"Very soon, all of you will become nothing but dust on the battlefield!!"
As he spoke, Obito slammed both palms onto the ground!
"Fwaaah——!!!"
A strange giant tree burst out from underground, rising to a height of a thousand meters in just a single breath!!
Right after that—"fwafwafwa——"
Several buds growing on the tree bloomed, beginning to gather Yin–Yang chakra...
Seeing this, the Allied Forces instantly panicked!
"He's going to fire Tailed Beast Bombs through those flowers!"
"Get out of here!"
"We can't escape anymore! He set up a barrier just now—it's covering almost the entire battlefield, there's no way to break through!"
"Then what do we do?! Are we supposed to just wait for death?! (๑ʘ̅ д ʘ̅๑)!!!"
"There'll definitely be a solution!"
...
On the other side, Naruto and the others, closest to Obito, also saw through his intention!
Because after summoning this giant tree of blooming flowers, that shady guy wrapped himself up in black orbs!
"First trap everyone inside the Four Red Yang Formation, then fire Tailed Beast Bombs inside the barrier... He wants to kill every single person in the Allied Forces!" Second Hokage said grimly.
"I can use Flying Thunder God to transfer all those Tailed Beast Bombs away!" Fourth Hokage stepped forward, expression solemn.
Second Hokage: "There are five Tailed Beast Bombs gathering. Are you sure you can transfer all of them in one go? Σ(っ °Д °;)っ"
Fourth Hokage answered, "If it were just my own chakra, of course not. But with the Shinju's chakra boosting me, I can try!"
After speaking, he used the Shadow Clone Technique and created four clones!
The moment he finished, the Tailed Beast Bombs forming in the flower buds were completed—and shot out in all directions!!
"Swishswishswishswish!!"
At the same time, five Minatos cloaked in crimson chakra cloaks flashed across the battlefield!!
"Swishswishswish——"
In a split second, the five Tailed Beast Bombs vanished!
Everyone trapped in the barrier let out a breath of relief!
"The Fourth Hokage!"
"The Fourth Hokage is seriously strong!"
"Yeah, not only can he teleport tens of thousands of Allied Forces instantly, he can even use clones to transfer Tailed Beast Bombs!"
"Is it possible that the one who's strong isn't the Fourth Hokage—but the crimson chakra attached to him?"
"I agree! The strong one is the Shinju supporting everyone from behind!! ୧⍢⃝୨"
...
Out at sea.
The tool Shinju was forging only needed one last step before it could be put to use.
But the battle between the Allied Forces and the Ten-Tails made it impossible for Shinju to focus on forging...
Just now, Shinju had reminded the Fourth Hokage that with its chakra, he could use clones to remove all the Tailed Beast Bombs.
After that, Shinju asked a few things about what Obito had done earlier.
After understanding the gist of it, Shinju's figure disappeared from where he stood!
He was heading to Konoha to retrieve something!
...
A certain hidden location.
Kabuto and Orochimaru were both old schemers.
They didn't participate in the war directly, but controlled Edo Tensei shinobi from the shadows, stirring trouble secretly!
"Orochimaru-sama, Obito..." Kabuto hesitated.
"You want to say we can't trust him, right?" Orochimaru asked.
Kabuto nodded. "I think not only can he not be trusted—he might not even have the ability to help us..."
Orochimaru: "...Right now, we can only choose to trust him. But we must also prepare a backup plan..."
The moment Orochimaru finished speaking, White Zetsu sprouted from the ground: "Orochimaru makes a good point. ( ˝ᗢ̈˝ )"
"So let me point you toward a bright future—you two should help someone stronger! (o´Д`o)ノ"
Zetsu lowered his voice: "First, you two should @%/%**..."
Orochimaru: "I've studied Shinju's Netherworld Seal. That kind of seal sends the soul back to the Pure Land of the Netherworld, imprinting it with a special brand."
"Once a soul is marked, it becomes extremely hard to summon again. And even if you succeed, Shinju will notice..."
Zetsu: "See? You said it's extremely hard—meaning it's not impossible! (σ≧︎▽︎≦︎)σ."
Orochimaru reached up, touching the purple handprint across his face.
"I don't want to deal with the Netherworld for the time being... ꒦ິ^꒦ິ"
Zetsu: "It's fine. Kabuto might do even better than you. And he's already mastered the Ryūchi Cave Sage Mode you haven't..."
Hearing this, Kabuto immediately stepped forward to defend Orochimaru: "Orochimaru-sama has extraordinary talent! The only reason he hasn't mastered Sage Arts is because of his body—"
Orochimaru cut him off.
"Kabuto, no need to rush. It's fine."
Zetsu continued, "I'm only giving an example... Orochimaru, your brain and years of research experience are things Kabuto can't match. That's why I believe the two of you can definitely re-summon souls branded by the Netherworld Seal!! (⌯︎¤̴̶̷̀ω¤̴̶̷́)✧︎"
"Once everything is prepared, the moment the time comes, I will control Obito to use that technique..."
"Good luck~ (--0027▿ --0027 )"
After saying that, Zetsu's body vanished.
Orochimaru glanced at the dazed Kabuto beside him.
"Alright, begin preparations. The battlefield changes every second—time waits for no one."
Kabuto frowned. "Orochimaru-sama... just what kind of creature is Zetsu...?"
"Doesn't he seem... very strange..."
Orochimaru smiled. "Kabuto, there are far too many things I'm curious about."
...
On the battlefield.
After seeing with his own eyes that the Fourth Hokage had transferred the Tailed Beast Bombs away, Obito's face darkened.
"Even now, you still resist!"
"Then I won't give you a single moment to breathe!!"
With that, Obito pressed his hands together!
"Pa!"
"Rumble!!"
In an instant, the massive, twisted Ten-Tails appeared!!
"BOOM——!!" The earth shook violently!
The Ten-Tails' massive body slammed onto the ground!
And then—the anomaly began!
The Ten-Tails Obito released no longer moved like a simple monster. Its body began to swell!!
The next moment—
"Rrrraaahh!!"
Its arms, legs, and all ten tails transformed into root-like tendrils!!!
Then, the spiral shell-like structure on its back opened, revealing a bright red flower bud!
Its torso turned into a tree trunk, stretching upward while supporting that enormous flower bud!!
At the same time, the roots formed from its limbs rapidly spread out in all directions!!
"Fwaaaalaaa——"
The rapidly growing giant roots tore through the battlefield, sweeping toward the Allied Shinobi!!
Many ninja didn't even have time to escape—caught by the roots, instantly drained of chakra, turned into shriveled corpses!!
Within mere tens of seconds, the Ten-Tails stopped moving. On the battlefield, fewer than one-tenth of the Allied Shinobi remained! Most had become nourishment for the giant tree born from the Ten-Tails!
Naruto stared blankly at the scene before him. He had just thought victory was within reach—but reality had slapped him in the face even faster!!
"What exactly is this thing?! (꒪⌓꒪)" Second Hokage asked.
Third Hokage shook his head. "We know far too little about the Ten-Tails."
...
Elsewhere.
Having transferred the five Tailed Beast Bombs, rested for a minute, and chatted a bit with Shinju, the Fourth Hokage finally arrived.
Seeing the battlefield transformed, Minato's jaw dropped.
"I was gone for not even two minutes!! ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!"