Chapter 57: Assault on the Village of Sound

After several days of hurried travel, Black and White Zetsu finally arrived at the Sound Ninja Village. Carrying Uchiha Madara's body, he moved stealthily through the underground tunnels beneath the village.

“Huh? There’s no sign of a battle here,” he muttered as he poked his head above ground, secretly observing the Sound Village. He was puzzled; Obito was supposed to come here to reclaim the Ten-Tails and the Rinnegan, and destroy the Sound Village in the process. Yet several days had passed, and the village seemed unchanged.

“Maybe we’re too late?” White Zetsu suggested.

It was a plausible explanation: perhaps Obito had appeared, slain one of Orochimaru’s bodies, and taken the Ten-Tails’ shell and the Rinnegan. Then, Orochimaru, having resurrected, returned to the Sound Village and quickly rebuilt, leaving no visible signs of upheaval. The whole affair might have transpired with remarkable speed.

“It’s possible,” Black Zetsu agreed. Obito’s abilities were unlike anyone else’s, rooted in space-time manipulation, and there were few who could truly threaten him. The battle should have ended swiftly.

“Let’s find Orochimaru first, and guide him to Madara’s corpse,” Black Zetsu decided, sinking back underground to search for Orochimaru.

However, instead of finding Orochimaru, he stumbled upon Kabuto Yakushi. Kabuto was arguing with Kimimaro, and Black and White Zetsu quietly listened in from below.

“I told you, Kimimaro, you can’t leave the Sound Village right now!” Kabuto insisted.

Kimimaro’s expression was cold. “It’s not your place to decide whether I leave or not. Just tell me where Lord Orochimaru is.”

After the battle between Orochimaru and Obito, they had vanished into another dimension, and no one knew their whereabouts. If anyone might know where Orochimaru was, it could only be Kabuto—he could contact all serpent organizations around the world and would be the first to receive word if Orochimaru resurfaced.

“Kimimaro, I’ll say it again—I don’t know where Lord Orochimaru is. Stop making trouble, will you? What we should be doing now is sealing off all information. Not even a mosquito should be allowed to escape. If word gets out that Orochimaru is missing, the village will be attacked immediately!”

The Sound Village was critically short on fighting power, especially without Orochimaru. The absence of powerful warriors summoned by Edo Tensei left them even more vulnerable at the top tier. If anyone attacked now, the damage would be catastrophic.

From the shadows, Black and White Zetsu’s head emerged, filled with doubt.

“Orochimaru isn’t in the village?” he thought. How could that be? In such a critical moment, any leader would remain in their village, actively preparing for war.

“Ah, I overheard just now—Orochimaru vanished during a battle with Obito and was taken to another dimension. Did he perhaps use Kakashi’s Sharingan?” White Zetsu mused.

Black and White Zetsu knew Obito’s history well, having watched it unfold. Obito’s other Sharingan was with Kakashi; if Orochimaru used that eye, then Obito was indeed in deep trouble.

“Let’s go!” Black Zetsu felt a growing sense of unease. Had the Akatsuki just switched leaders, only to lose another so soon?

They found Kakashi, who indeed had only one eye left, the Sharingan missing. His jutsu had become much more powerful, indicating something had changed. Naruto and Sasuke were training at Kakashi’s side.

“Damn it!” Black Zetsu seethed with rage. Things looked grim for Obito.

“Did Obito die, too? The Sound Village seems to be Akatsuki’s nemesis!” White Zetsu sighed.

Black Zetsu snorted coldly and retreated underground. “Leak the news that Orochimaru isn’t in the Sound Village to the Allied Shinobi Forces. Let them cripple his side first!”

A new plan was in order.

Since the announcement of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the three main factions had been searching for the perfect opportunity to ignite the conflict. Now, that opportunity had come: intelligence organizations reported that Orochimaru was absent from the Sound Village. With their key leader gone, their high-level fighting power was lacking. If the attack came quickly enough, before Orochimaru could return, it would be easy to devastate the Sound Village.

“So, shall we attack?” the Mizukage, Mei Terumi, asked during the Kage Summit.

The Raikage, Ay, chosen as commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces, replied, “This is a great opportunity. I strongly recommend we strike. If we cripple the Sound Village in this opening battle, it will greatly boost morale and benefit the rest of the war.”

“I agree,” the Tsuchikage, for once, was in accord with the Raikage.

“Agreed,” said Elder Chiyo, the acting Kazekage of Sunagakure.

Before setting out, the Allied Forces gathered for a rally—an oath of unity before the battle.

The Mizukage spoke: “We may have once been enemies; perhaps your greatest foe is standing beside you now. We all know the cruelty of war; we are all its victims. I do not expect you to forget your hatred, but I ask that you hide it. We now face a crisis that threatens the very existence of the shinobi world.”

Elder Chiyo added, “Behind us are our families, countless civilians. This is not about personal gain or loss, not about life or death. We must use all our strength to protect them!”

The Tsuchikage declared, “Shinobi never retreat. If there’s a great flood before us, we’ll block it with Earth Release. If a torrent of lava, we’ll extinguish it with Water Release. If meteors fall from the sky, we’ll cleave them with Lightning Release. The Allied Shinobi Forces are invincible!”

The Raikage stepped forward, saying nothing. Instead, blue lightning erupted around his body, dazzling and intense. He pointed skyward, and with a crack, a bolt of lightning shot from his fingertip into the heavens, splitting the sky with a mighty flash.

“Full assault!” he roared.

“Attack!”

Sixty thousand voices echoed in unison, a thunderous cry that shook the earth—the Allied Shinobi Forces were on the march.

“Lord Kabuto! Bad news—the Allied Forces are attacking!”

Despite their best efforts at secrecy, the coordinated movements of the Four Nations’ army could not go unnoticed. A member of the serpent organization reported urgently in the Sound Village.

“What?!” Kabuto shot to his feet.

The worst-case scenario had come to pass: rumors of Orochimaru’s absence had spread after all.

“Prepare for battle!” Kabuto’s face became cold and severe.

The Sound Village was no match for the Allied Forces—not now, with half their soldiers still undergoing modifications. Defeat was almost certain. But they had no choice but to fight. There were too many people in the village to wage a guerrilla war; only a direct confrontation remained.

“My dear Lord Orochimaru, where are you? Why haven’t you returned?” he muttered.

At that moment, Orochimaru was cleaning up the aftermath elsewhere. The green energy leaking from the Grail Stone had subsided, but the power within the mine itself still remained. Orochimaru contacted the nearest serpent organization, instructing them to begin mining the Grail Stone.

“Lord Orochimaru, your absence from the Sound Village has been discovered. The Allied Forces are advancing to attack!”

“Oh? So, it’s come to this,” Orochimaru mused as the news reached him.