"Edo Tensei!"
With Orochimaru's low shout, the souls of the three Hokage fused into the White Zetsu bodies.
A moment later, Senju Hashirama, Senju Tobirama, and Namikaze Minato stood once again upon the battlefield.
Seeing this, Kiyosuke nodded with satisfaction.
"I'll leave the rest to you."
With a bang, Kiyosuke's figure vanished.
...
At the same time, Kiyosuke received the memories of his shadow clone. Rising slowly to his feet, he said,
"Madara, your old friend will be here soon."
"So you've revived Hashirama?"
Madara didn't seem surprised. At this point, the only person who could possibly stand against him was Hashirama. It seemed that Kiyosuke's clone hadn't only dragged out the caster behind Edo Tensei—but had gone so far as to revive Hashirama himself.
"That's right," Kiyosuke said with a faint smile. "Only the First Hokage can stop you now. But this battlefield isn't where you'll fight."
"Hmph. You've certainly thought this through."
Madara let out a cold snort and turned to leave.
If Hashirama was going to another battlefield, then that was where he would go as well. As for this place—he no longer cared.
Asakawa Kiyosuke's chakra was nearly spent, and he posed little threat now.
And the Five Kage?
Forget it. They were nothing but troublesome children in his eyes.
He shook his head. Killing Kiyosuke could wait—Hashirama would arrive soon enough.
Madara turned and disappeared from sight.
Mei Terumī frowned slightly.
"Did the First Hokage's name scare him off?"
"No," Kiyosuke replied, supporting his wife as he spoke. "He's only gone to fight Hashirama-sama. The next battlefield is where Naruto is. That's where we're heading. Damn... I've burned through too much chakra."
Mei looked at him with concern—but then blinked in disbelief as he stood straight, stretching his arms like nothing was wrong.
"You call this chakra exhaustion?"
"Eh? I've only used up half my chakra. That counts as exhaustion too, doesn't it?"
He'd recovered a bit—enough for the battle to come.
Kiyosuke had a deep-seated fear of insufficient firepower. To him, chakra was a strategic resource that should never run low.
"All fear," he muttered with a small smile, "comes from lack of firepower. Enough talk—let's go."
"Right!"
Holding Mei in his arms, Kiyosuke took to the sky.
Gaara raised a hand, sand swirling beneath his feet as he lifted the other Kage into the air. Together, they flew toward the next battlefield.
"Do you really think we can stop Madara?" Mei asked quietly from Kiyosuke's embrace.
The power Madara had displayed was terrifying—enough to make even the strongest feel like ants before him.
"It's fine. We'll win," Kiyosuke whispered, resting his forehead against hers. "Madara sealed his own fate the moment he chose to trust Black Zetsu."
If Madara succeeded in casting Infinite Tsukuyomi, Black Zetsu would use him as a vessel to resurrect Kaguya.
"Mm." Mei tightened her arms around his neck. "No matter what happens, I'll face it with you—life or death."
"Don't say things like that."
"Heh, fine. By the way, Kiyosuke... are you close with the Fifth Kazekage?"
Kiyosuke broke into a cold sweat.
"We're... good friends."
"Good enough that she wanted to marry you?" Mei's tone was quiet, but her gaze was sharp.
"Ahem... I was young and foolish back then," Kiyosuke coughed awkwardly. "I did wrong by Pakura. I still owe her an apology."
Mei sighed.
"I know. But don't think I'll ever give up my husband."
"Of course not. You have my word, Mei."
"I believe in you, my husband—and in our victory."
The two shared a quiet smile, then accelerated toward the distant flashes of battle.
...
Meanwhile, the Allied Shinobi Forces had finished their fights and were rushing toward Naruto's position.
Six Tailed Beasts had been released and were now clashing with Naruto—who had entered his Nine-Tails form—and the Eight-Tails beside him.
Naruto had already reconciled with Kurama.
The two were now partners, and together—half of the Nine-Tails' power and the full might of the Eight-Tails—they were overwhelming the six Tailed Beasts.
"Naruto," Kurama warned, "this guy isn't really Uchiha Madara, but his powers are strange. Don't let your guard down!"
"Don't worry, I'll be careful!"
Just as Naruto shouted back, the masked man opened a Rinnegan.
"Summoning Jutsu—Gedo Statue!"
The Gedo Statue appeared in a massive burst of smoke, dragging the Tailed Beasts into its mouth one after another. Then, the masked man tossed a gourd and a pot-like vessel inside as well.
"ROAR!!"
The Gedo Statue let out a deafening howl as a terrifying surge of chakra erupted from its body, shaking the ground for miles around.
"That chakra...!" Kurama's voice deepened. "There's my chakra inside it! So that's it, huh? Naruto—it's about to happen! The Ten-Tails is being reborn!"
"The Ten-Tails?!"
"That's right! The Ten-Tails is the origin of all of us Tailed Beasts! We have to stop it before it fully revives!"
"Leave it to me!"
Kakashi arrived alongside Guy, his Mangekyō Sharingan spinning.
"Let's see how it handles this! Kamui!"
The Gedo Statue's head began to distort under the space-warping pull—but the masked man only chuckled. From beneath his collar, a tiny creature crawled out—a palm-sized monster with miniature limbs and a single Mangekyō Sharingan.
The little creature's eye spun, instantly disrupting Kakashi's Kamui.
"No way... How's that possible?!"
Only Obito's Kamui could interfere like that—how could this thing do it?
The masked man explained coolly,
"As long as it's a space-time technique, it can be disrupted. Its ability is similar to your Kamui—so it's easy."
Kakashi gritted his teeth, clutching his aching eye.
"Then we'll just have to hit it head-on!"
"Bee! Ready the Tailed Beast Bomb!"
The Eight-Tails opened its jaws, gathering a massive sphere of energy. Kurama did the same beside it, and together with Naruto, they unleashed their combined attack.
"Don't ignore me!"
The masked man formed hand seals.
"Summoning: Iron Spikes!"
Countless massive metal stakes materialized in the air and shot toward the two Tailed Beasts.
BOOM!
Explosions rocked the battlefield.
The masked man quickly raised a barrier, sealing the Gedo Statue within.
"That's the Uchiha Flame Formation!"
Mito Uzumaki recognized the technique instantly.
"That's going to be trouble."
Beside her, Sasuke was still recovering, having spent too much chakra.
She and Kushina could offer little help now—this level of battle was beyond their reach.
Suddenly, Mito turned her head, smiling faintly.
"Hashirama..."
She could sense him—and Tobirama as well.
And another chakra signature—unfamiliar, but carrying traces of the Nine-Tails.
And finally... Madara.
Her heart sank.
If Madara was there, then Kiyosuke and the others might have failed.
But at least she could still sense their chakra—so they were alive.
"We have to stop them before the Ten-Tails completes its transformation. If we don't... everything will be over!"