"The Two-Tails and Eight-Tails of the Land of Lightning, and the Four-Tails and Five-Tails of the Land of Earth... it seems someone really is targeting the Tailed Beast Jinchūriki."
"Latest report—Three-Tails and Six-Tails from Kirigakure, and the Seven-Tails from Takigakure have all gone missing as well."
"Is it Uchiha Madara?"
"It has to be him!"
"But… wasn't he supposed to be dead?"
"What about Nagato's side?"
"He's on his way here with Yahiko and Konan."
"So that means… he hasn't used the Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique yet?"
"The Raikage, Tsuchikage, and Kazekage want to convene this year's Five Kage Summit early, to discuss the disappearance of the Jinchūriki."
"What about the Mizukage?"
"According to what we heard from Tobirama's side, the Third Mizukage was found dead in his office. Cause of death is unclear, but it's suspected he was under a Sharingan genjutsu before dying."
"The elders are rushing to organize the election of the Fourth Mizukage."
…
Inside the Hokage's office, intelligence reports and discussions flowed rapidly.
Orochimaru rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache come on.
These sudden developments were clashing with the plans he and Nara Kagetsu had carefully laid out.
Still, it wasn't total chaos. They had accounted for unexpected scenarios when planning to use the power of Hollowfication to replace chakra or natural energy—or at least most of it.
Among the potential threats, they had considered the "Infinite Tsukuyomi" recorded on the Uchiha Stone Tablet.
But what they didn't expect… was that this particular threat would strike so suddenly, and so aggressively.
Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu had been silent for so long.
And now, out of nowhere, they had launched an attack like a bolt of lightning—shaking the entire Shinobi World.
Now, only two tailed beasts remained uncaptured: the One-Tail in the Land of Wind…
And the Nine-Tails in the Land of Fire.
"Let's go. The Raikage and the others are probably getting impatient."
Orochimaru picked up the Hokage's hat from the table, placed it on his head, and spoke to Tsunade and Minato Namikaze beside him.
"Don't worry. Let Kushina stay in the Technology Development Department. At least with Nara Kagetsu there, her safety can still be guaranteed. She'll be fine until we return."
Seeing the deep worry that Minato couldn't hide on his face, Orochimaru offered a few words of comfort.
In a heavily modified village like this, even without Kagetsu, Kushina's abilities and power were more effective and secure inside the village than outside.
As one of the village's top leaders, Minato clearly understood that as well. That's why he didn't try to insist on staying behind or bringing Kushina along.
After all, Kushina was the one who personally planned and took part in the complete overhaul of the village's barrier system and jutsu formations.
With the Hokage's authority, she alone possessed the power of nearly an entire shinobi force.
Even though this strength was primarily suited for defense and suppression, it was still impressive.
Even someone like Minato, without proper authorization, would find it hard to get close to Kushina using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
The massive barrier covering the entire village, the enormous chakra reserves, the Gelel Stone rune array, the Uzumaki clan's Kagura Mind's Eye, and Kushina's awakened Hōgyoku Mode—all of these combined made her a formidable force.
Even if Uchiha Madara were resurrected, Kushina could hold him off for a long time.
This was something Second Hokage Tobirama Senju had personally acknowledged.
And if you added Kagetsu, the Uchiha clan, and other top-tier ninja into the mix, the village would become an impenetrable fortress, ensuring Kushina's safety to the greatest extent.
Standing on the teleportation rune array at the Technology Development Department, Orochimaru waved goodbye to the head of the village's Jonin Squad—Kagetsu, and his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
As the shinobi within the formation performed hand signs, the ground's rune array responded. In the blink of an eye, Orochimaru vanished.
This teleportation system had been created as an emergency protocol by the five Kage.
It was only used when major incidents occurred and they needed to meet face-to-face urgently.
Except for Kirigakure, the other three major villages had teleportation arrays similar to Konoha's.
Snow covered the land in a blanket of white.
The bone-chilling wind whipped up flurries of snow, lashing at their faces like icy needles.
Within the storm, the trio who had just arrived by teleportation—Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Minato—immediately turned their gazes toward a certain direction.
"That's Hollow power," Tsunade said firmly after sensing for only a brief moment.
"From the direction, it must be the Kazekage," Minato added, his sensing ability and sense of direction sharper than most. "He's in battle. Hokage-sama?"
As he spoke, Minato looked to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru gave him a slight nod, and in the blink of an eye, Minato vanished from sight.
As expected, in the entire ninja world, the only one who could clash with the Kazekage and force him to use Hollowfication—besides the Menos Grande—would most likely be Uchiha Madara.
And as the chakra signature grew clearer, they could feel a presence so massive, it rivaled—even surpassed—that of certain tailed beasts.
"Your resistance is pointless!"
A towering giant brought down a massive chakra-forged sword from the sky.
The strike landed squarely on the Kazekage, scattering the protective layers of gold dust surrounding Rasa and sending him flying.
Rasa felt a sharp, almost soul-tearing pain rip through his body. He crashed into the snowdrifts and the frozen earth beneath, leaving a deep crater.
If not for the Hollowfication state he had entered—granting him traits like Hierro (iron skin), high-speed regeneration, and enhanced vitality—his body would have been shattered into pulp, and his soul would already have drifted to the Pure Land.
Even with this power-up, boosting both his life force and combat strength immensely, Rasa still found himself overwhelmed by the sheer might of the giant chakra entity before him.
As soon as the opponent became serious, the pressure on him suddenly surged. Even after using all his strength, he could only make himself a little tougher to withstand attacks.
Ninjutsu had no effect on the opponent at all. Instead, it seemed to strengthen the opponent.
The power of his Hollowfication mode could hurt the opponent, but the opponent's Susanoo had much stronger destructive power and defense than his Hollowfication mode.
Especially since the opponent had four phantom figures that only he could vaguely see in Hollowfication mode.
They would often strike him suddenly when he least expected it.
His guard was forcibly taken away by another man who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Feeling his wounds quickly healing under the power of the Hollowfication mode, Rasa was grateful but also helpless.
Although he had endured Uchiha Madara's attacks again and again, with his current strength, he could not turn the situation around.
Once the power of the Hollowfication ran out, it would be his defeat.
He could only maintain the Hollowfication mode steadily for a limited time.
If it went beyond that, the Hollowfication mode would lose control and start rampaging like an uncontrollable Jinchūriki.
"Super Flash Three-Step Instant Movement Hollowfication Great Rasengan!"
A sudden figure appeared in midair, holding a black spinning energy ball much larger than himself.
Like an ant waving a huge stone, he pressed the black sphere behind Susanoo's back.