"This is… a joke, right?"
Across the major ninja villages, the shinobi watching the projection could hardly believe what they were seeing.
Quite a few even took a step back, their bodies reacting in open rejection of what their minds refused to accept.
The ones who had said earlier—
"The enemy's only four people. Isn't the future Kazekage being way too jumpy?"
"Exactly. Too young—can't rely on him at all."
"Yeah, yeah. And that Tsuchikage following him is probably senile too."
—looked as if they'd been yanked straight from the Land of Lightning and dumped into the Land of Fire.
But they probably didn't even feel the sting of being proved wrong. The moment they recognized who those four figures actually were, their faces had already gone deathly pale.
["Fighting other villages is one thing, but battling our own village's shinobi… that really doesn't sit right with me," said the man in a kimono with slicked-back hair in the projection, calmly stating his view.]
[The bandage-wrapped man replied, "You're annoying, but on this point alone, I agree with you."]
Land of Water · Hidden Mist—
"!!"
Mei Terumi's expression darkened. "The Second Mizukage—Hōzuki Gengetsu."
A Mist Ninja blurted out, "Wasn't the Second Mizukage gone long ago?! And that bandaged man who answered him—"
"That's the Second Tsuchikage of Hidden Stone, Mu, Lord Second Mizukage's lifelong rival," Ao said gravely. "Even if these two were still alive, they should be far past old age by now… If I'm not mistaken, this must be the forbidden jutsu developed by the Second Hokage—Edo Tensei!"
"Edo Tensei?!!!"
"You're saying someone summoned dead legends back from the Pure Land to fight their own village's descendants?!"
"What a despicable method!!"
["No need to be so pessimistic," said the dark-skinned, burly man who was clearly from the Yotsuki clan, trying to reassure them. "The younger generation in the village will grow stronger sooner or later. One day they'll surpass us old-timers." He muttered to himself, "That idiot son of mine better be keeping Hidden Cloud Village in order. Don't embarrass me, you brat."]
[Amid the majestic background music, it was clear that not every former Kage shared the Third Raikage's absolute confidence in the next generation.]
["If that really happens, then of course that would be ideal," said the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa. His words carried a hint of rebuttal toward the Third Raikage. The intimidating, muscular man let out a low "Hmm?" and shot a sharp look at the beanpole-like Kazekage beside him.]
[Clearly, these two Kage—both fathers—held very different opinions and expectations for their sons.]
Land of Lightning · Hidden Cloud Village—
"Boom!"
A thunderbolt crashed down from the sky, blasting a crater into the ground.
As the smoke cleared, the two figures standing within were none other than the Fourth Raikage, A, and his brother, Killer B!
"R-Raikage-sama!"
"How could you bring Lord B out of the Uninhabited Island?! As jinchūriki, Lord B and Lady Yugito are top-priority protected assets!"
The Fourth Raikage stared at the stern face of his father in the projection—a face he hadn't seen in many, many years.
He answered the surrounding Cloud ninja with a reason none of them could refute. "Where's safer than right by my side?!"
"Stupid brother," Killer B said cheerfully, having already opened his heart to his brother back on the island and now feeling invincible. "Dumbass jerk, I don't need protection! I just want a concert—one epic show! Let all of Cloud village hear the rap of the great Killer B, oh yeah!"
Thud—
He got punched.
A let out a short laugh. "Man… I never thought I'd get to see the old man's scary face again."
The Cloud ninja beside him: "..." You might not realize how terrifying genetics can be.
...
Land of Wind · Hidden Sand Village—
The moment the Sand ninja saw their village's Kage appear in the projection, it felt like the blood in their veins turned ice-cold.
This image… was from the near future, wasn't it?
No wonder Gaara had become the Fifth Kazekage at just eighteen years old!
To be summoned from the Pure Land alongside the Second Mizukage, the Second Tsuchikage, and the Third Raikage… did that mean their Kazekage had died that early?!
"It doesn't look like a natural death," an elder said sharply. "Immediately send word to Maki. Confirm the Kazekage's status!"
"I'm afraid… that won't be necessary, Elder."
"What do you mean?!"
"We just received a message from Lord Maki," the Sand ninja reported. "He says it's been at least three days since he last managed to contact the Kazekage. In his message, he also mentioned that he suspects someone impersonated the Kazekage even earlier, ordering him to cooperate with the Sound ninja on the 'Konoha Destruction' plan!"
"What?!! Konoha Destruction?!"
"Those Sound ninja bastards…!!" There was no longer any doubt—Hidden Sound was absolutely involved!
Chiyo stared at the Third Kazekage human puppet, created by her own grandson, her eyes filled with sorrow.
Just like a nation could not go without a ruler, and a ninja village could not go without a Kage.
"Let's finish watching the projection first," she said slowly. "Then we'll decide our next move."
If necessary…
She would "test" Gaara's bearing once more.
If he truly had the qualities of a Kazekage, then that would be for the best.
If not…
Then that earlier projection would become nothing more than a death sentence hanging over Gaara's head.
[Within the projection, a sandstorm like a world-devouring tsunami surged toward the four deceased Kage!]
[The Second Mizukage, Hōzuki Gengetsu, chuckled and praised it lightly, "Yo, that's impressive—this sandstorm."]
["This is Shukaku's power!!" the black-eyed Fourth Kazekage said grimly. "The power of the One-Tail!"]
["He's using the Feigning Sleep Technique right from the start?!" The Kazekage formed seals with both hands, and the sand beneath his feet instantly gleamed gold.]
[This was a jutsu he had developed specifically to deal with his youngest son after he became a monster—to deal with Gaara. Using Magnet Release, he manipulated gold dust hidden within the sand dunes. Because gold dust was heavier than ordinary sand, only by mixing it into Gaara's sand could he weaken the One-Tail Shukaku's control over it.]
[Golden dust and yellow-brown sand—what kind of spectacle would it be when two sky-high tidal waves collided?!]
[The thunderous roar in the projection was like mountains collapsing and seas overturning.]
"Ah! My god!"
"So this is a battle between Kazekage?!"
"This is unbelievably rare! That shockwave feels like it's hitting us outside the projection too!"
"I almost went into a defensive stance just now! Hey—someone actually jumped away! It's just a projection, you coward!"
"But isn't that the future, years from now?"
With that single sentence, everyone fell silent.
The future.
Were they really going to be forced to fight their own village's Kage in a fight to the death?
That was the Kage they revered above all else.
How could anyone bring themselves to strike them?!
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