Somewhere on an unnamed snow-covered mountain in the Land of Frost.
Scarlet chakra filled the air all around.
A voice brimming with excitement echoed in wild laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha, Chizan, you're a real genius!"
"I never thought I'd be able to come out in this form again. Even though this is only a chakra body, it feels so good to be outside!"
Amidst the vast whiteness of the snowy peaks, Gekko Chizan stood, his entire body wrapped in the chakra of a tailed beast, gazing at the crimson insect-shaped form condensed from chakra before him.
It was Chōmei, the Seven-Tails.
At the moment, however, Chōmei did not have a physical body—he appeared only in a form of pure chakra.
This was precisely the reward Gekko Chizan had obtained just a few days ago: Tailed Beast Synchronization.
"I've only released you from inside my body."
"Though I can't give you a flesh body, with this chakra form you can still move around freely."
"But the condition is, you can't stray too far from me—otherwise, you'll be forced back into my body."
"After all, we are one."
Gekko Chizan himself felt incredibly refreshed. To have both the jinchūriki and the tailed beast appear at the same time—this ability was just too amazing!
"Ha ha ha, it still feels awesome!"
"From now on, when we beat people up, we'll go in together—I'll scatter the powder, you smash them!"
"A perfect combo! Work goes twice as fast, and it's never tiring!"
Chōmei circled high above Chizan without the slightest worry of being spotted.
After all, this was the northernmost high mountain of the Land of Frost, where no one ever came.
So man and beast reveled freely together.
"Chizan, what's next?"
"If we appear on the battlefield like this, won't the enemy notice right away?"
Having returned to Gekko Chizan's body, Chōmei began mulling over everything that had happened before.
If the enemy's target truly was him, then they wouldn't just make one attempt. It meant long-lasting unrest ahead.
"Not for now. Even the Third Mizukage was taken down, after all."
"They'll have to reassess our strength."
"And besides, his body isn't in a condition to stir up trouble anymore."
Chizan spoke calmly, but in his heart he was calculating.
Uchiha Madara's goal had been to cultivate a puppet to carry out his later plans.
But Chizan's appearance had caused Uchiha Obito to deviate from the original path. It was unlikely Madara would try to make him his pawn again.
So… who would Madara target next?
He pondered for a long time, but no answer came. In the end, he gave up.
"Forget it, Chōmei. For now, let's not go anywhere. Let's just rest for a while."
"Hmm? You're not planning to return to the village?"
"No. I teleported with Shukaku after all. If I return too early, it'll raise suspicion."
"Suit yourself. I don't care either way. Wherever you go, I have to follow."
That was the situation now—so they would just take things as they came.
Chizan gave up struggling. Rather than trouble himself with worries, better to relax.
...
In Konoha.
Orochimaru had already returned to the village, leaving the battlefield of the Land of Rivers entirely in Uchiha Fugaku's hands.
As the foremost figure of the Uchiha clan's current generation, Fugaku indeed had considerable strength.
"Orochimaru, this war was thanks to you."
"You've worked hard."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at his prized disciple with deep satisfaction. After all, Orochimaru was the student he had raised with his own hands.
But Orochimaru could not smile at all. His heart was shrouded in darkness.
"I've read the battle reports. Very well done. As for Gekko Chizan..."
"Sigh… Orochimaru, war is always unpredictable."
"Besides, I personally don't believe that boy is dead. You know very well what he's capable of."
Those words only made Orochimaru's expression gloomier.
On the battlefield he had been commander-in-chief, yet when faced with a tailed beast invasion, he had no way to handle it.
If not for Gekko Chizan stepping forward and using the Flying Thunder God to teleport the One-Tail away, who could say what would have become of the Land of Rivers campaign?
But the one who had made that sacrifice still had not returned.
"If there's nothing else... I'll take my leave."
Orochimaru withdrew, leaving Hiruzen's expression heavy and grim.
This was the second time. The last time, Nawaki's death had dealt Orochimaru a heavy blow.
Now with Chizan missing, if he truly were dead, the impact on Orochimaru… was unimaginable.
"Sigh..."
"It seems we really must send someone to search."
Hiruzen finally resolved to send people out looking. Chizan was, after all, his disciple's student—his grand-disciple—and one of the rare kekkei genkai users in the village, with formidable strength.
But when it came to choosing who, Hiruzen found himself troubled.
Though the Land of Rivers front had stabilized, the other battlefields still pressed heavily.
The twin assaults of Iwagakure and Kirigakure were no easy burden to endure.
Yet unbeknownst to him, those very two villages had already ceased their offensives for the time being, turning instead to internal matters.
...
In the Land of Earth, Ōnoki had examined the traces left from his son Kitsuchi's clash with Gekko Chizan.
From the wide scorched fields and the shattered stone giants, Ōnoki's face grew darker by the moment.
Returning to the village, he ordered the front-line troops to halt a series of operations immediately.
"Tsuchikage-sama, are you sure it was really Uchiha Madara?"
In the office, Kitsuchi stared in shock at his father, who had already told him the truth.
Yes—judging from the battle traces, Ōnoki concluded that the attacker had been none other than the supposedly dead Uchiha Madara.
He didn't know why Madara was alive, or why he had come to the Land of Earth—but that devastating Fire Release, and the towering blue skeletal giant, made it clear.
Madara was famed for his mastery of Fire Release and the Sharingan.
And at the peak of the Sharingan, the Mangekyō, one of its abilities was Susanoo.
"There's no mistake. I've fought him before."
"That level of Fire Release—only he could wield it."
"Not to mention the blue skeletal giant you all saw. That is the Mangekyō Sharingan's power: Susanoo."
The veins on Ōnoki's hands bulged as he clenched his fists. His mood was black as thunder.
"From this moment, order our front-line troops to pull back some forces and begin searching for Uchiha Madara's whereabouts within the Land of Earth."
"If he's spotted, report immediately!"
"Recall Han and Rōshi as well. If we are to face him, we may need the full power of our entire village to stand against him."
Kitsuchi was stunned. He never thought that for a single man, Iwagakure's entire war effort would grind to a halt.
"Tsuchikage-sama, this..."
"Do as I say! If he truly appears, then no matter how well things go on the front lines, it won't matter in the slightest."