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When the number of people surpasses ten thousand, the sight becomes boundless.
The elite shinobi from the Five Great Villages, along with ninjas from Takigakure and the samurai of the Land of Iron, formed an army of 80,000. They stood in distinct formations according to their respective divisions, creating an imposing spectacle.
To be honest, maybe because the gathering was still somewhat disorganized, Naruto felt like these 80,000 people weren't even as intimidating as the 10,000-strong formations he had seen during national military parades.
Naruto had already arrived at the rendezvous point with Kakashi and the others, receiving their Allied Shinobi Forces headbands designed by Mifune of the Land of Iron.
Of course, "designed" was a strong word it was just a standard headband with the symbols of each village replaced by the single kanji for shinobi (忍).
With the war imminent, it was impressive that they managed to produce them so quickly. It was likely something the villages had coordinated well in advance, and even Minato saw the necessity of this decision.
Among the various uniforms of each village's ninja, the sight of every shinobi wearing the same headband might foster a natural sense of unity.
The Allied Shinobi Forces were divided into several divisions based on their functions: the Intelligence Division, the Sensor Division, the Medical and Logistics Division, and the main Combat Division.
The Combat Division was further categorized based on fighting style and ninjutsu affinity, forming long-range, mid-range, and close-combat units.
However, there were also special units. Kakashi's team, along with Tenten's team under Guy's leadership, had been assigned to the Rapid Response Division. Their role was to provide immediate reinforcements to any battlefield in dire need of support.
This division would be led by Kakashi, stationed at headquarters during the early stages of the war, ready to mobilize based on intelligence reports from the Sensor and Intelligence Divisions.
As Kakashi led Sasuke and Sakura toward their assigned unit, Naruto was summoned to the temporary command centre.
Inside, the Five Kage and the surviving Jinchūriki had gathered. But what caught Naruto's attention the most was Killer B.
The others were also focused on the man who was rumoured to have been killed.
"Yo~" Killer B, unfazed by all the stares, struck a pose and prepared to rap his explanation. His survival had been a hard-fought victory, and though losing Gyūki was painful, he was confident that he would get him back. So, there was no way the great Killer B's soul of rap would ever be extinguished!
"Shut up, B!" The Raikage's fist crashed into Killer B's face, stopping him from embarrassing himself further. He then turned to the others and explained, "As you can see, B managed to escape from Akatsuki alive, but the Eight-Tails were extracted. Fortunately, Gyūki left behind a severed tentacle, which allowed B to survive."
Ōnoki nodded. "Even without the Eight-Tails, Killer B is still a formidable ninja. At a time like this, having another fighter on our side is valuable."
Yagura agreed. "Indeed. At least things haven't worsened further. Although both Fū and I were attacked, our Tailed Beasts were not taken."
"No, the situation is not that optimistic," Minato said grimly. "According to the latest intelligence, they don't necessarily need complete Tailed Beasts. As long as they gather enough chakra, they can still awaken the Ten-Tails."
"What?!" Yagura's expression darkened. "I was once drained of chakra by White Zetsu."
Fū added, "When I transformed into my Tailed Beast, Samehada absorbed a portion of my chakra."
"The Three-Tails and the Six-Tails…" Ōnoki frowned. "Have any other Jinchūriki had their chakra absorbed by Akatsuki or their affiliates?"
Naruto and Kushina shook their heads. Fū even enthusiastically raised her hand. "Nope! Not at all!"
"No, you have."
Before anyone could relax, Gaara's words made them tense up again.
"Huh? When?" Fū was completely clueless.
Gaara explained, "During the last Chūnin Exams, you and I both had a significant amount of chakra drained by that monk, Fuen. Recently, he was kidnapped. I initially thought it was a plot targeting me, but now I realize it was for our Tailed Beast chakra."
Fū's eyes widened in realization. "Oh! You mean that monk with the biwa!"
Gaara nodded. "That's the one. Which means they likely already have chakra from the One-Tail and the Seven-Tails as well."
Yagura's frown deepened. "That explains it. Now, they only need the Nine-Tails' chakra. No wonder they risked everything to launch an assault on the Land of Fire."
"So that means only the Nine-Tails is left?" Ōnoki's gaze shifted toward Naruto and Kushina, who stood quietly behind Minato. The other Kage also turned their attention to them, hoping there was no further bad news.
Minato answered, "They seem to have a backup plan for obtaining the Nine-Tails' chakra. However, they won't resort to it unless absolutely necessary. Their main objective is to capture the Nine-Tails in its entirety."
"Then we can't delay any longer," the Raikage said, slamming his hand on the table. "Do we have any intel on Akatsuki's location? All the teams sent to investigate the Land of Rain came up empty!"
Minato shook his head. "Same here. Since most of Akatsuki's core members have been taken out, the remaining ones, Zetsu and the man calling himself 'Madara' would have had no trouble relocating. Also, they don't seem to be relying on Rain Village shinobi as their main fighting force."
Ōnoki crossed his arms. "My intelligence matches yours. Those guys work too efficiently. Maybe having fewer people actually makes it easier for them to stay hidden."
Knock, knock, knock.
A firm knocking sound interrupted the discussion.
Naruto whispered to Minato, "It's Uncle Inoichi."
Yamanaka Inoichi wasn't the type to act recklessly. If he was interrupting a meeting like this, it had to be urgent.
Minato nodded. "Come in."
As expected, the moment Inoichi stepped in, he immediately reported, "Lord Hokage, and esteemed Kage, I apologize for interrupting, but we have an emergency."
"The enemy's forces, nearly 100,000 strong, have entered the Land of Fire from three different directions. Based on their appearance, the enemy consists of White Zetsu… and deceased shinobi from various villages!"
The Raikage's expression darkened. "What did you just say? Deceased shinobi?! What the hell do you mean?!"
Minato had already anticipated this. Ever since the Chūnin Exams, he had ordered the strict guarding of Konoha's graveyards. When he learned from Nagato and Konan about Orochimaru's involvement, he had even checked for recent grave-robbing incidents.
If he wanted to be thorough, he could have ordered the complete exhumation and cremation of all bodies, but issuing such a command would have been an extreme desecration of the dead making him no different from the grave robbers themselves.
Minato explained, "It's a forbidden jutsu developed by the Second Hokage—Edo Tensei. It allows the caster to summon the souls of the dead back into the living world. If our assumptions are correct, then the one responsible is likely Orochimaru."
"Edo Tensei?!" Gaara, having witnessed it firsthand during the Konoha (crossed out) Sand Village Destruction Plan, knew exactly what it was.
For the other Kage, however, this revelation was shocking. The fact that Konoha even had such a technique was horrifying!
Ōnoki, who had seen much in his lifetime, sighed in admiration. "To think that the Second Hokage was capable of developing such a jutsu… What a terrifying man."
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