When Shigeo appeared, the two sides stopped fighting.
The four Kage brought back by Edo Tensei all jolted in surprise.
"Shigeo, you're actually here?"
"You said we were staying just fine under your protection, so how did you not keep us safe?"
"And those Sealing Squad seals of yours are way too flimsy, aren't they? We're being used by someone else now, this is all your fault…"
Shigeo let out a cheeky laugh and said, "Don't worry, senpai. I'll send you all back in a moment."
Ōnoki was stunned when he heard that.
They actually knew Shigeo?
"What's going on?" the Fourth Raikage A asked.
But no one answered him.
On the contrary, the Third Raikage and the other three had already charged forward.
"Then that depends on your skills," they snarled as they rushed in.
The battlefield descended into chaos once more.
Masters clashed, and the shinobi of the Allied Forces behind them could only stare, dumbfounded.
The four current Kage—Gaara, the Fourth Raikage A, Ōnoki, and Mei—rushed forward to engage.
But they were no match for those opponents at all.
Even though the Edo Tensei bodies were weaker than when they were alive, the four reincarnated Kage were attacking in concert, they were intimately familiar with the weaknesses of their successors, and on top of that their bodies could not truly be killed no matter how badly they were damaged.
For a while, Ōnoki and the others could do nothing against them.
Once again, the four current Kage were heavily injured and knocked to the ground.
The four Edo Tensei Kage, under Kabuto's control, all turned together and charged straight at Shigeo.
Raiton: Bakuretsu (Lightning Release: Explosion), Kinsha Ryūkai (Gold Sand Sea), Jōki Bōi (Steaming Danger Tyranny), Mujin Meisai (Dustless Bewildering Cover)…
The four used different elemental techniques, all aimed to kill Shigeo. Among them, Mū's Mujin Meisai could render him invisible, making him the most troublesome of all.
Seeing this, Mei and the other four current Kage felt chills run down their backs.
It was obvious the enemy didn't see them as a threat at all.
Shigeo was the true target in their eyes—
And they were even attacking him together, four Kage-level opponents against a single man. This was a once-in-a-century sight.
Ōnoki even found it a little funny in his heart.
Four Kage versus one Shigeo—
He's dead for sure today!
But just as he was secretly gloating, the scene before his eyes left him completely dumbstruck.
The four reincarnated Kage rushed Shigeo together, one of them completely invisible.
Yet with a single charge, Shigeo injured three Kage in one blow!
The Fourth Raikage A, Rasa, and the Second Mizukage all had their waists cleaved clean through by a single blast of Ranton (Storm Release).
Fortunately, they were Edo Tensei bodies—
Even a normally fatal blow could be regenerated in short order.
At the same time, fine black grains of Jiton (Magnet Release) chakra began to spread through the air around them, hovering in mid-air.
"What is that?" Mei asked in puzzlement.
"It's Jiton (Magnet Release)," Rasa answered from the opposite side.
Suddenly, those floating fine grains of iron sand spun as one, as if all of them were lunging straight toward Shigeo.
At that exact moment, Shigeo spewed out a surge of Yōton (Lava Release) toward the "magnet" surging toward him.
Under the overwhelming lava, a twisted human outline was forced out of thin air—
And the Second Tsuchikage, Mū, appeared before everyone's eyes.
His Mujin Meisai (Dustless Bewildering Cover) had completely lost its effectiveness in front of Shigeo.
The fine iron sand drifting through the air had been set up specifically to deal with him.
Mū's Mujin Meisai could render his body invisible, but he still physically existed.
As long as a person moved, they would inevitably disturb the air, and that disturbance would cause subtle ripples in the iron sand suspended in that air.
Combined with Shigeo's Kanchi Jutsu (Sensory Technique), he could clearly pinpoint Mū's location and strike him accurately.
Shigeo planted his foot and exerted his full strength.
At his side, another Mokuton Bunshin no Jutsu (Wood Clone Jutsu) sprang into being.
The clone turned and sprinted off toward an unknown direction.
The clone was headed to find Kabuto.
As long as Kabuto was located and dealt with, every Edo Tensei on the battlefield could be undone.
Once again, Shigeo shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
The last time he had fought these four in Morenin Village, it had been the Sealing Squad that had sealed them, and their sealing had been imperfect, leaving a loophole for someone else to exploit.
This time, he was going to do it himself.
Let's see who can break it open now.
Shigeo unleashed Jiton (Magnet Release), Ranton (Storm Release), Hyōton (Ice Release), and Fūton (Wind Release) in turn, bombarding the four reincarnated Kage in front of him.
The enemies dodged and weaved, their Edo Tensei bodies constantly regenerating any damage.
Their ability to withstand punishment far exceeded that of ordinary shinobi.
Even so, Shigeo gave them no chance at all.
The Soul-Summoning Bell in his hand chimed softly.
Three more Mokuton Bunshin no Jutsu (Wood Clone Jutsu) appeared around him, and deep blue Rinnegan patterns opened in all of their eyes, forming a full encirclement.
"Banshō Ten'in (Universal Pull)!"
Shigeo and his three clones all activated a Rinnegan technique at once.
The four Kage were dragged helplessly into their grasp.
They tried to resist with all their strength, but they were no match for Shigeo at all.
In short order, a sealing array flared to life.
A massive beam of chakra light wrapped around the four bodies, and all four were sealed away.
"Shigeo-sama is amazing… What kind of move was that? That's insane!"
The shinobi in the rear could hardly believe what they were seeing.
Just moments ago, the current four Kage had fought those Edo Tensei Kage with everything they had and still ended up heavily wounded on the ground.
But Shigeo had taken only a single minute to resolve the entire situation.
There, Shigeo used his own Fūin Jutsu (Sealing Technique) to seal all four Edo Tensei Kage.
The reason he had used the Soul-Summoning Bell just now was precisely because against Edo Tensei enemies whose bodies were vessels for souls, its specialty was restraining the soul itself.
Cheers erupted across the battlefield.
Even Mei raised a thumbs-up toward Shigeo.
However, he did not relax in the slightest, because he knew this was not a true victory.
Even stronger enemies were still waiting ahead.
Sure enough, in the distance, atop a boulder, the Second Tsuchikage Mū silently appeared once more.
He wove hand seals and used Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation), summoning forth the greatest final boss of the shinobi world—
Madara Uchiha!
That guy had been waiting for his revival at any moment.
The instant he appeared, he assumed Nagato had used Rinne Tensei no Jutsu (Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique) on him, but quickly realized it was Edo Tensei instead.
"So I really am dead after all?" Madara said calmly.
After speaking, he swept his gaze across the field and, at a glance, spotted the Allied Shinobi Forces in the distance.
Shigeo turned as well.
As expected, the Second Tsuchikage Mū had used his division technique—half of his body had been sealed by Shigeo earlier, but the other half had escaped far away and used Edo Tensei to summon Madara.
At the same time, good news came in from the other battlefields:
All other Edo Tensei reincarnated individuals had ascended and vanished.
From the images returned through his clones, Shigeo knew that Kabuto had already been taken down by his clone and Itachi.
Every Edo Tensei bound by Kabuto's summoning contract had now been released and sent on.
But the one standing in front of them showed no change at all, nor did he show any intention of leaving.
Of course.
Infinite Tsukuyomi—Mugen Tsukuyomi (Infinite Tsukuyomi)—was the wish he had yearned and schemed for countless years to achieve.
Now that he had finally crawled out of his coffin, how could he possibly be willing to go back?
Moreover, Madara himself could undo Edo Tensei.
That made this summoning technique extremely dangerous—
Once an Edo Tensei gained freedom from the summoner, no one knew when they might break their contract and turn on the one who summoned them.
Now that Kabuto had failed and Madara had released his own contract, he was already a completely autonomous "dead man."
Madara rushed forward.
Within the Allied Shinobi Forces, people were sent flying in all directions, and clouds of dust billowed skyward.
He was like a massive reaper's scythe cutting through a wheat field—
Everywhere he passed, screams and wails followed.
(End of Chapter)
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