XX-level Hokage

"Then why?" Naruto was just wondering when he suddenly realized something.

"That masked man somehow learned that the only chance for a Jinchuriki's seal to weaken a Tailed Beast was to seize that opportunity and take the Nine-Tails," Kushina Uzumaki continued.

"When is the only chance to weaken the seal?" Naruto asked, completely unaware of the answer.

"During childbirth," Kushina Uzumaki said, forcing herself to remain calm. Hearing those three words, Naruto's tears fell.

"During the ten months from pregnancy to childbirth, female Jinchuriki transfer the sealing power to the child in their womb, thus weakening the seal on the Tailed Beasts," Kushina Uzumaki continued.

"In other words," Naruto said, tears streaming down his face, having roughly guessed what had happened. "Sixteen years ago, on October 10th..."

Kushina Uzumaki recounted the events of the Nine-Tails' attack to Naruto. (This is, in my opinion, the most exciting part of the entire Naruto series.)

"I'm sorry for making you our vessel for the Nine-Tails, for burdening you with our responsibilities, for not being able to live with you, for not being able to give you more love. Thank goodness there's another me alive who can take care of you," Kushina Uzumaki said, wiping away her tears with remorse.

"No need to thank me. It's true I suffered a lot as a Jinchuriki in the past, but I don't hate my parents," Naruto said. Hearing Naruto's words, Kushina looked up at him, a strange light flickering in her eyes.

"Of course, to be honest, I don't really understand what fatherly and motherly love are. My parents weren't around when I was young, so I only had a vague feeling. Now I understand..."

"Yes, Mom and Dad were willing to give up their lives for me. I understand that before I became the vessel for the Nine-Tails, you poured your love into me. So I am very happy, and I am proud to be Mom and Dad's child." Naruto said proudly, patting his chest.

"Minato, did you hear that? This child understands our thoughts." Kushina Uzumaki, tears streaming down her face, hugged Naruto, silently saying, "Naruto, thank you for making me a mother, and thank you for making Minato a father. It's so kind of you to come into our lives as a child."

As Kushina spoke, her body turned into specks of light and disappeared into Naruto's arms.

Naruto, tears streaming down his face, felt the warmth of this love that was about to end. After Kushina Uzumaki completely disappeared, Naruto left the spiritual space.

In the real world, Naruto gently opened his eyes and then hugged Kushina tightly.

Kushina understood that Uzumaki Kushina had disappeared, and she stroked Naruto's hair, gently comforting him.

"How did it go? Did it work?" Killer Bee asked. Naruto smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

"Sometimes I really don't understand why Jinchuriki exist." Mashiro said softly, looking at the chapter on Tailed Beasts in the history of the ninja world in her hand.

"Isn't it because the ninja villages want to control the power of the tailed beasts?" Haku said softly.

At this moment, Mashiro and Izumi are in the villa's library. Mashiro is holding Shiro in her arms, while Izumi is sitting next to Mashiro, holding a book about tea ceremony.

"But the question is, do the ninja villages really control the power of the tailed beasts? Leaving aside Killer Bee and Naruto, who became perfect Jinchuriki, most Jinchuriki can only control a portion of the tailed beast's power. Even if they are stronger than ordinary ninjas, they won't be ridiculously strong. Not to mention that most Jinchuriki don't have a good relationship with their own villages," Mashiro said softly.

"That must be for the sake of power, as a powerful weapon that can destroy everything in its path," Quan said, putting down the book in his hand.

That makes some sense, but it's still not clear enough. Most ninja villages don't have a high opinion of Jinchuriki, nor do they pour any training resources into them. They treat them more as tools than weapons. After all, weapons need to be cherished, but tools can be easily replaced and discarded. "Mashiro said.

“Jinchūriki are indeed tragic figures. No matter what the future holds, their childhoods are gloomy, and this gloom will accompany them for a long time,” Izumi said softly.

"What do you think should be done with the Tailed Beasts?" Izumi asked softly, looking at Mashiro.

“You should know.” Mashiro patted Izumi’s head and said. “Could it be, to make batteries?” Izumi said with a light laugh.

"That's right. The chakra of the tailed beasts is so vast, and it can regenerate. In that case, it's like a giant, renewable battery, with immense uses." Mashiro said with a light laugh.

"Perhaps only you in the entire world of deception would think this way, turning the tailed beasts into batteries," Izumi said with a touch of melancholy.

“It’s definitely not just me. It’s just that, apart from me, the others who thought of it didn’t have the ability to do it.” Mashiro said, stroking Shiro’s face.

Just then, "knock knock knock."

Tayuya's voice came through.

"Master, Sister Xiao Nan asked me to remind you not to skip the meeting. There's a video conference with the Five Kage today, and she and Sister Samui can't attend on your behalf."

Upon hearing this, Mashiro gently put Shiro down and said to the two of them, "I'm going to a meeting now." Then she left the study.

After Mashiro left, just as Shiro was about to get up and leave, Izumi came over, hugged Shiro, and put him in the same position as Mashiro had been, and started reading a book.

Bai didn't react for a moment.

While Naruto was training on Turtle Island, the Fourth Shinobi World Lord was also officially engaging in a localized conflict.

The White Zetsu suddenly attacked the five great ninja villages. Their numbers were enormous, and although their overall strength was not particularly great, they still consumed a great deal of manpower and resources.

This Five Kage video conference was convened for this purpose. We arrived at the Hokage's office.

Xiao Nan and Samui have prepared everything for the video conference.

"You're finally here. How's it been being a hands-off manager these past few days?" Konan said irritably. She had thought that leaving Amegakure would give her more freedom, but she hadn't expected to be even busier.

"I can only say that neither you nor Samui are lazy. In fact, there are many things that don't require your personal attention," Mashiro said softly to Konan.

"You make it sound so easy," Xiao Nan said irritably.

Neither she nor Samui were originally from Konoha, nor did they have any connections, so they often had to do things themselves.

"It's mainly because of the expansion of Konoha and the Fourth Shinobi World War during this period. There are a lot of things to deal with. Once everything is over, things will be easier," Mashiro said softly.

“I hope so,” Samui said calmly from the side.

"If you're still busy then, I can assign each of you a secretary, that should do," Shin said with a smile as he sat in the Hokage's chair.

Just then, all four televisions on the table lit up simultaneously, and the Five-Image Video Conference began.

"This meeting should be convened by the Hokage as the commander-in-chief, right? Is there something wrong?" Terumi asked Mashiro through the video, sounding somewhat resentful.

Mashiro ignored Terumi's resentful tone and chuckled, "What are your thoughts on the White Zetsu attack?"

Chapter 178: The Shadow

"My opinion is simple: Akatsuki is using them to wear down our forces. I'm also considering whether to send out all the Jonin as quickly as possible."

"Destroy those things," Ai said.

"The Raikage is always so short-tempered, but this time my opinion is the same as the Raikage's. When these strange creatures first appeared on a large scale, I sent people to capture several live individuals and send them to the research institute. It turns out that these seem to be artificial creatures."

"They are clones, appearing almost endlessly. In contrast, our ninja numbers are limited. If left unchecked, even if the attack is eventually stopped, our allied forces will be severely weakened," Amanoki said.

"I don't agree with the Raikage's opinion. Jonin are the core fighting force of the Allied Forces. What if Akatsuki is just waiting for us to send Jonin to deal with these White Zetsu?"

"And what's more, if what the Tsuchikage said is true, as long as the source of these things isn't extinguished, even if one wave of fire is extinguished, they will still keep appearing," Terumi said.

I also sent people to study the structure of these things carefully. They have chakra in their bodies, but as long as they need chakra, it can't be produced indefinitely; there must be a limit.

More importantly, if these things aren't dealt with, our allied forces will struggle to converge, leaving us vulnerable to Akatsuki's attacks. Therefore, we must eliminate them. "Ai continued."

“We can use forbidden techniques. These White Zetsu aren’t physically strong; most are only at the Genin level, with a few exceptions. And they basically don’t know any ninjutsu. Using powerful forbidden techniques, even Chunin can easily take down many White Zetsu. That way, we only need to leave a portion to guard the village, and the main force can go and join them,” Gaara said.

"I'd like to hear the Hokage's opinion. Since he's gathered us together at this time, I think he must already have a good plan," Onoki said, looking at Mashiro.

"I do have a method to use summoning beasts to deal with them. As long as we can hold out for a while, once our combined forces converge, the White Zetsu's attack location will naturally shift," Mashiro said softly.

"Summoning beasts? That idea is unrealistic. Let alone finding that many summoning beasts, even if we did, their strength would vary greatly, making them difficult to use," Onoki said, shaking his head.

"Moreover, most summoned beasts only listen to their masters. Once their masters leave, they won't fight with all their might for anything else," Mei Terumi said softly.

"What if I told you that I have a large, disciplined group of summoned beasts that will obey their master's orders without hesitation?" Mashiro said with a light laugh.

"If that's really the case, then your plan might be feasible. But it's nothing but a pipe dream." Onoki didn't believe such a summoning beast existed. Mashiro clapped her hands gently.

A ninja gang appeared out of nowhere.

"These are my summoning beasts, Shadows. They have no thoughts, but they will carry out their master's orders to the end, and their numbers are endless. As long as there is enough chakra, they can appear indefinitely. Although their combat power is not strong, they are just right for these White Zetsu," Mashiro introduced.

Looking at the humanoid black creature that appeared out of nowhere, and listening to Mashiro's introduction, the other four Kage could hardly believe their ears that such a summoning beast actually existed.

“With these guys gone, as long as we have enough chakra, each of us is an army,” Onoki said with great apprehension.

“But they are not very strong. For strong people like you, no matter how many appear, one person can deal with them. Besides, I don’t have that much chakra, do I?” Mashiro said softly.

She naturally didn't tell the truth. The strength of the Shadow Legion would increase with the amount of chakra that Mashiro injected, but the conversion rate was extremely low. Mashiro had tried it before, and the ninja soldiers summoned by injecting the amount of elite Chunin chakra were only as strong as ordinary Chunin.

But hold on, the greatest strength of the commanding force lies in their mobility and assassination capabilities.

Under normal circumstances, between ordinary ninjas of equal strength and Shadowkhan soldiers, the Shadowkhan would always be the ultimate victor. So what is the Hokage's plan? "A asked.

"It's very simple. I will send these shadowy figures to your four great ninja villages. They can freely receive chakra. Then you can have the village ninjas inject chakra into their bodies, and they will generate chakra continuously. Let them fight against the White Zetsu army, and we can take the opportunity to reunite," Mashiro said with a smile.

None of the four shadows spoke.

"What, do you not trust me? You can use your own methods too," Mashiro said softly.

“Then let’s settle on this. You are the commander of the Allied Forces, and we will continue to obey your orders. Now that we have formed the Allied Ninja Forces, we should no longer continue to be suspicious,” A said, slamming his hand on the table.

After hearing Ai's explanation, Gaara, Mei Terumi, and Onoki all agreed.

"Then let's decide on this. We'll meet in Kumogakure in a week, and the meeting will be adjourned." Mashiro finished speaking and ended the call. "Are you sure you don't have any other motives?" Konan asked.

"If you're talking about other purposes, there probably are. After all, I'm the commander of the Allied Forces now, and not only am I a woman, but I'm also so young. I hope to enhance my prestige through this," Mashiro replied.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Nan nodded gently, indicating her understanding.

“If you hadn’t deliberately concealed your deeds in Kumogakure, I think your prestige would be so high that you wouldn’t need to do these things,” Samui said.

"If word gets out and the people of Kumogakure find out, what will the Raikage think of me? I don't want to have any impact on the internal harmony of your Kumogakure." Mashiro said softly.

Of course, Mashiro's words were just a facade; the more crucial point was that the time wasn't right to say it yet. "All I can say is that you are truly an incredibly kind person," Samui said, looking at Mashiro.

Mashiro smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment. I'll go prepare now. I've already entrusted the official duties to you." With that, Mashiro turned and left.

The next day, the shadowy figures sent by Shinji to the other four ninja villages appeared one after another.

As agreed beforehand, the four Kage began to organize people to inject chakra into the bodies of these shadow ninjas.

Then, the Shadow Legion began to appear in droves and joined the battle against the White Zetsu. Even Onoki found this sight unbelievable.

Meanwhile, in the Root Research Institute, in Tono Fusuke's laboratory.

A huge storage device was now connected to a black shadow, with pale blue light emanating from its stripes. "How is it, Assistant Fang?" Mashiro appeared out of nowhere and asked.

“Just as you predicted, sir, a large amount of chakra has begun to flow into the storage device through this shadow,” Tohno Fusuke said respectfully. Mashiro smiled; everything was going as she had expected.

Mashiro's suggestion to use the Shadow Legion to fight White Zetsu was partly to enhance her prestige, but another reason was to use the Allied Shinobi Forces' ninjas to power up the storage device.

If it takes one point of chakra for Mashiro to summon a shadow, then it takes two points for other ninjas. The extra point is then injected into the storage device by the shadow formed by Mashiro's divine power.

Even if the amount of chakra required to summon a low-level shadow ninja is very small, it will still accumulate into an incredibly powerful chakra.

The Huzhe allied forces have assembled in Yunhu Village.

With the final list confirmed, ninjas from different villages were assigned to different teams.

They organized supplies and got to know each other. Meanwhile, on the other side...

Obito and Orochimaru also began their operation.

Chapter 179: Shadows Fall Where There Is Silence

"Leave the Nine-Tails to me," Orochimaru said.