When the Gold and Silver Brothers saw the people facing them, they actually hesitated for a brief moment. Their gazes swept over Naruto and the others, then shifted past them to the ruined battlefield behind.
"So you're afraid after all," one of them sneered. "That's why you're desperately protecting the ordinary ninja behind you?"
"How laughable. What value does trash like that even have? Ants, one and all."
Naruto and the others surged forward at the same time. Though their bodies were far less agile after entering Tailed Beast Transformation, their straight-line speed exploded, closing the distance in an instant.
"I don't need to explain anything to scum like you—people who don't understand bonds and have never had companions," Naruto roared. "You're not worthy of hearing it!"
Gaara moved first, charging straight toward Bunpuku, his voice icy and resolute.
This former Shukaku Jinchūriki of Sunagakure—this senior from an earlier era—would be personally sent back to the Pure Land by Gaara's own hands.
"Companions?"
Ginkaku laughed harshly. "What a joke."
"The bond between us brothers—Kinkaku and Ginkaku—is something brats like you could never comprehend!"
"Tailed Beast Transformation—Ginkaku!"
A surge of violent chakra erupted.
"The brat who talks nonsense won't live long."
"The brat who stays silent dies even faster!"
"Let us, the Gold and Silver Brothers, teach you juniors who don't know how to respect their elders a proper lesson!"
As they moved, the former Jinchūriki lined up behind them acted in unison, each entering their own Tailed Beast Transformation.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku slammed their fists together, their chakra violently merging—forming a scarlet Nine-Tails whose oppressive power rivaled Naruto's own transformation.
Yet the feeling was completely different.
Naruto's chakra, even in rage, carried warmth and resolve.
The chakra of the Gold and Silver Brothers was nothing but bloodlust—frenzied, chaotic, violent, and utterly unrestrained.
When Naruto saw the crimson "Nine-Tails" formed by Kinkaku and Ginkaku, his mind went blank.
"That's impossible…!"
"How can they possess the power of the Nine-Tails!?"
"Grandma Mito and my mom have already been reincarnated… there's no way—!"
Killer Bee answered grimly, his tone heavy with caution.
"Don't talk nonsense," Bee said. "Long before the Nine-Tails was sealed in Konoha, Kumogakure tried to control it. They failed—but these two were swallowed whole."
"They survived inside the Nine-Tails for two full weeks."
"They drank its blood. Ate its flesh."
"And in the end, they gained a fragment of the Nine-Tails' power."
"Back then, both the Second Raikage of Kumogakure and the Second Hokage of Konoha died at their hands."
"Don't underestimate them."
Bee's fists clenched tightly. Even Gyūki within him was tense.
The battle erupted.
Nine Tailed Beast incarnations clashed head-on with nine resurrected beasts.
Their sizes were nearly identical.
Their chakra volumes were nearly identical.
Even their claws and tails felt disturbingly familiar.
It was as if Naruto and the others were fighting twisted reflections of themselves.
Worse still, their opponents were former Jinchūriki—older, more experienced, and completely fearless. Ambushes came one after another, pushing Naruto's side steadily into a disadvantage.
The resurrected Jinchūriki had endless chakra, immortal bodies, and absurd tolerance for damage. They could afford mistakes—Naruto and the others could not.
The scarlet Nine-Tails controlled by the Gold and Silver Brothers moved with terrifying precision, its limbs and tails acting independently. Naruto was beaten back again and again, barely able to regain footing.
When Ginkaku finally condensed a Tailed Beast Ball, Naruto barely had time to react before the Nine-Tails' tail lashed out—smacking the attack aside and sending it hurtling toward Naruto's allies.
"Boom! Boom! BOOM!!!"
The impact slammed into Gyūki's flank, Shukaku's right arm, and tore across the backs of the transformed beasts, forcing them to take the full brunt of Naruto's own attack.
Naruto could only force a bitter smile amidst the chaos.
"S-Sorry, everyone… let's try to avoid ranged attacks…!"
The laughter of the Gold and Silver Brothers rang out, wild and mocking.
"Hahahahahaha!"
"Don't blame us for ganging up on you!"
"We're just bullying the weak!"
The scarlet Nine-Tails lunged forward again, tearing into Naruto without pause.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, another brutal clash was unfolding.
Yugito and the Nekomata collided again and again, their massive forms blurring with speed. Claws flashed—sparks burst into the air as blue light exploded from each impact.
Deep gouges tore through the ground. Stone shattered into gravel and dust, the destruction so fast that ordinary eyes couldn't track it.
Little by little, the Wooden Golem began to gain the upper hand.
Fū stared in disbelief.
"As expected of Yugito… her taijutsu in Tailed Beast form is insane… so flexible…"
Killer Bee grit his teeth.
"How is her transformation smoother than mine…? That shouldn't be possible…!"
Naruto's eyes shone.
"My sister-in-law is amazing!!"
Yugito Nii felt none of that praise.
The longer she fought, the more anger churned in her chest. With every exchange, her movements sharpened—faster, heavier, more feral.
Her rage stacked endlessly.
At last, when the Nekomata faltered, Yugito drove off the ground with her hind legs. Her forelimbs crossed, claws sliding outward—
Click.
Clean. Soft. Almost gentle.
Like tearing paper.
The Nekomata's body split cleanly in two.
Yugito surged forward instantly, her twin tails whipping around and smashing Gaara's Shukaku straight into the remains of the black cat.
Fragments of Edo Tensei paper began gathering desperately.
"Gaara—now!" Yugito shouted.
Though briefly stunned, Gaara understood immediately.
The sea of sand surged, burying the remains and forming a massive pyramid. Dense black sealing formulas spread upward, circles carving themselves into the structure as crimson sealing symbols embedded themselves deep within.
Then—
"Fire Style: Great Flame Fan!"
A towering firestorm roared in from afar. A flaming tornado devoured the sealing tags, scorching the formulas as the sand was blasted apart.
The Nekomata reformed mid-air and lunged straight at Shukaku, blue flames raging hotter than before.
Before, fire had been meaningless between two Nekomata.
Against Shukaku, it was deadly.
Yugito's gaze snapped toward the source.
A white Sharingan mask.
One Rinnegan.
One Mangekyō Sharingan.
"…Uchiha Obito!"
In the rear, Nagato felt his blood run cold. There was no more time to recover chakra—he had no choice but to move.
At that instant, a dark-blue-haired figure flickered into existence—appearing directly on the back of the Wooden Golem.
No one saw how.
The figure vanished again just as suddenly.
The Black Shukaku—Bunpuku's incarnation—was struck by an invisible force and sent flying, tumbling hundreds of meters across the battlefield.
"Oh, Obito," Nagato said coldly. "You've grown smarter."
"You've learned to use Jinchūriki against Jinchūriki."
Nagato's gaze hardened, killing intent surging.
"So tell me… how exactly do you plan to deal with me now?"