White Zetsu, who had been quietly observing the battle from the shadows, noticed that the chaos was nearing its conclusion. Suddenly, he remembered that his mission to collect corpses had seen no progress, and he fell into deep thought.
Should he start collecting now or keep watching?
Considering how terrifying Ye Zi was at the moment, White Zetsu figured it would be better to gather some results to report back properly.
"Konoha's ninjas are closing in from all directions. The final act will probably be quite the spectacle… but I'll pass on watching it."
Reluctantly, White Zetsu left the battlefield and headed toward the Uchiha compound. That would be the ideal place to find plenty of bodies, or more accurately, Sharingan. With Ye Zi's current stockpile of Edo Tensei bodies, the ordinary ninjas who died in this attack didn't qualify to be added.
Earlier, two Uchiha clan Edo Tensei bodies had caused havoc in the compound, killing dozens of Uchiha ninjas before being stopped by Shisui and Itachi.
Afterward, Shisui and Itachi had been drawn away by Ye Zi's display of overwhelming power. Though the village was under attack, the Uchiha clan had dispatched some members to assist while keeping others stationed to guard their compound.
As a result, the bodies of the fallen Uchiha were temporarily gathered in a house, which served as a makeshift morgue. The house was naturally guarded.
If White Zetsu wanted Sharingan, this was the place to go.
.....
Near the Hospital.
The battle between Dan Katō and Tsunade had left much of the surrounding area in ruins, with several buildings reduced to rubble.
Most of the destruction was caused by Tsunade's immense strength.
The two were locked in a stalemate, unable to gain the upper hand over each other.
The lack of suppression over Dan's personality was intended to allow him to counter Tsunade, but it backfired. After a few words from Dan, instead of weakening her resolve, Tsunade became even more determined to protect Konoha.
As an Edo Tensei body, Dan couldn't regain his full strength, and fighting Tsunade proved to be challenging. If not for Tsunade expending chakra with her Slug Technique, Dan might have been knocked down several times already.
Tsunade's extensive knowledge of Dan's abilities allowed her to suppress him effectively.
When the sealing team and reinforcements arrived, Dan's situation became precarious. At that moment, Orochimaru suppressed Dan's consciousness and controlled him to retreat, as the mission had been completed.
Tsunade was unwilling to let Dan escape. She wanted the sealing team to seal him so he could no longer be controlled by Ye Zi, but she failed to stop him, and Dan managed to flee.
Watching Dan escape left Tsunade feeling downcast, but she quickly pulled herself out of it. After having the slug clone update her on the situation in the village, she and her companions set off for the eastern wasteland.
...
Central Street.
As more Konoha ninjas joined the fray, Manda could no longer endure and canceled the summoning, retreating to Ryūchi Cave with its heavily injured body.
The other summoned snakes, including those later brought forth by Orochimaru, were all killed by Konoha's ninjas.
After Manda's retreat, only Sakumo Hatake was left facing the numerous Konoha ninjas. However, most of the ninjas were merely bystanders, unable to provide substantial assistance.
In the battle between Sakumo and Hiruzen, some ninjas attempted to intervene but were quickly cut down by Sakumo as if they were nothing more than weeds.
The high-speed exchange between Sakumo and Hiruzen kept them locked in close combat, leaving the surrounding Konoha ninjas unable to assist from a distance for fear of accidentally hitting Hiruzen.
Hiruzen, now advanced in age and no longer in his prime, gradually began to falter under Sakumo's relentless and suffocating assault.
Even though Sakumo wasn't at full strength as an Edo Tensei body, his close-quarters combat with the White Fang blade would leave most opponents in despair.
Without a weapon of exceptional quality, one couldn't even last a single exchange.
As Hiruzen's disadvantage grew more apparent, Fugaku arrived with his clan members in time.
An expert in genjutsu, Fugaku attempted to use it to assist Hiruzen, but he found that it had no effect on Sakumo.
Seeing Hiruzen's situation becoming increasingly dangerous, Fugaku had no choice but to send his men to assist and create an opening for Hiruzen to disengage.
However, all attempts to assist were repelled by Sakumo's overwhelming strength, and he continued to relentlessly target Hiruzen.
This persistence was likely due to Orochimaru's control over the Edo Tensei body, taking the opportunity to demonstrate malice.
When all efforts to help Hiruzen failed, Fugaku finally activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and used one of its ocular techniques to suppress Sakumo, significantly reducing the pressure on Hiruzen.
Together, Fugaku and Hiruzen managed to neutralize Sakumo's threat to some extent, but the sealing team still couldn't find an opportunity to seal him.
Eventually, Orochimaru used Sakumo's wind and lightning abilities to help him escape, ending the battle.
With his speed amplified by wind and lightning chakra, Sakumo left his pursuers in the dust. Once the chase was abandoned, the Konoha ninjas began assessing the state of the village.
Now, only the eastern wasteland remained as the final battleground.
A portion of the ninjas stayed behind to record the damage to the village and recover the bodies of fallen comrades, while the rest made their way toward the eastern district.
...
At the Main Gate.
After creating the Taketori human puppets, Sasori's abilities skyrocketed. Utilizing the unique characteristics of these puppets, he managed to hold off Jiraiya in Sage Mode, thwarting Jiraiya's plans to quickly eliminate him.
The main reason for this was the resilience of Sasori's nine Taketori puppets. Even after taking devastating damage, they could repair themselves within a short period and return to Sasori's control.
Using this ability, along with the bone-based techniques of the puppets, Sasori and Uchiha Jin were able to stall Jiraiya and a large number of Konoha's ninjas.
Of course, as a puppeteer, Sasori's weaknesses remained glaringly obvious. If his real body was approached, it would spell his end.
However, with the protection of the Third Kazekage puppet and Uchiha Jin, Sasori was able to mitigate this vulnerability and focus on controlling the nine Taketori puppets to suppress Konoha's forces.
While they managed to hold off the Konoha ninjas, the increasing number of enemies significantly raised the pressure on Sasori and Jin. Gritting their teeth, they endured until they saw the signal, signaling their cue to retreat.
Upon seeing the signal, the two held out for a while longer before escaping using the magnetic release abilities of the Third Kazekage puppet.
Coincidentally, Jiraiya's Sage Mode had reached its time limit, forcing him to deactivate it. He chose not to pursue Sasori and Uchiha Jin.
In this situation, chasing them down with allies could have resulted in unnecessary casualties.
Letting the two escape, most of the Konoha ninjas, including Jiraiya, began regrouping and, after learning the state of the village, headed toward the eastern district.
After withstanding the attack orchestrated by Ye Zi and Orochimaru, Konoha's ninjas quickly reorganized, with most of them moving toward the eastern district to confront the final enemy: Ye Zi.
Ye Zi was well aware that Konoha's forces were converging on his location. Staying any longer would inevitably result in being surrounded.
However, he didn't leave immediately.
With techniques like Inorganic Reincarnation and Mayfly, he was confident in his ability to escape even from a complete encirclement.
Before leaving, he intended to leave Konoha a parting gift.
Meanwhile, in the shadows, Danzo silently observed, waiting for the moment when Ye Zi would exhaust his strength.
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