"You guys… you actually came to help me?" Even Kabuto was surprised.
After all, leading that team on a daily basis had never been easy. Even Karin, the weakest among them, didn't respect him, let alone the others.
And yet, at this moment, they had run over to back him up.
It was truly hard to believe.
Suigetsu hefted the Executioner's Blade in a defensive posture and snorted. "Don't get the wrong idea. Orochimaru told us to come."
Karin nodded vigorously. "Yeah, yeah. Don't get all emotional and think we're helping you. If Orochimaru hadn't seen you were about to get eaten alive by bugs, he wouldn't have sent us at all."
"Fine, fine. Then I'll thank you very much." Kabuto didn't feel like getting sentimental. He simply said, "This guy's insects are nasty. They're hard to deal with."
Suigetsu immediately gave him a look like he'd just stated the obvious. "Anyone with a brain can see that! Seriously, you want us to fight someone this annoying?"
Shino didn't care whether Kabuto had reinforcements, and he couldn't be bothered to trade words. Even more insects erupted from his body and screamed through the air.
Suigetsu swung the Executioner's Blade, but he looked distinctly unhappy about dealing with a swarm.
Jūgo's arm mutated, but his situation wasn't much better than Suigetsu's. Facing bugs that blotted out the sky, he didn't know how he was supposed to help either.
Karin, on the other hand, turned around and ran. She hated insects the most.
Kabuto was speechless. "How is this helping me? None of you can deal with them!"
Suigetsu couldn't help complaining. "Stop acting like it's nothing! With things like this, it's obvious our side is in trouble. If this keeps up, we're going to die! Think of something!"
Kabuto really did start thinking while dodging the insects, and in the end his gaze shifted to Obito.
He shouted across the battlefield, "Obito! What do we do now?"
Obito was using "Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)" to blast Temari's Wind Release away. Hearing that, he immediately answered, "Obviously we find where the tailed beasts are and capture them!"
Kabuto asked again, "Where are they?"
Obito's face darkened. "If I knew, would this still be such a hassle? They might be at Myōbokuzan. That's the best place to hide!"
He said it, but it was clear he least wanted that answer—because nobody knew where Myōbokuzan was. If the jinchūriki and the tailed beasts really were there, it would be a dead end.
But the people who knew the truth all felt their hearts drop.
If it had been earlier, it wouldn't have mattered if the enemy guessed. But the situation was different now.
Because Minato was on the enemy side.
At that moment, Orochimaru spoke. "If it's Myōbokuzan, then it's not difficult. Minato is Jiraiya's student, and he's signed a contract with Myōbokuzan. He's even been there. Just have him go."
Not good.
A and Tsunade, among others, instantly realized the problem.
Having Gaara go to Myōbokuzan had been a brilliant play—but because Minato had become an enemy Edo Tensei, that brilliant play had turned into a glaring hole.
No matter how carefully you calculate, fate can still flip the board. This was going to be trouble.
Sure enough, Obito's eyes lit up. "Right! How did I forget? Minato-sensei really has been to Myōbokuzan. He might've even left a Hiraishin formula there. Hahaha! So, Minato-sensei, take a trip to Myōbokuzan and bring the jinchūriki back!"
Minato didn't move.
He saw A's expression—something was clearly off. They'd guessed correctly.
But in the next second, Minato was no longer in control. It was as if a compulsion had seized him, a fusion of "Amaterasu" and a violent gale driving him forward.
He had no choice. He could only go.
"Not a chance!" A lunged.
But Minato had already locked onto Myōbokuzan's direction. With a flash, he vanished.
A's expression turned vicious. He shouted toward Jiraiya, "Hey! Jiraiya! Can you use Hiraishin to go to Myōbokuzan?"
Jiraiya spread his hands. "Probably. It might be extremely far, and it'd cost a ton of chakra… but Minato is an Edo body right now. He doesn't run out of chakra. So he should be able to."
"Damn it! How did it come to this!" A cursed, then threw caution aside and charged Obito with "Rigeri Nettō (Lightning Release: Liger Bomb)."
Obito immediately used "Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)," but Kurotsuchi seized the timing and launched an Earth Release, thrusting the ground beneath his feet upward. Obito was lifted into the air, and his Shinra Tensei skewed off target.
At the same time, A's arm swung in.
"Kamui…"
"Kamui!"
Kakashi decisively activated Kamui, canceling Obito's intangibility.
In the next moment, A's Liger Bomb swept across Obito's chest, nearly making him fold on the spot.
Bang!
He crashed to the ground. He looked miserable, yet he wasn't dead—because his body had been modified by White Zetsu. Even grievous injuries wouldn't kill him easily.
A was about to stomp him again when three streaks of yellow flashed below.
Minato was back—already—holding Gaara by the collar. And from Gaara's arms, a scroll slipped loose.
A immediately abandoned the follow-up attack and reached for the scroll with his big hand, but a black hand suddenly shot up from the ground, snatched the scroll first, and tossed it to Obito.
"Black Zetsu, you damn bastard!" A roared, using his lightning Body Flicker to kill toward Obito again.
Gaara finally reacted. Without hesitation he began transforming into a tailed beast, forcibly breaking free of Minato's grip, then twisting and lunging at Obito.
Obito instantly understood what the scroll represented. He fired "Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)" to blast the attack away, then leapt backward at top speed.
"Sorry… I didn't even understand what was happening, and I got brought back by this… whoever. I also didn't hide the scroll properly." Gaara's voice was full of guilt.
"This isn't on you. We miscalculated." A had no choice but to accept it. "That was the Fourth Hokage. He was Jiraiya's student, he went to Myōbokuzan, and he left Hiraishin formulas there. Kabuto and the others resurrected him with Edo Tensei, and now he's on the enemy side. He was ordered to go to Myōbokuzan to capture the jinchūriki. Our best move just got destroyed."
Gaara finally understood—though half of what A said still didn't register to him.
He had shamelessly steeled himself and decided to hide at Myōbokuzan, but he never imagined the enemy would have a counter like this.
Back at Myōbokuzan, he had been worrying about the battlefield and absentmindedly studying the scroll in his hands. He thought there was no danger. Then Minato appeared, grabbed him without a word, and flashed back—leaving the scroll exposed.
It was all his fault. Why had he been looking at the scroll?
On the opposite side, Obito didn't hesitate in the slightest. He immediately drove the Rinnegan's power.
"Kuchiyose: Idō Benjo (Summoning Jutsu: Mobile Toilet)!"
Bang!
The gigantic Gedō Mazō was summoned, hideous in form. It was missing limbs—crippled—yet the moment it appeared, it unleashed a furious roar that made the allied shinobi's faces change.
Obito then decisively summoned the Kohaku no Jōhei from within the scroll and tossed it into the Gedō Mazō's mouth.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]