Chapter 595: Kumo's Past Heroes
A day before Ishiro and his team departed, Turtle Island received its first visitor in two years: Naruto Namikaze.
Naruto-kun had been brought alone by Samui, Karui, and Omoi. If he had a choice, Killer B wouldn't have risked letting Naruto-kun onto the island.
B would have rather taken the Jinchūriki training tools to Konoha than let an outsider in. But he couldn't.
Kakashi's offer to send ANBU guards was flatly refused.
B personally inspected Naruto-kun. Only after confirming he carried no tracking devices did he relax slightly.
He ordered the island to move, then took Naruto-kun to the Waterfall of Truth.
The Waterfall of Truth was easy for Naruto-kun; he passed quickly.
But the next step—unlocking the Eight Trigrams Seal—went wrong.
In this timeline, Naruto-kun hadn't learned Sage Art yet. His chakra control was far worse than in the original story. He failed to wrestle the Nine-Tails' chakra away.
Fortunately, Minato had left a safeguard. Before Naruto-kun could rampage, Minato reinforced the seal.
So Naruto-kun got a second chance.
After resting for a day, Naruto-kun used his "Talk-no-Jutsu" to convince B to let him try again.
This time, with Kushina's help, he succeeded.
B didn't dare keep Naruto-kun on the island. As soon as he succeeded, Samui's team escorted him away.
Watching them leave, B felt a deep unease.
As soon as Naruto-kun was out of sight, B ordered the island to move immediately.
Mabui was confused. "Killer B, if we move now, Samui and the others won't be able to find us."
"Move first," B said. "I have a bad feeling."
"It doesn't matter if they can't find us; we can find them. But the island must be safe."
Mabui nodded, concern clouding her eyes.
Soon, B's unease proved correct.
Although he had ordered the move, it was too late. Ishiro only needed a general area to pinpoint the island.
He arrived at the spot where Naruto-kun had left. The island was still within his Mind's Eye range!
Ishiro and his team quickly caught up.
Seeing the black dot in the sky grow larger, B's heart sank.
He took a deep breath. "Summon the predecessors."
Mabui paled. "Did Konoha betray us?"
It was logical. The island had been safe for two years, but trouble arrived right after Naruto-kun left.
If Iwa had tracked Naruto-kun, why wait a day after he arrived?
Mabui didn't believe Iwa had intentionally waited for him to leave.
"It doesn't matter now," B said. "Go. Or it will be too late."
Mabui shivered and ran to make the arrangements.
By the time Ishiro's group arrived, nine figures were standing on the island.
Except for Killer B, they were all Edo Tensei.
First Raikage, Second Raikage, Third Raikage.
The previous Eight-Tails Jinchūriki (Blue B).
The previous Two-Tails Jinchūriki (before Yugito).
Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
And... Jiraiya.
Jiraiya looked at the burly men around him and felt nervous.
When he was first summoned, he had been happy, thinking he'd see Orochimaru again.
Instead, he was surrounded by giants. Jiraiya was big, but compared to them, he was a twig.
The Third Raikage looked at Ishiro's group, then at B. "B... it seems A died in battle. This must be hard on you."
He didn't blame B; he comforted him calmly.
The other Kage looked around, realized where they were, and understood. They remained silent.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku, however, glared at B.
The Second Raikage intervened. "Kinkaku, Ginkaku, your rebellion is in the past. The village is in danger. We must fight together."
Kinkaku sneered. "'Village in danger'? The village is gone! Your successor truly wasn't fit to be Raikage!"
But he didn't refuse to fight.
Seeing their attitude, the Second Raikage said nothing more.
The two former Jinchūriki silently gathered their Bijuu chakra.
Jiraiya looked left and right. Is no one going to talk to me? No one's giving me orders? I have social anxiety!
Just then, B said, "Jiraiya-senpai, Kumo and Konoha are allies. Kumo is in trouble. Please help us."
Jiraiya had heard about the alliance from Orochimaru. He sighed, looking at the approaching Iwa ninja. "Alright."
The Third Raikage asked B, "Tell us about the enemy."
"Right. The enemy is Iwa. The leader is the Fourth Tsuchikage, Ishiro. You should recognize him."
"He knows the Light Release Kekkai Tōta, Sage Art, and multiple Kekkai Genkai."
"He also knows five-nature ninjutsu, fuinjutsu, and gravity jutsu. He's extremely powerful."
Kinkaku and Ginkaku sneered. "Knows a lot, huh?"
B ignored them. "The short old man is the Third Tsuchikage. Dust Release."
"Two Uchiha, male and female. Both have Mangekyō Sharingan and Susanoo."
"The middle-aged man is the Five-Tails perfect Jinchūriki. The older woman is the Tsuchikage's sister, skilled in Yin Release."
"The one with blue eyes is a Hyūga; his eyes evolved from the Byakugan."
"Of the remaining two, the man is a Yuki clan Ice Release user. I don't know the last girl, but she looks like a new Kage-level."
In the sky, Ishiro and his eight companions were also sizing up the opposition.
Ishiro laughed. "Kumo really did master Edo Tensei. Looks like they summoned every dead powerhouse since their founding."
"The Third Raikage is here too. I remember he was besieged by Kiri... his body should have been with them."
"Regardless, the Third Raikage is the toughest of the lot. His Lightning Armor is incredible. Leave him to me. I love fighting guys who only rely on speed and strength."
"Jiraiya and the former Jinchūriki are straightforward. The two on the end are Kumo's traitors, Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Their ninja tools are weird."
"First, don't touch the golden rope. Second, don't answer anything they say."
"Other than that, they're pseudo-Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, so they're not weak."
"Finally, the First and Second Raikage. I don't know their strength. Lord Third, do you know?"
Ōnoki said, "Neither is as strong as the Third. The Second is versatile but nothing special."
"The First is said to be a ranged ninjutsu type. I haven't seen him fight."
Ishiro nodded. "Alright. Most of them are Jinchūriki or possess Bijuu chakra. Be careful."
"And remember, they're Edo Tensei. They're immortal. Don't get careless after knocking them down. Sealing is best."
"If there's time, Shion and I will seal them."
"There's another way to deal with Edo Tensei. I've told Sōkai, Izumi, and Natsuki, the genjutsu users. You can coordinate with them."
"Yes!" everyone replied.
Ishiro didn't assign specific opponents. They were too close; switching targets was easy.
Ishiro's tactic: head-on collision with absolute power!
He had prepared for the worst—fifteen Kage-level enemies.
But Kumo hadn't summoned that many. Eight Kage on his side felt like overkill now.
As Ishiro's group approached, the two sides clashed. Sōkai and Izumi led the charge.
They didn't hold back. Both activated their Complete Body Susanoo (Fifth Form).
Two armored giants leaped from the sky toward Turtle Island.
Seeing this, Kinkaku and Ginkaku roared and entered their Version 2 Tailed Beast states, lunging forward.
But they overestimated themselves. Against Eternal Mangekyō Complete Body Susanoo, they were tiny.
Before they clashed, Sōkai said to Izumi, "I'll take these two."
He swung his weapons at them. Not the Totsuka Blade, but the dual swords standard to the Complete Body Susanoo.
The charging brothers slammed into Sōkai's Susanoo and were smashed into the sea.
Sōkai followed them down.
Seeing the brothers fail to stop one Susanoo, the former Eight-Tails and Two-Tails Jinchūriki exchanged a look and transformed, intercepting the other one.
Similarly, they were soon blasted into the ocean by Izumi.
The First Raikage said, "Those aren't normal Mangekyō. Madara Uchiha's Susanoo looked like that."
Killer B frowned. This was unexpected.
Following the Uchiha pair was Han. He transformed into the full Five-Tails, Kokuō, and charged at Killer B.
But before B could react, the Second Raikage fired a wide-area Lightning Release at Han.
Han didn't mind. He engaged the Second Raikage, knowing his job was just to stall someone.
Ōnoki fired a Dust Release at the Third Raikage, but the First Raikage neutralized it with a Lightning Release.
Ōnoki huffed. He had wanted to pin down the strongest enemy, the Third Raikage. But if the First wanted to fight, fine. His experience was best suited for unknown enemies.
Neji-kun entered his strongest state, cloaked in Tenseigan chakra. He dove from the sky, forming seals mid-air to summon a rock golem.
Seeing the massive golem, Killer B grit his teeth and charged. Neji's strength shocked him.
But Ishiro hadn't moved, so the Third Raikage couldn't move either.
The rock golem and the full Eight-Tails began to wrestle.
Neji wanted the golem to stall B so he could fight someone else.
But then, B separated from the Eight-Tails, wielding his swords and charging at Neji!
Neji was stunned. A Jinchūriki can fight like that?
But he didn't panic and engaged B.
Looking at Jiraiya and the Third Raikage below, Ishiro said to Haku, "I'll draw the Third Raikage away. Jiraiya is yours!"
Haku nodded.
Ishiro didn't let Haku go down first; the Third Raikage might one-shot him. None of the others were normal ninja—they had dōjutsu, Bijuu, or flight. Haku had none of those.
Ishiro threw a token Light Release at the Third Raikage, and the two tacitly moved to the side.
Left alone, a helpless Jiraiya engaged Haku.
Only Natsuki and Shion remained in the air.
They exchanged looks, observing the battles, looking for an opening.
The opening came faster than expected, and from a surprising source.
The first to crush his opponents was Sōkai, fighting one-v-two.
Sōkai (in Susanoo) and the Gold and Silver Brothers (in Version 2) were fighting in the ocean.
The brothers were half-submerged, their movements restricted. Sōkai, in his giant construct, just hacked away at Ginkaku.
The brothers were strong against normal ninja because the Sage's Tools were tricky. But against Susanoo, the tools were a joke. Only the Amber Purifying Pot was a threat, but Ishiro had warned them: Don't answer. As long as Sōkai kept his mouth shut, the tools were useless.
And accustomed to relying on the tools, the brothers were weak without them.
As for their Bijuu forms... they lacked the control of a true Jinchūriki. They were berserkers. Rage and impulse ruled them.
The Nine-Tails cloak offered defense, and Edo Tensei offered regeneration, but Sōkai wasn't trying to kill them with damage.
He caught Ginkaku in a genjutsu while he was distracted.
If Ginkaku had his wits, he could have broken it by disrupting his chakra with the Bijuu's power.
But he was berserk. He didn't even notice he was in a genjutsu. And he had no Bijuu partner to wake him up.
So he stayed trapped.
Kinkaku saw this and rushed to help his brother.
But before he could reach him, Ginkaku attacked him.
Boom! The brothers collided.
The impact broke the genjutsu, but it also gave Sōkai his opening.
His Susanoo swapped weapons, drawing the Sword of Totsuka.
He stabbed Ginkaku, sealing him into the gourd instantly.
Kinkaku roared and charged Sōkai, but was forced back by the sword.
His rhythm broken, he was then cut in half by Sōkai's other blade.
Roar!
The cloak faded, leaving a bisected body.
The Edo Tensei regeneration kicked in. The halves turned to paper and began to merge.
Shion saw her chance.
She cast the Priestess Seal. Purple-red light wrapped around the immobile Kinkaku.
By the time his body reformed, he was completely bound.
Sōkai grabbed him with the Susanoo's hand.
Then he looked around.
He was the first to finish. Some fights hadn't even really started yet.
Jiraiya vs. Neji? No, wait, Jiraiya vs. Haku. Ōnoki vs. First Raikage. They were still probing.
The others didn't seem to need help.
Ishiro vs. Third Raikage. No probing there.
Ishiro knew the Third Raikage's intel: Strongest Shield, Strongest Spear.
But the shield broke against Atomic Dismantling. And the spear couldn't hit a flying Ishiro.
Ishiro first spent time setting up a massive porcelain field around the battlefield.
He formed walls to restrict the Raikage's speed.
With Sage chakra infused, the walls were harder to break than normal earth. And they regenerated.
The Raikage found fighting Ishiro alone more frustrating than fighting the entire Kiri army!
The walls moved, blocking his path. Once he was boxed in, Ishiro attacked.
Wide-area Light Release bombardment.
Ishiro finished just after Sōkai.
Restricted and bombarded, the Raikage had no chance.
Boom! He dodged many, but one B-rank beam grazed him, taking off an arm.
That was the start. The second and third hits came faster.
Finally... BOOM!
A direct hit vaporized half his body.
Before he could regenerate, he was swamped by porcelain mud covered in sealing runes.
Ishiro smirked. That speed is only good for bullying idiots like Naruto. Against my porcelain... I can stall you to death.
After dealing with the Raikage, Ishiro didn't join the other fights.
He scanned the area. No one needed help.
He said to Sōkai, "Come here. Connect to the Giant Sharingan. Pull the Third Raikage's soul out and seal it in this mask."
Sōkai's eyes lit up. A great way to deal with Edo Tensei.
He deactivated Susanoo, connected to the eye, and used its soul ability.
He pulled the Reaper out of the mask, then pulled the Raikage's soul out of the seal.
As the soul left, the body turned to paper and fell away, revealing the sacrifice inside.
Ishiro didn't recognize the sacrifice and tossed the body into the sea.
Sōkai then controlled the soul and sealed it into the Reaper.
(End of Chapter)