Uchiha Kage patted the front of him, and then the woman sensibly turned over her body, "But, he's already dead. What I'm dealing with is just his chakra, you shouldn't feel distressed, right?"
That part of the Sage of Six Paths' chakra had already been rigorously sealed up by Uchiha Kage.
Although it couldn't be absorbed for now, this also had a good side.
That was, the consciousness remaining in the chakra left elsewhere by the other party had not yet become aware of his existence.
"I only feel distressed for you, this bad... man."
Although her expression was as minimal as ever, after countless interactions, Kaguya had still been trained by Uchiha Kage to say many things she would have been too shy to say in the past.
The formerly reserved, conservative, and abstinent Rabbit Goddess had now thoroughly become shaped into Uchiha Kage's form.
As for a certain rebellious son born from chakra and the God Tree, she had long forgotten.
"Mm..."
An uncontrollable moan.
Kaguya's tense legs gradually relaxed, and her toes, like jade grains, also returned to their original state from being curled up.
The boy's massage force was too strong.
She really couldn't resist it.
"I wonder when I can finally..."
Hugging the woman with dazzlingly white skin lightly in his arms, Uchiha Kage kissed the woman's hair at the back of her head while thinking like a sage about when he could let Kaguya leave this little bamboo house and meet his other two wives.
After this dungeon settlement, not only had he obtained many more ninja fragments and soul bodies, he had also fully obtained the abilities of the Shinigami.
His action points had also risen to ten.
The pupil power of the Mangekyō Sharingan also seemed to have increased again.
But he still couldn't take Kaguya away from here.
Also, he still couldn't bring Kushina and Mikoto back from the dream space into reality.
Could it be that he had to gather the Ten Tails to obtain the Rinnegan, or complete more dungeons?
"Not moving... anymore?"
Seemingly already recovered from just now's lingering feelings, Kaguya, who noticed Uchiha Kage seemed to have something on his mind, subtly and gently swayed her body.
"Alright, then today I'll let you see me in my prime!"
"Uueh..."
In Kaguya's surprised cry, Uchiha Kage wrapped his hands around the back of her knees, and then lifted this tall and voluptuous goddess young lady like holding a child.
———
"Orochimaru, you actually really came back to the village! But why would the old man send you to the front line?"
The battlefield between Konoha and Sunagakure on the border of the Land of Wind.
Jiraiya did not wait for the Konoha delegation responsible for negotiating and accepting Sunagakure's surrender, but instead saw Orochimaru arriving with elite ninjas from the village to reinforce the front line.
This guy Orochimaru who was always restless, what was the old man thinking sending him here.
But Sunagakure had clearly already surrendered, so what more was needed?
"It's just as you think. You should have already guessed the old man's intention, right?"
Orochimaru looked at the Jiraiya in front of him, and for a brief instant, felt as if he had returned to the past.
Returned to those days when he fought side by side with Jiraiya and Tsunade.
But unfortunately, this storm that had arisen from Konoha would no longer stop, and he would not look back at his past self.
"Orochimaru, Sunagakure already—"
"Jiraiya, the Third Hokage has already appointed me as commander of the front line. Now everyone must listen to me."
Orochimaru didn't care about Jiraiya's protests and simply looked sternly at the other ninja squad captains in the war tent.
"I order all personnel to immediately organize their troops and attack the Land of Wind!"
"Orochimaru, Sunagakure has already surrendered!"
"Until we see Sunagakure open their gates to us, no one is to accept this so-called surrender!"
Orochimaru handed the Hokage command scroll Sarutobi Hiruzen had given him to the subordinates in the war tent.
"Carry out the order!"
"Yes!"
Although they had their complaints about this guy who had once betrayed the village becoming the commanding general again, the captains in the war tent, upon seeing the Hokage scroll of the Third Hokage, could only accept the reality.
"Orochimaru, you can't do this!"
Watching everyone start to execute the attack order toward the Land of Wind, Jiraiya emotionally grabbed Orochimaru's shoulder.
"This is a meaningless war!"
"Jiraiya, I am the commander now!"
Orochimaru flung off Jiraiya's arm and left decisively.
"Orochimaru, you'll regret this!"
Watching the empty tent and Orochimaru's departing back, knowing he couldn't stop any of this from happening, Jiraiya could only angrily punch the ground with a bang.
'Damn it!'
'What the hell is the old man thinking? The enemy already surrendered, and he still wants to fight?'
———
"So war finally broke out."
[Kirigakure]
Inside the meeting room of the Mizukage building.
"What's the situation between Konoha and Sunagakure now?"
After receiving the intel that Terumi.Mei and her group had sent back from Konoha, Kirigakure began to dispatch a large number of intel ninjas to probe the battle conditions of the two great ninja villages, Konoha and Sunagakure.
"Konoha wins battle after battle, Sunagakure's army is in shambles, more than half of the Land of Wind has already fallen."
Due to most of Sunagakure's elite ninjas having fallen in Konoha during the Chūnin Exams, they had nearly no strength to resist on the subsequent frontal battlefield against Konoha.
"What about the other ninja villages? Any movement?"
"Cloud is actively preparing for war, Iwagakure is also stirring, but because of our alliance with Konoha... Cloud and Iwa are also guarding against us."
"I see. So this is the real reason Konoha rushed to form an alliance with us at this critical juncture."
Sitting at the head of the meeting room, Elder Genshirō wore a grim expression.
Forming an alliance with them and immediately starting a war with another ninja village, Konoha was clearly using their Kirigakure's influence.
And in this situation, they had no way to counteract, or pull Kirigakure out from Konoha's war vortex.
"Increase our vigilance, and at the same time secretly send liaison ninjas to Cloud and Iwa. Just tell them that our Kirigakure won't participate in the war, and that we didn't know Konoha would invade Sunagakure."
As for whether they would believe it... there was no helping it now. As long as their attention was more focused on Konoha rather than Kirigakure, it was enough.
"Yes!"
"Also send someone to urgently contact Konoha and question them on what exactly they intend to do."
Show their stance first. As for what Kirigakure would do later, they would wait and see.
At least in the state of alliance, if the situation became chaotic in the future, they could borrow Konoha's power.
For now, just take this chance to ask Konoha for more benefits.
"As for the matter of the Byakugan being taken by that mysterious masked man... Mei, this task will be given to you to investigate personally."
"Understood."
Remembering someone still in Konoha, Terumī Mei momentarily spaced out a little.
But after hearing Elder Genshirō mention that hateful masked man, she quickly regained her spirit.
"Also, regarding the Tailed Beasts... whether it's the missing Three-Tails, or the Six-Tails Jinchūriki Utakata, try to bring at least one back!"
If Konoha could utilize a rogue ninja like Uchiha Itachi, then their Kirigakure might also be able to call back the Six-Tails Jinchūriki who once killed his master.
The Great Ninja War might be about to break out. The village had to have a Tailed Beast as a pillar.
And considering the difficulty of both tasks, Elder Genshirō assigned them together to Terumī Mei.
There was no need to complete all of them—just achieving something should be enough to officially hand the Mizukage position over to her in the future.
"Understood!"
———
"Orochimaru-sama, Sunagakure has once again sent envoys, stating that they're willing to further compromise and surrender to us based on previous terms..."
With a wave of his hand, Orochimaru cut off the messenger ninja's words.
Then he took out a telescope and looked toward the Valley of Wind and Sand ahead.
"Past that canyon is Sunagakure, right?"
"Yes... just ahead is Sunagakure."
"Why hasn't the army moved forward? Why did we stop?"
Orochimaru originally intended to charge straight into Sunagakure in one go, but unexpectedly, the army had still stopped here.
"Reporting to Orochimaru-sama, Sunagakure has set up an ironclad defense in the canyon. Our vanguard suffered heavy casualties and couldn't break through."
This was the only road into Sunagakure from the front. But because of this uniquely narrow terrain, the pass in front of Sunagakure was almost impenetrable.
"How many died?"
"Total casualties are..."
"Don't count Chūnin and Genin. Just tell me how many Jōnin died."
"Five killed, three injured..."
"Orochimaru-sama, we can't break through this pass by force. We need to think of other ways."
Facing the always cold-faced Orochimaru, the strategist Nara Shikaku could only brace himself and speak up with a proposal.
If they kept fighting like this, even if they took the whole Sunagakure, Konoha would pay too great a price.
Moreover, the other side had repeatedly expressed their willingness to surrender...
Do they really have to fight to the bitter end?
What was the Third Hokage thinking?
Occupying Sunagakure might trigger attacks from the other four great ninja villages. With Konoha's current strength, they couldn't possibly take on all four.
Nara Shikaku racked his brain and still couldn't understand what kind of confidence Sarutobi Hiruzen had to appoint someone like Orochimaru to lead this war.
"Rest for a day. The day after tomorrow, I'll personally lead the team to take Sunagakure!"
Looking at the Sunagakure just within reach, Orochimaru of course wasn't going to back off.
"Also, where are the corpses of the fallen? Take me to see them!"
Since the living couldn't break through this pass—then use the dead.
"Orochimaru, although Sunagakure temporarily has no Kazekage, Chiyo and Ebizō and the other elders of Sunagakure are no weaker than a Kage. Even you might not have the upper hand."
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