'The island... shattered?'
Abandoning their warships after having rushed directly into the mainland of the Land of Water under Jiraiya's command, the many Ninjas who had been continuously sailing away from the edge of the island stared in shock at the distant island being swallowed by light and constantly crumbling.
The endless scorching heat of crimson flames burned everything. The silent destruction played out like a mime.
First came the light radiation. The heat generated by friction spread unchecked, continuously releasing light bombardment to destroy everything.
The shockwave followed, like the first clap of thunder before a storm… a chaotic, maddening noise of destruction, leaving nothing but ferocity and destruction.
Finally came the bursting flashes of light. Instantly filling the entire field of view, a vast whiteness before the eyes, gradually turning to a golden-red color.
"Here it comes! Prepare for impact!"
Jiraiya, as the temporary commander, loudly warned others to be ready for the scouring of the surging waves.
But those with experience in organization knew that once a group fell into a certain fear, it was no longer so easy to break free... instead, it would intensify the chaos.
Many soldiers of the allied forces were trampled due to being knocked over, and others were swept away by the giant waves, disappearing into the sea.
"Thank goodness for your warning beforehand!" Tsunade glanced at Jiraiya, who was commanding, secretly relieved in her heart.
If they had not followed his suggestion to retreat earlier, the allied forces would probably have been reduced to ashes by the two's battle.
The several-hundred-meter-tall giant Buddha had long been burned to ashes in the earlier collision, and Madara, standing at its top, had been physically beaten to pieces.
Amidst the turbulence of Senjutsu Chakra, Sakura, having returned to her normal state, pressed her hand down on Madara's fragments, binding them tightly with layers of sealing cloth.
Then, carrying the sealed Madara, she descended from the sky and landed among the allied forces.
In contrast to the joyful clamor on the allied side, silence reigned within the cave where Obito and Kabuto were.
"Uchiha Madara has been sealed by Haruno Sakura!" Kabuto closed his eyes and helplessly shook his head.
Powerful Edo Tensei puppets were not easy to make. Kabuto had only reached this conclusion after nearly digging up the ancestral graves of the entire Ninja World.
Because powerful Ninjas were needed as resurrection sacrifices, and there were not many strong individuals whose remains could be found. As a result, powerful Edo Tensei Ninjas were extremely rare.
"Throw all the combat power we can deploy onto the battlefield. Buy them a little more time. Leave the rest to me!"
Obito, still in a severely injured state after being cut down by Sakura on the battlefield like a speed bump, coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"I still have some substandard products I can use. By the way, what do you plan to do next? You can't complete your plan without capturing the Nine-Tails, right?" Kabuto pulled down the brim of his hood, already secretly considering breaking up the partnership and running away.
"Don't worry, I have my ways!"
Obito looked up and removed his mask, revealing the other newly transplanted Rinnegan.
He formed hand seals and slapped Summoning Technique runes into the void, summoning the giant Gedo Statue before the two.
Blood seeped through his fingers as he covered his mouth, and as if feeling nothing, he activated Kamui, releasing the two coffins stored in his special dimension.
"Oh, so that's it. No wonder you had to go there personally when the Land of Lightning fell last time!"
Having known about and personally participated in the creation of the things inside the coffins, Kabuto clicked his tongue in wonder, having already inferred what Obito intended to do.
"Though incomplete, it's enough to revive the Ten-Tails ahead of time. Next, I will rely on its power to seize the Nine-Tails and make it complete!"
Obito crisply knocked off the coffin lids, revealing the two Edo Tensei-ed individuals hidden within.
One had long yellow hair, the other long gray hair. Two upright horns grew on each of their heads. They had six beard-like patterns on their cheeks, wore purple short-sleeved shirts, and white Kumogakure's Jonin vests over them.
These two with such appearances were none other than the Gold and Silver Brothers from Kumogakure, the culprits who had ambushed and killed Tobirama when he went to negotiate in the past.
"Go, devour their Nine-Tails' Chakra!"
Obito raised his finger, using the Rinnegan to manipulate the Gedo Statue to grab Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
Just then, Kabuto behind him suddenly changed expression, taking off his robe and abruptly attacking backward.
Swish!
The brilliance of Space-Time Ninjutsu carried the two, using Kabuto's talismans as anchors, crossing half the distance of the Land of Water to burst into the cave.
"This is...?" Orochimaru, still in a daze, raised his head.
Before he could ascertain his surroundings, Kabuto, with a serpent slithering on his belly, was already upon them.
"!!!"
In his desperation, Orochimaru activated the Orochimaru-style Ninjutsu - Scapegoat.
He stepped back with extreme speed, placing Tobirama in front of him.
Tobirama: "???"
Pfft!
Three flashes of pale light stabbed into Tobirama's body, tearing him to pieces: venom, Chakra Scalpel, and Wind Release: Vacuum Wave.
"How vicious, Kabuto. I don't remember teaching you these things!" Orochimaru, springing away and fleeing like a snake, twisted his body and coiled around a hanging stalactite.
"Orochimaru, don't lock horns with him! Pay attention to what that evil Uchiha is doing. No... whatever he's doing, you must stop him!" Tobirama, having recovered a mouth, shouted at Orochimaru.
Even though he had been transferred to an unfamiliar environment and could not figure out the current situation, relying on his hatred for the Uchiha, Tobirama still found the right path.
"Heh, Senju Tobirama!" Obito coughed up another mouthful of blood and coldly looked back. "You're too late!"
'Even if you, the users of the Flying Thunder God, are the fastest in the Ninja World, always being one step behind others is the chronic ailment of you arrogant Space-Time Ninjutsu users!'
'And now that the Ten-Tails' revival is imminent, those rabble outside are no longer a concern.'
'If you have any objections, take them up with my Ten-Tails!'
"Release!"
Forming hand seals again, Obito roared loudly, transmitting Chakra into the Gedo Statue's body, undoing the last layer of chains on it.
"Roar—!"
A deafening roar shot into the sky. The Gedo Statue, its body constantly expanding, shattered the entire cave, standing upon the earth. It resonated with the blazing sun, momentarily creating a state of two suns in the sky.
A massive Chakra Mass completed its mixing inside the Gedo Statue's body. The surrounding gravel floated into the air due to the turbulent gravity, crushed into dust.
In the smoke and dust flying everywhere, the giant humanoid shell writhed and grew, finally transforming into a creature resembling a shelled mollusk, with ten tails flowing gracefully behind its body.
The Ten-Tails, the ultimate weapon used by the Otsutsuki Clan in the past to invade planets and extract Chakra...
—Revived here!
The ripples of Chakra Fluctuation radiated out for dozens of kilometers, instantly changing the expression of the Allied Forces' intelligence chief, Inoichi, who had just established a large-scale sensory model on the edge of the Land of Water.
He hurriedly rushed out of the tent, searching for Sakura among the ranks.
But by the time he found Sakura, he realized his previous thoughts were unnecessary.
Because the monster, far larger than a mountain, was now walking step by step toward them.
Sakura, who had been sitting cross-legged recovering her Senjutsu Cell energy after using the Demon's Blood and Sage Mode, patted Inoichi on the shoulder.
"Uncle Inoichi, there's no choice. Have everyone prepare for battle!"