With a quiet sigh he said. "Honestly, the reincarnations of Ashura and Indra really are just walking disasters."
"Old man Six Paths, why did you insist on having two sons? Couldn't you have been like me and had one son and one daughter?"
"Then none of this mess would've happened."
"See? Someone like me is the true winner in life."
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo: …This brat!
With Madara dealt with, Kazuyama shifted his gaze to the other battlefield.
He had to admit—Muren Uchiha was strong.
But those eyes… Eternal Mangekyō? Whose eyes had he transplanted?
Gold Dust, water dragons, lightning—one after another filled the sky. Yet that pitch-black Susanoo was vicious, smashing every attack with a single swing of its spear.
Of course, some things could contend with the spear—those chains, the lightning-clad Four Lightning Boys, and Minato Namikaze with his Rasengan.
"Kazuyama! Your clones need to help too!"
"And you, Seven-Tails! You help out as well!"
After blasting a spear aside with his Rasengan, Minato teleported down via Flying Thunder God Technique.
Beside him stood Kazuyama's clone and Chōmei.
"It's not that I don't care. The real me should be almost done."
"So I might as well relax. A little break won't hurt, right?"
A clone was still Kazuyama's clone—same personality, same attitude.
Seeing the Five Kage, Kushina, Yahiko, and Konan all failing to take down a single Muren Uchiha… he really didn't feel like joining in.
"Oh? The real one is here."
Boom.
The clone dissolved into white smoke in front of Minato, while Chōmei had already flopped down to rest.
They had both sensed it—Kazuyama had arrived.
"Still not finished?"
"It's just a complete Susanoo. Come on."
Same tone. Same teasing. Even more blunt than before.
Kazuyama walked over and watched the battle with helpless amusement.
Minato nearly exploded.
Heaven knew how sturdy that complete Susanoo was. No matter how hard they hit it, it wouldn't break.
This scene highlighted the gap in pure offensive power. Susanoo was, after all, an almost absolute defense—unless crushed by overwhelming force that surpassed the limits of a shinobi, like Six Paths-level power, it was practically invincible.
The Five Kage were strong, but they were still just normal shinobi. Against something like this, their abilities came up short.
Even Ōnoki's Dust Release, which could damage Susanoo, was useless if Muren evaded with his dōjutsu.
As their resources dwindled, the Five Kage's condition worsened. If not for Kushina backing them up, they might've already lost.
Kazuyama glanced at the fully-manifested Nine-Tails. Truly, the mother and son were alike—their forms barely differed.
The Nine-Tails' chakra form looked incredibly lifelike, like Chōmei.
"Tch, easy for you to say. That thing's defenses are maxed out."
"And with those Mangekyō Sharingan abilities, it's a nightmare. Even if I get close with Flying Thunder God Technique, my jutsu don't have enough power to break through that shell."
Minato gritted his teeth watching Susanoo withstand the barrage. He was beyond frustrated.
Kazuyama, seeing his expression, couldn't help bursting into laughter.
"Hey, Kazuyama! Not only are you not helping—you're laughing at me! That's too much!"
"And what's this about you being the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki?"
"You have no idea how Ōnoki reacted when he heard that… I don't even want to talk about it."
Minato, usually calm, showed rare irritation. He was fed up with Ōnoki's behavior. They were allies now—having another Jinchūriki meant more strength. But the old man was still nitpicking, completely lacking a sense of the bigger picture.
Kazuyama laughed even harder.
He had no fondness for Ōnoki either. If it weren't for Iwagakure's overall military strength and Dust Release, he wouldn't give the man a second thought.
"You're still laughing!"
"Explain—what's the deal with the Seven-Tails?"
Kazuyama Gekkō, the Seven-Tails' Jinchūriki—this was something Minato never expected.
They'd known each other for years, yet he never knew Kazuyama had become a Jinchūriki.
And the Seven-Tails belonged to Takigakure. But from Yahiko and Konan's attitude, they clearly accepted it?
"That's all there is to it."
"I went to Takigakure, took the Seven-Tails, and they had no choice but to accept it."
"It's not a big deal. Don't overthink it. Everything's fine now, isn't it?"
Kazuyama had no intention of explaining the full story about Chōmei. If Madara and Muren hadn't blabbed, no one would have ever known.
But now that it was public—so what?
Takigakure supported him completely. As long as they didn't pursue it, the rest of the world could scream all they wanted; it would change nothing.
After this war, Konoha's strength would be far beyond what the other villages could rival.
Even if they were unhappy, they'd have to swallow it.
This wasn't an exaggeration. During the war, Konoha's overwhelming combat power was on full display. Even without counting Kazuyama himself, Kushina—the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki—was enough to make the other villages hesitate.
"You… you actually did something like this."
"Aren't you afraid Takigakure will turn hostile? And with tensions between the Five Great Villages—if Konoha has a tailed beast besides the Nine-Tails, do you realize what that means?"
Minato's concerns made Kazuyama snort. He immediately shot back:
"Hey, Minato, you're starting to sound like those old geezers."
"The village's interests may come first, but in the face of absolute power, no one will dare complain."
"Our goal should be to become rulers who suppress the world, like the First Hokage—not conservatives like the Third Hokage."
"You're still too cautious."
"But once the war is over, all of this will be put on the table anyway. Whatever."
Kazuyama had no interest in these political matters. He'd already decided—after the war, he would leave Konoha.
Then he'd take his wife and children and live a peaceful, happy life.
Wasn't that far better?