I simultaneously traverse countless worlds

At the top of the castle tower, the Fire Country Daimyo was frantic, like an ant on a hot pan. He never expected to be defeated so quickly, and his assembled army suffered a crushing defeat. Now, facing the predicament of being surrounded by the Shinobi Alliance, he racked his brains but still didn't know how to resolve the deadlock before him.

"Your Highness! Why don't we quickly have someone escort us and escape through the secret passage?!"

Seeing the Fire Country Daimyo so agitated, one of the Fire Country nobles who was still with them suggested that they flee. His suggestion was agreed upon by the other nobles. These nobles, who had enjoyed wealth and luxury since birth, had never seen such a bloody battlefield. If it weren't for the fact that their families would have difficulty escaping the capital, they would not have retreated to the castle tower with the Daimyo.

"It's no use! The secret passages were inexplicably destroyed before!"

Upon hearing the nobleman's suggestion, the Fire Country daimyo, who usually appeared in public adorned with makeup and extravagant attire, turned deathly pale and announced a piece of despair that utterly shattered the spirits of the other Fire Country nobles: "Besides, even if we manage to escape, how can we possibly escape the Shinobi Alliance's pursuit? They are already the victors..."

Well, it seems that the shock of death has made his brain work quickly. The daimyo of the Land of Fire, who used to be very interested in beautiful women and fine wine, surprisingly came to a conclusion based on his own experience: they were like fish swimming at the bottom of a pot, destined to be cooked.

Why did the various forces in the ninja world form a united front to fight against the formidable Ninja Alliance? It's because a single major country or a single major ninja village is no match for the Ninja Alliance. Furthermore, considering only the Land of Fire and the Hidden Leaf Village, the Daimyo felt it was too risky. Therefore, they tacitly joined forces with the other two major countries' Daimyo to form a united front against the Ninja Alliance, at least to create a situation of confrontation where they were evenly matched.

Unfortunately, during the previous few years of peace, the various factions within the alliance had their own agendas and failed to unite against the Shinobi Alliance. When the Shinobi Alliance launched a surprise attack on the Land of Lightning and the Hidden Cloud Village a few days ago, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and the leaders of other factions, who received the news immediately, were still weighing whether to come to the rescue. The subsequent outcome is self-evident: the Land of Earth and the Hidden Stone Village surrendered.

The Land of Fire and Konoha are now fighting alone. Even if the daimyo and nobles escape from the capital of the Land of Fire, there is nowhere safer for them to flee. Both the daimyo and the nobles know that Konoha is definitely a key target of the Shinobi Alliance. Other towns are not very safe either. Moreover, now that even the escape routes have been destroyed, they have no proper way to evacuate safely.

After realizing this, the daimyo of the Land of Fire and several nobles sat there in despair, some even with tears streaming down their faces, completely abandoning any noble demeanor. However, in the face of life and death, no one cared about such useless things anymore.

"Notify command that we have captured the capital of the Land of Fire!"

On that day, the top floor of the guardhouse was captured, and the middle-aged samurai guard who had reached the Kage level was successfully killed. The rooftop was also turned into a battlefield by the bone spikes created by the [Shikotsumyaku]. Kaguya Kimimaro, who was certain that he had dealt with the daimyo and those nobles, looked at the capital city, which had been occupied by most of the area, and did not hesitate to send a messenger to report the good news that the capital of the Land of Fire had been captured.

By this time, the daimyo and most of the nobles of the Land of Fire had become corpses. The remaining noble forces in the remaining areas were also wiped out by the Shinobi Alliance, which occupied towns and strategic nodes. Except for Konoha Village, the Land of Fire had been taken over!

Chapter 78 The Lonely Hidden Leaf Village

"What do we do? No one is allowed to leave the village?!"

"It seems to be due to the war. Has the enemy already penetrated into the heart of the Land of Fire?"

"I don't know, but prices haven't gone up..."

When the capital of the Land of Fire was completely occupied at sunset, the situation in Konoha Village became somewhat delicate. Some well-informed villagers discussed it quietly among themselves, but they dared not speak out when they saw the ninja squads patrolling back and forth.

The ninja world is not a place that values ​​democracy. Many daimyo and nobles usually shut up anyone who talks nonsense in their territory. For example, when a ninja village is at war, anyone who spreads rumors is likely to be directly approached by the ANBU and disappear silently from the sight of those around them. Even if the villagers of the ninja village see this, they will tacitly shut up.

In Konoha, the situation would naturally be no different. Unless a powerful figure stirs things up, judging from the original storyline's depiction of the Uchiha clan's annihilation, the other villagers tacitly refrain from discussing why the Uchiha clan, one of the two founding clans of Konoha, was wiped out by Itachi Uchiha. They only discuss the official information released by Konoha, revealing their survival wisdom: never disobey the orders of their own village.

In the past two days, the villagers of Konoha Village have received public news from the ninja villages that the Allied Forces have started a war with the Ninja World Alliance. The two sides are engaged in a tug-of-war in the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire. Konoha Village has naturally entered a state of war. Ninjas without missions are not allowed to go out. Villagers will find it difficult to leave the village unless they have a valid reason and pass the review.

If it were just this situation, the villagers of Konoha, who had experience from previous Shinobi World Wars, would not be surprised but would remain calm. However, seeing the village recall retired ninjas and ungraduated students from the Ninja Academy in such a short time, even the smart ones sensed something was amiss; the situation seemed to be somewhat wrong.

Unfortunately, the higher-ups in Konoha Village had no intention of releasing the information. The villagers and ninjas below the Jonin level could only hear bits and pieces of gossip, and accurate war information would not be disclosed to the majority of people!

Is war about to break out? But my team with Sasuke and Naruto is really going to survive the war, and Kakashi-sensei is even on the front lines...

As the Konoha villagers whispered among themselves, a girl with short pink hair and wearing a Konoha ninja headband walked by carrying a vegetable basket. She listened to the discussions, pursed her lips and didn't speak, but many thoughts were still swirling in her mind.

Unlike the original Naruto storyline, Konoha did not experience a prolonged period of peace, and the various ninja clans did not succumb to despair after the Uchiha clan's demise. The students of the Konoha Ninja Academy, including Sakura Haruno, received considerable training. Although she still teamed up with Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki, she trained in medical ninjutsu to become a formal medical ninja, so her future was definitely not bad.

However, Sakura Haruno, like many civilian ninjas, knows more about the situation than the villagers of Konoha, but she doesn't know that the situation Konoha is facing has turned into a tragic scene where a ninja village has to fight the Ninja World Alliance one-on-one!

……

Konoha Village, home of the Uchiha clan

Thanks to the flapping of Li Mo's wind god pterosaur wings, and the fact that Obito Uchiha and Black Zetsu were captured and sent to the laboratory early on, the Uchiha clan was spared the calamity of extermination. In fact, the situation improved considerably after the Fifth Hokage, Jiraiya, took office.

To be fair, Jiraiya, as the Fifth Hokage, aside from his lewd pursuits, possessed exceptional abilities and skills. He also had many former subordinates in Konoha. He adopted a combination of coaxing and beating tactics towards the Uchiha clan. In terms of suppression, he was even more effective than the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura. He could even win over the Uchiha clan simply by adopting a conciliatory attitude.

In this respect, the Fifth Hokage Jiraiya was much more ethical than Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura. At least he wouldn't do something like tricking someone into working for Konoha and then having them kill his entire clan to infiltrate Akatsuki (referring to the scumbag Itachi with his exceptionally peculiar thought process). After a few encounters with the Uchiha clan, he stopped suppressing them and instead turned them into his own. As a result, Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha didn't have to follow the old path and obediently worked for Jiraiya.

Therefore, the Uchiha clan is currently in a relatively good situation. Obito Uchiha wasn't foolish enough to reveal his Mangekyou Sharingan, Kotoamatsukami, and thus wasn't targeted by Danzo Shimura who stole his Mangekyou Sharingan. He's still alive and well, only captured and taken prisoner by Nagato Uzumaki during the Allied Defense Line operation. As for Itachi Uchiha, he remains a squad leader in the Hokage's direct Anbu unit.

However, the current head of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku Uchiha, is facing a huge problem. Konoha Village will inevitably be the enemy's main target this time, and Jiraiya has already decided to fight, but he has given the others a choice.

"Father, why am I not allowed to go to war?"

Inside the Uchiha clan head's residence, Uchiha Sasuke looked at his father and mother with some excitement, and unusually, he questioned his father, Uchiha Fugaku, in a very agitated tone.

Under normal circumstances, Sasuke Uchiha wouldn't have done this. Having not experienced the events of the original storyline where he witnessed his brother raising a knife against their parents and clansmen, his personality hadn't changed much, and his strength was already close to reaching the level of a Special Jonin. However, he was terrified now. He had learned that his father was saying they would be facing an attack from the Shinobi World Alliance, and that Konoha Village had a very small chance of winning. The fact that his father and brother were preparing to join the war filled him with a bad feeling.

After all, he still had his clan to support him. Sasuke Uchiha was no naiveté from the original storyline, so he naturally understood what the Ninja World War meant. An enemy that could make Konoha and even the Land of Fire join forces with other ninja villages and countries was absolutely terrifying!

"Sasuke, you're not strong enough. The Hokage has stipulated that everyone participating in this battle must be at least a Jonin!"

Faced with the questioning of his youngest son, who was just over twelve years old, Fugaku Uchiha, who exuded a calm and collected aura, slightly raised his bloodshot eyes and glanced at his son a few times. He then gave a well-reasoned answer to his son's question directly. After glancing at his worried wife and then at his youngest son, his voice unconsciously lowered: "In reality, the outcome of this battle is inevitable defeat. It's just that we have no choice but to participate..."

What Fugaku Uchiha didn't explicitly tell his youngest son was that since learning yesterday that the Land of Earth and the Hidden Stone Village had both fallen, the higher-ups of Konoha had already realized that trying to fight the Shinobi Alliance on their own was tantamount to courting death, as evidenced by the Third Shinobi World War.

Compared to the Third Shinobi World War, which was the most dangerous situation Konoha Village faced, the Shinobi Alliance was not like the four major ninja villages riddled with contradictions. The Shinobi Alliance had defeated the other ninja villages and countries one by one, and it could be said to have overwhelming power. At this time, the best option for Konoha Village was to choose a more dignified way of surrendering. However, Jiraiya and the major ninja clans of Konoha Village, including the Jonin, could not choose to surrender without fighting. Jiraiya, in particular, was prepared to die in battle.

After all, there has never been a precedent of the five great ninja villages' Kage surrendering to another power. Even when Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha joined forces, it only made the other four great ninja villages and the four great nations acknowledge the ninja world's power structure. In the three Shinobi World Wars, even the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, died in battle. The other five great ninja village Kage all died in battle, but none of them surrendered or were captured.

This left the Uchiha clan with a choice. Fugaku Uchiha and the clan elders decided that he would lead half of the clan's elite troops to fight alongside Jiraiya, while the rest of the clan would surrender to the enemy.

"But……"

For Sasuke Uchiha, who was unaware of the intricacies of the situation, he did not understand the meaning of his father's later words. He only thought about why he could not fight alongside his father and brother, and wanted to try again.

"Sasuke, obey orders! You and the other ninjas in the clan must protect everyone!"

Seeing that Sasuke Uchiha still wanted to say something, Fugaku Uchiha, who had spent the whole day yesterday arguing with Jiraiya and the clan elites, was unwilling to waste any more time on the decision that had already been made. He spoke to his youngest son in a commanding tone, which pleased him so much that his son had to stop talking. Only then did he whisper instructions to his wife on a few other matters.

As for Sasuke Uchiha's own thoughts, his father, Fugaku Uchiha, didn't care. After giving his wife, Mikoto Uchiha, a look, Sasuke Uchiha obediently let his mother pull him aside to teach him a lesson!

……

"Clan leader, why are all the elders of our clan going to fight?!"

On the other side, in the main living room of the Hyuga clan's residence, a Hyuga main family elder asked with great dissatisfaction. Moreover, he was not the only main family elder present; there were also six elders from the Hyuga main family branches, all looking at the clan leader, Hyuga Hiashi, with displeased expressions, hoping to get a satisfactory explanation.

To be honest, the situation of the Hyuga clan is far more complicated than in the original Naruto anime. For example, the Hyuga main family is not just the lineage of Hyuga Hiashi. Originally, the Hyuga main family had several branches. However, like Hyuga Hiashi, only one heir could inherit the position of the main family. Other offspring, even if they were brothers, would be marked with the "Caged Bird" mark when they reached a certain age. At most, they might be closer to each other than the ninjas of other branch families.

In this situation, apart from the main family members, the Hyuga branch family ninjas were all in a lifeless state. They believed that no matter how hard they tried, they could never become members of the main family. On the contrary, the stronger they were, the easier it would be for them to become henchmen of the main family. Their own lives and even the lives of their descendants were in the hands of the main family. They were asked to use their lives to protect the main family, which naturally made the Hyuga main family members live very well.

However, since Hiashi Hyuga had now rounded up all the elders of the Hyuga clan and placed them on the list of those scheduled to participate in the war against the Ninja World Alliance, these pampered elders of the Hyuga clan naturally wanted a satisfactory explanation from him!

"Everyone, it's not just me and the elders of the Hyuga main clan who will be participating in the war; at least half of the elite ninja from every Konoha clan will be participating, led by their clan leaders!"

Facing the Hyuga main family elders who had repeatedly caused him trouble and prevented him from making any changes, Hiashi Hyuga felt a surge of disgust. However, he didn't show it outwardly, maintaining a blank expression while his words revealed a frustrating truth: "Even the Uchiha clan head is preparing to fight with his eldest son. Only when our Hyuga clan head and the main family elders fight together can we truly live up to the Hyuga name..."

Hiashi Hyuga's words left the Hyuga clan elders speechless. These pampered old men used to talk to the clan leader about the Hyuga clan's traditions and reputation, but in reality, they just wanted to enjoy the benefits without giving them up.

Within the Hyuga clan's "Caged Bird" sealing technique, the Hyuga branch family, which holds an overwhelming numerical advantage, is willing to sacrifice their lives to protect the members of the Hyuga main family. It can be said that the lives of any member of the Hyuga main family are exceptionally leisurely. Apart from a very few ambitious members of the Hyuga main family who have the desire to go to the battlefield, most members of the Hyuga main family simply live their good lives and are unwilling to change their current situation.

In any case, the Hyuga clan is a great ninja clan with a history of over a thousand years. The land and wealth they possess are enormous. It's nothing to support the extravagance of a few main family members. As for the Hyuga branch family members, in fact, after deducting the fact that they and their descendants are subject to the control of the "Caged Bird" technique, their expenses from childhood to adulthood are all provided by the Hyuga clan. Even their marriages are arranged by the clan, where eligible men and women from the clan meet and marry. It can be said that the Hyuga clan takes care of everything from birth to old age, sickness and death.

Even Hiashi Hyuga, who wanted to change the status quo of his clan, had to admit that the seemingly cruel "Caged Bird" technique, in a sense, protected the members of the Hyuga branch family. Just look at how little the Hyuga main family's "Byakugan" was being used outside the ninja world, and how Danzo Shimura, who had many excellent ninja clan members under his command, didn't have any members from the Hyuga branch family under his command. This shows that no one had a good way to deal with the "Caged Bird" technique.

However, having witnessed his eldest daughter Hinata Hyuga's Tenseigan and with victory against the Ninja Alliance seemingly within his grasp, Hiashi Hyuga wanted to use this opportunity to bring about a change in the Hyuga clan, and these elders of the main branch were the stumbling blocks he wanted to remove.

"Can't we let the people who split up the family participate...?"

After hesitating for a few seconds, unable to say that the Hyuga clan was inferior to the main branch elders of the Uchiha clan, one of the main branch elders, who was slightly younger, habitually prepared to pull out the strong members of the Hyuga branch family as cannon fodder.

"The strong members of the branch family must be those main family members who stay behind to protect the younger generation and children. They are also the guarantee for the Hyuga family's future choice to surrender!"

Faced with the solution devised by the elders of the main family, Hyuga Hiashi, who had anticipated this, gave a perfectly reasonable answer, leaving the elders of the main family speechless and unable to refuse Hyuga Hiashi's order to personally lead the participation in the war.

Not only the Hyuga and Uchiha clans gathered some of their elite members to prepare for the war, but all the major ninja clans in Konoha Village also mobilized. Except for ninja clans that couldn't even muster a single full-fledged Jonin, the other ninja clans sent at least one Jonin to participate in the war. For example, the Uchiha clan sent the clan head and his eldest son, along with more than ten elite Uchiha ninjas. The Hyuga clan also sent nine main clan ninjas who had reached the level of Jonin or even elite Jonin, and some Jonin who came from ordinary ninja backgrounds also participated in the war.

At least, Konoha, as the number one ninja village in the ninja world, has no intention of giving up immediately. They are not lacking in courage to fight, not to mention that the Fifth Hokage, Jiraiya, has taken the lead in the battle!

……

"Jiraiya, you can choose to lead everyone to surrender, you don't need to..."

Under the starry night sky, on the Hokage Rock where the heads of the five Hokage are gathered, the former Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, looked at his disciple Jiraiya, who was wearing the Hokage's robe, with a somber expression. He couldn't help but speak up again, preparing to offer some words of advice.

"Teacher, I am very grateful that you and the other Konoha advisors, such as Shimura Danzo, are prepared to participate in the battle, but I have never considered the option of surrendering without a fight!"

Faced with his teacher's persuasion, Jiraiya turned directly to Hiruzen Sarutobi, interrupting his teacher rather rudely. His words clearly revealed his will. Then, he looked at Konoha Village, whose lights had been extinguished early, his eyes filled with a hint of nostalgia that turned into determination: "Even if the Raikage and Tsuchikage have died heroically, the Hokage of Konoha Village will never choose to live a life of cowardice..."

When Jiraiya said these words, he appeared very calm. He knew that he had chosen a dead end. But just as his teacher had said, the higher-ups of Konoha had already foreseen the defeat. People like Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura were preparing to go through the motions before surrendering.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, and other Konoha advisors or former Hokage all knew that if the Kage of a village led the surrender, his spittle could kill. Even if the villagers of Konoha knew that it was the Hokage's surrender that allowed them to live, it didn't stop them from blaming the Hokage for the village's demise. Just like the polarized debate about the White Fang of Konoha abandoning his mission to bring back his comrades, the villagers who only vented their anger were never willing to take responsibility.

Jiraiya knew what consequences his choices would bring, but just like his discussion with the Great Toad Sage a few days earlier, where the latter made a final, vague prophecy and died from exhaustion, he now understood what the other man meant by the inexplicable prophecy of "everything ends, and a new era begins." It simply meant the end of the ninja village era and the transformation into a new ninja world alliance.

Now, Jiraiya is prepared to use his own life to see the power of the Shinobi Alliance, and he doesn't care about the thoughts of his teacher and others, who are already determined to die!

Chapter 79 The Final Battle Begins

Konoha Village spent three days in a strange atmosphere before confirming that the Shinobi Alliance had first pacified other areas of the Land of Fire, and that its main force was like a giant, spreading net, directly enveloping Konoha Village but not attacking it.

Under normal circumstances, Konoha, as the ninja village of the Land of Fire, should have taken the initiative to attack and repel the invading ninja alliance. However, that was clearly beyond Konoha's capabilities. Even the previously powerful allied forces had been completely defeated, leaving Konoha as the sole survivor. Moreover, they had previously lost tens of thousands of elite ninja soldiers and elite ninjas such as Uchiha Shisui and Hatake Kakashi.

Even if Konoha were to become extremely militaristic, it could still muster over 50,000 ninja soldiers to fight (though their quality is questionable). However, given that the other four great ninja villages and five major nations have already been destroyed, and those smaller countries and ninja villages have become historical figures, the consequence of Konoha alone facing the unfathomable Shinobi Alliance would likely be the annihilation of Konoha, along with all the major ninja clans, ninjas, and villagers. This is certainly not what Jiraiya and the others wished for.

Therefore, when Konoha learned that the Shinobi Alliance had launched a surprise attack on Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning, it was prepared to mobilize its army to fight. However, it immediately received news that the joint defense line had been breached and the border ninja army had been completely annihilated. Furthermore, the Land of Earth and the Land of Rock surrendered within a day of each other. Konoha's preparations for war came to an abrupt halt. By the time the capital of the Land of Fire was captured, the Konoha leadership had reached a consensus on surrendering.

Of course, Konoha Village wouldn't surrender without a fight. They chose to have Jiraiya, the advisors, and the clan leaders lead at least half of their elite forces to fight the Shinobi Alliance. Regardless of the outcome, they would choose to make the people of Konoha Village surrender. Apart from Jiraiya, who was already determined to die, the others wanted to see the strength of the other side.

However, the Ninja Alliance did not rashly attack Konoha. During these three days of peace, Konoha explained the situation to the lower and middle-ranking ninjas and villagers, and the Ninja Alliance agreed to their surrender demands!

"As expected, the Shinobi Alliance agreed to Konoha's final battle, which is a good thing!"

Looking at the reply letter in his hand, specially delivered by the envoy of the Ninja World Alliance, which even had the signatures of two of his former teammates, Jiraiya couldn't help but let a strange light flash in his eyes. But he quickly realized what was going on and looked at the people who had been summoned with a serious expression. His tone was calm, but it aroused a hint of fighting spirit in them.

At this moment, Jiraiya had already changed into a set of armor. It wasn't the chakra armor that the Shinobi Alliance prepared for lower and middle-level combatants. Instead, it was an ancient armor made of rare chakra metal. Its main purpose was to amplify the power of the wearer's ninjutsu, and it also provided quite good protection. Even Kage-level powerhouses would have some effect wearing it. The only drawback was that chakra metal was expensive and scarce. This set of armor was also a legacy of the Senju clan.

The others present, including the first three Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, totaled more than eighty people. The lowest among them were ninjas with the strength of a formal Jonin, while the strongest, Jiraiya, the first three Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Fugaku Uchiha, and Itachi Uchiha, were Kage-level powerhouses. They all had solemn expressions. Although participating in this battle was high-risk, it was also a chance for them to demonstrate their strength to the Shinobi World Alliance.

Jiraiya crumpled the letter in his hand into tiny pieces. Everyone else, including Hiruzen Sarutobi, remained silent. He looked around at everyone, then stepped into the room first, offering the others a final chance to leave:

"Then, all those who are willing to fight, follow me to the agreed battlefield!"

……

Outside Konoha Village, the elite ninja forces of the Shinobi World Alliance were stationed 20 kilometers away, surrounding Konoha Village from all four sides. The large number of airships and chakra chariots were heavy military equipment that could not be concealed.

Even if Konoha was prepared to fight to the death and could muster tens of thousands more ninjas to fight, the elite ninjas of the Ninja World Alliance, numbering over 20,000, would absolutely be able to crush Konoha in a short time. Whether it was the top-tier ninjas or ordinary ninjas, the Ninja World Alliance held an absolute advantage. Konoha was aware of this, otherwise they would not have chosen to surrender.

If there is a chance of victory, or if the gap between them and their opponents is not too large, Konoha Village will naturally not have any thoughts of surrendering. As the head of the five great ninja villages, Konoha Village still has a sense of pride. Even when facing the siege of several great ninja villages during the Fourth Shinobi World War, they were still able to rally their morale and fight. However, this does not mean that Konoha ninjas are just stupid fools. Assessing the threat of the enemy and making the necessary choice to retreat is a very common thing for ninjas.