XX-level Hokage

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.

"Oh, you're actually willing to take action? Aren't you afraid of destroying this body as well?" Obito said calmly, looking at Orochimaru. Orochimaru's current strength was at most at the level of an ordinary Jonin.

“I need the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki’s assistance with some research. Don’t worry, I’ll bring Itachi, who’s been resurrected through the Reanimation Jutsu, with me,” Orochimaru said. “What are you up to?” Obito asked, his eyes filled with suspicion.

"Isn't this a good opportunity for us to trust each other? Once we get the Nine-Tails, your plan will be just around the corner," Orochimaru said with a sinister smile.

"Then let's do it your way," Obito said.

“According to Zetsu’s reconnaissance, the Allied Shinobi Forces have a total strength of about 80,000. Therefore, we used the 100,000 White Zetsu left behind by the Sage of Six Paths to besiege and weaken them. However, the sudden appearance of black creatures indicates that the Allied Shinobi Forces seem to have more than 80,000 troops. So, should we use the chakra of the Tailed Beasts to create some more White Zetsu?” Orochimaru said with a light laugh.

“No need,” Obito said. “Since we have those men, we don’t need to worry about numbers.” “That’s true,” Orochimaru said, looking at Obito and suddenly bursting into laughter.

Obito's expression behind his mask became increasingly passive. Now that the Reanimation Jutsu and the White Zetsu army were in Orochimaru's hands, Orochimaru was, in a sense, able to speak to him on equal terms.

“Come with me,” Obito said.

Then he turned and walked out of the passageway, heading deeper into the cave. Orochimaru followed him.

Soon, they arrived at a huge wooden door.

With a gentle push, Obito led Orochimaru inside.

"This is... the Gedo Mazo." Orochimaru said, somewhat surprised.

Before him stood a gigantic, nine-eyed, bizarre statue, seated in a strange posture on a massive lotus platform. "Come down," Obito continued, then descended the stairs, soon arriving at the foot of the Gedo Mazo.

As they drew closer, Orochimaru sensed something. "It's alive," Orochimaru said.

“It is dead, but it is about to be resurrected,” Obito said.

“I understand. I will bring the Nine-Tails,” Orochimaru said calmly. “I look forward to your good news,” Obito said, looking at Orochimaru.

"A Hyuga clansman discovered Zetsu and has now been killed." Mashiro said softly in the Raikage's office. At that moment, the Five Kage and Mifune were in A's office, holding a meeting.

"At this point, the intelligence has been leaked, and we have to revise the battle plan. However, the fact that our coalition forces have already learned of this leak is a blessing in disguise. This makes it easier for us to set a trap," Onoki said.

“The most worrying thing is still the Turtle Island matter. We don’t know how much information has been leaked yet. If Naruto’s location has also been leaked, then we’ll be in trouble. Even though the tunnel can move, it’s still not reassuring,” Gaara said.

“To hold off the enemy, the island has moved along the route I laid out. Besides, the fog is so thick that the enemy won’t be able to find it easily,” Ai said. “If it were a search, the enemy would definitely send out small reconnaissance teams. They shouldn’t be using human wave tactics to divide their forces, so they should have a hard time finding Turtle Island among the many islands,” Mei Terumi said, frowning slightly.

“I’m afraid they already know the exact coordinates of Turtle Island. If that’s the case, even if the island moves, the enemy will conduct a thorough search of the surrounding area. We can’t afford to be careless,” Gaara said, resting his chin on his hand.

"In short, send reinforcements first. If sending a large force would make it easy for the enemy to spot, send only a small number of elite troops," Mifune said.

"I have people on Turtle Island now, and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is already able to use much of the Nine-Tails' power. Even if they are discovered by the enemy, they can be contained in the short term."

"The safety within is not a problem, the only concern is that the enemy might send elite troops." Mashiro said softly.

"Wow!" Onoki suddenly said with a smile. "Tsuchikage-sama," Terumi Mei said, somewhat surprised.

"Hmph, old man Tsuchikage, I have no objection," Ai said.

“That’s right, and being able to fly makes you move quickly too,” Mei Terumi nodded and said. “Are you sure it’s okay?” Gaara asked.

"Don't worry, Kazekage, I'm the Tsuchikage known as Onoki the Two Scales! Ah! My back!" Onoki said smugly, then slammed his hand on the table, instantly twisting his back.

"So, what's the Commander's opinion?" Onoki asked, supporting his back and looking at Mashiro. "I'm completely at ease leaving it to you, Grandpa," Mashiro replied with a smile.

Then, she extended a finger, and a wisp of green chakra flew out, landing on Onoki's waist. "I didn't expect the Hokage to be skilled in medical ninjutsu," Terumi exclaimed in surprise. "I know a little," Mashiro replied with a smile.

"Then I'll set off." Ohnoki said with a smile, realizing his back pain had subsided.

Orochimaru, with the reanimated Itachi, stood atop Deidara's clay bird. "Then let's set off," Orochimaru said.