"Finally, we got you." Watching Kurama's back as he walked away, Tsunade showed a confident smile.
The other Kage were still confused, but Tsunade said calmly, "Granduncle, I'll leave the rest to you. As for the rest of you Kage, please gather your forces as fast as you can."
"Oh, right." She turned to Mifune behind her. "Lord Mifune, what about the Land of Iron's people?"
"They've all been evacuated," Mifune replied, looking at Tsunade with a serious expression. "But you still haven't told me the reason behind this."
"The reason?" Tsunade gave a small laugh, then turned toward where Kurama had gone, as if speaking to herself. "Kurama… doesn't care about other people's lives."
…
At the edge of the Land of Iron, nine figures stood in the freezing cold. Except for one or two of them, the rest were wearing light clothes, like the snow and wind didn't affect them at all.
Even stranger, their eyes were completely emotionless—like machines—cold and unfeeling.
From far away, Black Zetsu was watching, and for some reason, he had a really bad feeling deep inside.
White Zetsu, still attached to him, seemed to sense his worry and said in a strangely cheerful voice, "Hey hey, Black Zetsu, why the gloomy face? You're making me feel down too~"
Why do you always have to talk like that? Just be normal for once.
Black Zetsu shook his head. "This whole plan… I feel like Obito's being too naive. If I were Konoha, I would've expected something like this."
He sighed heavily, eyes fixed on the nine figures ahead. "The 'lure the tiger from the mountain' trick—just because it worked once doesn't mean it'll work again."
White Zetsu didn't really get it. "But the plan's already in motion. Obito's heading to Konoha with the Gedo Statue. He's got Rinnegan power, and with Madara's Rinnegan too, there's no way Sasuke can take control, right?"
Black Zetsu didn't answer — his face just grew darker.
The plan sounded good, but if Madara came back to life, the Rinnegan brought by Edo Tensei would disappear. And with Sasuke's tomoe Rinnegan, there was no way Obito could keep control of the Gedo Statue.
That's what had Black Zetsu worried.
He had a bad feeling. Ever since Obito failed that last mission, he'd been acting more and more impatient.
Black Zetsu figured it was better to think of a way out early, just in case Obito messed up again and dragged him down too.
Now that he thought about it… Orochimaru seemed to have made some new progress lately…
…Maybe he should…
While Black Zetsu was deep in thought, White Zetsu suddenly said in a cheerful tone, "They're here!"
Black Zetsu looked up out of habit — and saw the huge red Kurama falling from the sky, landing in front of the nine Jinchuriki. Its massive body stirred up a powerful storm, sweeping away the snow and wind. The wild chakra it gave off was even stronger than the combined power of all nine tailed beasts.
"That's... the Nine-Tails?" Black Zetsu blurted out. "Where's Uzumaki Naruto? Why isn't he here?"
White Zetsu tilted his head, confused. "No idea. We didn't dare get too close to them."
Black Zetsu suddenly clenched his fists. "This is bad!"
...
The huge creature crushed the ground as it landed. Kurama grinned at the nine unfamiliar figures in front of him. Through his chakra, he connected with them and said, "Long time no see, everyone~"
But none of the tailed beasts answered.
"So that's it. I thought Edo Tensei was controlling the Jinchuriki, but it turns out there's also a Rinnegan Genjutsu keeping the tailed beasts in check. No wonder I couldn't reach you, even though there were no seals in place." Kurama figured out what was going on almost instantly.
His eyes scanned everyone present — then stopped suddenly, and killing intent burst out toward the direction of Black Zetsu and White Zetsu.
By the time Black Zetsu felt something was wrong, Kurama had already locked onto him. That terrifying stare full of killing intent made Black Zetsu's heart skip a beat. "Even if you found me from this distance, you still can't stop me from getting away."
And he was right — this time, to avoid what happened last time when Naruto caught them, they had stayed far enough away that not even Kamui could bridge the gap.
As soon as Kurama spotted them, both Black Zetsu and White Zetsu sank into the ground and quickly fled from the battlefield.
Kurama didn't bother chasing them. He knew he couldn't catch those two. Once they used their mayfly technique, they barely left behind any chakra. Even if he gave chase now, he'd likely end up chasing nothing.
He cracked his neck and turned back to the nine Jinchuriki standing in front of him. "This might hurt a little."
Right as he finished speaking, his massive chakra burst out through the storm. The pressure became real and slammed into the nine Jinchuriki. The ground exploded from the force, and the snowy field was completely wiped away, turning into one of the rare bare plains in the Land of Iron.
The nine people in front of him must have had some kind of preset behavior. As soon as they felt Kurama's power, they brought their hands together without hesitation, chakra surging through their bodies. In an instant, seven beasts the same size as Kurama appeared.
There were also two more Nine-Tails, but each only had four tails.
They stood out immediately.
Matatabi the Two-Tails, Isobu the Three-Tails, Son Goku the Four-Tails, Kokuo the Five-Tails, Saiken the Six-Tails, Chomei the Seven-Tails, and Gyuki the Eight-Tails — seven giant beasts stood in front of Kurama, holding their ground with their own power against his overwhelming presence.
Going full Tailed Beast Mode right from the start?
"Gyuki… weren't you still free?" Kurama clicked his tongue in annoyance, but then paused. "That Jinchuriki just now didn't look like Killer Bee. And this Gyuki's chakra… feels really weak."
Like a balloon that's barely holding shape. Even Shukaku felt more solid than this. Besides the size, it didn't even feel like a Tailed Beast.
But the ones in front of him weren't going to wait for Kurama to figure it out. Just as he was silently complaining, the Four-Tails Son Goku jumped up from the ground, flames covering his body, and lava gathering on his fist like a volcano ready to erupt. He slammed it toward Kurama.
"Lava Release: Flower-Fruit Mountain!"
The ground cracked open, and endless lava rose from the gaps. The snowy land didn't even get a chance to warm up before turning into a lava-filled hell. Anyone seeing this might think they were in the crater of a volcano.
Except… this volcano was way too big. It looked like half the Land of Iron was covered.
"But do I care?" Kurama grinned as he looked at the charging Son, not even flinching. "I don't care at all."
So… Nine-Tails Power Smash!
He didn't have fancy moves like others, but he could explode with chakra—pure raw force that didn't care about damage or limits. Not as refined as real brute strength, but way more practical.
Two massive beasts threw punches at each other—Son from above, his fists wrapped in fire, turning the land into molten lava. Kurama from below, no flashy effects, just raw chakra power.
The moment they clashed, Son's flames were torn apart, and Kurama's giant fist appeared right in front of him.
But then, Kurama turned his fist into a palm, grabbed Son's flaming face with full force, and smirked. "You know, that fat nerd's memories come from China. And over there, 'Sun Wukong' is basically a legend."
Kurama slammed Son into the ground with everything he had. The earth groaned in pain, leaving only four tails still swaying in the air.
Kurama pulled his right hand back and looked down at Son, now crushed into the ground and unable to move. "You almost made me mad. So… sorry, Son."
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