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"How could it be useless?!"
In the formation of the Kirigakure shinobi forces, Ao stared at the distant battle with his Byakugan.
"Mizukage-sama..."
Beside him, Chōjūrō muttered with deep concern.
"Why won't they let us join the fight?!"
"We need to help the Mizukage-sama!"
"What is the command center thinking?!"
"Tsuchikage-sama!"
"Raikage-sama!"
"Kazekage-sama!"
"Jiraiya-sama!"
For a moment, all the shinobi began to grow restless.
Despite the overwhelming numbers, the towering, monstrous statue looming over them did not instill fear. Instead, their fighting spirits surged, and they clamored to join the battle.
---
Deep within the valley, inside the command center built into the mountainside with Earth Release techniques, Shikaku Nara focused intently on the sensory device operated by Tokuma at the center of the room.
Nearby, sitting on the ground with an information-transmission headset, Inoichi Yamanaka spoke up:
"Shikaku, it seems everyone is losing patience!"
"It's not time yet," Shikaku replied, turning his head. "Inoichi, relay the message—tell everyone to remain calm."
"Understood."
Inoichi transmitted Shikaku's words to every individual in the camp. Gradually, the heightened emotions of the allied forces settled.
"That's my father's voice..." Shikamaru glanced back toward the depths of the valley.
"Shikamaru! Something's happening!!!" Ino's sudden cry rang out.
"That's—" Chōji's bag of chips slipped from his hand.
"Whimper…" Akamaru, beside Kiba, curled into a ball and whined fearfully.
"That's—!" Shikamaru's eyes widened as he watched the colossal statue in the distance undergo a terrifying transformation.
"ROAR!!! ROAR!!!"
With an earth-shaking bellow, the Gedo Statue suddenly dropped to all fours, howling toward the sky as its body rapidly expanded.
"ROAR!!!"
A hurricane-force wind erupted.
The four Kage and Jiraiya, who had been engaged in battle, were nearly knocked off their feet, swept backward by the gale.
The spiraling tempest tore through the sky, shattering rain clouds for kilometers around. The unrelenting downpour that had drenched the allied camp finally ceased.
"ROAR!!!"
Ten massive tails erupted from the Gedo Statue's back, writhing wildly in the air.
Its spine bulged grotesquely, forming a towering, spiraled pillar with a sharpened tip.
Its mouth stretched impossibly wide, rows of jagged fangs sprouting within.
The nine eyes on its forehead merged into one, reopening as a single, colossal red eye—patterned with nine tomoe—a Rinnegan of unparalleled size.
In the valley, every shinobi stared in stunned silence at the monstrous entity, now nearly a kilometer in length. The camp of tens of thousands fell deathly quiet.
"This…"
Even Ōnoki, the battle-hardened veteran, was at a loss for words.
"Is this… the Ten-Tails?" Jiraiya murmured.
"Such a monster…" Mei Terumī could only feel overwhelming despair.
"What do we do?" Gaara turned to Ōnoki, the most experienced among them.
"We fight together," Ōnoki said, closing his eyes briefly. "At this point, we must stake our lives to crush Nagato's ambition here!"
"I will never retreat!!!"
A's body erupted with golden lightning, his fierce gaze locked onto the beast.
Atop the Ten-Tails' massive head, Nagato stood calmly.
A green vine extended from the beast's flesh, connecting to the back of his neck.
"ROAR!!!"
The Ten-Tails opened its maw again, a terrifying mass of energy condensing within.
"If the elite of the Five Great Nations perish here," Nagato's icy voice echoed across the battlefield, "will your nations still cling to their pride?"
"It's a Tailed Beast Ball!!"
The five leaders paled, quickly signaling to the camp behind them.
Simultaneously, every shinobi in the camp received a telepathic command from Shikaku Nara in the command center.
Just then, the Ten-Tails snapped its jaws shut, compressing the devastating energy within its mouth—before instantly reopening it.
A searing, crimson beam of pure destruction blasted toward the allied camp.
"MOVE!!!"
Ōnoki slammed into A, who stubbornly tried to block the attack head-on, while the others scattered.
The Tailed Beast Ball, now a beam of annihilation, tore through Gaara's sandstorm defenses like paper.
Every shinobi in the alliance with Earth Release chakra immediately formed hand seals at the command and slammed their palms onto the ground.
"Earth Release: Multi-Layered Earth Wall!"
The earth surged, countless massive barriers rising in rapid succession to shield the camp.
BOOM!!!
The crimson beam obliterated layer after layer, closing in on the camp with terrifying speed.
"This is bad…"
Kakashi crouched low, feeling the overwhelming pressure of the approaching attack.
"We won't hold it—!"
The moment he spoke, the final barrier shattered. The apocalyptic energy surged toward them.
"Heh heh heh… How pathetic."
A long-haired figure emerged from the earth before Kakashi, slamming a palm onto the ground.
"Summoning: Triple Rashōmon!"
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Three massive, demonic iron gates erupted diagonally from the earth, intercepting the Tailed Beast Ball.
With a cataclysmic explosion, the attack obliterated the first two gates—but the third deflected it away from the camp, annihilating a nearby mountainside instead.
"Orochimaru?!"
Kakashi stood, staring at the long-haired figure before him.
"Indeed," Orochimaru turned slightly, smirking. "Long time no see, Kakashi."
"Why are you here, Orochimaru?"
Tsunade appeared beside him in a flash, her expression tense.
"Heh heh," Orochimaru's golden eyes gleamed with manic fascination as he watched the Ten-Tails. His tongue flicked out. "How could I miss such a grand spectacle? The entire shinobi world is watching, after all."
"Tch," Tsunade glared as the Ten-Tails began forming another Tailed Beast Ball. "You're risking your life just to show up here? Unbelievable."
"Kukuku…" Orochimaru chuckled darkly. "No need to worry about me, Tsunade."
Ahead, Ōnoki seized the moment to alter the terrain beneath the Ten-Tails with Earth Release.
Caught off guard, the second Tailed Beast Ball veered off course, detonating in the distant mountain range with another earth-shattering explosion.
"It's not stopping!!"
Tsunade grimaced as the beast prepared a third attack.
"Fufufu…"
Orochimaru watched as Jiraiya and Ōnoki worked together to redirect the next blast, laughing under his breath. "How desperate… That fool Jiraiya."
Tsunade shot him an irritated glare. "Hey! Did you come here just to mock us?"
"Of course not," Orochimaru replied smoothly, unfazed by the hostile glares around him. "No matter how many weaklings gather, it won't change anything. I've come to offer reinforcements, Tsunade."
Without another word, he knelt and pressed his palm to the ground.
"Edo Tensei."
Three wooden coffins rose from the earth in front of him.