Chapter 295 – Gen Has Arrived!
The Ten-Tails was still of great use to Gen.
At the very least, it served as a perfect engine to accelerate the growth of his God Tree.
"And there's not just one Ten-Tails," he murmured, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Isshiki still has one sealed away. I just don't know how much longer they'll need before it thaws out."
For a fleeting moment, Gen actually felt a touch of sympathy for Isshiki.
After all, the poor bastard had chosen the worst host imaginable—Uchiha Obito.
Obito, for all his strength, could never fight without relying on Kamui.
It had become a crutch — his entire tactical philosophy boiled down to "phase, stab, run."
It made him unpredictable, yes, but it also meant he'd stopped growing.
Every battle was a one-trick performance — win instantly, or escape through another dimension.
"Honestly, it's borderline cheating," Gen muttered.
"And the more he cheats, the worse he'll get."
If things continued like this, Isshiki's plan would collapse under sheer incompetence.
"Looks like I'll have to intervene soon… give Obito a little push.
Otherwise, he'll never reach the threshold he needs."
---
"Lord Hokage!"
Gen's thoughts were interrupted by an urgent call.
Yamanaka Inoichi burst into the command tent, his face tense.
"New developments from the frontlines!"
"Oh?"
Gen raised an eyebrow, while Mei Terumi, Deidara, and the ever-silent Gaara turned their heads toward him.
"What's happened? Another move from Akatsuki?"
Inoichi nodded, his voice low but steady.
"Yes, their core forces have appeared.
And not just them — powerful Edo Tensei shinobi have been spotted across multiple battlefields.
Even… the former Kage."
"Hah! Figures," Deidara snorted, smirking.
"Should've guessed that snake Orochimaru would pull this stunt."
Mei folded her arms, frowning but unsurprised.
"It was only a matter of time."
Gaara, however, leaned forward slightly.
"Can we confirm which Kage?"
"All of them," Inoichi replied awkwardly.
"All except the Hokage."
"Oh, that's rich!" Deidara barked out a laugh.
"Guess we'll get to blow up some legends today."
Gaara's gaze hardened.
"Not necessarily a bad thing," he said quietly.
"If anything, it's a chance for us to face the strength of the past."
Even Mei's lips curved slightly.
"True. I wouldn't mind seeing how our predecessors measure up."
"Heh, sounds like we're all thinking the same thing," Gen said with a faint smile.
Deidara straightened eagerly.
"Then why are we still sitting here?
Let's go! It's just like when we went to Kumogakure.
We can't let the old-timers have all the fun!"
"I agree," Mei added sharply.
"After everything Akatsuki did — manipulating Kirigakure, assassinating Yagura, and ambushing Yagura's successors —
I've been waiting for payback."
Her crimson eyes burned with unmasked fury.
Even Gaara nodded in support.
"We're Kage. If we hide behind our subordinates while our villages fight, we don't deserve the title."
"Hmm…" Gen tapped his chin for a moment, then smiled.
"You're right."
He was already thinking about how to "help" Obito and the others speed things up —
and this was the perfect excuse.
If he went to the front, Black Zetsu would be forced to act as well.
"Alright then," he said at last. "We move."
---
"What?"
Nara Shikaku, who had been standing by the map table, nearly dropped his pen.
The other strategists stared wide-eyed —
the young generation of Kage was far too impulsive for his liking.
"Wait, you can't all just leave! The command center still needs—"
"Relax," Gen interrupted with a casual wave.
"You'll manage fine without us. You can contact us instantly if anything happens."
He grinned, eyes glinting mischievously.
"Besides, the Third Hokage is still in Konoha. Have him coordinate with you.
If the enemy's bringing back Kage, we can't exactly sit back and watch, can we?"
Shikaku sighed, rubbing his temples.
"You really are your own kind of disaster, you know that?"
But deep down, even he couldn't argue.
With the situation escalating so quickly,
having the current Kage take the initiative might just shift the war in their favor.
"Fine," he said finally. "Do what you must. Just… try not to break anything you can't fix."
"No promises," Gen replied cheerfully, standing up.
The Kage rose with him — four shadows moving as one.
"Alright then," he said, cracking his neck with a grin.
"Let's give the world a show.
And try not to embarrass yourselves in front of your own troops."
"Tch, as if," Deidara scoffed. "We'll make it art, yeah."
Mei smirked.
"I'll make sure Akatsuki remembers the name of Kirigakure."
Gaara said nothing, but the air around him shimmered with sand —
his silent affirmation.
---
Far away, on a rugged battlefield shrouded in mist and dust,
the resurrected Kage were already stirring.
Second Tsuchikage Mū stood at the edge of a cliff,
his chakra senses sweeping through the terrain like a radar.
"So this is where they've deployed us…
I can sense a massive concentration of chakra ahead," he muttered.
Even in life, Mū had been more than a Kage —
he was one of the most perceptive sensory ninja in history.
"Strange… all the villages have united this time."
"Hah! About time they did,"
grumbled Second Mizukage Gengetsu, his trademark smirk tugging at his lips.
"What, you think one village could handle this war alone?"
He sighed, then added irritably:
"Still, being teamed up with you again is a nightmare."
"The feeling's mutual," Mū replied coolly.
"Don't think I've forgotten how we both died."
"Careful, mummy-man. Don't trip over your own bandages," Gengetsu shot back.
"And you — still oily and eyebrowless, I see.
I'll crush your precious successors without hesitation."
"Yeah, yeah. Try not to fall apart before then, zombie."
Despite their bickering, a flicker of nostalgia passed between them —
the echo of warriors long gone.
Nearby, Fourth Kazekage Rasa stood quietly,
his golden sand swirling faintly around him.
"So, the villages have united… under whose banner, I wonder?"
He wanted to ask Chiyo who the current Kazekage was,
but the elder woman ignored him entirely.
He could hardly blame her.
After all, his poor decisions had nearly doomed Sunagakure.
"If only I'd chosen differently back then…" he murmured.
But before he could finish the thought —
Mū's expression suddenly froze.
His sensory field rippled violently.
"What is this chakra…?"
An overwhelming force had erupted on the horizon —
a surge so vast it dwarfed mountains,
yet paradoxically serene, like the breath of nature itself.
Gentle… and yet utterly annihilating.
The air trembled.
Then, as suddenly as it came, it vanished —
as if it had never existed.
Mū stood there, pale, his heart pounding.
"Tch. What's wrong, mummy? You look like you've seen a ghost,"
Gengetsu taunted.
Before Mū could answer, the ground shuddered.
A second chakra wave burst forth — violent and unrestrained.
The entire desert convulsed.
Sand erupted into the sky, roaring like a tidal wave,
crashing down upon the battlefield in a storm of blinding gold.
"Whoa-ho! Now that's an entrance!" Gengetsu whistled.
"Which village did that come from?"
The Second Mizukage grinned the moment he felt the tremor of chakra in the air.
Always flippant, forever irreverent — even in undeath, he carried that same careless ease.
To him, being resurrected by Edo Tensei was less a curse and more an opportunity to slack off under divine excuse.
"Oh? This is…"
Beside him, Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, suddenly stiffened.
The golden sands rippling across the battlefield carried a chakra signature he knew too well — one that struck deep into his bones.
His body moved before his mind did.
Hands pressed to the ground, his magnetic chakra surged — and an immense wall of sand exploded forward like a storming tide.
"So, this is one of yours, huh?"
The Second Mizukage chuckled, scratching his chin with amused curiosity.
"Magnet Release, hmm? Funny, I thought Sunagakure's people were all about puppets, not particles."
From above, a cool and composed voice answered:
"Times change, Lord Second Mizukage."
Before he could react, two fierce chakra signatures flared from the sky.
"Lava Release: Melting Monster Technique!"
"Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique!"
Corrosive acid hissed through the air.
Scalding vapor poured down in a deadly cloud — a suffocating storm of acid and heat.
In an instant, the resurrected trio found themselves surrounded.
The Second Mizukage raised an eyebrow, whistling in admiration.
"Lava and Boil Release? From the same person? Impressive, impressive!"
"Tch. Remind me again why I died with you of all people?"
The Second Tsuchikage, wrapped head to toe in bandages, sounded both irritated and ashamed.
Still, the monstrous chakra presence from earlier — that overwhelming, divine pressure — had finally faded, and he could breathe easier.
"Seems like the Allied Shinobi Forces have some capable ones after all," he muttered.
"And it looks like they've just given away their position."
He raised a hand, chakra gathering into a brilliant, white sphere.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
A blinding column of light erupted from his palm —
only for another identical beam to descend from above to meet it.
Two Dust Release techniques clashed midair.
The collision birthed a cataclysm —
a sun-bright explosion tearing the sky open, the shockwave carving a crater deep enough to swallow a city.
When the light faded, even the undead were silent.
"That power… could it be Ōnoki?" murmured the Second Tsuchikage. Then he frowned.
"No… not quite."
His gaze rose skyward — to a young, sharp-eyed blond perched atop a clay bird, grinning down at them.
"Heh… not Ōnoki, but his student," the Mizukage quipped, recognizing the face.
"Tell me, zombie — that's your little apprentice, isn't it? Wonder if the brat's older than you by now?"
"See for yourself," the Tsuchikage snapped coldly. Then, turning serious, he added,
"The ones who attacked just now — they're from Kirigakure, aren't they?
Seems like we've gathered all three villages."
"Tch. I was hoping they weren't from my village," the Mizukage muttered, frowning.
"If they're outsiders, fine — I'd crush them without a thought.
But if they're mine… that's just bad luck."
A shadow crossed his expression.
"You don't think… these new opponents are all current Kage, do you?"
Before anyone could respond, a familiar voice echoed from above —
taunting, casual, and full of mischief.
"You hit the nail on the head, old man!"
Deidara laughed as he descended, his palms already forming clay.
"Name's Deidara — Fourth Tsuchikage! Hah, bet you didn't see that coming!"
The Second Tsuchikage's aura flared. Even through the layers of ash and sealing chakra, his fury was palpable.
"So, I was right — the Stone Village really did pick an idiot for Tsuchikage."
The Mizukage burst out laughing, but the mirth died the moment his gaze shifted to Mei Terumi.
Recognition flashed in his eyes, followed by disbelief.
"Ah… you're Kirigakure's current Mizukage, aren't you?"
"Yes," Mei answered evenly, her tone respectful but unyielding.
"The Fifth Mizukage. It's an honor to meet you, Lord Second.
We're here because we failed to protect what you built."
The Mizukage's grin faltered.
Meanwhile, Rasa turned toward the boy hovering above him — the boy with his same eyes and golden hair.
"Gaara… you're the Fifth Kazekage now?"
"Yes."
The answer was curt, expressionless.
No warmth. No forgiveness.
Rasa's gaze softened with regret.
"I see. The world truly has moved on without us."
The Mizukage sighed, shaking his head.
"Hah. Seems we old relics really have been replaced."
Beside him, the Tsuchikage narrowed his eyes.
"Then let's see if the next generation deserves the title they carry."
"We may not wish to fight," he added grimly,
"but our bodies… aren't ours to control."
Their chakra flared like a storm.
"Now, young Kage — prepare yourselves."
---
Meanwhile, far to the east, across the rolling plains of the Land of Hot Water…
Two titanic figures stood side by side — their presence alone enough to shake the air.
Third Raikage and Fourth Raikage, father and son, glared ahead.
And across from them stood two men of grotesque familiarity —
tall, muscular, each with horned foreheads and weapons that gleamed like relics of myth.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
The brothers who once slew the Second Raikage…
and who dragged the Second Hokage to the grave with them.
The air crackled with killing intent.
"Traitors," the Third Raikage growled.
"That's all you've ever been."
Kinkaku sneered.
"Traitor, loyalist — it's all a matter of who wins.
Lose, and you're branded a heretic.
Win, and you're called a savior."
Ginkaku added with a smirk:
"Face it — you two are the real fools here.
One died for his men. The other trusted Senju Tobirama, of all people.
No wonder Kumogakure ended up like this."
Their words struck like knives.
Both Raikage clenched their fists, lightning crackling up their arms.
If not for the Edo Tensei's binding seal, the battlefield would already be painted in blood.
"The moment this jutsu slips," the Fourth growled,
"I'm tearing your damned heads off."
But before he could finish, both Raikage suddenly froze.
Their eyes turned skyward — toward the horizon beyond the White Zetsu army.
Something was coming.
A presence.
Vast. Terrifying.
A lone figure appeared, stepping through the dust and fog as if reality itself parted before him.
The Raikage's expressions hardened instantly.
"It's him…"
Lightning flickered across the Fourth's frame, his voice dropping to a snarl.
"Kitagawa Gen."
At the same time, far away in another hidden chamber,
Orochimaru's lips curled into a serpentine smile.
"So… he's arrived."
The message rippled through the network like a shockwave —
to White Zetsu, to Black Zetsu, to Obito, Nagato, even to Kimimaro.
"Kitagawa Gen has arrived."
And with that single sentence, the war itself seemed to shift.
The storm had come.