Facing the intimidating words of the Raikage, the domineering Tsunade spoke bluntly,
"What's there to be afraid of? All four Hokage are maintaining that formation—at most, they'll just use clones against us!"
Raikage replied, "Tsunade… have you forgotten how strong your grandfather was? Even the two of us together probably couldn't take on one of his clones… ∑(✘Д✘๑)"
It wasn't really fair to blame Raikage for being unnerved—the title "God of Shinobi" carried too much weight!
"小 Tsun, my brother and I can't be controlled. You'd better run." The Second Hokage warned kindly.
The Third Hokage nodded. "Yes, Tsunade, go and ask Shinju for help. He might have a solution…"
Tsunade shook her head helplessly.
"Shinju is restricted by the Great Toad Sage's prophecy. He can't participate directly…"
"Ah, then we'll just have to fight! As long as we can free Naruto and Killer B from the formation, we'll have a chance to go toe-to-toe with them! ヽ('⌒´メ)ノ"
"Seems like you're full of fighting spirit. Then I'll have a little fun with you using the First Hokage's clone…" Orochimaru said confidently.
A few minutes later.
Tsunade and Raikage were pinned under the First Hokage's wooden clones.
Raikage groaned, "I told you we should've gone to fetch reinforcements earlier… (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)"
Tsunade's face also betrayed her frustration. She looked at Orochimaru and shouted angrily,
"Orochimaru! Let me go! Ծ‸Ծ"
Orochimaru replied, "Once I control the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails, you'll naturally regain your freedom. I never intended to target you two; my goal has always been Shinju and the Tailed Beasts. ( --0027▿ --0027 )"
With that, Orochimaru turned toward Naruto and Killer B, trapped in the center of the Four Red Yang Formation…
At this moment, both Killer B and Naruto had already transformed completely into their Tailed Beast forms!
The two beasts concentrated Yin-Yang chakra in their mouths, forming Tailed Beast Bombs, continuously striking the crimson formation barrier!
"Boom! Boom! Boom—"
Explosions reverberated endlessly.
After a while, the Nine-Tails stopped, frustrated.
"I really hate dealing with users of Wood Release! Whether it's Hashirama or Shinju, their chakra is terrifyingly abundant! (눈益눈)"
The Eight-Tails agreed. "Yeah, I'm starting to wonder—who's really the Tailed Beast here, them or me?! (ー_ー)!!"
Orochimaru, pleased with the sturdy Four Red Yang Formation, grinned and began forming hand seals.
The conscious Second, Third, and Fourth Hokage, though unwilling, were limited by Edo Tensei and unable to resist…
A few seconds later, Orochimaru completed the seals and shouted, "Ninjutsu—"
Before he could finish, the space in front of him rippled with an unknown disturbance!
"Whoosh!!"
Then, a figure wearing a white mask and wielding a giant fan appeared from the spatial vortex—the Masked Man!
His voice carried a mocking tone: "Orochimaru, Kabuto, you truly are my fine allies. Not only did you resurrect the four Hokage as our fighting force, you even caught the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails for me! ꉂ(ˊᗜˋ*)"
Orochimaru's expression flickered slightly. "How did you find this place? (눈‸눈)"
The Masked Man replied, "I've always been cautious about you and Kabuto, so naturally I had someone secretly follow. I didn't expect you to prepare such a big surprise for me! (๑ت๑)"
Without further ado, the Masked Man formed hand seals and shouted, "Summoning Jutsu!"
"Rumble—!!"
The ground trembled as a colossal Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was summoned!
Seeing the massive statue, Orochimaru's pupils trembled, but he forced calm.
"You're only one person, and there are six of us. You don't really think you can win, do you?"
The Masked Man sneered, "Six of you? But those four Hokage need to maintain the formation. ( ˝ᗢ̈˝ )"
"Or… maybe you want to release them, ally with them, and turn against me?"
Without waiting for Orochimaru's response, the Masked Man controlled the giant statue behind him, making it crouch and open its enormous mouth!
"Whoosh!!"
"Rattle—!!"
Several strange chains, covered in chakra, shot out from the statue's mouth, sweeping toward the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails trapped in the formation!
"Do you really think your Chains of the Statue can break the Four Red Yang Formation's barrier?" Orochimaru said confidently.
The Masked Man didn't answer. Under the mask, his right eye, transformed into a Sharingan, twitched slightly.
The next moment!
"Whoosh!!"
A spatial vortex suddenly appeared, striking the Four Red Yang Formation!
The formation, already battered by two Tailed Beasts, was instantly torn open by the vortex!
Then!
"Whoosh—!"
The chains shot through the gap, wrapping around the necks of the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails!!!
"Rattle—!"
Once bound, the Chains of the Statue contracted violently, trying to forcibly pull the Tailed Beasts from their Jinchūriki bodies!
Naruto, in Tailed Beast form, grimaced in pain.
"Damn it! Kurama, think of something!"
Kurama growled, "What can I do? The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path is basically the Ten-Tails' body—it's our natural counter! (✘Д✘๑)"
"Besides, being pulled like this really hurts! ╰_╯"
Beside them, Killer B's situation was equally dire, both beasts roaring in pain!
Just as the Tailed Beasts were about to be pulled out, Orochimaru acted!
"Although I don't like the Allied Shinobi Forces…"
"Your dream is to turn this world into an illusion, isn't it? If that happens, all my years of research will be wasted!"
"So weighing both sides, I think I must stop you from taking the Tailed Beasts!"
Orochimaru's voice was low, cold, and hoarse.
Yet to Naruto, it carried a strangely righteous tone…
The Masked Man sneered, "In the world of Infinite Tsukuyomi, you can conduct any experiment. You want immortality, right? In that world, I can let you live as long as you want. Orochimaru, the illusion won't stop your experiments—it will aid them."
Orochimaru hissed. That actually made some sense…
At that moment, Naruto shouted, "Hey! Dreams aren't reality!!"
But by then, he was at his limit—the Nine-Tails was about to separate completely!
Hearing Naruto's reminder, Orochimaru snapped back to focus. "Makes sense. Experiments only feel satisfying when conducted in the real world!"
He formed a strange hand seal…
"On what grounds do you think you can stop me?" the Masked Man hissed.
In the next instant!
"Rumble!!"
The Four Red Yang Formation vanished into thin air!
Almost simultaneously, the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails, dragged by the Chains of the Statue, broke free from the sealing techniques within their Jinchūriki bodies and were pulled out!!
Just as the two enormous Tailed Beasts were about to be swallowed by the statue!
A voice full of reassurance rang out:
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!!"