Infinite Anime [280-281] (Patreon)

Chapter 280: Gusion's Shadow Clone

At the border of the Land of Rain, the Rain Tiger at Will Technique had ceased, giving the rarely clear-skied country a rare sunny day.

Wind brushed the clouds aside, sunlight spilled over the land, and the warmth of the afternoon made one feel languid.

A group of shinobi burst out of the woods into the dazzling sun, crossed a river, and drove like a spear straight into the Land of Rain's heartland.

"Hey, Hokage, don't be so reckless. We should scout here before moving on."

While advancing, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, hovering in midair, spoke up.

Uchiha Fugaku, running at the front, halted and turned to look at the others. "Everyone, this is a surprise attack. Doing reconnaissance inside the Land of Rain will only give the enemy more time to prepare."

"The Hokage has a point. Onoki, stop throwing your weight around. Since we chose a commander for the allied army, we should trust his judgment."

The Fourth Raikage, A, said. He had long looked forward to today's battle to wipe out Akatsuki and felt Uchiha Fugaku's assessment was correct.

They had already launched a raid into the village; to pause for recon now would throw away the advantage of surprise.

He had previously planted the "Calamity" as a spy inside Akatsuki to probe their background and find a chance to destroy them.

Now that their relationship of convenience had ended, there was no way he could still claim the Calamity was a Cloud spy; otherwise Konoha and the Mist would first hold him accountable. Thus, the matter of Gusion being a Cloud spy could only be buried.

Fortunately, the alliance to attack Akatsuki was already set, and he could finally exorcise the Akatsuki demon in his heart today.

"I trust the Hokage's judgment. He has rich battlefield experience and is currently the only one in the shinobi world who has repelled the Calamity head-on. We should press deeper."

The Fifth Mizukage, Zabuza, spoke up, strongly supporting Uchiha Fugaku.

Odd, really—Uchiha Fugaku was a "new Kage," freshly made Hokage, yet at the Five Kage Summit he was chosen as the allied commander.

The main reason was the astonishing strength he displayed in the Konoha battle. The fame of Susanoo had spread throughout the shinobi world; all the Kage were wary of him.

He had both strength and renown, and as Hokage of Konoha—the chief victim—he naturally hated Akatsuki most. In every respect, he had the edge to be elected allied commander.

The method of electing a commander among the Five Kage was peculiar: they used a vote, with the five Kage voting. As expected, the Raikage, Tsuchikage, and Kazekage didn't want to vote for others, each voting for themselves and urging the rest to trust them.

Unsurprisingly, each had only one vote. But Uchiha Fugaku was different: besides voting for himself, the Fifth Mizukage, Zabuza, also voted for him…

And so, he naturally became commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces.

The trio didn't object either. Fugaku was strong enough and, in their view, hated Gusion and Akatsuki enough; having him as commander was just right.

As for why Zabuza voted for Fugaku, the other Kage didn't find it strange. After all, the Mist was also a victim; perhaps the two resonated more, and in private Fugaku was better at securing votes.

What the Tsuchikage and the others would never have dreamed was that their allied commander…was actually an inside man.

Uchiha Fugaku certainly didn't want to attack Akatsuki. It was thankless work. Gusion was currently tied to Uchiha interests and had told him how strong Akatsuki's leader really was. Marching on the Land of Rain was basically a death wish.

But the tide of events couldn't be resisted. He couldn't sing counterpoint, so he did his best to seize authority and, together with Zabuza, secured the allied command.

Everything had gone smoothly—until a few days ago.

According to Fugaku's original plan, he would advance slowly with the army. Once Gusion and the others were ready, they'd put on a spectacular show right at the Land of Rain's border.

Oh, he and Zabuza would certainly…slack off with gusto.

With their tacit understanding with Gusion, they would surely manage it so Mist and Konoha suffered almost no losses while the other three great villages took heavy casualties.

That way, Konoha's crisis would be fully resolved. The other great nations would no longer have the strength to attack them, and Konoha would enjoy a long period of peaceful development.

As for Zabuza, Fugaku had only learned at the Five Kage Summit that he was also allied with Gusion. After the initial shock, he knew the so-called Allied Shinobi Forces were a joke.

Because the two apparent "victims" were actually Gusion's downlines…

Under these circumstances, Fugaku felt the war would be easy to manage—if not for the mishap a few days ago.

The problem was that the Tsuchikage self-reported…

Onoki candidly explained the deals he'd done with Akatsuki over the years and, using Konoha and Mist incidents as examples, analyzed Akatsuki's danger.

His meaning was clear: they couldn't march in with masses of shinobi—ordinary shinobi were just fodder, meaningless. Better to send only elites for a surprise strike.

Fugaku certainly didn't want to agree to a plan so unfavorable to Gusion, but the Raikage and Kazekage both supported Onoki. If Fugaku and Zabuza opposed it, it would look suspicious.

Helplessly, he praised Onoki's clever move, and the decision passed.

He figured it wasn't a big problem. Fewer troops merely meant the other villages would take fewer losses. As long as he sent word early, Gusion could still prepare.

But then came the awkward discovery: he couldn't reach Gusion.

Thus the current scene: Fugaku had led the elite of the Five Great Villages deep into the Land of Rain without knowing Gusion's situation.

The only thing he could be sure of was that Gusion had said in their last contact that he was already in the Land of Rain. Fugaku felt he needed to be at the front and, at the first chance, use genjutsu to exchange intel with Gusion.

"Akatsuki's leader possesses Sage Eyes. Rushing in without intel will cost us dearly. Kid, don't think he's on the same level as the Calamity."

Onoki was irked by Zabuza and the Raikage, "Sage Eyes are the stuff of legend—their abilities completely unknown."

"The same level? As if you've fought the Calamity."

Fugaku's face darkened. "Enough. Make haste. According to your intel, isn't Akatsuki's leader supposed to be in the highest tower of the Land of Rain?"

He didn't know how Onoki had such precise intel, but Onoki said it was highly credible.

Truth be told, Fugaku didn't want to attack the Land of Rain at all. The Rinnegan's deterrence was immense; even the proud Uchiha had to admit it was the pinnacle of ocular bloodlines.

He only hoped to run into Gusion quickly, then, with his confidants, throw the match—pretend to be repelled by Gusion and slip away.

After all, he and Gusion could pull their punches. But if he encountered the Akatsuki leader who knew nothing of this, he wasn't confident of retreating intact before the Rinnegan.

"Enough arguing. I trust the Tsuchikage's intel and the Hokage's plan. We head straight for the tower."

The Fourth Kazekage finally spoke, "I want to see how strong the legendary Rinnegan is."

Just then, a voice drifted down from above. "What a pity. You won't be seeing the Rinnegan today."

Everyone looked up, wary. Atop a tower, a black-clad man with a black blade gazed down at them.

"The Calamity!"

"Gusion!"

They called out the newcomer's identity, moving into fighting stances.

A gust pushed the cloudbank aside; the light shifted. Half of Gusion's body basked in sunlight, the other half shaded by cloud. A cryptic smile on his face, he slowly drew the blade at his waist: Mazuko.

"The Five Kage…what a luxurious lineup."

Gusion smiled, scanning the crowd. Each village had sent five or six top fighters with this strike team.

Konoha's squad was led by Uchiha Fugaku; in it were Kakashi and elite Uchiha jōnin. Itachi did not come—he had to hold Konoha, as the new regime might not be stable.

Mist's side was similarly strong. Though the Fifth Mizukage, Zabuza, had some water in his title, his assistant Terumi Mei was a true Kage-level fighter; she was glaring at him with hate.

In addition, they had somehow brought back the Mist defector Utakata, the Six-Tails jinchūriki.

Cloud was serious about destroying Akatsuki too: the A-B combo arrived; also, Nii Yugito, Darui, Samui, Karui, and other Cloud elites all mobilized—clearly not intending to reminisce with Gusion, their former spy.

Iwa and Suna were similar, fielding their strongest forces. The Tsuchikage, well aware of Akatsuki's danger, went all-in, even bringing both of the village's jinchūriki—ready for a decisive battle.

In short, Gusion now faced a lineup of the Five Kage plus the Two-Tails, Four-Tails, Five-Tails, Six-Tails, and Eight-Tails—five jinchūriki.

There really weren't many in the current shinobi world who could face that and still win.

As Gusion stepped into the air, his body changed: dark violet demon patterns emerged, and dragon scales crept over his skin—he went straight into Sage Mode.

"Careful. His Sage Mode is troublesome."

Fugaku, acting the responsible allied commander, warned the others—though it was basically nonsense.

Before he could move, someone behind charged out—the Fourth Kazekage of Suna. "I want to see how strong this so-called Calamity is."

He attacked with great flourish. When his Magnet Release activated, black tea-kettle-like gourd spewed endless gold sand, surging like a waterfall that reversed upward to press down on Gusion.

Akatsuki's assault on Suna and attempt to abduct his jinchūriki son had enraged him. As Kazekage, he would not fear Gusion's reputation and struck first.

Boom—

The golden sand waterfall crashed like a torrent in front of Gusion, but to Rasa's shock, Gusion didn't move an inch, and not a grain of sand touched him.

The golden sand seemed to hit an invisible barrier before him, then streamed upward as if out of control.

From within the shroud of sand, Gusion's voice was calm. "Magnet Release? Ever hear the saying that electricity and magnetism are two sides of a coin?"

Lightning surged around him. In an instant he altered the magnetic polarity of the gold sand and forced it to slam downward instead.

The shinobi below scattered in all directions to avoid the sand's bombardment.

The Fourth Kazekage felt awkward, but as a Kage he didn't panic. While struggling to regain control of the sand, he shouted, "I'll create openings for you!"

The other Kage were annoyed—if you're not up to it, don't dress it up as "creating openings."

But this wasn't the time for sniping. One by one, they moved—including Fugaku and Zabuza—rushing Gusion.

Their coordination was stiff; they were at odds, and with two moles among them, the teamwork was even worse.

In their eyes, Gusion's blade Mazuko spun, sending out blade auras wreathed in lightning. The fight immediately reached a boiling point.

The strike team forgot about penetrating deeper to kill Akatsuki's leader. They now wanted to settle with the Calamity—the "number two of Akatsuki" in their eyes—first.

Under the continuous release of high-powered ninjutsu, buildings toppled, the terrain heaved, and terror spread in all directions.

The people of the Land of Rain fled in panic, praying for the god's intervention. But this time Pain didn't appear quickly as before to deal with the invaders.

The shinobi of the Five Great Nations were utterly unconcerned with Rain's civilians. Most had experienced the Third or even Second Great War, long inured to such cruelty, and had ample experience fighting on Rain's soil.

Back then they often used the Land of Rain as a buffer zone, fighting right here.

It wasn't their own people dying; they didn't care.

"No wonder the leader bears a grudge against you…"

Gusion sighed as he cut, his blade's scarlet arc flashing in and out, slicing open the chests of the Kazekage and Zabuza—the latter's wound shallower.

The Five Kage kept silent during battle, merely directing their shinobi to coordinate. Finally, Onoki found a perfect chance. "Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"

A semi-transparent block shot toward Gusion and exploded under the other Kage's horrified gaze.

"Onoki, are you trying to kill us!?"

The hot-tempered Raikage cursed first; the other Kage were also grim.

"You're not dead, are you? Besides, my strike hit and eliminated a dangerous opponent."

Onoki looked at Gusion's tattered "corpse" in the dispersing dust with righteous air.

At that moment, Gusion's body let out a puff and turned into a cloud of smoke…

Then, from the tower behind them, a voice sounded. "As expected of the Five Kage—took you no time to disperse my shadow clone."

Chapter 281: Enemies from the Moon

As war erupted in the Land of Rain, somewhere no ordinary person would imagine, a small squad prepared to move out.

A tall, burly man in crimson armor, greatsword in hand, pointed at the blue planet below. "Brothers, it's time to reap the shinobi world."

The six behind him were of various styles—some like ancient swordsmen, others like western mages—but all wore joyful smiles.

They had been a top-tier Tier-3 adventuring micro-guild in the Heaven's Will Space. In their last world, they busted through the entire realm and collectively rose to Tier 4—very powerful.

This time, using a world-locating item, they entered the Naruto world together. For various reasons, they'd kept a low profile.

"This batch that came in—seems like one is quite noisy. The one who joined Akatsuki—what was he called… the Calamity?"

By the heavy-armored man's side, a fan-wielding man smiled. "He should be in the Land of Rain now, right?"

"Hahaha, the Calamity? Then let's show him what a real calamity is."

The armored man laughed. "Can't wait to fight him."

"Shun, try to use your head. Last time you rushed alone into the enemy HQ. You said you'd listen to me this time."

The fan-man sighed, looking pained.

"Haven't I put a lid on it for long enough? Since we got here, I haven't had a proper fight."

Shun grumbled.

"To be safe, we should follow the plan and erase the Land of Rain entirely."

The fan-man mused. "That Calamity stirring up the shinobi world actually helped us a lot. Now is the time to close the net."

"Meh, what's the fun in that? And the drop rate won't be great. I say we go down and kill them all—maybe we get better rewards."

Shun stared viciously at the world below. They were standing on the moon, having come up by special means.

"As if your luck's so great. Shun, our original plan is the safest and can secure the Rinnegan."

The strategist's face was helpless. "We're almost at the end. Can't you hold it?"

"No way. Who clears a world without swinging a sword? I have to meet Nagato and the Calamity. My body will rust if I don't move."

Shun glanced back at his teammates. "Right, brothers?"

The others looked conflicted—respectful of their captain, but some felt the strategist made more sense.

They'd come so far, and the strategist's layout was in place. They could safely harvest the results. Diving now into the Rain's melee meant unknown gains and potential losses.

But seeing the captain's eager eyes, one by one they softened—helpless.

Finally Shun turned to the fan-man. "Apoo, looks like everyone agrees."

Apoo rubbed his brow, pained. "Have it your way—but we only act if conditions are right. If the targets aren't weakened to the red line, we don't move."

"Deal. I'll listen."

Shun agreed readily, hefted his greatsword onto his shoulder, and strode forward. "Brothers, time to go chop people."

…

While that team on the moon moved as one, within the main allied force of the Five Great Nations, a small squad quietly split off while passing through the forest.

"Looks like there are quite a few smart folks. Shall we?"

"Get Outta My Way I'm Gonna Bark" grinned at the Explorers' Legion before him, feeling the prospects were great.

"Hey, why are you acting like the leader already? Contract first."

Dark Sky Demon's group arrived from another path. They'd also been tailing the allied army to get a cut later.

As it turned out, for most explorers in the End Space, there were no eternal enemies—only eternal interests.

Even the Dark Sky Demon—who usually fought the "Bark Brothers" on sight—wouldn't turn down money.

"Skin-sleeve Mage, so impatient? We brothers have a reputation—unlike you."

"Step Aside I'm Gonna Bark Now" jeered.

Before he could lay it on thicker, his brother Bark waved him down. "Fine. Contract first, then we move."

If it were only their two teams, he'd let his brother trash talk. But with everyone watching, better to settle cooperation to avoid friction.

Everyone present—aside from Dark Sky Demon's team—were elite embedded in the allied force. They'd received an optional side quest to attack the Land of Rain.

But smart people didn't want to stir up trouble in the Land of Rain. The Five Kage and jinchūriki were strong, and Nagato was no slouch. The gap between super-Kage and ordinary Kage was enormous.

While you're still weaving hand signs, the other guy claps his hands and drops a Chibaku Tensei—what are you gonna play, marbles?

So the Bark Brothers had no intention of going to Amegakure—especially if Gusion would also be in the Land of Rain. They didn't want to face that ridiculous explorer again.

Thus, they decided to take advantage of the Five Great Villages' top forces all marching out and go sweep the rear—rob the Five Great Villages' homes…

Already near the Rain border, the target was easy: head north into the Land of Earth and bottom-feed.

They only had a few weeks left in this world. Pull this heist off and then lay low—what could the Land of Earth do?

Besides, it was doubtful that the Third Tsuchikage's old bones would even make it back alive.

Thus, after some canvassing, the Bark Brothers quickly rallied an explorers' unit—including those from the Endspace and Heaven's Will Space.

These explorers wanted no part of Nagato, the walking plague god. They figured base-raiding was the optimal play.

If time permitted, they could hit the Land of Wind after the Land of Earth—how delightful.

…

As war ignited between the Five Great Nations and the Land of Rain, explorers across the Naruto world began to move, seeking maximum profit.

In the Land of Rain, the Kage, jinchūriki, and many elite shinobi looked up at the figure atop the side tower.

Gusion stood there, black coat fluttering, Mazuko half drawn at his waist.

He was spotless, not like someone who had just fought.

Seeing him and recalling his words, cold crept up everyone's spine.

So after fighting the Five Kage piling on, jinchūriki unleashing everything—and finally beating the Calamity with Onoki's bloodline elimination… it was just a shadow clone!?

Gusion didn't study their shocked faces. He was simply satisfied with his clone's combat performance.

That had been his first live test of the Shadow Clone. It wasn't useless in combat; sometimes it could handle trouble.

Of course, the main value of the technique wasn't fighting—it was being a grind king in training.

Over the past month at Orochimaru's, he wasn't just teasing kids—his own training hadn't slackened.

After obtaining Konoha's Forbidden Jutsu compendium, he learned many useful techniques; Multiple Shadow Clone and Shadow Clone were among them.

Because he didn't have the Nine-Tails' massive chakra, he could only divide into at most ten clones at once for training, but that still hugely accelerated progress.

The only inconvenience: he wasn't primarily a chakra-system user, so before casting ninjutsu he had to condense a portion of chakra—annoying.

To avoid affecting his training, he found another way: he slotted Multiple Shadow Clone into the third slot of his Origin Seed, unlocked by feeding moves in bulk.

Sure enough, once placed in the Seed, it became a zero-cost "passive." Even if his personal energy system wasn't chakra, it didn't matter—he could still summon clones.

But limited by the Seed's level, these special skills couldn't be used without limit or cooldown—just like his Kido barrier, Danku—they had cooldowns.

And though it was "Multiple" Shadow Clone, he could only summon three at a time, each lasting at most an hour, with a long 10-minute cooldown.

Still, since it was a freebie—costing neither soul source nor chakra—Gusion was quite satisfied.

At Orochimaru's base, he'd tried summoning over fifteen clones in succession. With fifteen clones training together, his speed multiplied by fifteen, and his long-stagnant attributes began to move.

Worth noting: the Seed-enhanced Shadow Clone, while adding limits (like number and duration), also gained functions normal ninjutsu didn't have.

Ordinary clones, like Yagura's Water Mirror, could at best copy his basics—non-ninja abilities wouldn't copy.

But clones from the Origin Seed were different. Their base stats were lower than Gusion's, but they could use all his abilities.

They could use Demon God mode, Sage Mode, Haki from the Pirate World, Kido from the Bleach World—even Shikai their Zanpakutō.

Best of all, the clones also benefited from his talent for removing limiters, gaining extra training bonuses. When they dispelled, the experience and gains returned to his body.

With all states active, a clone's base attributes could reach the Tier-3 extreme—around 70 points. Combined with Shunpo and Lightning Release Chakra's speed, their combat power made them elite among Kage-level.

That earlier battle had been to test a clone's strength. The result pleased him. Even with Fugaku and Zabuza "holding back," and poor coordination among the Kage, the alliance still took several minutes to down his clone.

Moreover, thanks to Onoki's Dust Release, the blast's aftershock injured many others.

After the Konoha battle, his Zanpakutō, Mazuko, finally maxed out its growth and reached Epic grade.

Details aside, its Shikai's straightforward stat boost went from All Attributes +4 to +5, giving Gusion an even firmer foundation.

The Soul-Eater, after devouring the Nine-Tails' chakra, easily advanced to Epic and wasn't far from Dark-Gold. Now was the perfect time to harvest exotic chakra.

Aside from the kid Gaara, the great villages' jinchūriki had all come to him—lining up to be cut.

"So that's the Calamity's true body…"

Onoki stared at Gusion, grave. He could hardly believe that after a fierce half-day fight—with the Kage hardly holding back—the one they finally defeated with bloodline elimination was merely a shadow clone…

Then how strong was Gusion's true body?

He suddenly understood why the Hokage had looked at him with a mocking gaze earlier. He had underestimated the young of the shinobi world.

The Calamity was definitely beyond Kage level—likely the number one threat in the shinobi world now!

He had been focused on dealing with the Rinnegan, but now saw Gusion might be the bigger problem.

Gusion leaped from the tower, drifting like he rode the wind. His black coat still flared as he landed.

He scanned the powerhouses before him and grinned. "The jinchūriki have delivered themselves. If I don't accept the gift, wouldn't that be poor hospitality?"

"Calamity…"

The Raikage looked at Gusion solemnly. He hadn't expected that every time they met, Gusion's strength would become even more unreadable.

If at their first battle in the Cloud he felt they were evenly matched, perhaps even with a slight edge, now he felt they weren't even in the same league.

"Don't hesitate—together!"

Fugaku spoke first and charged at the front—playing the role of a good commander, the Hokage leading the charge.

He had tried to use genjutsu to pass intel to Gusion earlier, but for some reason it failed.

Seeing Gusion's power now, he felt his worries might be unnecessary. He just had to play his part.

Sword in hand, he slashed at Gusion—earning the Tsuchikage's silent curse for recklessness. Before Dust Release could be set, Gusion's blade had already moved.

With a ring of steel, Fugaku's sword snapped against Mazuko. The follow-up cut arced straight for Fugaku's chest.

At the "last split-second," Fugaku used Substitution, swapping with a broken steel pipe nearby, his figure popping up at Gusion's flank.

But it was as if Gusion had foreseen it. He snapped a kick into Fugaku's chest, caving it slightly, hurling him through several buildings.