest. "Then we need more force."
Pain fell silent for a moment, then turned to Kabuto. "Recruiting new members won't be fast enough. Yakushi Kabuto - how prepared is your Edo Tensei army?"
Kabuto smiled, as though he'd been waiting for that exact question.
Since Orochimaru had submitted to Chiba, Kabuto had stripped Otogakure clean, taking the bulk of Orochimaru's research, resources, and forbidden techniques. Of everything he claimed, Edo Tensei had become his true obsession - because an army that didn't tire, didn't fear, and didn't stay dead could change the shape of a war.
"If you mean ordinary shinobi," Kabuto said lightly, "I can summon as many as you want. But I suspect you mean something else."
He looked up, eyes gleaming behind his glasses.
"Then let me show you what I can really bring back."
In the next instant, he drove chakra through the earth, hands slamming down with decisive force.
Kuchiyose no Jutsu ("Summoning Technique")!
Edo Tensei ("Impure World Reincarnation")!
The ground trembled violently, as though something enormous was turning in its sleep beneath the soil.
A deep roar rolled outward -
and coffins erupted from the earth one after another, lining up like a procession that should never have existed. Their lids shuddered, then burst open, and the dead stepped out with unnatural calm - each one carrying a chakra signature that made the air feel heavier.
Uchiha Tajima. Uchiha Izuna. Uchiha Kagami. Uchiha Shisui.
Hyūga Hizashi.
Hatake Sakumo - the White Fang of Konoha.
Might Dai, the eternal genin who had opened the gates and killed four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Yūhi Shinku, father of Yūhi Kurenai.
Katō Dan, master of Reika no Jutsu ("Spirit Transformation Technique").
Akimichi Torifu and Mitokado Homura - names tied to Sarutobi Hiruzen's era.
Sarutobi Asuma.
And among them, two figures carried a different kind of weight - because the world remembered how they died.
Rōshi, the Yonbi Jinchūriki.
Han, the Gobi Jinchūriki.
Gaara was absent for a simple reason: his body had been reclaimed, and he had been revived through Kishō Tensei ("One's Own Life Reincarnation"), leaving Akatsuki without the biological data required to reconstruct him.
These were remnants from Orochimaru's preparations - backups left behind before his invasion of Kirigakure, now entirely in Kabuto's possession.
There were limits. Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama had been sealed by Chiba's fūinjutsu and could not be summoned. Others, like Sarutobi Hiruzen and Namikaze Minato, were unreachable due to Shiki Fūjin ("Reaper Death Seal"), their souls trapped within the Shinigami.
Even so, what Kabuto displayed was overwhelming - an Edo Tensei army made of legends, supported by countless high-level jōnin from every nation.
Akatsuki stared. For all their ruthlessness, for all their crimes, the scale of it still tightened the room.
Danzō exhaled slowly. "Kabuto… your Edo Tensei surpasses Orochimaru's."
Kabuto's smile deepened. "I agree."
"My control is more precise. I can draw out far more of their original strength - sixty, seventy… even eighty percent."
Pain nodded once. "Well done."
"In the battle against the five great nations - and against Chiba - your Edo Tensei army will be a main force."
Kabuto inclined his head. "Thank you."
"These resurrected shinobi can clash with the alliance on Turtle Island. Akatsuki can handle the rest."
His gaze sharpened slightly, the real point slipping through.
"But the most troublesome one remains Chiba."
Pain's answer came without hesitation. "Yes."
A brief pause, then the conclusion that made the air go still.
"He'll be mine."
No one had seen Pain fight at full strength. Even Kakuzu, personally recruited by him, had only witnessed the Deva Path's overwhelming power. But against Chiba, the leader of Akatsuki would have to unleash everything.
It meant the same thing everyone already felt in their bones:
This was not just another mission.
It was the peak clash of the shinobi world.
Pain's voice remained emotionless, like judgment.
"Good. This will be the final decisive battle."
"If we win, we obtain all the tailed beasts and complete Akatsuki's ultimate plan."
"If we lose… we fall into true ruin."
"So we must win."
The others answered as one. "Understood."
…
On Turtle Island, Chiba's barrier network surrounded the island - sensing fields layered with defensive seals, built to detect intrusion before it could become disaster. Yet Chiba trusted no single measure. Space-time ninjutsu could bypass most systems, and an opponent like Pain could distort the battlefield through summons and misdirection.
So Chiba doubled the net.
Elite patrol teams circled the island's perimeter, sweeping the coastline and forest approaches in rotating shifts, trained to respond fast and report faster. Meanwhile, Chiba remained inside with the six Jinchūriki within a deeper, hidden barrier - close enough to protect them personally, and close enough to move the moment the real attack revealed itself.
Then, on that day -
Akatsuki struck.
Inside the barrier, space twisted violently, rippling like a disturbed lake. A masked man stepped through as if he were walking out of a door no one else could see.
Uchiha Obito - calling himself "Tobi," known publicly as "A-Fēi" - surveyed the seals around him and sneered.
"You think this can stop me?!"
His chakra shifted, and the air gave a low hum.
Kamui.
In a heartbeat, the rest of Akatsuki were released from his space-time dimension and appeared around him.
Pain's eyes flicked toward Obito - measured, wary. Their partnership had never been built on trust. Konan, too, had studied "Uchiha Madara's" ability for the same reason: in Akatsuki, you survived by understanding the blade at your throat.
Deidara glanced around, amused. "So this is Turtle Island? Not a bad place, hmm!"
Sasori's voice was dry as rust. "A shame it's about to be destroyed."
Kakuzu's tone was colder still. "After this battle, I wonder how many lives will remain on this island."
The air tightened.
Even for Akatsuki, this was different. It wasn't a hunt. It wasn't a raid. It was a collision between nations and monsters - between a unified world and the organization that had stalked it from the dark.
Pain's voice cut cleanly through the tension.
"Enough."
"The decisive battle begins now."
He turned slightly toward Kabuto. "Summon your Edo Tensei army."
Kabuto smiled. "Yes, Leader."
He slammed his hands down again.
Kuchiyose no Jutsu ("Summoning Technique")!
Edo Tensei ("Impure World Reincarnation")!
Coffins erupted across the battlefield, lids bursting open as resurrected shinobi stepped out into the living world. Their chakra flared, thick and oppressive, stacking upon itself until it felt like the air could crack.
At the same time, Pain performed his own summoning.
The pressure dropped as if the sky itself had leaned closer.
The Six Paths of Pain appeared - together, in full.
For the first time, every major piece was on the board.
On Turtle Island, Akatsuki's ten members advanced as one, backed by an Edo Tensei army, and surged toward the Allied Shinobi Forces.
The final decisive battle -
had erupted in full.
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