Night faded into dawn.
The defensive line of Gaara's unit was finally in place.
And before them, the resurrected Kage from every village appeared—some familiar, others complete strangers.
Kiyosuke scratched his ear and sighed helplessly.
"Damn… just how many graves did Kabuto have to dig up to gather this bunch?"
Ninja corpses were supposed to be treated with the utmost secrecy, mainly to prevent their bodies from being used to uncover any hidden secrets.
After all, once a Kage died, their body wasn't meant to rot naturally—it was always destroyed, leaving not even ash behind.
At least, that's how it should've been.
Kiyosuke knew this better than most.
After all, Hashirama Senju had been reduced to a mass of cells stored in culture tanks.
No one even knew if the Second Hokage's body had ever been recovered.
As for Minato and Kushina—their corpses had been personally dealt with by Kiyosuke himself.
And the Third… well, he wasn't dead yet, so that could wait.
Standing before the assembled Kage, Kiyosuke smiled lightly.
"Sorry, but this is where the road ends for you. You're not going any farther."
"Oi, kid! Hurry up and seal us already!" cried Hōzuki Gengetsu, clearly panicked.
"With this many Kage around, who the hell could win?!"
If he were still alive, Gengetsu would've already taken his men and bolted.
But now, there was no choice but to fight.
If they didn't, the entire ninja world might be destroyed—and that couldn't happen. The world couldn't be wiped out by a bunch of dead men.
"Oh? This is a Konoha shinobi?" said a bearded man with sharp, wise eyes—the First Mizukage, Byakuren.
"Gengetsu, is that young man really that strong?"
"Of course he is," Gengetsu said without hesitation. "If this kid were any better at sealing techniques, I'd already be sealed by now."
He wasn't even embarrassed to admit it. What did reputation matter when you were already dead?
"Also, he's close with the Fifth Mizukage—though, well, the Third Mizukage died at his hands," Gengetsu added with a grin.
"Cough… cough… Senseir, that was an accident!" the Third Mizukage said awkwardly, trying to save face.
Gengetsu laughed heartily.
"Hahaha! Accident or not, you still died by his hand. You might as well accept it!"
"The Edo Tensei is truly an abominable jutsu," sighed the First Kazekage, Reto, looking uncannily like Yamato as he spoke.
He could already feel his body moving against his will—any moment now, he might attack his own people.
The bald Second Kazekage, Shamon, his head and face covered in tattoos, said grimly,
"At least my puppets weren't summoned along with me. That would've been a real problem."
He was a master of puppetry. Without his puppets, his strength was considerably weaker—which also meant there was a chance he could be sealed.
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, remained silent.
He simply looked at Gaara, eyes complicated.
"Have faith in our successors," rumbled the towering Third Raikage, his confidence unwavering. "There's no such thing as a generation that can't surpass the last."
He turned to Kiyosuke. "I died early, but even I've heard this young man's name. He's quite the formidable one."
"That's true," Rasa finally said. "I was once resurrected by Orochimaru myself. I fought alongside the First and Second Hokage during the attack on Konoha. I saw this man battle both of them alone—and he didn't lose."
"Seriously? Konoha just keeps producing monsters," muttered the First Tsuchikage in disbelief. "Not even Hashirama could beat him?"
"I'm not sure," Rasa said honestly. "My consciousness wasn't clear at the time. Before I realized it, I was already under control."
"At the very least, we know he's strong," the First Tsuchikage mused. Then, noticing the woman standing behind Kiyosuke, he frowned. "Wait a minute… that red-haired woman behind him looks familiar."
"Hmm… could that be… Uzumaki Mito, the wife of the First Hokage?" Byakuren's eyes widened in recognition.
Sure enough, Mito was there, resurrected as well—but she stood firmly on the side of the Allied Shinobi Forces.
"Well, that's just perfect. She's a sealing master," Byakuren said with a smile.
"In that case, everyone—let's seal you all away." Kiyosuke stretched his shoulders.
The Second Mizukage clenched his fists eagerly.
"Come on, kid! I've been waiting to be sealed!"
The ground beneath him suddenly turned damp, and his body began moving on its own. Bubbles formed around him in bursts.
"Damn it… my body's moving again on its own! Hey, what are you standing there for?!"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Kiyosuke replied, dashing forward and throwing a punch at Gengetsu—only for a solid arm to block it.
He looked up to see the First Mizukage.
"Young man," Byakuren said gravely, "prepare to be surrounded. I'm sorry, but this isn't our will!"
His body moved as he spoke, his right leg whipping out in a powerful arc that smashed into Kiyosuke's head—sending it flying clean off.
"Uh…"
Wasn't this guy supposed to be strong? Why'd his head just go flying like that?!
But before anyone could react, flames erupted from Kiyosuke's severed neck, and another head instantly grew back.
"What terrifying strength," he said, brushing dust from his shoulder. "As expected of the First Mizukage. Almost killed me there."
He spun, using the motion to deliver a fierce kick straight into Byakuren's stomach, launching him backward.
"Good thing the Edo Tensei can't fully restore your original power, or I'd be dead already."
"Kid! Look up—run!"
Kiyosuke's eyes shot upward.
Floating high above, like a mummy wrapped in bandages, was the Second Tsuchikage, Mū.
His hands formed a complex seal as chakra gathered between them.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
A beam of light clashed midair—Mū's Dust Release met another of equal power.
It was Ōnoki's.
"So, Ōnoki… you turned into such an old man," Mū said coldly. "Survived all these years because of Dust Release, did you? How pitiful."
There was no trace of affection for his student in his tone. To him, Ōnoki's alliance with the other villages was utter nonsense. What mattered were the tangible benefits to Iwagakure—nothing else.
"I never thought I'd stand against you like this, Mū-sama… and you too, First-sama," said Ōnoki, his aged voice steady despite his exhaustion.
He looked older than both of them, but he was still the junior here.
"Ōnoki, even older than me now—hah, time spares no one," the First Tsuchikage chuckled, stroking his beard before leaping aside to avoid a wave of sand.
"Hmm… that boy has sharp instincts, doesn't he?"
"Very sharp," came the calm response.
Behind Kiyosuke, dozens of golden chains shot out from Uzumaki Mito's back, glowing with fierce sealing energy.
Before the reanimated Kage could react, the chains bound Reto, Shamon, and the Third Mizukage, dragging them toward her.
The Adamantine Sealing Chains—a power that even the Nine-Tails struggled to break free from.
For mere humans, there was simply no escaping it.
As for the Raikage lineage… their speed was far too great.
Not a single one of them was caught.