Land of Tea.
A uniquely styled ship slowly docked at the harbor.
"Everything that needed to be said has been made clear." Uzumaki Karin stood on the deck, addressing a group of ninja clad in Dragon Heritage uniforms. "A few ministers dying doesn't matter. The Daimyo of the Land of Tea must live. Understood?"
"Understood!"
"Move out!"
Watching her subordinates disappear into the night, Karin turned her gaze towards the vast ocean. On the other side of that ocean, another group was also in motion.
Given the Land of Dragon's current natural resource reserves, if they wanted to secure sufficient funds in the early stages, overseas colonization was their only viable path. Apart from the Land of Water, the other four great nations didn't place much importance on the ocean, which left ample room for the Dragon Heritage organization to operate. The ruins of the Land of Whirlpools, parts of the Land of Fire's territory, some islands belonging to the Land of Water, the Land of Tea, and the Land of Rainbows across the sea from it, formed a semicircle on the ocean.
Their current operation targeted the Land of Tea and the Land of Rainbows. Not by forceful conquest, as with the Land of Rivers, but by a combination of force, genjutsu, and other means, to transform them into covert extensions of Dragon Heritage's power. Then, using these two countries as a base, they would vigorously develop their maritime industries to inject funds into their upcoming plans.
The next day.
"Remember, after Akatsuki successfully captures Chomei..." Before Naruto could finish his sentence, his own clone interrupted him.
"I need to figure out a way, through a combination of deliberate and seemingly unintentional actions, to find a suitable entry point and deliver myself to Akatsuki—no, to Nagato's hands," Sekiro stated, his expression wooden.
"..." Naruto closed his mouth. This clone wasn't like Nagato's Six Paths of Pain, entirely controlled by the creator's consciousness. When creating it, he had added something a little different.
"Yin Release" represented spiritual energy, and "Yin Release Jutsu" could create form from nothingness; "Yang Release" represented physical energy, and "Yang Release Jutsu" could imbue form with life. The combination of the two was Yin-Yang Release. This clone could be said to be his attempt at weaving life. The physical body was constructed based on a White Zetsu, and there hadn't been any major issues. The main problem was the spirit, or rather, the soul... Lacking relevant experience, he could only use himself as a template to write a soul into it. As expected, a problem arose—Sekiro seemed to have lost the ability to express emotions and wasn't particularly intelligent.
"Set out." Naruto sighed faintly and waved his hand.
Sekiro instantly vanished from the spot.
Land of Waterfalls.
Sekiro appeared on a lakeshore riddled with craters and gashes. All around were mountain peaks with their tops sheared off; slash marks stretched for miles; the forest, as if judged by heavenly lightning, was charred black yet showed signs of new life... This was where Naruto, Sasuke, and Boruto had fought Otsutsuki Urashiki. It was also the place where the Seven-Tails, Chomei, and its Jinchuriki had met their end.
An ethereal, giant armored insect was curled up in mid-air.
According to secret texts: a Source of Calamity killed by humans would revive a year later at the place of its death. There were many versions of the explanation, the most widespread being the "curse" version. Human greed is endless; the Creator God, fearing the world would be destroyed by the hands of the humans he himself created, thus placed a curse upon humanity. Humans would ultimately be destroyed by their own complex and terrifying emotions. The Tailed Beasts were the embodiment of humanity's negative emotions.
Of course, this was the mythological version.
Based on Kurama's descriptions, combined with his own observations and deductions, Naruto had arrived at his own explanation. The Tailed Beasts were life forms recreated by the Sage of Six Paths through Yin-Yang Release by dividing the Ten-Tails' chakra. The Sage of Six Paths must have left something akin to a "core" within each of the nine Tailed Beasts. This "core" could gather the divided Ten-Tails chakra, preventing it from returning to the Ten-Tails itself—after all, the Ten-Tails' husk, the Gedo Mazo, was still out there. And the reason the Tailed Beasts could revive after death was precisely because of the existence of this "core," which allowed them to re-condense their bodies.
"Quite lively, isn't it!" Through Sekiro's shared vision, Naruto, far away in the Land of Dragon, clearly saw the chakra sources lurking in the surroundings.
To the left, there were only four chakra sources, but each was outrageously powerful and incredibly familiar.
To the right, also old acquaintances: Nagato and the other Akatsuki members.
"The Shinobi Squad and all of Akatsuki are here. Is this going to be a decisive battle?" Naruto thought to himself, maneuvering Sekiro to find a suitable observation point.
An hour later.
The revival process, from ethereal to solid, seemed to have reached a critical moment. A massive amount of chakra, its origin unknown, madly poured into the phantom in mid-air.
In the forest to the left, an enormous dark purple form suddenly materialized. The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan in Uchiha Sasuke's eyes spun rapidly. The Susanoo's right hand drew back against its left arm, as if drawing a bow, and a thick chakra arrow slowly formed.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion! The chakra arrow shot across the lake surface and landed in the forest on the opposite bank.
"Shinra Tensei!" Nagato leaped onto a treetop, raised his palm lightly, and a terrifying repulsive force instantly shattered the arrow into several pieces.
"I told you we should have attacked first!" Hidan yelled.
"Are you an idiot? Our target isn't those pests," Hiruko retorted, glaring sideways at Hidan.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Hoshigaki Kisame leaped onto the lake surface, forming hand seals. A waterfall several stories high roared into existence, crashing towards the opposite side. Kakuzu's back contorted, and four Earth Grudge Fear tendrils shot out, appearing beside him. The Wind-elemental Earth Grudge Fear mask opened its mouth, and Wind Release ninjutsu poured into Kisame's technique. The waterfall didn't disperse; instead, its interior became a raging torrent due to the infusion of Wind Release, as if countless sharp blades were swirling within.
At their level, their mastery over their respective ninjutsu had long reached a state of perfection. Whether they could perform combination ninjutsu depended solely on whether the other party was willing to cooperate.
"Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!" Beside the Susanoo, a dazzling pillar of light erupted, piercing a hole through the waterfall, which was tens of meters wide.
CRASH!
Wherever the waterfall swept, trees were uprooted, and rocks shattered into pieces.
Upon the turbulent waves, both sides dashed across the water, charging towards each other.
"Hmm?" Sekiro turned his head towards the distance. Densely packed figures flickered through the forest, speeding towards the battle. Through the superhuman vision of his tomoe Rinnegan, he clearly saw their headbands.
"All Five Great Shinobi Villages are here... Kumogakure has the most, nearly half... A battle of revenge?"
ROAR!
From mid-air, a deafening roar echoed.
This signified that the Seven-Tails, Chomei, had officially revived!
"Finally." On a treetop, Nagato, who had been looking up, slowly lowered his gaze and formed hand seals.
"Summoning: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"
From the exploding white smoke, several chains emanating a dark, ominous light shot out.
Chomei's roar, announcing its arrival, was cut short. Its body was uncontrollably slammed towards the ground.
RUMBLE!
With each section of chain the Gedo Mazo retracted, Chomei's body carved a massive trench in the earth.