"That is..."Gaara's Third Eye, created by his sand, was the first to spot four figures slowly walking toward the battlefield.
Because Gaara was still too young, there were many ancient figures he didn't recognize. However, among these four, there was one person he did recognize.
It was his father, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa! Even though Gaara didn't recognize the other three, anyone walking alongside the Fourth Kazekage was definitely no ordinary individual; most likely, they were also Kage from other villages.
When Gaara saw Rasa, his eyes contracted. He quickly passed this information along to Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage, who had previously arrived to support them.
"Are you sure you didn't see wrong?!"
Upon hearing the description, Ōnoki's eyes widened in shock.
Worldly and knowledgeable as he was, Ōnoki could already guess the identities of the newcomers just from Gaara's description.
After Gaara confirmed it, Ōnoki couldn't help but mutter, "This is going to be troublesome."
Ōnoki then informed Gaara of the identities of the four figures.
"So they really are all Kage, huh..."Hearing this, Gaara's face grew grave. Together with Ōnoki, he ordered the Fourth Division to slowly retreat — these kinds of enemies couldn't be overwhelmed just by sheer numbers.
Perhaps they could succeed by doing so, but the price would be far too steep for them to accept.
However, after retreating a certain distance, a figure suddenly appeared beside them.
"Lord Hokage?"When Gaara and Ōnoki saw Natsuro, their eyes lit up.
They had already relayed the information about the approaching Kage back to HQ, and had expected perhaps the Fourth Raikage to come in support, not Natsuro.
"Yes, it's me. Also, we can't retreat any further," Natsuro nodded and said.
"Then let's engage them right here," Ōnoki agreed immediately.
This location was already at the outermost defensive line they had set up. If they retreated any further, some enemies might slip past and threaten their comrades' flanks elsewhere.
"Gaara, you'll take the Fourth Kazekage," Natsuro said.
Gaara nodded. That was exactly what he wanted. Although he no longer hated his father, he still wished to settle things between them.
"I'll take the Second Tsuchikage..."Ōnoki also stepped forward and accepted his task.
"Good. Then the Third Raikage and Second Mizukage will be mine," Natsuro said with a smile.This division of tasks was perfect, if he had to fight four Kage alone with just a Spiritual Shadow Clone, it would have been troublesome, and the clone might even risk being dispelled if he wasn't careful.
No matter how special the clone was, it was still not the real body and remained vulnerable.
Gaara and Ōnoki hesitated for a moment, glancing at Natsuro, as if asking: Can you really handle two Kage by yourself?Their original plan had been to have the Allied Shinobi Forces delay the last one.
"Trust me," Natsuro smiled reassuringly.
...
Meanwhile, at the Allied HQ.
The Fourth Raikage suddenly widened his eyes and glared at Natsuro, who was leisurely drinking tea."What's going on? Why is there a 'you' at the Fourth Division's battlefield?"
"I thought they needed help against the four Kage, so I went," Natsuro replied calmly.
"So the one here is a clone?" the Fourth Raikage asked.
"Maybe both are me," Natsuro said ambiguously.
"Hmph!"The Fourth Raikage didn't believe for a second that Natsuro would send only a clone against the threat of four Kage, he was sure Natsuro's real body was there.But they had been together the whole time... When had he slipped away?
"You're the Supreme Commander of the Alliance. It's not appropriate for you to go personally!" the Fourth Raikage protested.
"But I'm still right here," Natsuro replied.
"You—!"The Fourth Raikage was grinding his teeth. Could a shadow clone really count as being here?If anyone should have gone to support the Fourth Division, it should have been him!
"Tell me, Raikage... Is your body tougher than the Third Raikage's?" Natsuro looked straight at him and asked.
Immediately, the Fourth Raikage recalled his father's formidable figure, a body so strong it could be called the toughest in the entire shinobi world...
"Do you have the Third's seeming infinite chakra reserves?" Natsuro pressed further.
Once again, the Fourth Raikage fell silent. He vividly remembered how overwhelming his father's strength had been, the beatings he and Killer Bee endured in training were unforgettable.If the revived Third Raikage had truly regained that prime strength, defeating him would be incredibly difficult, and the cost of victory would be steep.
Even though Natsuro's words were truthful, the way he said them still made the Fourth Raikage furious, his forehead veins bulged as he struggled to find a retort.
"Raikage-sama, I believe Lord Hokage must have made this decision with full confidence," Mabui whispered, trying to calm him down.
"Hmph!" With Mabui's reminder, the Fourth Raikage finally just gave a cold snort without exploding in anger.
Nearby, Shikaku observed Natsuro carefully.
Maybe... the real body really is here?
Shikaku shook his head at that thought.
Am I overestimating Natsuro? No matter how strong he is, expecting just a clone to defeat past Kage is too unrealistic.
Meanwhile, at the Fourth Division battlefield.
The four Kage of the past were slowly advancing toward them. They were merely walking, a quiet form of rebellion against Orochimaru.
Even though they couldn't disobey the commands of the summoner, they could at least move slowly to buy time for the Allied Shinobi Forces to prepare.
Not out of kindness, but because among the Alliance were many of their own village's ninja.Had they been facing only Konoha forces, they might have shown the true terror of a Kage's might without hesitation.
"They've stopped... Looks like they've decided to make a last stand," the Second Tsuchikage commented.
"Fighting comrades from our own villages, it's heartbreaking," said Rasa.
"That damn brat Orochimaru, how dare he bind us with this jutsu! He's going to pay!" the Second Mizukage cursed.
"Though we may not share ideals, I wholeheartedly agree with you on this," the Second Tsuchikage said.
"Let's not be too pessimistic," the Third Raikage added.
"Our village's young ones have surely grown strong enough to surpass us."
"Let's hope so," the others murmured.
The four Kage came to a stop, gazing into the distance.
"They're here. Three of them."
A massive sandstorm surged toward them.
"What an incredible sand wave... Is this the power of Shukaku, the One-Tail?!" the Second Mizukage exclaimed.
Rasa looked at the sand wave and silently agreed, this had to be Shukaku's power.It meant Gaara had likely mastered the Feigning Sleep Technique, for only then could Shukaku's power manifest at this level.
Even while he thought, Rasa's hands moved. He formed hand seals, and a massive Gold Dust Tsunami rose up to meet the approaching sand wave.
Both the sand wave and the gold dust wave clashed, and then froze, locking in place.
Above the battlefield, Gaara stood atop a platform of sand.
Seeing this, he wasn't surprised.
He remembered, from the blurred memories of his rampages, that his father had used this very technique to stop Shukaku's sand before.
Because gold dust was much heavier than regular sand, once Rasa mixed it into Shukaku's sand, even Shukaku himself would struggle to control it.
At the same time, elsewhere in the sky, Ōnoki hovered, a terrifying white light gathering in his hands, it was his Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique.
The Second Tsuchikage also noticed Ōnoki and couldn't help but sigh, "You really have lived a long life, Ōnoki! Is it thanks to Dust Release?"
As he spoke, a white light appeared between the Second Tsuchikage's palms.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
In the next moment, two white beams of light surged toward each other... one from Ōnoki, one from the Second Tsuchikage. Although they used the same technique, the shapes were different, the Second Tsuchikage's was a beam of white light, while Ōnoki's took the form of a cone.
When the two Dust Release attacks collided, a tremendous explosion erupted, blasting a giant crater into the ground, wiping away the sand waves and gold dust that had covered it moments before.
"The Second Tsuchikage's Dust Release... Its power is truly as terrifying as ever," Ōnoki muttered with awe.
Meanwhile, Natsuro spoke up, "If that's the case, it would be a little rude if I didn't at least test my hand as well."
Looking down at the Third Raikage and Second Mizukage, who hadn't yet moved and were standing together, Natsuro slowly gathered a white light in his hand.
In the blink of an eye, the light morphed into a spinning, shuriken-like form.
"Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"
Natsuro gently released the Rasenshuriken, letting it drift down slowly as if carried by the breeze.
"This is..."The Third Raikage and Second Mizukage didn't know what a Rasenshuriken was, but the piercing shriek it made and the massive chakra it radiated made them instantly alert and wary.
The very next moment, the Third Raikage's body erupted in fierce lightning, his hair standing fully on end, the strongest form of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode: the Ultimate Lightning Armor!
Then, the Third Raikage stopped moving entirely, seemingly preparing to take the Rasenshuriken head-on.
Seeing this, Natsuro's eye twitched slightly.
Even though the Rasenshuriken wasn't as effective against Edo Tensei bodies, its sheer destructive power was still not something to be underestimated!
The Rasenshuriken landed on the Third Raikage — and instantly, an explosion erupted, no less violent than the Dust Release clash between the two Tsuchikage earlier.
When the smoke cleared, Natsuro looked down at the Third Raikage.
Although the Third Raikage wasn't completely unharmed, his damage was minimal, and thanks to the Edo Tensei regeneration, he would recover swiftly.
Natsuro fell into deep thought.
"As expected of the Third Raikage... I've heard stories of his body being the strongest, and now seeing it firsthand, it's true," Natsuro clicked his tongue in amazement.
"No need to flatter me, boy," The Third Raikage said,
"If I weren't in this Edo Tensei body, I probably would've died from that jutsu just now. That was an incredibly powerful Wind Release technique."
He sighed a little — truthfully, he had hoped to be sealed away by such a technique — but it seemed it had fallen short.
"Man, you're a freak of a kid... and that guy's body is freakish too," The Second Mizukage grumbled from a safe distance away, having long since backed far out of range.
"By the way... who exactly are you?" The Third Raikage asked, glancing at Natsuro.
Nearby, Rasa was still talking with Gaara, and the Second Tsuchikage was locked in battle with Ōnoki.The Third Raikage was a bit regretful he hadn't run into the Fourth Raikage, but he had found an interesting opponent nonetheless.
"The Sixth Hokage, Natsuro," Natsuro answered openly.
"Hokage, huh? Too bad you're not one of us from the Cloud Village," The Third Raikage sighed.
Since everyone's headbands no longer bore their original village insignias, he had still held a bit of hope, but alas.
"Oi, Raikage," The Second Mizukage interjected, "Just look at his skin tone. Obviously, he's not from the Land of Lightning. If anything, he looks more like one of us Mist Ninja."
"Shut up, you stubbly-faced old man," The Third Raikage snorted coldly.
Immediately, veins bulged on the Second Mizukage's forehead at being called that.
Pointing at the Third Raikage, he turned to Natsuro and said, "Oi, Hokage, hurry up and deal with this guy! I swear I won't get in your way!"
"Haha, no need to rush," Natsuro said with a smile, slowly drifting to a different position, separating himself from Gaara and Ōnoki.
"Hm? Hokage, it looks like you intend to face both of us by yourself?" The Second Mizukage frowned.
"That's right," Natsuro answered without hesitation.
"Hmph. Hokage or not, you're being way too arrogant," the Third Raikage snorted, "I advise you to just take on one of us, and let your Allied Forces stall the other."
"That's a good plan," Natsuro smiled at them, "...but I refuse."
As he said that, terrifying lightning erupted from his body.
"You foolish brat!" The Third Raikage roared furiously.
"You have such a powerful Wind Release, and yet you still dare to fight me using Lightning Release?!"
"Then," Natsuro said, "won't you show me, firsthand, the true might of the Third Raikage's Lightning Release?"
The reason he took the initiative to attack was precisely because of this, ever since his main body had broken through to a new level, a brand new path had opened up before him.
If he could succeed here, then...
A fiery gleam lit up in Natsuro's eyes, the dream of achieving the Kekkei Mōra wouldn't be impossible anymore.
"You brat...!" The Third Raikage was enraged by Natsuro's stubbornness.
Originally, he had wanted to help by revealing his own weaknesses, making it easier for Natsuro to seal him.
But now...
Now he would show this boy exactly what happens to those who don't listen to good advice!
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Currently on Chapter 396 - He Who Divides The World