Whoosh! Black Zetsu was brought by Minato straight to Obito's side.
"Obito, this won't do. We still have to get Madara-sama out," Black Zetsu advised.
In Black Zetsu's eyes, Obito was far too green. In a decisive battle like this, he simply couldn't carry enough weight. Having Madara personally on the field would be far more reassuring.
Obito understood that perfectly well.
In the past, he had played at being Madara, acting like he was unstoppable. But the truth was, he was nowhere near Madara's level. Otherwise, he wouldn't be flailing like this now. If Madara were here, he would absolutely be able to solve this mess.
So keeping Madara imprisoned was out of the question.
Otherwise, the Eye of the Moon Plan would never succeed!
Obito clenched his teeth. "Black Zetsu, hide yourself and wait for an opening. Orochimaru, have Minato-sensei go snatch the Red Gourd."
Orochimaru merely smiled, as if Obito's awkward, desperate state was entertainment. Still, he did pass the order on to Minato.
Even if Minato didn't like it, he had no choice but to go.
However, the moment he came face-to-face with Tenten's squad, he spoke up immediately:
"I've been ordered to seize the Red Gourd! Tenten, Jiraiya-sensei, Kakashi—protect the Red Gourd and don't let the enemy take it!"
Behind them, Obito's face went dark. "Orochimaru! Why didn't you silence him?!"
Orochimaru wore an innocent expression. "You didn't say anything. Besides, Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation) only controls behavior. Thoughts and speech are basically uncontrollable. I can't do it, anyway. Want to try it yourself?"
…For fuck's sake.
Obito wanted to tear Orochimaru apart.
But he also knew this was not the time for infighting. Their side was already short-handed. If he made Orochimaru an enemy, then the other Hokage would likely turn hostile as well—and that would put him in an even worse position.
After hearing Minato's warning, Tenten immediately hugged the Red Gourd to her chest and ducked behind Jiraiya.
Konan also stayed close to Tenten, preventing any attempt to snatch the gourd.
Konan understood clearly: Madara was sealed inside the Red Gourd. If he were released, the Allied Shinobi Forces' situation would only get worse. The Red Gourd had to be protected at all costs.
Even if it meant abandoning the demolition plan, they could not act recklessly. After all, others were already dealing with the Gedō Mazō.
For example, the four tailed beasts were currently throwing everything they had into a mutual-destruction fight against the Gedō Mazō.
At that moment, Shikamaru's voice suddenly carried over:
"Tenten Squad! Darui Squad! Pull back for now. Let the Allied Shinobi Forces push forward to deal with the Gedō Mazō!"
Everyone froze for a beat, immediately realizing this meant a full-on mob assault was about to begin. They withdrew without hesitation.
Darui was unwilling, but Black Zetsu had already slipped underground. With no way to find him, Darui could only retreat no matter how frustrated he felt.
Minato, meanwhile, still had orders to seize the Red Gourd—so he followed them.
Jiraiya stopped decisively. "Tenten, Kakashi, Konan—you pull back first. Next is the master-and-student battle between me and Minato. You must protect the Red Gourd!"
"Jiraiya-sama / Sensei, be careful!"
The three didn't hesitate. They turned and retreated at speed.
As for Jiraiya's safety, it wasn't overly worrying. He was Minato's teacher, after all. Even if he might not win, Minato wouldn't kill him easily.
Over there, Naruto—now transformed into a massive Nine-Tails—glanced in this direction.
He recognized Jiraiya, the Pervy Sage, and he recognized his own father too. But now wasn't the time to reunite.
"Dad… wait for me. Once we finish the enemy, I have so much to tell you," Naruto vowed silently, while continuing to coordinate with the Three-Tails, Seven-Tails, and One-Tails to encircle the Gedō Mazō from multiple angles.
The Allied shinobi surged in as well. Under Shikaku's direction, they began the operation.
"Earth Release unit, move!"
"Doton (Earth Release): Daichi Dōkaku (Earth Style: Tectonic Core)!"
A large group of shinobi activated Earth Release in unison. The ground split open, and the earth beneath the Gedō Mazō sank in a perfect square, forming a massive, box-shaped pit.
"Second Earth Release unit, move!"
"Doton: Sekkai Kōgyō no Jutsu (Earth Style: Lime Condensation Technique)!"
A wave of shinobi exhaled huge amounts of powdered lime, pouring it into the square pit.
"Kirigakure shinobi, forward!"
"Suiton (Water Release): Suidan (Water Bullet)!"
Crash! A large number of Mist shinobi spewed water in bulk, mixing it with the lime in the pit.
It was textbook civil engineering.
They were trying to cast the Gedō Mazō into concrete.
"Fire Release unit, move!"
"Katon (Fire Release): Gōenka no Jutsu (Great Flame Technique)!"
Whoooosh! Flames poured out in waves, rapidly curing the mix.
In the blink of an eye, the enormous Gedō Mazō had become a giant concrete pillar inside the pit.
It looked extremely solid, but anyone with eyes could tell the effect probably wouldn't be decisive.
"Oh ho! What a magnificent ninjutsu!" Hashirama couldn't help praising. "The shinobi are really united, and the coordination is excellent!"
Tobirama shook his head. "Concrete casting might restrain an ordinary summoned beast. But trying to trap something like that will be difficult. And Obito isn't panicking—not out of blind confidence, but because he knows exactly how dangerous the Gedō Mazō is."
Indeed, the Gedō Mazō had already absorbed the power of four tailed beasts. Its strength was no trivial matter.
Just because one of its legs had been blown off by one hundred million explosive tags didn't mean it was weak.
Concrete wasn't going to hold it.
Sure enough, in the very next moment—crack, crack, crack—the concrete casing split with multiple fractures, then exploded apart as the Gedō Mazō broke free with ease.
The result immediately deflated the Allied Shinobi Forces' morale.
They had thought it would work, only to realize it was a wasted effort.
Shikamaru rubbed his forehead too. The operation wasn't going smoothly—but he didn't forget to keep morale up.
"Don't lose heart! Our operation wasn't completely useless. At the very least, we bought our strongest fighters a brief window to rest. Their chakra is recovering, and they'll be able to rejoin the fight soon!"
Hearing that, the shinobi reacted at once, and morale surged back.
That's right.
Maybe they weren't strong enough. Maybe mass-combo attacks couldn't truly hurt it. But they could restrain and delay—buying precious time for the heavy hitters to recover.
That was vital. It could not be ignored.
So they had to make use of this "battlefield that seemed useless."
Many shinobi shouted, "If that's the case, let's buy even more time!"
Shikaku immediately began issuing new orders. "Kirigakure, Sunagakure—begin!"
In the next moment, Mist shinobi cast Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hiding in Mist Technique), blanketing the entire area in thick fog to disrupt the enemy's vision.
The Sand shinobi readied themselves. Once the rested fighters were ready to re-engage, they would be responsible for blowing the fog away.
It had to be said—numbers were power. With fog on this scale, at minimum, Obito's side would be severely hampered.
(End of Chapter)
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