Chapter 196: 196 - The Democracy of Dangerous Choices
When upgrading and integrating [Multiversal Voyager], the information infused into Kei by the system suggested that in most worlds, there exists a self-circulating energy system.
Although the shinobi world did not have records of the Six Paths of Reincarnation before the arrival of Kaguya, there were concepts such as "attaining Buddhahood" and "reincarnation."
The Pure Land should logically have the ability to erase soul imprints and memories, refining them into a pure spiritual essence that was reborn into the world, forming a cycle with the entire realm.
However, no matter how long ago someone passed away, they all remained trapped in the Pure Land.
At present, the Pure Land was like a gluttonous beast with its mouth wide open, continuously devouring the energy and chakra produced by the entire shinobi world.
Kei couldn't determine just from this alone that the Sage of Six Paths was the ultimate villain.
But who would believe that this has nothing to do with him?
"What a headache-inducing enemy..." Pakura held her forehead with one hand and leaned back in her chair.
Among the group, she had fought Kiri ninjas the most and knew how troublesome those lunatics could be when they had access to sufficient water.
Now, add to that one hundred thousand White Zetsu and the ever-looming threat of the Ōtsutsuki clan appearing at any moment.
Wasn't this getting way too ridiculous!?
"Over a hundred thousand enemies, most of them at least at genin to chunin level..." Even Kitsuchi's expression turned grim.
Forget about an army of one hundred thousand genin and chunin—just trying to kill one hundred thousand pigs that could run around would be exhausting!
"If those creatures don't feel fear, could the Mizukage at least control them into committing suicide?" The Third Raikage crossed his arms, pondering deeply before voicing his doubt.
"The permissions left by Black Zetsu barely allow us to command them to attack. Controlling them to the point of self-destruction is impossible. But you don't have to worry too much. In this battle, we have Konoha's top combat forces leading the charge. Eliminating the White Zetsu and the extremist forces of Kiri won't be difficult. Moreover, through this war, we can effectively reduce the mutual hostility and resentment among the ninjas villages."
Kei shrugged and stated his true purpose.
He always wanted everyone to fight together for a reason. To a large extent, he aimed to establish a common enemy—just like the Fourth Great Ninja War in the original story.
Through this, he could eliminate, suppress, or at least diminish the animosity and barriers between the various villages.
If not for this goal, he could have simply waited for Hikari to use her power to mark all the White Zetsu with the Yachihoko seal.
At that point, she could instantly extract all the chakra from the White Zetsu, leading to the simultaneous death of one hundred thousand of them due to chakra depletion!
However, without the advanced internet infrastructure that existed decades later in the original story, after Black Zetsu freed Hikari from her seal, even though she had been marking White Zetsu daily, only about fifteen thousand had been marked so far.
One hundred thousand White Zetsu... Optimistically speaking, it would take around eight months to a year.
Kei had time.
But after forcibly merging the four great ninja villages, the frequent conflicts arising from years of accumulated hatred would surely become a major headache.
If tensions continued to escalate... By the time he left for another world, the hard-earned unity could collapse in an instant. Wouldn't that mean all his efforts were wasted?
"Hostility and resentment..." Pakura's eyes flashed with insight.
If those monsters that once surrounded Suna took the lead in battle... And if the top ninjas from each village participated... Then one hundred thousand White Zetsu and a single village really wouldn't be too difficult to deal with.
As for eliminating hostility and resentment... Was this a way to use war as an excuse to purge those within the village who harbored extreme hatred toward other villages?
Her expression turned complex. Kei had repeatedly mentioned over the past few days that many Kiri ninjas had mental issues. If they weren't dealt with, they could become a huge problem.
"Don't give me that look. I'm not Danzō; I'm not as dark as you think. Conflicts are inevitable when villages merge, and your role is to resolve them, isn't it?" Seeing Pakura's expression, Kei immediately knew she was overthinking.
"Cough cough." Pakura cleared her throat, avoiding Kei's gaze, and said nothing more.
But deep down, she let out a small sigh of relief. She had experienced a lot of unfair treatment on her journey to this point. Even if she could now judge others, she didn't want to subject them to the same kind of injustice.
"Is there no way to deal with the hundred thousand White Zetsu and Kiri with fewer casualties?" the Raikage asked in a deep voice.
No matter how strong the top fighters were, they couldn't protect everyone.
Even with the four villages forming a joint ninja army and throwing in everything they had, their total force barely exceeded seventy thousand. Against one hundred thousand White Zetsu and over ten thousand Kiri ninjas?
Who knew how many would die.
"There is a way, but it's riskier."
"What way?"
"Each village can extract a portion of chakra from their tailed beasts and inject it into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, reviving the Ten-Tails. Once the Ten-Tails reconnects with the hundred thousand White Zetsu, all we have to do is sever the God Tree, and they will all die."
"Where's the risk in that? Even if that woman is revived, she would only have a fraction of her chakra and should be in a weakened state, right? If we gather our top fighters, we should be able to handle her!"
"The God Tree's aura has a powerful attraction to the Ōtsutsuki clan, even across vast distances."
Kei scanned the room, giving everyone time to think.
The Raikage emained silent.
Between fighting a single overwhelmingly strong opponent and facing a hundred thousand White Zetsu, he was actually leaning toward battling Kaguya. If they could take her down quickly, the White Zetsu would all perish as a result. And the remaining Kiri ninjas wouldn't stand a chance against the combined forces of the four great ninja villages, minimizing casualties for Kumo.
But if they chose this plan, they would likely attract other Ōtsutsuki members.
According to Kei, every member of the Ōtsutsuki clan possessed strength beyond kage-level, and even alone, they had the power to destroy an entire village. Their abilities were also a natural counter to ninjutsu and chakra-based techniques.
Could he handle the consequences of that?
Kei glanced at Tsunade, Pakura, Kitsuchi, and A, noting their similar expressions. He clapped his hands to bring their attention back.
"There are two options—pick one. I won't participate in the decision. You all vote, and consider this the first major decision since our villages merged."
Tsunade exhaled heavily, scanning the group before giving a slight nod of approval. Seeing this, the others had no objections.
"Alright, those in favor of directly fighting the hundred thousand White Zetsu and Kiri, raise your hands."
After a few seconds, seeing that none of the four moved, a small smile appeared on Kei's lips. He spoke again, "Then, those in favor of reviving the Ten-Tails, severing it to eliminate the White Zetsu, and then dealing with Kiri, raise your hands."
Tsunade, Pakura, Kitsuchi, and A all raised their hands in succession.
This decision might not have been the wisest, but if they lacked the courage to face a powerful enemy and protect their people, how could they be worthy of the title of "kage"?
Clap, clap, clap—
Kei started applauding, unable to suppress the grin on his face.
"You bastard..." The more Tsunade looked at Kei's suppressed smile, the more she felt something was off! Did this guy intend to release the Ten-Tails from the very beginning, using it as bait to lure in the Ōtsutsuki clan?!
Suspicion flashed through her eyes.
From what she knew about Kei, he didn't fear powerful enemies—if anything, he got excited when facing them.
When he proposed the plan earlier, he didn't force anyone into making a decision either.
"You… you're not just trying to shift the blame onto us, are you?"
"Slander! That's slander! I'm just saying that either outcome is acceptable to me!"