Facing the whispers coming from the group on Island Turtle, Shinju stepped onto the air itself, looked down at the Kumogakure shinobi, and asked:
"Are you talking about the Ten-Tails?"
Shinju had been completely absorbed in forging earlier, paying zero attention to the outside world.
It wasn't until the tsunami jolted him out of his focus that he finally noticed—far away on the mainland, a massive cluster of chakra was blazing like a torch in the darkness!
If an ordinary tailed beast's chakra was like a small flame, then this one was a full moon hanging in the sky!
He didn't even need to actively sense it; the chakra was so dense and blinding it might as well have been shoved right in front of his face.
Across the entire shinobi world, probably only the yet-to-appear Ten-Tails could possess something like this…
"A very troublesome enemy indeed," Shinju murmured.
The Kumogakure shinobi below called up hopefully:
"Killer B, and Naruto have already left. Shinju-san, does this mean you're finally joining the battle too?! (๑`･ᴗ･´๑)"
Shinju replied, "We'll see."
"If things truly reach a point of no return…"
"I will step in!!"
The shinobi below: (´◊ω◊｀)
That effortless swagger… too damn charming!
Just by standing there, Shinju felt like a towering red fortress—an overwhelming sense of security radiated from him.
...
Land of Grass, Akatsuki's secret base.
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had now fully transformed into the Ten-Tails!
The other tailed beasts all had identifiable biological forms, but the Ten-Tails… looked bizarre and hideous—something that didn't belong on this continent at all!
Its general shape resembled a crab, its back carrying a massive shell-like structure lined with jagged spikes.
But what stood out the most were the ten tails rising behind it and the single, scarlet eye!
Empowered by ten full tails, this form of the Ten-Tails stood over five hundred meters tall!
Its eye bore the spirals of the Rinnegan, and several tomoe were embedded across its pupil.
The Masked Man stood atop the Ten-Tails' head, a strange tube stretching from the beast's body into the back of his neck—that was how he controlled it.
Right now, he was gazing into the distant sky. Earlier, he had ordered the Ten-Tails to fire a Tailed Beast Bomb toward the Allied Shinobi Forces' headquarters.
Such a powerful blast should have left a seismic shock across the land—yet after waiting all this time… no good news had reached him.
"Strange…" the Masked Man muttered.
A few seconds later, White Zetsu emerged from the ground below, reporting to the Masked Man above:
"The Ten-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb never hit Kumogakure. No idea what the Allied Forces did, but they managed to redirect it."
"Right now, the five divisions of the Allied Forces are spreading out and heading toward us. What should we do?"
"What should we do?" the Masked Man's voice carried a gleeful tone. "We wipe them all out, of course! ୧⍢⃝୨"
...
Meanwhile, the Allied Shinobi Forces were on the move.
Everyone, upon hearing that the Ten-Tails had appeared, was sprinting full-force toward the Land of Grass—including Naruto and Killer Bee.
Naruto was beginning to feel regret tugging at him:
"I finally got Nine-Tails chakra and even built a tiny bit of trust with him… but the moment I go out, poof—gone! (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)"
"I should've just stayed quietly with Shinju on Island Turtle!"
Killer Bee shot Naruto a mildly disdainful look.
"Yo yo! Naruto, you hot-blooded fool, when did you turn into this?"
"Shinju's been protecting you too well—made you stop thinking. Brain's gone, wrapped up like a baby!"
Naruto: "Can't I complain a little?! --003d_--003d"
"I was just thinking how I'm here sprinting for my life across the battlefield, while Shinju's back on Island Turtle taking a nap. It's kinda…"
"Right, speaking of fast travel…" Naruto turned his head and looked toward the Fourth Hokage.
"Dad, can your Flying Thunder God teleport the entire Allied Shinobi Forces? ( ˝ᗢ̈˝ )"
"That way no one has to keep running, and we'll reach the battlefield faster and beat the Ten-Tails! (•̀⌄•́)"
Minato almost doubted his own hearing. "W–what?! (´°Δ°`)"
Naruto repeated innocently, "Can't you just use Flying Thunder God to transport everyone?"
Minato apologized gently, "Sorry, I can't."
"The farther the teleportation and the more people involved, the greater the chakra cost."
"From here to the Land of Grass… I can bring at most three people at once… ٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶"
Naruto continued, "But I heard Edo Tensei bodies have infinite chakra…"
Minato patiently explained:
"Flying Thunder God was never about infinite chakra. It's just that the chakra recovery rate is faster than that of a normal shinobi."
"It's like… a cup. The cup's capacity is limited. No matter how fast you refill it, you can only pour out one cup at a time."
"And you don't refill while pouring—it empties all at once."
"So teleporting this many people at once would exceed my 'cup's capacity'…"
Naruto frowned, then nodded. "Got it."
He began wondering what Shinju's "cup" was like—how big it must be, how fast it refilled—since Shinju once teleported over a thousand shinobi in an instant! And didn't even sound winded! ∑(✘Д✘๑)
Just as Naruto spiraled deeper into his thoughts, Shinju's voice rang in his ear:
"Oi, Naruto, put your hand on your dad's shoulder!"
Naruto: "Huh? What's going on? Am I hallucinating?! (⊙o⊙)"
Shinju: "Idiot! I'm talking to you with Mind Body Transmission! Do what I said!"
Naruto obediently let out an "oh" and placed his hand on his father's shoulder…
Minato turned around, confused. "Naruto, what are you—"
Before he could finish, the strange mark on Naruto's body lit up—the one Shinju had placed there as an emergency safeguard!
Then, using Naruto's hand on Minato's shoulder as a conduit, Shinju's chakra surged straight into Minato's body!!
"FWASH!!"
Shinju's chakra wrapped around Minato completely, forming a vivid crimson cloak!
As Minato received Shinju's chakra, confusion flashed in his eyes—followed immediately by overwhelming excitement!! (´◊ω◊｀)
"This chakra… this power! ୧⍢⃝୨"
And then Shinju's voice echoed in Minato's mind as well…
Following Shinju's guidance, Minato unleashed the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, and the clones carried Minato's chakra to every single allied shinobi across the entire army!
Soon, every member of the Allied Shinobi Forces was wearing a crimson cloak!
Minato then used the chakra on each shinobi as a medium and activated Flying Thunder God!
"Flying Thunder God!!"
"FWOOOSH!!"
In an instant, tens of thousands of shinobi vanished!!
...
On the other side, the border of the Land of Grass.
The massive Ten-Tails, under the Masked Man's control, fired another Tailed Beast Bomb toward the Land of Lightning.
Afterward, the Masked Man made the Ten-Tails hunker down—preparing to transform into its second form…
But right then—
"FWOOM FWOOOM FWOOOM FWOOOM FWOOOM——"
Tens of thousands of Allied shinobi appeared out of thin air!