Slug, Toad, and Giant Serpent once again stood upon the battlefield. The clash of Fire Release, Earth Release, and monstrous strength erupted with thunderous roars.
The three Ninjas once known as the Legendary Sannin thus engaged each other on a remote island west of the Land of Water. The sheer force of their battle made it impossible for surrounding Ninjas to even approach, let alone assist.
With his undying body and infinite Chakra, Orochimaru's Ninjutsu poured out as if free, posing a great obstacle to Tsunade and Jiraiya.
But Tsunade and Jiraiya were, after all, Ninjas on the same level as Orochimaru. Working together, they soon managed to withstand his fierce assault and sought opportunities to defeat him.
The surrounding allied Ninjas circumvented these towering giants standing upon the earth, continuing to advance with Sakura and the others.
Meanwhile, the large number of resurrected powerful individuals and the defective products associated with them that Kabuto had unleashed had also all arrived on the battlefield.
Several Edo Tensei puppets, leveraging their endless Chakra, freely executed coordinated Ninjutsu.
A massive wall of fire rose into the sky, pressing down on the Allied Ninja Forces led by Sakura and the others.
The ensuing frantic wind further expanded the fire's coverage. Even such a fierce gale could not extinguish the flames.
A chaotic sea of yellow fire descended, igniting everything flammable within its range.
"Heh, the dead should not disturb the world of the living!"
Within the allied forces, Ino shouted loudly and formed the Ino-Shika-Cho formation with Shikamaru and Choji.
Using the wide-area perception granted by Observation Haki, she locked onto the enemy's positions one by one, then shared them with Shikamaru via the Mind Transmission Technique.
Shikamaru, using his Shadow Imitation Technique, manipulated Choji's transformed Human Bullet Tank, swinging the massive, Haki-coated meatball like a yo-yo, smashing through the sea of fire and then crushing the Edo Tensei Ninjas below one by one.
"Heh heh, can't let you guys steal the show! Fang Passing Fang!"
Kiba, having formed hand seals and merged with Akamaru to become a giant two-headed wolf, spun into the enemy's formation, his fangs and claws tearing.
"Kiba, you idiot! Destruction Bug Host Technique: Bug Ball!"
Shino, seeing his teammate recklessly charge out of their formation into the enemy's encirclement, hastily released a large cloud of insects.
The destruction bugs devoured the regenerating Edo Tensei Ninjas behind Kiba, preventing him from becoming isolated and without support.
"Wait for me! Don't stray too far from the main force!" Hinata, with large amounts of Chakra flowing over her hands, performed the Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists, following Shino to ensure Kiba's retreat remained clear.
"Everyone, this is so passionate! Let's go too, Neji, Tenten!"
The green-clad, bowl-cut Rock Lee wiped away his tears and, howling, pulled his two teammates along as they engaged the enemy.
"Ninja Art: Super Beast Imitation Drawing!" / "Wood Release: Tree Binding Burial!"
Yamato and Sai, behind the group of Ninjas, struck simultaneously, sealing a large number of slowly regenerating Edo Tensei Ninjas.
"Sealing Techniques! Sealing Techniques can stop their resurrection! Everyone, listen up! Protect the Sealing Squad Ninjas as they go forward to apply the seals!"
Kakashi, who had taken over temporary command in the Hokage's stead, roared at the Ninjas behind him. Soon, the Sealing Squad Ninjas stepped onto the battlefield and began processing the shattered Edo Tensei Ninjas one by one.
"This is Youth, it makes me want to..." Guy spread his arms and pulled out a shuriken, about to charge.
But Kakashi beside him reached out and stopped him. "Guy, don't waste your energy. If something unexpected happens, you'll be our last trump card!"
Startled by Kakashi's serious gaze, Guy grinned and gave a thumbs-up. "Understood, Kakashi!!!"
Within the allied forces, the contingents from Kumogakure and Sunagakure also advanced.
Gaara dispersed a large group of Edo Tensei Ninjas with his sand, manipulating a sand platform to descend toward the Fourth Raikage, who was unleashing lightning below.
"Raikage-san, I wonder if you've noticed, but these resurrected Ninjas seem to be..."
"No need to test me. You want to say they're from Iwagakure, don't you?"
Raikage shattered several Edo Tensei Ninjas with his fist. A mountain-toppling monstrous strength and a tsunami of lightning erupted simultaneously. An oppressive, heavy pressure and heat waves assaulted from the ground.
"This forbidden technique should have been known to all villages back then. The more powerful the Ninja corpse used as a sacrifice, the more powerful the revived Ninja will be. There are quite a few skilled fighters among Iwagakure's broken remnants..."
"Stop beating around the bush. What are you trying to say?"
"When I was leading my people out of Sunagakure, I discovered that our Kage's grave had been dug up. What's the situation on your end, Raikage-san?"
As soon as Gaara's words were spoken, Raikage's face immediately turned several shades darker. A terrible thought swirled in his mind. A sense of foreboding welled up in his heart.
Sure enough, the next moment, his premonition came true.
A massive figure, wrapped in surging lightning and possessing a powerful physique, descended from the sky like a war chariot. With one punch, he sent the Fourth Raikage flying backward, plowing a deep trench into the ground.
A large amount of flowing gold dust washed over Gaara's body, neutralizing his sand, dragging him down from the sky, and burying him in a vortex of quicksand.
At the very front of the force, the Observation Haki of Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura simultaneously gave a warning. Sasuke stepped forward to protect the two behind him. The phantom of Susanoo rose from his body. Layers of precise armor overlapped to form a giant shield.
A massive cylindrical beam of light shot from a much greater distance and violently collided with Susanoo's shield, triggering a violent explosion.
Finally, a surge of powerful Chakra rose into the sky, converting the water vapor filling the sky into a giant dark cloud, which rained down strongly acidic rain carrying Chakra.
A small, monkey-like figure wearing armor, carrying an iron staff, stood atop a mound of earth. Behind him, numerous other figures lined up.
"Th-Third Hokage-sama!" / "Old man!" / "Father?!" / "Rasa!" / "Second Tsuchikage!"...
The noisy voices within the allied forces revealed the identities of these five figures. They were the Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
"Sigh, what about me? Why isn't anyone introducing me?" The Second Mizukage, Hozuki Gengetsu, pointed at himself with his mouth wide open, an incredulous look on his face.
"Hmph, this is what happens to useless people without any name recognition!" The Second Tsuchikage, Mu, landed and began bickering with his old rival.
"You two, stop arguing. Let's figure out how to resolve this situation of causing trouble for our descendants!" Hiruzen was truly in a terrible mood right now.
Not only had he seen his three disciples fighting each other in the distance, but he was also forced to become an enemy's blade, swinging it at the newly grown Konoha's fresh blood on the battlefield.
Though life is full of disappointments, if it had to hurt this much, this damned life might as well end sooner.
Also, the feeling of being resurrected from the dead was not wonderful at all... it was practically torture.
Just then, a powerful spirit soared into the sky. The pink-haired girl, surrounded by dark thunder, slashed the five consecutive blasts in two with her blade, descended from the sky, and landed before these five figures.
Sakura raised her emerald eyes. Blazing Haki surged between her hands. "Old man, it's been a long time!!!"