"...One ninja village ruling over all others?"
Ōnoki's expression darkened. Almost unconsciously, he glanced at Kurotsuchi Yagura, standing nearby.
He hadn't expected it—Yamanaka Shinno really did have such audacious ambitions.
Even if only one shinobi village remained, keeping the positions of Tsuchikage, Mizukage, Raikage, and Kazekage would just be symbolic. Empty titles with no real power.
The one who truly called the shots... would still be the Hokage!
If he, as Tsuchikage, agreed to this, how would he ever face the past Tsuchikage in the afterlife? How could he face the countless Iwagakure shinobi who bled and died for their village?
And this man—this Yamanaka Shinno—was far too arrogant, far too dismissive of Iwagakure's strength!
If not for the fact that Roshi and Han weren't present today...
With the combined might of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, even if they couldn't defeat him, they would never be pushed into such a disadvantage!
Damn Kurotsuchi Yagura!
If any of you had even a shred of decency, we wouldn't be in this mess!
Ōnoki felt a wave of fury stuck in his chest—too big to swallow, too hot to spit out. He wanted nothing more than to cut down Yagura on the spot.
But he knew... if he laid a hand on Yagura, and refused Shinno's terms, he likely wouldn't make it out of this barrier alive.
And if he died... who would bear the burden of protecting Iwagakure from this monster?
At this rate, Iwagakure would be the first village to fall.
"I, as Mizukage, am the first to support your unification of the Five Great Ninja Villages. So long as you agree to a single, small condition... I will immediately lead Kirigakure into Konoha's fold."
Controlled by Black Zetsu, Yagura's mind raced as he stepped forward and spoke before anyone else could.
From a thousand years ago, his goal had never changed.
Free his imprisoned mother.
What happened to the ninja world, to the Five Great Nations... had never been his concern.
What did it matter if they joined Konoha?
The stronger someone was, the more they hungered for power.
If this man possessed even a trace of the Sage of Six Paths' abilities—if he even showed the slightest curiosity—then there was still a chance. A chance to unravel the seal binding his mother.
"Sorry. If you're still alive, I can't relax."
Shinno snorted coldly at Black Zetsu's offer, turning his attention away from Ōnoki.
He clapped his hands together—instantly, the earth began to tremble violently.
Enormous tree roots, buried a hundred meters underground, burst through the soil and surged upward, merging with the surrounding trees and stretching toward the sky once more.
A shriek of pain tore from Yagura's throat.
Knowing escape was impossible, Black Zetsu gambled everything—he broke the seal restraining Yagura.
The chakra of the Three-Tails, Isobu, erupted like a tidal wave.
In a flash, it knocked down countless trees and formed the massive form of the Tailed Beast itself—tens of meters tall!
Tobi, seizing the chaos, withdrew his Rinnegan powers.
He fell back quickly, hiding beneath Isobu's belly, while Black Zetsu detached from Yagura's body and transferred to Tobi's.
Tobi pressed one hand to Isobu's stomach and began absorbing its chakra at a frantic pace using his Rinnegan.
With his other hand, he opened his palm wide—preparing to unleash the most powerful Rinnegan technique he could currently use.
Summoning Jutsu: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!
The monstrous Demonic Statue erupted forth, towering over even Isobu—over ten times its size!
Its massive head had ten shut eyes, and as its mouth opened in a feral roar, a tidal wave of sound and debris swept across the battlefield, carrying shattered trees and tangled vines in every direction.
Its colossal limbs flailed wildly, toppling massive trees like matchsticks.
Rising from the earth, the giant statue lunged forward like a hound released from its chain—charging straight for the crimson-golden Four Red Yang Formation!
"Sage Art: Wood Style: Four Diamond Kings Help Old Ladies Cross the Street!"
Shinno muttered the nonsense jutsu name under his breath.
The massive tree trunks, already risen and fused with the forest, transformed into four wrathful Vajra-like wooden giants, each wrapped in coiled dragons.
They lunged from the edges of the barrier toward the Demonic Statue.
They struck with ruthless efficiency—shoulder checks, hip throws, eye gouges, low kicks—yanking and slamming the statue until it was pinned against the ground!
Though each enhanced wooden warrior was slightly smaller than the statue, their combined might was something even the Ten-Tails' empty shell couldn't withstand.
The forest birthed by the Flower-Tree World technique swelled and churned.
Golden-red lotus petals bloomed one after another, layering endlessly.
A towering lotus platform, over a kilometer in diameter, rose from the earth.
Atop this massive wooden stage, countless tree branches twisted and knotted together, trapping the Demonic Statue as though it had sunk into a bottomless swamp.
As the statue roared in defiance, its limbs were wrenched and twisted by sheer force.
Two of the Vajra wooden giants seized its arms, folding them against its chest.
The remaining two locked it in place from front and back, driving it into the lotus platform.
Sage Art: Wood Style!
With a mighty clap of his hands, Shinno unleashed his full Sage chakra like a flood.
Each of the four giants raised a hand, palms marked with a massive "座" ("Sit") character—and slammed them down on the Demonic Statue!
The unique power of Wood style surged out in waves.
In an instant, the Demonic Statue stopped moving entirely.
No matter how much Tobi raged within, the beast would not budge.
He had no choice but to abandon it—breaking free like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, darting toward the Four Red Yang Formation in one final, desperate gamble.
But in the blink of an eye, Shinno appeared atop the highest wooden giant, having used Flying Thunder God to teleport.
He looked down at Tobi and Black Zetsu, still struggling a few dozen meters away.
Silently, he addressed the system in his mind.
"System, extract the trait [Yin-Yang Creation] from Black Zetsu."
The moment the words left his mouth—
A dark beam of light, invisible to all but Shinno, streaked toward Black Zetsu.
A horrible, inhuman scream tore from Black Zetsu.
His true form—now no larger than a palm—sizzled like it had been dropped in boiling oil, smoke rising in curls as it shriveled and shrank, uncontrollably breaking free from Tobi's chest.
The Yin-Yang chakra of Six Paths level rapidly dissipated.
And within seconds...
The ancient puppet master who had manipulated the shinobi world from the shadows for a thousand years was reduced to nothing but raw chakra—scattered to the wind.
[Ding! You have slain one of the major villain bosses ahead of schedule. The timeline has significantly diverged. Rewards granted: Trait Copy ×2, Red Trait Upgrade ×1, Trait Extraction ×3, Trait Gift ×3, Trait Downgrade ×1, Trait Reset ×2.]
As the system notification echoed in his mind—
Under the influence of the [Fate Weaver ] trait, the vast amount of destiny energy released from Black Zetsu's death surged toward Shinno.
It rapidly condensed into pure fortune.
His previously sky-blue aura of luck...
Was now a deep, royal purple.
Pls Drop some Power Stones
Fanfic is finished on (258 chapters in total.)
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