Morkel frowned slightly and stroked his chin in thought.
Suddenly, Killer Bee seemed to recall something from the past and said, "Oh yeah! There's an old legend about two brothers—Golden Horn and Silver Horn—from our Cloud Shinobi Village!"
Morkel's curiosity was instantly piqued. He turned around and asked, "Golden Horn and Silver Horn? Tell me more about them!"
Killer Bee grinned. "Oh, that tale goes way back—decades ago when I was still a baby…"
"Don't mess around. Speak seriously," Morkel said with a trace of impatience.
Killer Bee chuckled, then shifted to a more serious tone. "Alright, alright. To put it simply, before the Nine Tails was captured by Konoha, Cloud Shinobi had attempted to subdue it. During one such mission, the Golden and Silver Horn brothers were swallowed whole by the Nine Tails."
Morkel raised an eyebrow. "Swallowed… and then what?"
"Two weeks later, the Nine Tails coughed them up," Bee said dramatically.
"What? How did they survive in the Nine Tails' stomach for two whole weeks?" Morkel asked in disbelief.
"Guess," Bee challenged him.
Morkel narrowed his eyes, thinking hard. "They… ate each other? No, wait… they ate the Nine Tails' flesh?!"
Bee snapped his fingers. "Bingo! You got it!"
Morkel's eyes widened in shock. "They ate tailed beast flesh and survived? Wouldn't an ordinary person be torn apart by the beast's violent chakra?"
"Exactly," Bee nodded. "Ordinary people would have died instantly. But these two weren't ordinary. It's said they possessed a special bloodline, possibly descended from the legendary Sage of Six Paths himself."
"That explains it," Morkel muttered. "By consuming the Nine Tails' meat, they inherited its chakra and became absurdly powerful."
Bee continued, "Back then, during a peace negotiation between Konoha and the Cloud Village, these brothers rebelled and killed the Second Raikage. In the ensuing chaos, they also dragged the Second Hokage of Konoha into death."
"So they both died then?" Morkel asked.
But even before finishing the question, his expression darkened as he realized something.
"Wait! What if they were brought back using the Impure World Reincarnation technique?!"
Bee's face also turned serious. "That would be a huge problem for the Allied Shinobi Forces. They're as strong as tailed beasts, and…"
Bee paused.
"…they possess the Sage's legendary tools!"
Morkel's eyes narrowed. "Tools of the Sage of Six Paths? You mean… the Toad Sage's staff or the White Snake Immortal's relics?"
Bee laughed. "No, no. I'm talking about even greater treasures—artifacts said to belong to the Sage of Six Paths himself!"
"The Golden Rope, which binds and forces truth from the tongue… the Red Gourd, which seals anyone whose voice is recorded… the Seven-Star Sword, which writes the name of the target… and the Banana Fan, capable of unleashing all five nature transformations!"
Morkel mentally reviewed what he'd just heard. Golden Horn, Silver Horn, magical treasures… It sounded exactly like characters from the old Journey to the West tales.
"Could it be," he thought, "that these two brothers are the shinobi version of the Golden Horn and Silver Horn Kings from the legends?"
He decided to verify.
Morkel closed his eyes and communicated within his inner sealed space.
"Four Tails, Son Gokū—do you know of these two brothers?"
The great ape opened one eye lazily. "Two insignificant mortals. Never heard of them."
Morkel sighed, visibly disappointed. "I see."
Watching Morkel's contemplative silence, Killer Bee assumed he was feeling overwhelmed by the legends of Gold and Silver Horn. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Don't be afraid," he said reassuringly. "Big Brother A (the Raikage) will definitely find a way to handle them!"
---
Meanwhile, at the Cloud Village – Allied Forces' Headquarters
The senior leaders from each hidden village gathered around a massive map of the shinobi world, their brows furrowed with tension.
Tsuchikage groaned, massaging his temples. "I've been so focused on the sealing operations that I nearly forgot about Turtle Island's exposure. That's a major threat."
Cloud ninjas nodded in agreement. "The giant turtle is sluggish. Once it's spotted, it'll be easy to track."
"We should relocate it."
The Hokage, Tsunade, made a suggestion. "Let's move it to the Land of Fire. Konoha has an iron fortress. It's secure and fortified."
The Mizukage frowned and objected. "That's risky. Akatsuki has too many sensory-type ninjas. If we place the turtle on land, it's bound to be detected. Why not hide it in the waters of the Land of Water?"
Tsuchikage was not convinced. "That won't work. Akatsuki has bases in the Land of Water too."
The Mizukage snapped, "So what, are you going to stash it in your exposed Iwagakure?"
Raikage slammed his fist on the table. "Enough! The best hiding place is in plain sight. Let's position it behind our headquarters. That way, if anything happens, reinforcements can arrive immediately."
The room fell into thoughtful silence.
Tsunade finally nodded. "That makes sense."
Tsuchikage and Mizukage both grudgingly agreed.
"But how do we move a giant turtle across the sea quickly?" Mizukage asked.
Everyone turned to Tsunade, who could only shake her head.
Raikage stepped in. "Forget that for now. Let's send the command to begin preparations. We'll find a solution."
He turned to the communication officer, Yamanaka Inoichi.
"Establish telepathic contact with Turtle Island immediately."
Before Inoichi could respond, his expression suddenly changed.
"Emergency report from the Lightning Country's coastal guards! A large number of white humanoid figures have emerged from the sea!"
Everyone went silent.
Ao, the sensory ninja, concentrated and suddenly exclaimed, "An enormous chakra presence just surfaced—no, two of them! They're on par with tailed beasts!"
The Raikage's eyes widened. "Akatsuki is already deploying tailed-beast-class forces?!"
Tsunade, looking at the battlefield map, responded quickly. "Darui's First Combat Unit is closest to the border. They should reinforce immediately!"
Inoichi received another telepathic message.
"Second Combat Unit reports an Akatsuki Impure World Reincarnation squad appearing at the Iron Country border!"
Tsuchikage scowled. "Impure World Reincarnation again? Ao, why didn't you sense them?"
Ao looked distressed. "They didn't emit chakra until the moment they appeared. It's as if they were cloaked."
Tsuchikage snapped, "Can we confirm who was resurrected?"
Inoichi relayed: "Reports identify Sunagakure's Fourth Kazekage, Kirigakure's Second Mizukage, Cloud Village's Third Raikage… and Konoha's Danzo."
Raikage's jaw dropped. "Even my father has been resurrected?!"
Tsuchikage's face darkened further. "There's more."
He paused, taking a heavy breath.
"My master, the Second Tsuchikage, was a master of stealth and perception. It's very likely he's among the revived as well."
"Second Tsuchikage…" Raikage's secretary whispered. "He's the one who developed the terrifying bloodline elimination jutsu, right?"
Tsuchikage gave a heavy sigh and straightened his back.
"That's not something anyone can deal with casually. I'll have to head to the battlefield myself."
And with that, the elderly Tsuchikage took flight, vanishing from the conference hall in a blink.
---
Back at the headquarters, another urgent report came in.
Ao turned pale. "Another cluster of chakra signatures! At the point where the Rain Country's Third Army is fighting the Bloodline Limit Recon Squad!"
Inoichi quickly added, "We've just received a message from Team 3! Hyuga Tokuma and Aburame Muta have discovered the Akatsuki base and are transmitting coordinates!"
Raikage gritted his teeth, veins bulging in his forehead.
"Why is everything happening at once?!"