As Hikaru had predicted, the hidden villages had not abandoned their desire for revenge.

They mobilized everything they had, once again gathering their armies and marching in grand formation toward Konoha.

This time, the Four Great Nations had learned from their previous mistakes. They converged in one place, attempting to overwhelm Konoha with sheer numbers.

Meanwhile, the revolution on the moon had reached its final stage—a massive Tenseigan had already appeared.

In truth, this matter was somewhat connected to Hikaru.

According to the timeline, the people on the moon should only be disappointed with the current state of the shinobi world at most.

But now, starting the destruction of the world decades early was the direct result of Hikaru's intervention—his four wives had utterly annihilated the shinobi forces of the other nations.

And Hinata's Tenseigan had further agitated the moon-dwellers, pushing them toward extremism.

Still, it worked out well—this allowed Hikaru to smoothly carry out his plan and unify the shinobi world in one stroke.

On the second day after the Shinobi Coalition merged, a total force of fifty thousand ninja quietly approached the borders of Konoha.

Having learned from the complete wipeout of their previous expedition, this time they opted for tight formations, not daring to disperse and encircle Konoha for fear of being picked off one by one again.

What was surprising was that throughout their march, they encountered no resistance from Konoha.

The roads were eerily empty—not a single Konoha ninja in sight.

This led many coalition soldiers to a mistaken assumption: perhaps Konoha had already been intimidated by their overwhelming momentum. Their morale surged as a result.

However, unlike the optimism of the average ninja, the commanders of the coalition forces were shrouded in a heavy silence.

Chiyo, representing Sunagakure, was currently at the coalition's command center.

She looked around and noticed the solemn expressions on everyone's faces, and unease stirred in her heart.

"Everyone, should we reassess the situation in Konoha? Have your spies sent back any reports on the current state of the village?" she asked in a grave tone.

Dodai, representing Kumogakure, sat with one arm missing. His eyes revealed deep confusion.

He had witnessed Hikaru's terrifying strength firsthand and knew full well that Konoha was not a foe to be taken lightly.

Before departure, he had already prepared for the worst—he even suspected this campaign might be a one-way trip.

But the current silence only deepened his sense of dread.

"Konoha's lack of response is far too abnormal. We can't afford to be careless," he said, his voice low and laced with concern.

"Indeed."

A voice came from behind the group. They turned to see Ōishi, the representative from Iwagakure.

"Our spies also tried to infiltrate Konoha, but ever since the Four Nations declared war, Konoha's security has tightened to an unprecedented level. We haven't heard from any of our agents in a long time."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression grew even more grim—they had experienced the same outcome.

Konoha now resembled a swirling vortex, swallowing everything whole.

Chiyo took a deep breath. "If that's the case, dwelling on it will only make us hesitate. I say we strike tonight."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Everyone understood that attacking Konoha now meant diving headfirst into a den of dragons and tigers—not only did Hikaru await them, but each of his four wives possessed power that once belonged to the gods of the shinobi world.

But given the circumstances, it seemed like the only choice they had left.

"I agree with Chiyo," Dodai said after a moment of contemplation. "We can't sit around blindly waiting. Morale is high right now. We should strike while the iron's hot and take Konoha in one fell swoop."

At that moment, a brash voice rang out across the room.

It was none other than Kaguya Dokutaka, the representative from Kirigakure.

He had his legs propped on the table, exuding arrogance and contempt.

"I don't really care about all that. I heard that this 'Hikaru' guy is strong—that's why I brought my clan here."

"Since we've decided to attack, why not just do it now?"

Across from him, the other Kirigakure representative, Genshi, looked on helplessly.

Because Kirigakure had lost too many elite fighters in the previous conflict, the Kaguya Clan's influence had surged to the point of matching the village's leadership.

That's why Kirigakure had two representatives in the coalition—something that already caused displeasure among the other villages.

Now, Dokutaka's reckless remarks were digging a deeper hole for Kirigakure.

His arrogance and rashness would likely make Kirigakure the coalition's scapegoat and cause them to bear the brunt of the fighting.

Sure enough, the room grew tense the moment Dokutaka finished speaking.

The other representatives exchanged looks, silently coming to an agreement.

They were already irritated by the fact that Kirigakure had two seats at the table. Now, with this provocation, they had a perfect outlet for their frustration.

"If the Mist is so confident, why don't you take the vanguard tonight?" someone suggested with a cold smile.

The moment the words landed, voices of agreement erupted across the room.

Genshi immediately stepped forward to object:

"No! We agreed before setting out that we'd advance and retreat as one! How can you suddenly expect Kirigakure to bear all the pressure?"

His voice trembled with urgency and indignation—he clearly didn't want to see his village thrown to the wolves.

But unfortunately, sometimes a single idiot can ruin everything.

Just as Genshi tried to deescalate the situation, Dokutaka spoke again.

"Great! It's settled then!"

His voice was full of unrestrained arrogance, completely ignoring Genshi's concern—or Hikaru's terrifying strength.

Genshi wanted nothing more than to kill this moron on the spot.

But right now, protecting Kirigakure took precedence. He began arguing with the others, trying to push for a shared vanguard effort by all four nations.

The command center erupted into bickering, completely forgetting the mission they had set out to accomplish.

What they didn't know was that back in the Hokage's office, Hikaru and the others were watching their argument play out with amusement.

Tobirama scoffed, "Have they forgotten Konoha is right in front of them? The enemy is at their doorstep, and they're not even united?"

Izuna chuckled, "Your disciple is even worse than these guys."

Tobirama almost slammed the table at that one, but in the end, he held back.

Because every time he argued with Izuna, he lost.

No helping it—his student really had caused a lot of 'wonderful' trouble.

Tobirama's darkened expression drew a round of laughter from everyone, making his face even darker.

After the laughter died down, Hashirama pondered for a moment and then said, "Let me handle it this time. I'm not so old-fashioned."

But Hikaru shook his head with a smile. "No, this time I'll go personally."