Kirigakure and Kumogakure had gone to war. Such a massive clash couldn't possibly escape the notice of the other hidden villages.
By the time the Konoha forces reached this floor and joined up with Darui and Cee, facing off against Terumi Mei—
The shinobi of Sunagakure and Iwagakure had also arrived.
So had Mifune, who had managed to survive the corrosive mist and regrouped the samurai under his command.
Gaara glanced at Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi, then at Mifune who had just arrived.
From the way those two stood next to Darui, their stance was clear.
It wasn't hard to tell who was friend and who was foe.
Gaara led his men over to Terumi Mei's side.
Pffft~
A whistle broke the tension—at the worst possible time. It came from Kurotsuchi.
She couldn't help herself, watching the younger Kazekage act so cool and decisive. He was just a few years her junior, but that attitude was something else.
"Dad, looks like it's time for us to pick a side. Everyone's watching."
Kurotsuchi nudged Kitsuchi's solid gut with her elbow. No squish, no bounce—not the most satisfying texture.
The rest stayed silent, but more than a few eyes turned her way.
Kurotsuchi tapped her lips, stuck out her tongue just slightly, then boldly stepped toward one of the sides.
"That said, we've already picked. Too bad for whoever didn't make the cut~"
She walked right up to Gaara and casually slung an arm over his shoulder like they were best buds—
Only to be smacked away by his sand without mercy.
Kurotsuchi shook out her hand and flashed a toothy grin at the sour faces across from her.
"Old man gave us strict orders before we left. If things blow up, we stick with Sunagakure!"
And sticking with Sunagakure meant siding with Kirigakure, didn't it?
Kurotsuchi had asked Ōnoki that exact question before they left. He'd glared at her and snapped that it wasn't the same thing at all.
Ōnoki and his endless layers of meaning—what a pain.
Still, Kurotsuchi could feel it. Something about this situation was different. She'd even discussed it with Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi on the way, but those two blockheads hadn't picked up on anything.
...
Meanwhile, the battle between the Raikage and the two swordsmen of the Mist was locked in a fierce stalemate.
Neither the Raikage himself, nor Danzo and Hiruzen, had expected things to play out like this.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist—everyone knew the name. But the Raikage's level was in a whole other class… wasn't it?
Sure, rumors had circulated for years that a few of the Seven were strong enough to rival Kage.
But they were just that—rumors. No one had ever taken them seriously.
The bad news was… the rumors were true.
"This has nothing to do with you, shinobi of Iwagakure."
The one speaking was none other than Danzo, the Hokage who had just moments ago dismissed Iwagakure's stance as irrelevant.
But the situation had changed. Now he was backpedaling fast.
Hiruzen had been right. The strength of Iwagakure couldn't be ignored—at the very least, they couldn't be allowed to side with the enemy.
"It doesn't concern us? Maybe. But we've already decided to get involved," Kurotsuchi cut him off before he could launch into one of his long-winded lectures.
This Hokage hadn't even been present during the initial summit. And now here he was, throwing the Land of Iron's neutrality into question.
To Kurotsuchi, this was exactly what the old man had meant by "unexpected developments."
Crossing her arms, clearly enjoying the chaos, she bared her fangs in a grin.
"The samurai have drawn their swords. The Raikage's already fighting. Just standing around and chatting isn't really appropriate, don't you think?"
Brat!
Danzo shot a glare at Kitsuchi. He's supposed to be the Iwagakure representative.
But he was going to be disappointed—Kitsuchi didn't say a word.
His stance was simple: follow the Tsuchikage's orders. And right now, all the conditions for "unexpected developments" had been met. That meant siding with Sunagakure, as instructed.
The Tsuchikage must've had his reasons.
With diplomacy breaking down completely, the temporarily paused battle reignited as all parties were drawn into the conflict!
"Charge!"
Under Danzo's control, Mifune once again led the samurai into battle, firing the first real shot.
But the samurai hesitated.
They didn't immediately charge forward, only tightened their encirclement.
At this point, even a fool could see something was off about Mifune and the rest of the samurai.
To go from strict neutrality to sudden, aggressive extremism—that kind of one-eighty was too suspicious.
Sand surged from Gaara's gourd, spreading out to block the advancing samurai.
"This is a shinobi matter. Samurai, please stand down."
Gaara's voice rang out, calm and clear. Despite his youth, he had a commanding presence that reassured those around him.
And though he addressed the samurai, his eyes were locked on Danzo.
Mifune's change in behavior… it was probably linked to this so-called Hokage who'd suddenly reappeared.
Danzo's reputation preceded him. Nine out of ten people who knew him didn't trust him.
Unfortunately, none of the shinobi on their side specialized in sensory techniques.
Though Cee from Kumogakure had noticed something… he couldn't say it aloud.
...
"Now!"
At Danzo's command, two Root operatives hidden in the shadows made their move!
Yashamaru sprang forward to intercept one of them.
From the brush of the other Root ninja, several ink-drawn tigers leapt from the paper, roaring as they tore toward Gaara.
Gaara sent out clouds of sand in a wide scatter pattern to intercept them, but the ink tigers were nimble, twisting and dodging around his defenses.
Just as Gaara prepared to go all out to counter the attack...
At that moment, Kurotsuchi was the first to act.
Her fists, coated in rock, struck out with precise force, smashing into the body of an ink tiger.
Dodging the lunges and bites of several others, she ducked low and swept out with a leg, then followed with a flurry of punches that pummeled another beast.
Gaara gave a quiet nod of gratitude as he extended a hand toward her.
"Thanks."
He raised his arm, and sand surged forth in a cloud to entangle the remaining ink tigers.
"Sand Binding Coffin."
The tigers crumbled under the weight of the sand, dissolving back into ink.
Gaara's sand, now tainted black by the ink, launched toward two Root operatives nearby.
They attempted to retreat, trying to dodge the incoming attack—but only then did they realize something horrifying: they could no longer control their own bodies.
Sasori flicked his fingers subtly, then pressed down. The two Root shinobi were yanked from the air and slammed hard into the ground.
A puppet string latched onto Yashamaru's body. Sasori gave it a slight tug, directing him toward the enemies.
Yashamaru leapt down from above, his blade plunging cleanly into one Root ninja's heart.
The other Root ninja, a user of ink techniques, thrashed in an attempt to break free from the puppet strings.
Sasori didn't give him the chance. Two more strings snapped into place, binding the man even tighter until he was completely immobilized.
The surrounding sand gathered again.
Those two Root shinobi had made their intentions crystal clear—they were targeting Gaara and Gaara alone.
He didn't know why Konoha had suddenly made him a target, but if they'd made their move, Gaara wasn't going to show mercy.
Suddenly, the glint of a sword flashed faster than any sand technique. Mifune, blade drawn, charged in and slashed clean through the puppet strings—freeing the captured Root ninja.
Danzo didn't seem to care whether his subordinates lived or died. Right now, he still needed every ounce of manpower.
He turned to Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was hesitating and hadn't yet launched an attack.
Danzo spoke plainly. "Sarutobi, we're taking the One-Tail."
The words sent a jolt through everyone who heard them.
Sarutobi raised his eyes, staring deeply at Danzo. So this was your plan all along?
Still, it was true that Konoha needed to bolster its forces—and tailed beasts were power.
"I understand," Sarutobi said, answering faster than anyone expected. "Asuma, Genma."
With the Third Hokage's order, Asuma and Shiranui Genma exchanged a look and rushed forward.
"So dirty," Kurotsuchi muttered, clenching her fists and slamming them together before darting in to block their path.
Darui and Cee, after a moment's hesitation, realized this wasn't the time for infighting—and joined the battle.
Mifune once again cleaved through Sasori's puppet strings with wind-like speed and closed the distance between them to nearly zero.
With a sharp push of his katana's hilt, he drew and swung upward, slicing off Sasori's arm in one clean motion.
No blood sprayed from the severed limb.
If Mifune had been acting with conscious thought, he would've noticed instantly—there was no resistance of flesh or bone, only the smooth detachment of a puppet joint.
Sasori had released the limb before the blade struck. The exposed joint was untouched, its structure intact.
A mechanical tail lashed out, smashing into Mifune's raised blade.
The force of the blow was immense. Mifune couldn't brace in time and used the momentum to launch himself backward.
Sasori reconnected his arm with a flick of puppet strings, reattaching the joint with a snap. His emotionless eyes locked onto Mifune.
"To you," he said to Gaara, "protect yourself."
"I will."
Gaara nodded and gestured for Sasori to assist Yashamaru and Kurotsuchi.
The other samurai rushed forward to defend Mifune, raising their blades as the self-aware puppet advanced with measured steps.
Shiranui Genma, who had once fought Sasori alongside other Konoha shinobi in Sunagakure's One Line Heaven, shouted a warning to Mifune and the samurai:
"Be careful! It's Sasori of the Red Sand's puppet—his weapons are all laced with poison!"
Whatever intel advantage they might've had quickly crumbled under overwhelming strength.
Sasori summoned several puppets and effortlessly broke through the samurai formation. With power to spare, he sent two more puppets to restrain Genma and Asuma, relieving pressure from Kurotsuchi and the others.
With Sasori holding the rear, Gaara no longer needed to worry about Yashamaru and the rest.
Standing beside Kurotsuchi's father Kitsuchi, Gaara calmly faced the two Hokage.
"You want my One-Tail?"
Shukaku was already howling inside him after hearing Danzo's words.
[Shukaku: Gaara! Let me out! I'll blast those two old geezers to pieces!]
Sarutobi looked momentarily sentimental.
"Living this long has a few upsides, I suppose. I never thought I'd be fighting alongside you again."
Danzo ignored Sarutobi. His eyes, cold yet burning with greed, were locked squarely on Gaara.
Gaara's gaze was suddenly blocked by a hand. "Hmm?"
"If you're such a creepy old man, how about not staring at a kid like that? It's nauseating."
Terumi Mei held one hand in front of Gaara's eyes. With the other, she was already forming hand seals.
"Kitsuchi-san, please take the Kazekage and go. I'll handle things here."
Kitsuchi was taken aback. "What? But—"
"Please duck."
Terumi Mei: "Lava Release: Melting Monster Jutsu!"
A tidal wave of corrosive liquid surged forward, sealing off Danzo and Sarutobi's path.
As soon as he saw her make her move, Kitsuchi's doubts vanished. He no longer worried about this woman.
Madwoman!he thought.
How is that a technique you can dodge just by ducking?!
He locked eyes with Gaara for a brief moment, then turned and fled.
Danzo's goal was obvious—he wanted Shukaku.
There was no way they could let the One-Tail fall into Konoha's hands.
Even if he didn't understand everything going on, Kitsuchi at least understood that much.
He and Gaara made a swift retreat toward the exit.
Danzo and Sarutobi were both slightly stunned by Terumi Mei's strength.
She wasn't just any woman.
The two leapt to higher ground to evade the lava surging across the floor. As they looked down at her, their eyes filled with surprise.
Unlike the infamous Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Terumi Mei had spent most of her time assisting Yagura with military and political affairs—her name wasn't widely known outside of Kirigakure.
Danzo called out sharply, "Sarutobi. You go after the One-Tail!"
Sarutobi gave him a surprised look—he had expected Danzo to pursue Gaara himself.
"My strength isn't what it used to be. I trust you to handle it. This is for Konoha—we can't afford to take risks."
Danzo spoke with righteous conviction, even admitting his own limitations.
"I've stationed people outside the venue. They might not match the Kazekage and Kitsuchi, but they'll delay them. You go."
With the matter laid out so clearly, Sarutobi didn't waste time arguing. He nodded and immediately took off toward the exit.
Terumi Mei tried to stop him with her lava release, but Sarutobi, now operating at full speed, was far too fast. He slipped past her with ease.
"Gaara has Kitsuchi with him. Even against the Third Hokage, he'll be fine."
Steeling herself, Terumi Mei turned her focus to Shimura Danzo.
Danzo, for his part, showed no signs of concern. He appeared perfectly calm, as if fully confident in Sarutobi's abilities. He waited patiently for Terumi Mei's next move.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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