290: Kage Summit (3)

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Chapter 290: Kage Summit (3)

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The three Akatsukis and four Kages all shifted in their spots as Neji Hyuga appeared out of a black portal and stood in front of them, leaning against the wall as the portal closed behind him.

Obito quickly placed a hand on Naruto's shoulders just as the boy was about to make a jump at Neji– or at least he acted as if that’d happen.

Obito whispered, "Don’t, Naruto."

Naruto growled but didn’t attack. For a moment, his sharingan met with Obito’s and– for an instant, both of their eyes gleamed in a light of mischief.

As it turned out, Neji Hyuga’s appearance today was just as planned, just as the prediction showed by Naruto’s implanted Sharingan. Fugaku Uchiha’s Mangekyou, with the power to predict the future.

Now, if the other prediction went right as well, Neji Hyuga wouldn’t survive today.

For now though, Obito and Naruto will leave it to Sasuke as he wasn’t entirely into this plan– he only knew about the ending of this meeting, not the middle part– and therefore could deliver truthful reactions to the events that’ll unfold.

* * *

On the other side of the room, Mei Terumī spoke on behalf of all the Kages.

"What do you mean by that, Neji Hyuga?"

"It is as I said, a Genjutsu." 

Neji stepped forward, making everyone alert but nobody moved to attack.

"That's what my friend 'Madara' here also plans to do. I actually support his idea, very great and self-sacrificing as it is.”

Mei watched as Neji looked at Madara's with a strange smile on his face.

"The Infinite Tsukuyomi. It's a Genjutsu that, when casted at nighttime, reflects on the surface of the moon and catches everyone in this planet into it. Even people who are not looking at the moon, or the people on the other side of the world where it's not even night time, are caught into it.”

The Kages frowned at that but Neji continued without allowing anyone to present any question.

"You must be wondering what the hell I am talking about, but it's the truth. Have you guys heard about the Rinnegan? It’s real. So was Sage of Six Paths. So is the legend of the moon rabbit.” Neji said. “After combining the Nine Tailed Beasts, a creature named the Ten Tails is born. That creature, when sealed inside a person, gives birth to the Ten Tails Jinchuuriki. The Infinite Tsukuyomi is a Genjutsu that can be cast by that Jinchuuriki."

"...Is that so?"

When Gaara asked suspiciously, Neji nodded. 

"Our friend 'Madara' here is aiming to do exactly that. I applaud him for that, as he is making my job easier. I also wish that the world gets stuck into an Eternal Genjutsu, where everyone will be able to live the life they always wanted– where they will be the king of their reality– where nobody will be sad."

Neji spread his arms maniacally as he spoke each word with passion, a psychotic smile on his face that creeped even the Kages.

"However," Neji put his arms down, turning to Obito. "The problem is I don't trust the Ghost of Uchiha. Who knows what sort of Genjutsu he will cast? Maybe instead of internal peace for every individual, he will force everyone to obey his ruling in this disgusting, rotting reality?”

‘Madara’s’ single eye gleamed  at the acquisition as Neji continued.

“Thus, I stand opposed to him, even though our goals align. Once the time to cast the Genjutsu finally comes, I will take him down to cast the Jutsu myself. I don’t need to be the Ten Tails’ Jinchuuriki for that."

The room grew immensely tense as the Kages sweated, while the masked Uchiha seemed to scowl under his mask.

“You sound very self-proclaimed.” said Mei after a while. “Disgusting.”

After that, ‘Madara’ spoke for the first time.

"...You are a very confident man indeed," said the masked Uchiha. "However, do you think I will allow you to cast the Genjutsu? Do you think you can defeat me if I decide to fight, if we clash?"

"We can find that out right away, if you want." Neji smirked at him. "Though I wish not. I hope you'll rather finish the job for me and allow me to strike at the right time. You see, I don’t wish to be the Ten Tails’ Jinchuuriki, I find the whole Jinchuuriki thing disgusting. That’s the only reason I am even allowing you to do this, you know?”

"...."

—-

Neji watched Obito fall silent as his lies. 

The things he just said weren't the truth, of course. The true problem with being the Jinchuuriki was, that the person who’ll be the Jhinchuuriki of the Ten Tails would inevitably die as ‘Kaguya’ will appear from within him. That was probably the one thing that could actually kill the current Neji. So he surely couldn’t be that person, he needed a scapegoat.

However, Neji was lying about casting the Infinite Tsukuyomi himself. That was just to create a sense of animosity against both Obito and the Kages. Because in his current situation, it was better to appear as a villain than a hero.

"However, there is a slight problem with that. I may not be able to stop you, because you may not be in my reach when you become the Jinchuurki." Neji said. "You have all the tailed beasts, which means you can summon the Tailed Tailed Beast anywhere, at any time. You can just do that in some cave and then cast the Genjutsu. That's not fun. If there is no war, there is no fun."

After all, the Fourth Great Ninja War only started in the canon timeline because Obito couldn't get his hands on Naruto's Nine Tailed Chakra. If he had done so, no such war would have started– just like in this timeline.

So, it fell upon Neji to do something to bring him out in the war.

If Neji's snowflake girlfriend Yaomomo was still around, she would have definitely asked– 'Why? You already have everything needed to summon the girl you have been looking for an entire month. So why delay it, moreover by threatening people's lives?'

However, this was an unavoidable situation. If he hadn't ever stepped into this world, the war would have happened anyway. Those people would have died anyway. So why not die in his hands? He would gain his much needed experience points, in exchange.

Unlike the people of My Hero Academia, no Ninja in this world was innocent. A purge of their ranks would be rather good for this world as a whole. More so, it will allow people to easily accept him as their ‘God’ when he decides to actually take over the world.

So, a war was for the better. In the grand scheme of things that’d increase the chances of survivability for Neji and his loved ones.

Neji's hands slipped into thin air and, very casually, pulled the space apart. Creating a door in the air for a man– a clone of Neji– to walk out of the portal.

However, the clone wasn't alone. He had someone unconscious in his grasp.

The pressure in the room shifted once more as Raikage's frown threatened to break his face seeing the person who the clone Neji brought. It was actually surprising how this Kage had held in for so long, at all.

In the clone Neji’s grasp, an unconscious Killer Bee was being grabbed by his collar.

"Bee?! You blind-looking bastard, what did you do to Bee?!" Raikage yelled, but when Neji shot him a cold glare he paused from rushing forward.

"I saved him. When I found him, his chakra was being absorbed by the 'fetus' of the Ten Tails, the Gedo Statue. Most of his chakra was absorbed, in fact. Killer Bee would have died if I wasn’t kind enough to pull those chakra back and shove it back into him." Neji explained and threw Bee towards the Kages. 

Neji turned to look at Obito, who had yet to move, but now a cold aura was around him. He must be mad seeing his precious hunt getting stolen from his maw.

Neji, along with his two Priestesses beside him, observed the Kages for a long while. Then, Neji started to float in the air for thearetics for his next words.

"Now this creates a dispute. The masked Uchiha wants back his hunt, and the Kages want to stop him from doing so– fearing that the world will end.” said Neji while smiling at everyone. “As experienced Ninjas, you all should be aware what this level of dispute typically leads to?”

The Kage escorts gulped at his implication and Neji continued. 

“Yes, on behalf of my friend Madara here, I Neji Hyuga hereby declare the start of the 4th Great Ninja War.”

The world seemed to tremble as each of his words registered into the Kages. 

“Madara will try to take back the Eight Tails so that he can complete his toy, while you Four Villages will try to stop him. Otherwise, only doom awaits you all."

"...."

"...."

As Neji finished his declaration, both parties went dead silent, and some of the Kages were even sweating.

“...Temari,” Gaara broke the silence, looking at Temari. “Why are you standing beside such a cruel man? You too, Lady Tsunade. I remember you being caring of him when you came to visit the Sand Village last time, but supporting him in this is too much.”

“It is none of your business, Gaara.” said Temari first, while Tsunade nodded from beside her. “We are making a better world. I apologise as your big sister, but I wouldn’t hold back against you if you stand opposed to me or even try to make me change sides.”

Tsunade followed after she finished. “Your feeble minds are unable to understand the greatness of this mission.” she said. “But fear not, when all of you are thrown into the paradise of a world, you’ll understand how kind we are.”

Even Neji was speechless by their acting, so no wonder the other people who were oblivious that they actually were just acting. ​

Amongst everyone else in the room, surprisingly it was Sasuke Uchiha who reacted first by opening his mouth.

"You three think you can do whatever you want?" asked Sasuke with a hiss. "Just who do you think you are to act like this?"

"Hm?” Neji smirked down at him from the air. “I’m like a producer, pouring money to watch a stage show. That’s what I am." 

Neji laughed, before changing his demeanour to a frown. "By the way, I am pretty sure Itachi didn't use Kotoamatsukami on Naruto this time around. So it surprises me why he didn't use it on you. You should be on Konoha's side by now, all things considered."

"...." Sasuke’s eyes flashed with confusion, as if he couldn’t understand the question.

"What happened?" Neji looked at Sasuke's frowning figure. "Then again, I am not really interested in stories of dead men. Some other day, I suppose."

"...This isn't really smart," it was Obito Uchiha who replied then. "Do you think I will just walk away, prepare for a meaningless war, when I can just grab the Eight Tails from here?"

"Do you think I will allow you to do that?" 

Neji said and released his active skill, [Bloodlust - Lvl 1], something he had never got the chance to use before due to the unavailability of Mana. But he recently decided to use it for threaretic use– hoping to someday evolve it to a skill similar to Conqueror's Haki.

Though the skill level was 1, what mattered was the power behind it. So the entire room shook as Neji tilted his head slightly, looking down on Obito from above the air.

"Are you certain you can fight me without harnessing the power of the Ten Tails? If you are, I can prove you wrong anyday." Neji scoffed as puffs of fire came out of his nostrils.

Silence filled the room once more, however, it was Naruto who broke the silence this time around.

"Hehe…" 

Naruto started to chuckle. 

"Hahahahaha!"

Then he broke into an unhinged laughter.

Following him, Obito released a deep chuckle too. Even Sasuke smirked.

Neji frowned, his eyes flashing in confusion.

‘Did they go crazy?’

"As expected of my father's Mangekyo Sharingan." said Sasuke, looking to the side at Naruto's Sharingan. "It predicted the future just right."

"...."

Neji quickly looked at Naruto with ‹Observe›.

[Naruto Uzumaki – Chakra Fox Human – Low Tier 13]

That was a huge number, but it wasn't anything new. Neji had seen the same digits when he took Hinata to see Naruto. 

However, Neji hadn't checked his Sharingan details back then. So Neji decided to do that now.

===

Bloodline Ability: Mangekyo Sharingan

Level: 09

Effects:

(1) Basic Sharingan Abilities (click to expand)

(2) Future Prediction – (Mangekyo Left Eye)

Effect: Allows the user to predict the future of himself and others according to the choices he makes.

(3) Body Condition Reversal – (Mangekyo Right Eye)

Effect: Allows the user to reverse his body’s personal time to reverse any injury and such upto 60 seconds prior.

===

Two bullshit level abilities, but in this context the important one was the skill– Future Prediction…

Neji frowned.

How long ago did Naruto predict that Neji would come to this summit? Was that why, despite being [Low Tier 13], Naruto was easily swept away by Neji’s shockwave back then when Neji and Hinata went to meet him? Was Naruto just acting to be weak back then? Because he didn’t want to alert Neji?

If Naruto had predicted this Summit days or weeks prior, then just what sort of preparation did he and Obito take against this situation?

As if to answer him, Obito Uchiha finally stopped chuckling as he spoke.

"Am I certain if I can fight you without harnessing the power of the Ten Tails?" 

Obito reached out his hand to take off his mask– revealing his scarred face that was wearing a smirk. 

“Honestly, I am not. Because I don’t need to fight you."

Obito’s eyes locked on Neji’s as both his Sharingans gleamed.

That too was surprising to Neji. 

If he hadn't yet implanted the Rinnegan onto himself, how was the Gedo Statue active? Neji's clone had seen that statue working, sucking out Bee's chakra with the help of Kisame and Suigetsu. So if Obito didn't have the Rinnegan, how was that statue active?

No, the more important question was… who had the Rinnegan, then?

"This…" it was Onoki who reacted first amongst the Kages, seeing Obito take off his mask. "You are not Madara. No, you can't be him. This guy is a scammer!"

This old man was the only living person in this room who had actually seen Madara in their life. So he recognised that Obito was faking until.

"Oh, no, I am not. Apologies for lying to you, my respectful Kages." Obito said with a smirk. 

“Then who are you?” asked Mei.

"Me? My name is Obito Uchiha. Successor of Madara Uchiha." 

As he spoke, his right Sharingan shimmered and the space in front of him twisted into itself. 

"However, I should refrain from talking any further on this matter." Obito said. "Since my master can do that for himself."

From the spinning space, made by Kamui, a menacing figure walked out. 

This man wearing an unamused expression had long spiky black hair while a red body armour wrapped around him, the red colour matching the Sharingan in his right eye.

In his left eye, however, a Rinnegan rippled.

The figure, Madara Uchiha, looked around the room with an extremely bored expression as he met everyone's gaze. Until the gaze landed on Neji who was still floating in the air. 

The Kages shivered as Madara's lips curled up.

"So things didn't end quietly, huh, Obito." said Madara, his bone chilling deep voice booming across the room. "I suppose it's time to bring the Ten Tails out, then?"

[Madara Uchiha – Wood-Human – Low Tier 13]

The room shook, and that was the last shake for this room as a giant hand slipped out of the floor, yanking itself up as the Gedo Statue itself came out to view. Under this artificial earthquake, the entire building crumbled down as all the people jumped out of it.

To the hyper alert Kages’ minds, the 4th Great Ninja War had started already.

**

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Master4thWall Note: Things once again fall out of Neji’s hands, but maybe it’s not that bad.

By the way, Naruto is weakened because he doesn’t have much of the Nine Tails’ chakra. That’s why even with Six Paths power, he is only as strong as Reincarnated Rinnegan Madara.