A few people began walking toward the place where they sensed the chakra.
"It seems like something's gone wrong," said the Second Mizukage with a sigh. "Ah, I'm really curious how something like this could happen!"
"Shut up!" barked the Second Tsuchikage coldly. "If you don't stop talking, I'll cut you down."
"Try it if you can!" the Mizukage shot back.
"You think I can't? I already killed you once back then!"
"Ugh!" The Second Mizukage froze for a moment before shouting angrily, "What do you mean you killed me? By that logic, didn't I kill you as well?"
To be able to describe their mutual destruction so casually—what talent!
Sigh Senju Tobirama let out a deep sigh.
He had been resurrected by the Impure World Reincarnation technique yet again. And this time, he was surrounded by a group of lunatics.
Orochimaru, huh? Damn bastard. Abusing my jutsu... unforgivable!
"Still…" Tobirama flexed his body, his expression becoming more serious.
This time, the Impure World Reincarnation had granted him far more power than the last time. He was almost at his peak strength. Orochimaru, that disciple of Sarutobi, had quite the ability.
"What's wrong, Second Hokage?" A deep voice spoke up—it was the Third Raikage.
"You know me?" Tobirama glanced at the Raikage, sensing the overwhelming power within his muscular frame.
"Of course!" The Raikage's voice rumbled. "I've heard the legends about you many times."
"Is that so?" Tobirama didn't seem to care much as he inspected his own hand. "Even though I've been revived through this despicable technique, I still have to admit... Orochimaru is a genius."
"Orochimaru, the one controlling this reincarnation?" the Third Raikage asked coldly. "I'll remember him."
Tobirama shook his head in frustration. What good would it do to say anything now? They were all just puppets. Even if Orochimaru stopped controlling them, the jutsu would simply end, and they'd return to the afterlife.
Revenge? Not a chance.
"By the way, Tobirama!" The Second Mizukage suddenly turned to glare at him, grinding his teeth. "If I recall, this cursed technique was your invention! Isn't there a way to break it?"
Tobirama responded coolly, "If I make any unusual moves, I'll be immediately controlled. What do you think I can do?"
"Useless!" grumbled the Mizukage.
"Shut up, Gengetsu Hozuki!" Tobirama shot him a frosty look. "If I do break free from this reincarnation, I'll make sure to cut you down first."
"Good, I'll hold you to that." The Second Mizukage laughed freely.
Afraid? Never! They were long-time rivals.
They had faced each other on the battlefield and attended Kage summits together with their predecessors. In the end, they even fought each other in the great shinobi war.
No one here feared the other.
To the Mizukage, Tobirama was just a pain. All that mastery of Water Release... who was he trying to look down on?
Whoosh! The Second Tsuchikage returned after briefly scouting ahead. "Confirmed. There's a massive ninja alliance of over ten thousand people ahead of us."
"Allied forces?" the Mizukage asked.
"Yes," the Tsuchikage replied calmly. "It seems that the ninja villages have joined forces to fight us."
"Does it have something to do with those things behind us as well?"
They all glanced behind them.
They weren't alone. An entire army of White Zetsu clones followed them.
"What are these things?" the Second Mizukage grimaced in disgust.
"I'm not sure. Perhaps another one of Orochimaru's creations," Tobirama muttered as he observed the White Zetsu, sighing inwardly.
Even with the resurrected shinobi and the White Zetsu army, could the ninja alliance really resist them?
Suddenly, Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, looked to the side. In the shadows, an eye was watching them silently.
"Gaara?" Rasa's expression changed slightly.
"Hey, looks like our opponents have arrived," the Second Mizukage chuckled as several figures appeared before them.
Standing in front of them were Sasori, Kakuzu, Hidan, Deidara, Uchiha Itachi, and Chiyo.
The two groups sized each other up.
Tobirama glanced at Kakuzu. "I think I've seen you before. Weren't you the one who tried to assassinate my brother?"
"That's right," Kakuzu replied arrogantly. How many people in the world had dared to raise their sword against the God of Shinobi?
"You're still alive?"
"I am, while both you and your brother are dead."
Tobirama's face grew cold.
"Chiyo!" Rasa addressed the elderly puppeteer. "What on earth happened here?"
"Ah, well, I don't really know!" Chiyo replied, looking troubled. "I'm old, you know. My memory isn't what it used to be."
Rasa: "…"
Why did it seem like Chiyo held a grudge against him? He wasn't wrong—Chiyo did harbor resentment. When Rasa had been chosen for his Magnet Release ability over Pakura, it had been a huge loss. Pakura had led Sunagakure to prosperity with the help of Uchiha Kazuma, while Rasa had only been mediocre.
"You there, kid from Iwagakure, right?" The Second Mizukage called out to Deidara, pointing at his forehead protector. "You're a rogue ninja, aren't you?"
Deidara glanced at him but didn't bother responding.
"This mummy beside me," the Mizukage grinned, pointing to the Second Tsuchikage, "was your Tsuchikage. Make sure not to hold back during the fight."
"Don't worry," Deidara smirked as the mouths on his hands began to chew up some clay. "None of you are getting out of this."
Suddenly, five white centipedes burst from the ground, biting into the Second Mizukage and the Third Raikage. The others managed to evade.
Tobirama, with his incredible speed, dodged with ease, and Rasa controlled the sand around him, standing safely on a desert of gold dust.
"Detonate!" Deidara shouted.
Boom!
A massive explosion rocked the battlefield.
But the Second Mizukage and Third Raikage emerged unharmed, their expressions calm.
The Mizukage waved his arm dismissively. "The air here really is terrible."
"How?" Deidara was stunned.
His explosive clay had enveloped both of them, but it had no effect.
The Third Raikage had simply tanked the blast with his body, while the Second Mizukage had covered himself in a thin layer of water.
"Not bad," the Mizukage remarked. "But compared to Dust Release, it's still far weaker."
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!" A surge of Dust Release energy suddenly came toward them.
"You've lived a long time, Onoki," muttered Mu as he appeared in front of the Mizukage, countering the attack with his own Dust Release.
The clash of techniques caused a huge explosion, forcing everyone to retreat from the shockwaves.
"Lord Mu's Dust Release is as powerful as ever!"
Ōnoki sighed and glanced at Deidara, his tone cold: "I told you back then to follow me and learn Dust Release, but no, you had to study that crappy Explosion Release. See now? When you face a real expert, they don't even care."
"Old man, stop looking down on people!" Deidara roared.
"Hmph!" Ōnoki snorted dismissively. "You should just cooperate with us."
"With us?" Kakuzu glanced at Ōnoki. He knew from Zetsu that reinforcements would come, but he didn't know who, or how many.
"Yes, with us!" As Ōnoki finished speaking, a huge amount of sand swirled up, forming a massive sand tsunami.
"Magnet Release!" Rasa bent down without hesitation, pressing both hands against the ground.
Swish!
A large quantity of gold dust was pulled from the ground by Rasa's Magnet Release, meeting the tsunami head-on. The gold dust was heavier than normal sand, so the massive wave was subdued.
"Gold dust?" The Third Raikage raised his hand, watching the grains of gold slip through his fingers. "I see, Magnet Release."
"That's right, Magnet Release!" Rasa said calmly. "Maybe it's not as powerful as some of you, but almost every Kazekage of Sunagakure had Magnet Release. In the desert, our power is stronger, and we can suppress our tailed beast."
"The current Kazekage is named Pakura!" a young voice interrupted.
Gaara, standing on a platform of sand, floated over to Ōnoki, staring coldly at Rasa.
"What did you say?" Rasa couldn't believe his ears. He quickly turned to look at Granny Chiyo. "Granny, is what he said true?"
"Huh?" Granny Chiyo looked up, confused, as if she hadn't heard anything.
Rasa: "…"
Gaara, only twelve years old, spoke coldly: "Lady Pakura is very capable. Under her leadership, Sunagakure has become much wealthier and stronger than when you were in charge. Plus, we've established strong diplomatic relations with the surrounding countries."
With every word Gaara said, Rasa's face grew darker. He knew Pakura wasn't dead, but he had never expected that she would return to the village and take up the role of Kazekage.
It was ridiculous!
Rasa glared at Gaara coldly. "And you? Why are you out here? Shouldn't you be back in the village?"
"The tailed beast?" Gaara sneered. "That thing's long gone."
"What do you mean, 'gone'?"
The upper ranks of the village had been trying to hide the truth about Gaara's tailed beast, but once Obito's Eye of the Moon Plan began, the secret of Shukaku, the One-Tail, couldn't be hidden any longer. They already claimed to have captured all the tailed beasts, and if Sunagakure still had Shukaku, then there would be two One-Tails in the world.
Pakura simply admitted the truth and even took Gaara as her disciple.
"The one controlling you got the tailed beast!" Gaara didn't feel like explaining further.
"Pakura, that useless idiot!" Rasa gritted his teeth, his expression twisted with anger. "She just let the tailed beast get stolen? She's a disgrace to Sunagakure!"
Gaara sneered. "And you're not useless? Under your rule, the village lost almost all of its missions, and we were on the verge of becoming Konoha's vassal."
"You…" Rasa was furious.
His son, whom he had always looked down on, dared to talk back to him like this?!
"Enough talk!" Gaara said coldly. "Let's start the fight, Father. You've tried to kill me countless times. From childhood to now, all I've ever felt towards you is fear. Now, let me face that fear and crush it!"
"Then come at me!" Rasa roared, controlling a large amount of gold dust to form giant hands, reaching for Gaara.
"I'll prove to you that your old man is still your old man!"
Boom!
With just a flick of his finger, Gaara blocked the attack.
"Bring it on!" Gaara raised one hand, and suddenly, a massive amount of sand began falling from the sky.
Rasa controlled even more gold dust, sending it rushing towards Gaara. As for the sand falling from the sky, it was definitely suspicious, but as long as he could defeat Gaara, nothing else would matter.
Unfortunately for him, the sand gathered around Gaara, forming a protective barrier. Eventually, the sand even took the vague shape of a woman.
"That… that's…" Rasa froze, his face filled with emotion. Just as he was about to speak—
Boom!
A massive amount of sand fell, burying him instantly.
"Desert Funeral!"
Gaara's face was cold as he gathered even more sand, trapping Rasa in the center. Then, he clenched his fist tightly.
Boom!
"Ugh!" Rasa let out a muffled grunt.
Gaara had crushed him.
"It's over!" Gaara said icily. Among the remains of the sand that had crushed Rasa, a sealing scroll appeared, and he efficiently sealed Rasa's body away.
"What the…?" Ōnoki was stunned.
That was your father!
And you just killed him without hesitation! You didn't even give him a chance to speak. He might have wanted to tell you something important. After all, he's your father!
But no.
Nothing. Not a single word.
Gaara's attack had been ruthless, and Ōnoki was left speechless for a long time.
He had met Gaara halfway through and had brought him along because Gaara claimed to have a long-range surveillance jutsu that could be useful. Plus, Gaara could fly, so Ōnoki thought it would give them an advantage if things went south.
But he hadn't expected this kid to be so merciless!
Just how much resentment do you have towards your dad?