"That is…"
Gaara's sand eye was the first to spot them.
Four figures were walking toward the battlefield at an unhurried pace, their presence heavy enough to warp the air around them. Gaara was still young. Many legendary figures belonged to eras he had only read about.
But one of them, he knew instantly.
His father.
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
Gaara's pupils contracted. Even if he couldn't identify the other three, anyone walking beside the Fourth Kazekage could only be of one status.
Kage.
He relayed the information immediately to Ōnoki, who had rushed in to reinforce the Fourth Division.
"Are you absolutely certain?" Ōnoki demanded, eyes widening as he listened.
From Gaara's description alone, Ōnoki already knew the answer.
When Gaara confirmed it, Ōnoki exhaled slowly.
"…This just got troublesome."
He then told Gaara the identities of the others.
"The Second Tsuchikage. The Second Mizukage. And the Third Raikage."
"All Kage…" Gaara murmured.
Without hesitation, he and Ōnoki ordered the Fourth Division to begin a controlled withdrawal. These were not enemies that could be crushed by numbers alone. Even if victory were possible, the cost would be unacceptable.
They had barely retreated when another presence appeared beside them.
"Hokage-sama?" Gaara and Ōnoki both turned, relief flashing across their faces.
Fujimoto Tōma stood there, calm as ever.
"We can't fall back any further," Tōma said. "This is where we stop them."
"Then we hold the line here," Ōnoki agreed immediately. Any further retreat risked allowing the enemy to slip through and flank other divisions.
Tōma glanced toward the approaching figures.
"Gaara. Your father is yours."
Gaara nodded without hesitation. There was no hatred left in him, but there was something that needed to be settled.
Ōnoki stepped forward. "I'll take the Second Tsuchikage."
"Good," Tōma said. "Then the Third Raikage and the Second Mizukage are mine."
Gaara and Ōnoki both paused.
Two Kage… alone?
"Relax," Tōma said with a faint smile. "I'll manage."
Back at the command base, the Fourth Raikage abruptly turned toward Tōma, who was still leisurely drinking tea.
"What's going on?" he snapped. "Why is there another you on the Fourth Division's battlefield?"
"I figured they needed help," Tōma replied. "So I went."
"…Then this one's a clone?" the Raikage demanded.
"Or maybe both are me."
The Raikage scowled. He didn't believe for a second that Tōma would send only a clone to face four resurrected Kage.
"You're the Supreme Commander," he growled. "Running off like that isn't appropriate."
"But I'm still here," Tōma said mildly.
"You—!"
"Raikage," Tōma interrupted, looking him straight in the eye. "Is your body tougher than the Third Raikage's?"
The question landed like a hammer.
"And do you have his limitless chakra?"
Silence.
The Raikage remembered his father vividly. That monstrous body. That power. Fighting him head-on would be a nightmare.
Even so, being told this outright made his blood boil.
Before he could explode, Mabui spoke up quickly. "Raikage-sama… the Hokage wouldn't act without confidence."
The Raikage clicked his tongue but said nothing more.
Nearby, Nara Shikaku studied Tōma quietly.
For a brief moment, an unsettling thought crossed his mind.
What if the one sitting here… really is the original?
He shook it off. That would be absurd.
On the battlefield, the four resurrected Kage continued forward at a measured pace.
It wasn't obedience.
It was resistance.
They couldn't disobey the caster's orders outright, but they could delay. Buy time. Give the living shinobi a chance to prepare.
Their villages' shinobi were among the Allied Forces, after all.
"If this were only Konoha ninja," the Second Mizukage muttered, "I wouldn't be holding back."
"They've stopped retreating," the Second Tsuchikage observed. "Looks like they're ready to stand their ground."
Rasa spoke quietly. "Fighting our own villages… this is bitter."
"That snake brat Orochimaru," the Second Mizukage snarled. "Using us like this. Unforgivable."
"At least believe in the next generation," the Third Raikage said. "Our people have grown stronger than we ever were."
"I hope you're right."
They stopped.
Then the sand surged.
A tidal wave of sand roared toward them, blotting out the sky.
"Incredible," the Second Mizukage said. "That's Shukaku's power, isn't it?"
Rasa narrowed his eyes. He agreed. Only by using the pseudo-sleep technique could Shukaku exert such force.
Without hesitation, he formed seals.
A massive wave of golden sand surged forward, crashing into Gaara's sandstorm.
The two forces collided and stalled.
High above, Gaara stood on a floating platform of sand, expression steady. He remembered this scene. Vaguely. From the chaos of his childhood.
Gold dust was heavier than sand.
Mix the two, and Shukaku's control faltered.
On the opposite side of the battlefield, Ōnoki's hands glowed white.
"Still alive, are you?" the Second Tsuchikage laughed. "Is that thanks to Dust Release?"
His own hands lit up in response.
"Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
Two annihilating forces collided.
The explosion tore a massive crater into the battlefield, swallowing sand and gold alike.
"Your Dust Release hasn't dulled," Ōnoki admitted.
"Then I suppose it's my turn," Tōma muttered.
He looked at the two Kage still unengaged.
A rotating mass of white chakra formed in his hand, sharpening into a spinning blade.
"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken."
He released it gently, as if letting it fall.
The Third Raikage's eyes narrowed. Lightning erupted around him, his hair standing on end as he entered his strongest Lightning Release armor.
He braced himself.
The Rasenshuriken detonated.
The explosion rivaled the earlier Dust Release clash.
When the smoke cleared, the Third Raikage stood battered but intact, his body already beginning to regenerate.
Tōma stared, impressed.
"So the rumors were true."
"If this weren't an Edo body," the Third Raikage said calmly, "that attack might have killed me."
The Second Mizukage had already retreated a safe distance.
"Both of you are monsters," he muttered.
The Third Raikage turned to Tōma. "Who are you?"
"Sixth Hokage," Tōma replied. "Fujimoto Tōma."
"A shame you're not from Kumo," the Third Raikage sighed.
"Judging by his skin," the Second Mizukage cut in, "he'd fit Kirigakure better."
"Shut it, mustache."
Veins popped on the Mizukage's forehead.
"Hey, Hokage," he snapped at Tōma. "Seal him first. I won't interfere."
Tōma stepped forward, positioning himself opposite the two.
"I came here to seal both of you."
"…Both?" the Second Mizukage frowned.
"You're confident," the Third Raikage said coldly.
"Confident enough," Tōma replied.
Lightning surged around him.
"You dare use Lightning Release against me?" the Third Raikage roared. "After showing that kind of Wind Release?"
"Then show me," Tōma said quietly. "Show me the peak of the Third Raikage's lightning."
His eyes burned with anticipation.
If he could grasp it…
The path beyond bloodlines might finally come into view.
The Third Raikage's chakra erupted.
"Then face it," he thundered. "My full power!"