Outside Konoha Village, in the Forest of Death—
Killer B sprinted forward while pulling out an amplification ninja tool, blasting out his rap at full volume.
"Fool! Idiot! Konoha brats too cocky~
Locking up my bro is downright shocking~
Bullying the old man? That ain't right~
Today Big B's here to settle the fight!
Three thousand thunder tigers crush this land tonight! Yo! Yo!"
Strangely enough…
It even rhymed.
As his rap echoed through the forest, the earth began to tremble.
Thousands of shinobi advancing together created a force even greater than before.
Boom!
Boom rumble—!
At the same time, a massive earth-brown rock wall dozens of meters tall rose abruptly from the ground like a section of the Great Wall.
The top of the wall was packed with Iwagakure shinobi.
Every single one of them radiated killing intent.
At the very front stood a particularly burly man.
Square face, wide mouth, and a resolute expression—though a hint of worry and urgency lingered between his brows.
He was none other than the son of the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki—
One of Iwagakure's strongest warriors.
Kitsuchi.
At this moment, the two thousand elite Iwagakure shinobi emitted a heavy and oppressive aura that swept across half of the Forest of Death.
"Yo, yo—Kitsuchi kid, so you're the one leading the Iwa forces this time."
Killer B leapt up from the other side and landed atop the wall, scanning the area as he spoke.
"This should be the place where my brother and your father are being held! While Sunagakure stirs up trouble this time, the two of us advancing together will definitely rescue them!"
That's right.
Before setting out, the Fourth Kazekage Rasa had deliberately sent messages to three different villages.
His purpose was obvious.
Whether his plan succeeded or failed, the waters would be thoroughly muddied.
Unfortunately, while the idea had been good—and even attracted the participation of two major ninja villages—
Rasa himself had died in the collapse of the very plan he initiated.
As for Kumogakure and Iwagakure…
The moment they received the message, they almost immediately agreed.
After all, the leaders of both villages had been captured and tied up in Konoha.
And the ransom demanded—
Was simply too expensive.
So expensive that even the value of a Kage along with hundreds of elite shinobi still made the villages unwilling to pay.
Thus, once they learned that Sunagakure and the Sound Village planned to launch an invasion against Konoha, the two villages quickly reached an agreement.
As for Kirigakure?
That village was a chaotic mess right now.
"Y-Yes… that's Lord Kitsuchi!"
"And Killer B too… Wait, why is he here? Does Kumogakure not have any other strong fighters left?!"
"Forget who came. Looks like the village hasn't forgotten about us after all. But just to pay compensation—did they really need to bring this many people?"
"Pay compensation? With that kind of formation, it looks more like they're here to… snatch people back!"
"Snatch people? Then… are we supposed to help Konoha or oppose Kumogakure for trying to snatch people?" one Kumogakure shinobi wearing glasses muttered while scratching his head in confusion.
"Ugh—"
The moment he said that, a chorus of groans erupted.
Nearby, the muscular dark-skinned Kumogakure shinobi who were busy hauling bricks and laying foundations all shot him looks of utter contempt.
"You idiot! Of course we oppose them trying to snatch people! We can't lower our own value!"
"Exactly! If the price is set at billions, then it's billions!"
"Yeah! Besides, here we've got meat to eat, wine to drink, four days off every month, and when we're tired the Tailed Beast cloak even recharges us. Only a fool would leave!"
"Right! And once this place is finished, the new Konoha will be built by our own hands. Just thinking about it feels—so glorious!"
For a moment, the faces of over a hundred dark-skinned Kumogakure shinobi were filled with anticipation and longing.
Not a single one of them mentioned leaving.
Meanwhile, in another area—
The Iwagakure shinobi who were busy making bricks also noticed the massive wall built by Kitsuchi.
They glanced at it briefly.
Then expressionlessly continued making bricks.
Mechanically repeating the same motions.
An Uchiha clansman overseeing the work couldn't help growing curious. He nudged an Iwagakure shinobi beside him and asked,
"Hey, your village's main force has come to rescue you. Why don't you guys have any reaction?"
He truly was curious.
Most of the Uchiha had been assigned here as overseers.
After spending enough time together, they had naturally grown familiar with these people.
The earlier tense hostility had long since faded.
Hearing the question, the young Iwagakure shinobi who was molding bricks glanced at him and countered,
"Then why aren't you nervous when your village is about to be attacked? Shouldn't you be retreating to avoid the danger?"
What kind of person saw the enemy's massive reinforcements arrive and still grinned like an idiot?
Anyone unaware might even think those forces had come to support Konoha.
"Retreat from danger?"
The Uchiha clansman curled his lip and waved his hand dismissively.
"With Young Master Kai here, no matter how many come, they'll just become black slaves for Konoha!"
Enemies?
Thousands of enemies?
They clearly didn't know Young Master Kai's strength!
That was someone who had suppressed two Kage with a mere flick of his finger!
Seeing the other man fall silent, the Uchiha clansman couldn't help asking again curiously,
"But… why don't you look excited at all?"
"Of course I'm not excited! What's the point of following them?"
The Iwagakure shinobi raised his brows, his emotions finally showing some fluctuation.
"Fighting and killing all day, constant danger, and you even have to use your brain."
"Unlike now. I just repeat the same motion over and over. The moment work starts, I enter the assembly line—no thinking required, mind completely empty."
"I've lived for twenty-seven years. This is the first time I've felt this relaxed. Turns out living doesn't always have to involve endless scheming and struggle."
As he spoke, the shinobi suddenly ripped the forehead protector from his head.
His eyes were filled with absolute determination.
With a sweeping gesture of his hand, he declared word by word,
"I have skipped at least fifty years of detours in life!"
"That's right! This is the life we want!"
After saying that, he turned around and dove straight back into the mechanical world of brickmaking.
Indeed—
The world itself was just a giant makeshift stage.
And the factory assembly line was the final destination for everyone.
At the same moment—
Atop the massive earth wall dozens of meters high, five thousand elite shinobi stared intently at the "factory" below.
After watching for a while, Kitsuchi's broad face twisted into confusion.
"D-D-Did they not see us?"
"Yo—maybe their eyesight is a bit bad?"
Killer B had stopped rapping altogether, staring blankly at the hundreds of Kumogakure shinobi below with a bizarre expression.
"Why don't they look even slightly excited about being rescued?"
This…
Was completely different from the scene he had imagined.
Then suddenly Killer B slapped his forehead.
"That's it! They must not understand why we're here!"
Immediately, he located the sensory unit and issued a quick command.
Three minutes later—
Five thousand shinobi shouted in unison, their thunderous voices shaking the sky.
"Kumogakure and Iwagakure brothers—
We've come to take you home!"
"We've come to take you home!"
"Home!"
Five thousand elite shinobi roaring together created a sound powerful enough to shake heaven and earth.
Whoosh—
The roar became almost tangible.
Even the storm clouds overhead were pushed back by the sheer force of the sound waves.
But—
Below them, the "brothers" working on the "assembly line" merely glanced upward.
Then calmly turned back to their work.
Continuing their mechanical, repetitive motions.
This scene left the entire allied shinobi army utterly dumbfounded.
They had made such a grand entrance—
Shaking the heavens and the earth to rescue their comrades.
And yet…
That was the reaction they got from the very people they came to save.
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