The entire eastern district was reduced to rubble.
Every Konoha shinobi who witnessed this scene struggled to accept it.
The countless shattered buildings, the blood mist lingering in the air, these were like needles stabbing into their eyes.
"Wow!"
Far from the battlefield, White Zetsu observed the scene, taking in every detail, and let out a genuine exclamation of admiration.
"This is truly spectacular. I'm starting to admire Ye Zi more and more. This is exactly what I wanted to see, how marvelous."
Black Zetsu also quietly observed the desolation of Konoha's eastern district. Shards of debris rained down like a macabre storm, and his lips curled into a sinister smile. Seeing Ye Zi's sudden surge in strength only accelerated his plans.
"As a supporting character, your performance is quite outstanding. Push further, go faster. Exhaust your value to its fullest extent," Black Zetsu thought silently. To him everyone, everything and every development should unfold according to his will.
The stronger Ye Zi became, the faster the Tailed Beasts could be gathered.
Everything was for the revival of his mother!
"What exactly is that power?" White Zetsu shrugged, his tone laced with curiosity. "He wanted me to collect corpses, but how am I supposed to do that with this? I'm not interested in picking up scraps of flesh, that was and all mixed together too. Who knows which parts belong to who?"
Black Zetsu ignored White Zetsu's complaints and replied flatly, "That's the power of Sage Mode."
"Sage Mode?" White Zetsu raised an eyebrow.
Black Zetsu sneered. "It's an incredibly formidable ability."
"Where did Ye Zi learn Sage Mode in such a short time?" White Zetsu asked, puzzled.
"Who knows?" Black Zetsu said calmly. No matter how Ye Zi developed, he couldn't escape the fate of being controlled. The contingency that Madara had planted within Ye Zi would inevitably become his undoing.
White Zetsu clicked his tongue and looked eagerly toward Ye Zi. "I really don't feel like collecting corpses. I'd rather stick around and watch the show."
Watching Ye Zi's every move filled White Zetsu with excitement. He was genuinely curious to see how far Ye Zi could go and what heights he could reach.
And in the end... would he become a mere puppet, pitifully controlled by others?
At the top of the Hokage Office, the group of shinobi stood in stunned silence.
Even Shikaku, usually a paragon of calm and reason, was visibly shaken. From his vantage point, he looked out over the leveled eastern district, his forehead beading with cold sweat. This level of destruction was comparable to that of a Tailed Beast. If Ye Zi unleashed just a few more attacks like this, Konoha wouldn't stand a chance.
"Lord Hokage, you must stop him immediately. Leave the rest to us," Shikaku urged.
Minato's fists were clenched tightly, his body trembling as he struggled to suppress his seething rage. His piercing blue eyes radiated an icy fury.
"Ye Zi!"
Never before had Minato felt such a crushing sense of powerlessness or such intense anger.
"Shikaku, everyone, I'm leaving the rest to you."
With those words, Minato vanished.
As Minato rushed to confront Ye Zi, Shikaku and the dozens of ANBU operatives sprang into action.
Their first priority was to deal with the Edo Tensei reanimations. Jiraiya was holding the line at the main gate, and the Third Hokage was contending with the summoned beasts.
Their task was to eliminate the reanimations as quickly as possible, then focus on the monumental problem that was Ye Zi.
Meanwhile, rushing from the northern district, Kushina bore witness to Ye Zi's annihilation of the entire eastern district and the slaughter of hundreds of Konoha shinobi. A bone-chilling dread coursed through her.
This scene shattered everything she had ever believed in.
Stability. Peace.
"Ye Zi...!"
Her heart felt cold.
Even if Ye Zi's actions were driven by grief over Kotoe's death, Kushina could no longer forgive him.
Her emotions were a tangled mess, as if a ball of yarn had unraveled only to be knotted again. Tears welled up in her eyes, falling before she could suppress them.
She reached up repeatedly to wipe them away, refusing to let herself cry for him any longer.
"This is the last time I'll shed tears for you," Kushina vowed silently.
Memories of Ye Zi flashed through her mind, one after another, until they lingered on a single, haunting image from that fateful night:
Under the moonlight, a black-haired boy sat slumped against a tree, his head bowed, his body soaked in blood. Beneath him pooled a dark, viscous crimson.
That memory cracked like fragile glass, splintering into countless fragments.
"You intend to use my power again?"
Within her seal, the Nine-Tails sensed Kushina's overwhelming turmoil. Unfortunately for him, Kushina was too strong-willed to succumb to the darkness.
"If necessary, lend me your strength," Kushina replied, wiping away her last tear. With that, she charged toward the eastern district.
Every Konoha shinobi fighting the summoned beasts and reanimations felt a chill in their hearts, which was quickly replaced by seething anger.
At the village gates, Jiraiya's expression darkened significantly.
"Impressive," Sasori said, offering genuine praise.
Shin remained impassive, his gaze fixed on the ten Konoha shinobi opposing them.
"Buy me some time," Jiraiya ordered coldly.
He had made up his mind: he would eliminate Sasori and Shin as quickly as possible then head straight for Ye Zi in the eastern district!
In the forest near the Root base, Danzo stood atop a tree, calmly observing the chaos unfolding in Konoha.
"Danzo-sama, should we intervene?" one of his Root operatives asked cautiously.
Around them, numerous Root members stood ready, awaiting Danzo's command.
"There's no need. With Tsunade and Kushina there, the casualties will be kept to a minimum. Let them handle Ye Zi," Danzo said, his gaze fixed on the towering stone pillar dominating the eastern district.
What exactly was that pillar? And what did it signify?
Even Danzo, known for his ruthless and cold-hearted ways, couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his eye upon witnessing this scene.
"Unforgivable…!" His gaze flickered with icy killing intent, but even so, he had no intention of sending his subordinates after Ye Zi.
Minato and the others would naturally deal with him, it wasn't his turn yet. Sending his men to face Ye Zi would only lead to devastating losses.
The members of Root remained silent. Though a powerful enemy had arrived, all they could do was watch from the sidelines.
At the Uchiha clan compound, both Itachi and Shisui were unable to suppress their growing anger.
"Itachi, come with me." Shisui's gaze was sharp and cold.
Itachi nodded heavily, his youthful face now burning with righteous fury.
"Itachi, are you really going to go?" Izumi asked with concern.
Her strength was only that of a genin, but she hadn't gone to the designated safe zones with the others because the Uchiha compound was considered one of the safer places.
Itachi gave her a silent glance and nodded before following Shisui toward the eastern district.
Izumi stared blankly at Itachi's retreating figure, this being the first time she had seen such a terrifying expression in his eyes.
.....
Eastern District.
After unleashing his massive attack, Ye Zi had little senjutsu chakra left. However, he wasn't in a hurry. Since this attack was meant as a demonstration, he had calculated every move.
Now, he needed to replenish his senjutsu chakra. Summoning two wooden clones, he sent them to steal chakra from others.
Once the clones located suitable targets, they would use the Spiritual Transformation Technique to absorb chakra, refine senjutsu chakra, and return it to Ye Zi upon dispelling.
The two clones headed in different directions.
Ye Zi remained where he was, waiting patiently. His sensory abilities revealed that after his previous attack, no Konoha shinobi dared approach him directly. Perhaps they had received orders.
However, there were still a few individuals heading toward him, one of whom was Minato.
As this thought crossed his mind, a special kunai suddenly arced down from the sky, embedding itself into the rubble-strewn ground.
Swish!
Minato appeared next to the kunai in a flash.
Ye Zi was greeted by a pair of piercing blue eyes brimming with anger. Minato's expression was icily indifferent.
"This is…" Minato's anger briefly gave way to surprise as he noticed Ye Zi's eyes.
Sage Mode.
Those eyes—were they serpentine?
Frogs and snakes, at this moment, would there be an inherent "natural enmity" between them?
From a distance, White Zetsu casually commented, "Looks like picking up corpses is officially off the table. Black Zetsu, why don't you go instead?"
Black Zetsu ignored him entirely.
If you want to read more...
Check out the patreon and get 55 chapters in advance -> SaintXI
Currently on Chapter 473 - The Golden Era
Next Chapter: Chapter 419 - Minato Confronts the Intruder