Chapter 373: Charge With Me!
Amidst the swirling yellow sands, the Third Kazekage spoke in a low, dangerous tone. "Who do you think you are? Daring to stand in my way... Where are the guards outside?"
Two figures stood before him, clearly having already weathered several battles. Their cloaks were torn and marked with signs of acid corrosion.
Three puppets floated forward, one of them missing an arm. In the other figure's hand, a scorching fireball flickered to life.
Even with their faces obscured by deep hoods, the Third Kazekage recognized them instantly.
"Sasori... Pakura... So it really is you two. Do you truly intend to defect?"
Pakura's voice was sharp with rage. "The only one who has betrayed this village is you! You've spit on everyone's trust and turned Sunagakure into this nightmare!"
The Third Kazekage let out a cold, hollow laugh. "You brats understand nothing. The Cloud's power is absolute, and Konoha has already bowed their heads. This is the only way to resist them! Otherwise, Suna would be leveled in a single day. Do you think I chose this path just to make you suffer? We haven't even been at this for six months. As shinobi, do you not even possess this much resilience?"
"If it were truly for the sake of the village," Pakura countered, "I wouldn't complain if it took ten years! But right now, Suna isn't fighting for its people. It's fighting for the Daimyos, and it's fighting for you!"
No, the Kazekage thought with a mental sneer, we are fighting for Madara-sama.
But he had no intention of wasting more words on these children. Madara required his power!
"Pakura-nee," Sasori said, his voice flat. "Don't bother talking to him. We've come this far. There is no turning back."
The Third Kazekage waved his hand. Infinite amounts of Iron Sand surged from beneath his cloak, lifting him high into the air. The black sand loomed behind him like a dark tsunami ready to crash down.
"You're right. No more words. Did you really think you were enough? Or did you think Sasori's petty reputation as a 'genius' was enough to challenge a Kage?"
Facing the overwhelming Iron Sand, even Sasori and Pakura felt a crushing sense of powerlessness. They steeled themselves for a final, suicidal stand.
"Then how about adding me to the mix?"
A voice echoed through the wind and grit.
A torrent of Gold Dust—smaller in volume but equally majestic—flew in, forming a platform beneath Rasa's feet.
Sasori and Pakura stared in shock. They never expected Rasa to come to their aid.
"Don't look so surprised," Rasa said gravely. "You aren't the only ones who care about the future of this village."
The Third Kazekage laughed, his face contorting with mockery. "What a surprise. Has the younger generation of Suna become this audacious? I suppose I really have failed as a leader... Since you all have a death wish, then COME!"
Land of Water.
A young boy was sprinting across the surface of a lake, his face pale with terror and regret.
I should never have snuck out of the village!
Utakata wished he had three legs to run faster.
Behind him, the water was eerily calm.
In the next instant, countless wooden vines erupted from the lake bed, ensnaring Utakata and hoisting him into the air. Within seconds, he was completely bound. The bizarre vines began to drain his chakra, leaving him weak and gasping.
The figure wearing the white bone mask emerged from the vines, moving through them as if they were part of her own body.
Yotsuki Teru (Kaguya) grabbed Utakata by the throat. "Brat... you really shouldn't have run away..."
"Let me go! Let me go!" Utakata cried in fear.
Teru delivered a swift hand-chop to his neck, knocking him unconscious. Wooden vines seeped from her palm, binding him securely.
Suddenly, Teru's pupils dilated.
Her heart stopped for a full second. A stabbing, agonizing pain forced her to her knees. Her vision blurred as if she had been struck by a physical blow.
This feeling...
The bone mask fell, revealing her cold, beautiful face underneath.
After a few breaths, her heart resumed its rhythm. She had always known that Black Zetsu had placed a curse seal on her heart to prevent betrayal.
But this... this was a first.
While Madara and the others searched for the Jinchuriki of the Four and Five-Tails, Teru had been ordered to capture the Six-Tails. She had been prowling the outskirts of Kirigakure for weeks, far away from her masters.
Black Zetsu should have been a world away.
And yet... through the seal, his intent was screaming into her mind!
A distress signal...
Black Zetsu was begging her to save him!
Given the distance and the sheer desperation behind the signal, it was clear he had reached a point of absolute crisis. He was clutching at straws.
A moment later, the pain vanished. Teru stood up and replaced her bone mask.
She had no intention of going to his aid. When she "defected" and was saved by Zetsu, it hadn't been her choice—she had been ready to die. She had been woken up only to find a shackle around her heart and herself a pawn in a conspiracy.
Now that she lived again, her life had only one singular purpose—the goal that had inspired her to take the name Yotsuki. She had spent the last few years making her own secret arrangements.
The timing wasn't perfect, but with Black Zetsu compromised, she had to move.
I wonder if anyone accepted that anonymous mission I left at the underground exchange...
Teru picked up the unconscious Utakata and vanished toward the coast.
Not long after she left, several Mist Anbu landed on the lake surface.
"She just left! Pursue!"
The Main Battlefield.
"Madara-senpai! Anyone else? If not... I'm afraid this lineup won't be enough to satisfy me."
Dana spread his arms wide. Behind him, dozens of rainbow lights tore across the horizon.
"I haven't even started putting any effort into this yet!"
From the left, the right, and directly behind him, the rainbow streaks converged. They didn't come from one direction, but from every corner of the ninja world!
What does it mean to have a just cause? What does it mean to be a leader?
The Cloud-Thunder Federation was now the consensus of the world.
Countless powerhouses and millions of commoners believed that the Federation was the only path to the future.
When Madara Uchiha chose to stand against Dana, he wasn't just standing against a rival—he was standing against the world itself.
BOOM!
The ground cracked as the first "body transmission" landed. The Third Raikage, A, stood tall.
"What a magnificent battlefield, Dana!"
Dana grinned. "Naturally! I wouldn't dream of starting this party without calling the Old Man."
One by one, the delivery pods slammed into the earth.
The legends emerged.
"Third Raikage, A!"
"The 'B' of our Era, Blue Bee!"
"The First Amekage, Hanzo of the Salamander!"
"Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi!"
"Eldest Son of the Raikage, Yotsuki Arashi!"
"Perfect Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina Uzumaki!"
"The Red Trapezius, Nagato!"
"Konoha's Beast of Youth, Might Duy!"
Blue Bee scanned the field. "These are some formidable enemies!"
Hanzo chuckled. "I never thought the day would come where I, a self-proclaimed 'Demi-God,' would face the true God of Shinobi."
Yagura narrowed his eyes. "So these are the rats trying to sabotage the world from the shadows..."
Nagato's gaze locked onto Madara. "I suppose the original owner of these eyes is that guy over there!"
Might Duy was vibrating with excitement. "To fight alongside three Hokages at once! MY YOUTH IS EXPLODING!"
Kushina stepped out of her pod, her legs feeling a bit like jelly. She had never seen such a terrifying gathering of power.
Inside her mind, the Nine-Tails started screaming: "RUN! KUSHINA! RUN AND DON'T LOOK BACK!"
Slowly, Kushina's form began to glow like a golden sun. In Kurama Link Mode, she found her courage. "Shut up, Kurama! Look at all these seniors! How could I run? Dana-sama said as long as you don't leave my body, we'll be fine!"
Opposite the Federation forces, the reanimated Edo Tensei army, which had looked imposing a moment ago, now seemed pitifully thin.
Hashirama Senju sighed with envy. "They look so cool! I want to be on that side fighting with them! Madara! Stop being so stubborn and let me go over there!"
Madara's teeth ground together with a sound like crushing stone.
Mid-air, Yotsuki Dana looked down at his row of powerhouses, smashed his fists together, and roared:
"EVERYONE! THE ENEMY IS AHEAD! DON'T LET A SINGLE ONE ESCAPE! MADARA UCHIHA IS MINE! THE REST ARE YOURS!"
"SAGE LIGHTNING ART: THUNDER GOD!"
A colossal explosion of chakra erupted. In his three-headed, six-armed form, Yotsuki Dana twirled his lightning staff.
He was the first to charge, hurtling toward the Perfect Susanoo in the sky!
Facing Madara's snarling, hateful face, the gale howled as Dana's voice shook the heavens!
"WILL OF LIGHTNING! CHARGE WITH ME!!!"
"OSU!!!!"