"Stupid fox! Where are you?! If you don't show up soon, we're done for!"
At the edge of the Land of Fire, near the border, Shukaku's huge body stood at the edge of the desert, using the sand from the Land of Wind to fight enemies coming from the Land of Fire.
There wasn't much he could do—he was already running on empty. He had to use chakra to keep Gaara alive, and at the same time fight three S-class rogue ninjas. Sure, there were others helping, but it was barely enough to hold them back.
What made it worse was that those guys were flying in the sky—annoying as hell.
Inside his mind, Kurama sat on the ground, looking at Shukaku's panicked face. "I know you're freaking out, but calm down. We've already sensed where you are. We'll be there in ten minutes tops."
To be fair, it had only been about an hour since Shukaku sent the call for help, and Naruto had run all the way from Konoha to the Land of Fire's border—and even took down two Akatsuki rogues on the way. That was full speed.
If Shukaku still got captured after all that, it really wasn't Naruto's fault.
"Ten minutes?!" Shukaku yelled in his sharp voice. "Do you even hear yourself?!"
"What do you want me to do?" Kurama spread his hands. "Unless you can find a blue raccoon nearby and ask him for a magic door, there's not much we can do."
Shukaku paused, then looked down at himself.
He'd been getting bombed by Deidara and hit by Kakuzu's ninjutsu nonstop. His body had lost its shine, going from bright yellow to dull brownish-yellow, with weird scars all over it.
He squinted at Kurama. "Are you making fun of me?"
"You think I'm in the mood for jokes?" Kurama snapped. "Just keep holding out! We'll be there in ten minutes. No matter what, don't give in! You don't want people calling us tailed beasts a bunch of weak animals, right?"
That line hit Shukaku right where it hurt.
Sure enough, in the next second, Shukaku clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "I'll fight them!"
"That's the spirit!" Kurama gave a thumbs-up.
…
Sometimes, you just don't know why it feels like all the bad things pile up at once.
Naruto had just taken down two of the Akatsuki's Admirals and was happily on his way to rescue Gaara when, before he could enjoy his victory, he saw four broken faces blocking his path. What was going on here?
"Why are there so many enemies? Didn't the Akatsuki only have ten members?" Naruto, high up in the sky, looked down at the four men full of killing intent and complained.
Kurama rubbed his chin, not laughing. "Third Raikage, Second Tsuchikage, Second Mizukage, and Fourth Kazekage. With this lineup, if it's not Orochimaru, I wouldn't believe it."
If Orochimaru wasn't dead, and Kabuto wasn't causing trouble, then the only possibility was that these four were summoned by Orochimaru.
The two guys from earlier were probably just stalling Naruto to buy time for these four.
It was a pretty well-thought-out plan.
"What should we do now?" Naruto asked instinctively.
Kurama thought for a moment, then replied, "We can already sense Shukaku and that Jinchuriki's chakra. They're clearly in a bad state, so don't waste time fighting them. Just fly past them."
"It's fine to lead these guys away. You can take them all out on your own with full force."
There's no time to waste. Gaara's chakra is already very weak, and it won't last much longer. Shukaku also sent a warning—if Naruto doesn't get there in ten minutes, Gaara might really be taken away.
"Alright!" Naruto didn't hesitate. His body shot upward, completely ignoring the four below, and he headed straight for the direction of Gaara's chakra.
The four Kages below watched this scene, their expressions filled with confusion. Raikage A spoke first, "So our opponent is this kid?"
"We can feel his huge chakra presence," said Mu in a deep voice, his bandaged body making him look cold.
"This is troublesome. We're dead, and they still have us fighting," Mizukage Hozuki Gengetsu grumbled as he crossed his arms. "Someone seal us already. Who the hell invented this cursed jutsu?"
Kazekage Rasa looked up at Naruto in the sky, his expression oddly calm. "I remember this jutsu. I think it's the Edo Tensei from the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. Orochimaru mentioned it when we were talking before I died."
"So, the one who summoned us was Senju Tobirama?" Mu's gaze grew colder. The ninjas of their era had a natural distaste for Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara, and Uchiha Tobirama, those who dominated the era of Konohagakure.
"Are you stupid? Don't you know if Senju Tobirama is dead or not?" Hozuki Gengetsu scoffed, looking at Mu with disdain. "This guy means the one who summoned us is that Orochimaru guy."
Mu's eyes filled with killing intent in an instant. "Do you want to fight?"
"You think you can fight me?" Hozuki Gengetsu stuck out his chin provocatively. "Idiot, this jutsu controls our movements. If you have the guts, try to break free from it and fight me. If you don't, stop talking nonsense."
Honestly, Hozuki Gengetsu was well-known in his time for being a loudmouth.
He was the type who would argue endlessly, even if it meant going down together with you.
A looked at the two of them and wasn't surprised. He'd known from the start that these two would end up fighting each other to the death, so a little rivalry was nothing unusual.
Compared to that, he cared more about something else.
Turning to look at Rasa, Ai's expression showed a hint of thoughtfulness. "By the way, who are you?"
"Being summoned with us must mean you're one of the Kage from the future," Hozuki Hanguyue said without hiding his killing intent. Though he really disliked Hozuki Hanguyue, he had to admit that the guy was right; he didn't have the ability to break free from Edo Tensei.
"Yes, senior," Rasa nodded. "I am the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa..."
But before Rasa could finish introducing himself, Hozuki Hanguyue interrupted him with a quick wave. "That's not important. What matters is that the kid up there is about to escape."
"I can't do anything if he's in the sky," Ai was the first to give up.
"I can't fly either," Hozuki Hanguyue laughed, the second to give up.
"No..."
Sometimes, flying could be a joyful thing, but sometimes, it made people feel like tools.
He had already guessed what the user of the technique was planning to do. Most likely, they would use "Super Light and Heavy Rock Technique" to reduce everyone's weight, then fly up with everyone to stop the kid.
The mighty Second Tsuchikage turned into a tool? User, you'd better watch out!
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