Broken ninja tools, severed limbs, blood-soaked earth, countless corpses scattered across the battlefield—
and above all, the densely packed remains of White Zetsu littering the ground.
Everything spoke of the cruelty of this war.
From before sunrise until now, with the moon already hanging high in the sky, the battlefield had become a merciless meat grinder.
Countless lives had been swallowed whole.
Even the First Vanguard Squad led by Sasuke was nearing total exhaustion. Their chakra reserves were almost completely drained.
If not for timely use of soldier pills and emergency healing medicine to restore chakra and suppress injuries, Sasuke knew he wouldn't have lasted until now.
Holding the Kusanagi Sword in a reverse grip, Sasuke stabbed backward, piercing two White Zetsu clean through, then swept horizontally—cutting them apart at the waist.
Suddenly, his expression changed.
Violent chakra fluctuations surged from straight ahead.
Sasuke's pupils shrank as he shouted without hesitation:
"Retreat!"
"Fall back immediately! The chakra reaction ahead is wrong—pull back!"
At his command, all shinobi disengaged at once, rapidly widening the distance between themselves and the enemy.
As Neji retreated, he activated his Byakugan, veins bulging beside his eyes as he stared into the distance.
Ten coffins were slowly rising from the ground, standing upright one by one.
The numbers engraved on them were unmistakable.
Even more terrifying—
Inside each coffin stood a resurrected shinobi. The chakra emanating from their bodies twisted and surged, shaped like fully unleashed tailed beasts.
Just witnessing it was enough to suffocate an ordinary shinobi with sheer pressure.
"…These are…" Neji's voice tightened.
"The Impure World Reincarnation—of the former jinchūriki?!"
The instant Nagato heard this, a chill ran through him. His expression darkened as he barked out orders.
"Edo Tensei jinchūriki?!"
"Stop wasting time! All units—enter Tailed Beast Defense formation immediately!"
"Earth Style units, deploy large-scale defensive ninjutsu now!"
Thousands of Earth Style shinobi formed seals in perfect synchronization.
Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall—Ten Thousand Layers!
Massive earthen walls erupted from the ground one after another, stacking endlessly. In mere moments, fortifications dozens—then hundreds—of meters thick were formed.
At the same time, the jinchūriki entered full tailed beast transformation states.
At this moment, the nine jinchūriki were no different from living tailed beasts.
They leapt forward in unison, landing atop the Earth Flow Walls, opening their massive jaws.
Chakra condensed rapidly within their mouths—blue-black spheres forming, compressing violently.
But before they could fire—
Ten fully formed Tailed Beast Balls were already flying toward them, expanding rapidly in their field of vision.
"Damn it—too late!"
Naruto's eyes narrowed sharply.
"There's no time to cancel them one by one!"
"Everyone—aim straight ahead! Fire at my target!"
A desperate idea flashed through Naruto's mind.
If they couldn't counter them individually, then they would collide them head-on—
using the shockwave to detonate everything at once.
Gaara, Yugito Nii, Yagura, Rōshi, Han, Utakata, Fū, Killer B—and Naruto—
All nine Tailed Beast Balls were fired simultaneously at the same point.
The nine attacks collided in midair.
Even without reaching full maturity, their combined power far surpassed that of one or two Tailed Beast Balls.
The instant they collided—
BOOOOOOM!!!!
The resulting pressure wave detonated every incoming Tailed Beast Ball at once.
In an instant, the sky shattered and the earth roared.
The night sky was illuminated as if turned to day.
Naruto and the others were hurled backward by the catastrophic backlash, smashed off the Earth Flow Wall, and rolled violently across the ground before finally stopping.
A deafening explosion followed.
Eardrums ruptured. Countless shinobi clutched their heads in agony as blood streamed from their ears, noses, and mouths.
Those too close to the wall collapsed instantly.
On the opposite side, the resurrected former jinchūriki fared no better.
With no defenses in place, their bodies were blown apart completely.
Shreds of paper seals fluttered wildly, rapidly gathering and reconstructing their bodies again and again.
When Naruto and the others climbed over what remained of the shattered Earth Flow Wall—its original shape barely recognizable—the enemy had already fully reformed and advanced to a point not far ahead.
"This body is inconvenient," a voice said lazily,
"but immortality is one hell of an advantage."
"You're right, Kinkaku."
"Hmph. To think we'd be controlled by the Impure World Reincarnation of the Second Hokage—the man who killed us."
"How humiliating."
"But now that we've returned to the ninja world…"
"We might as well make it lively."
"Wouldn't you say so, Ginkaku?"
Two towering brothers stood back to back.
Lion-like faces. Beastly horns protruding from their heads. Long golden and silver hair flowed behind them like a mane.
Unlike ordinary Edo Tensei puppets, their eyes still carried traces of consciousness—
a chilling sign of retained will.
"Of course, Kinkaku."
"Jinchūriki versus 'jinchūriki'…"
"What an amusing battle."
Naruto and the jinchūriki stared at the figures lined up before them, fury burning hotter by the second.
"Bakayaro… sono yarō…" Killer B growled.
"They really are monsters. They didn't even spare the dead."
"…B…"
The Eight-Tails' voice trembled with grief.
"He once had my acknowledgment… He was so close to becoming a perfect jinchūriki."
"…If only he had overcome that final hurdle."
The most enraged weren't only Killer B.
Yagura's fists trembled violently.
"That bastard Obito…"
"He controlled the Fourth Mizukage while he was alive—
and he still won't let him rest even in death?!"
Yagura's usually gentle expression was gone, replaced by seething hatred.
Beside him, Utakata looked calm—but beneath the surface, his emotions were a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Naruto exhaled slowly, eyes sharp.
"A direct clash is unavoidable."
"Do not give them time to form Tailed Beast Balls."
"The shinobi behind us won't survive another blast like that."
Everyone nodded.
They were already at a disadvantage.
The earlier waves of White Zetsu had drained massive amounts of stamina and chakra.
Now, they had to fight while protecting the rear.
One mistake would mean annihilation.
——
At the same time, far away on Turtle Island, inside the command center.
"Uchiha Hikaru-sama!"
"All former jinchūriki—except Uzumaki Mito—have appeared on the battlefield, along with the Edo Tensei of Kumogakure's Gold and Silver Brothers!"
"The First and Second Hokage, Mito-sama, and Kushina-sama are engaged on the second and third battlefields!"
"At the current pace, reinforcements won't arrive until daylight!"
"There are no additional forces available to support them!"
Shikaku Nara spoke rapidly, tension clear in his voice.
In the next instant—
Bang!
Uchiha Hikaru slammed his hand on the table and stood up.
The Five Kage rose with him, stepping forward without hesitation.
"We are the reinforcements."
"A," Hikaru said coldly,
"I'll use Flying Thunder God to send Ōnoki to the Third Division."
"Tsunade. Mei Terumī. Rasa."
"You'll head to the Second Division."
Hikaru's gaze sharpened, killing intent flooding the room.
"The resurrected jinchūriki—"
"Leave them to me."