Within the borders of the Country of Fire, at dusk.

A campfire blazed brightly as Su Xiao and Bu Bu Wang sat by the fire, not far from them was a creature resembling a mouse. This creature was the size of a house cat, covered in tawny fur.

The unknown creature curiously watched Su Xiao; it was merely a wild animal from the Naruto World, not a Summoning Beast.

Bu Bu Wang gazed at the strange creature in wonder; it was so foolishly giant and dumb, approaching Su Xiao despite the aura that kept all animals within a hundred meters away, frightened by the blood energy emanating from Su Xiao’s body.

The huge dumb beast continued to observe Su Xiao with curiosity. Bu Bu Wang casually tossed a dried fruit, delighting the creature.

Su Xiao ignored Bu Bu Wang’s antics with the giant dumb beast and turned his gaze to Mei Terumī.

"When does the battle start?"

Hearing Su Xiao’s question, Mei Terumī froze, then showed an angry expression, but in the next moment, her body stiffened.

"About four days; ’Madara’ just transplanted the Rinnegan, he needs time to adapt."

Dou had taken over the control of Mei Terumī’s body; previously, Su Xiao had been addressing Dou.

"Four days, quicker than expected."

Su Xiao stood up, extinguished the campfire, and made his way toward the direction of the Akatsuki Headquarters.

...

A few hours later, Su Xiao returned to the base entrance; upon entering, he found the base filled with corpses not yet activated by Edo Tensei.

A large number of coffins were arranged throughout, transforming the previously desolate Akatsuki Headquarters into something resembling a medieval morgue, one that needed no special effects for a horror film.

Currently, the Akatsuki Headquarters was filled with two contrasting auras. The presence of the corpses created a death-like stillness above, while below the vibrant energy emanated from the multitude of Bai Jue clones hidden underground.

"Ugh... ugh..."

Sounds of painful groaning echoed; Su Xiao turned his head to see Kakuza, carrying someone on his shoulder. The person seemed familiar to Su Xiao, recalling it was Jonin Da He from Konoha Village, a failed experiment cultivated using Hashirama Cells by Orochimaru.

It appeared that Obito and Dou were well prepared, explaining the commencement of the battle in just four days.

As Su Xiao ventured further into the base, he observed the corpses of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, as well as several Jinchuriki.

Originally seeking a room to rest, Su Xiao found that all the rooms were makeshift morgues, and he had no wish to stay among the dead.

Deeper in the base, Obito and Dou were discussing something, with A Mu sitting in the corner, ignoring them.

Upon seeing Su Xiao return, A Mu immediately stood up and ran to his side.

"It seems things went smoothly for you?"

Obito glanced sideways at Su Xiao; at this moment, his left eye had already been implanted with the Rinnegan, and his originally yellow swirling mask was replaced with a white one, covering his entire head, adorned with black spiral patterns, similar to those on the Rinnegan.

Not only that, but Obito also donned a long black robe with a fan on his back. Su Xiao could see that the fan resembled a guitar.

Although it appeared somewhat unimpressive, it was one of the Uchiha Clan’s legacy weapons, known as the Flame Fan, crafted from the branches of the Divine Tree, possessing significant power.

"It went fairly smoothly."

Su Xiao found a stone chair to sit on, appearing relaxed.

"Aren’t you curious about who I really am?"

Obito’s strength had greatly increased, and he was no longer as wary of Su Xiao as before.

"Rather than your identity, I’m more curious about what’s with that boiled egg-like mask. You’re supposed to be the ace in the hole, but this look is really not flattering."

Su Xiao was in a good mood, and seeing Obito’s mask, he couldn’t help but think it resembled a boiled egg.

Obito could tell Su Xiao was teasing him, which caught him by surprise.

"Dou."

Obito looked towards Dou, as the mask was Dou’s creation.

"Ahem, it doesn’t look like a boiled egg."

Once Su Xiao mentioned it, even Dou, who crafted the mask, admitted it did resemble a boiled egg.

"That’s good then."

Obito held his mask with one hand and removed it. With no outsiders present, and given that Su Xiao had already seen Uchiha Madara’s corpse, it was pointless to continue hiding, as it could cause internal issues. Obito was not disclosing his identity at this time but chose to reveal his face, since he was initiating the war, with Su Xiao and Dou as his collaborators.

With half of his face disfigured, Obito revealed his true face.

"What I can tell you is that I am indeed of the Uchiha Clan; as for who I am, you’ll know after the war."

Obito replaced his mask; with the contrast of the Rinnegan, Obito exuded an icy, bone-chilling aura.

"We must prepare for all aspects of the war. The preliminary battle location is set at the border between the Land of Thunder and the Country of Fire."

Su Xiao was unsure why Obito selected that location, as the border between the Land of Thunder and the Country of Fire was a vast, uninhabited desert and adjacent climates, some parts of which were oases.

There were two small nations nearby, the Country of Fields and the Land of Frost. If war broke out there, those two small nations could cease to exist.

The five great Shinobi villages had already received news about the battle location, and this information was authentic. The Naruto Union Army had reconnaissance methods, easily verifying the truth about the battlefield message.

...

Three days later, in Hidden Cloud Village.

A large number of ninjas from the five great ninja villages gathered here as the war approached.

On a high platform in front of the Raikage Office, which was at least a hundred meters above the ground, below lay a vast open area.

Numerous ninjas were arranged in square formations on the ground, divided into five phalanxes. The Ninja Union Army was split into five large units, mixed with ninjas from different villages. Despite their varied attire, they all wore the same headbands, each with the word "Ninja" written on them.

"We finally completed the gathering before the war."

On the high platform, Gaara observed the scene below; this was the first time he had seen such a large number of ninja troops.

"This time, we are quite passive."

Tsunade remarked from the side; now the Five Shadows stood shoulder to shoulder, boosting the morale of the ninja union army below.

"You can’t say that; though the enemy’s numbers reach a hundred thousand, they certainly aren’t as elite as our troops."

Tsuchikage Onogi was the general commander of this great battle, a decision made at the Five Shadows Summit. Of course, he was only nominally in charge; the true controller of the war wasn’t him. After all, he was an indispensable combat power of the ninja union army and needed to fight on the front lines.

Near the three shadows stood a slightly dark-skinned young man and an old woman with white hair. The young man was the Fifth Raikage, and the old woman was the Mizukage Agent. This was a last resort because the Hidden Mist Village couldn’t elect a Sixth Generation Mizukage.

Neither of them spoke, knowing that compared to the other three, they were merely present to boost morale. Regardless of qualifications or strength, they couldn’t compare to the three shadows, so they had little say in discussions.

"Lord Hokage, the enemy army has reached the battlefield region."

Nara Shikaku walked out from the rear of the Raikage Office; he served as the commander of the union army, controlling the entire battlefield. The Raikage Office had been transformed into the command center for the ninja union army, filled with perception ninjas responsible for monitoring the war situation continuously.

"We should set off too."

"Wait."

Gaara pointed below; amid the ninjas, conflicts had arisen among those from different ninja villages, as they had previously engaged in wars with each other. Although they were now united by circumstances, the accumulated grievances from the three previous wars couldn’t be easily resolved.

Now, the Five Shadows needed to find a way to bring them together.