Inside the command building at the forward base, only three Kage remained.
Fujimoto Tōma.
Ōnoki.
And A, the Fourth Raikage.
Gaara was already leading the five divisions toward the battlefield. Mei Terumi, meanwhile, had been tasked with protecting the five daimyō and had relocated to their secured shelter.
That said, Tōma hadn't left her unsupported. Several former guards of the Fourth Hokage had been assigned to her detail. They couldn't use the Flying Thunder God itself, but they could activate its formation technique. If Mei was needed on the battlefield, she could arrive instantly.
At the moment, the Raikage stood by the window, fists clenched, staring into the distance with barely restrained agitation.
Ōnoki was quieter, but the tension showed in his posture.
Only Tōma appeared relaxed, calmly sipping tea as if this were a routine briefing rather than the opening phase of a world war.
"Heh," Ōnoki said at last, glancing sideways. "You've got nerves of steel, Hokage. Not many your age could stay this composed."
"It's not that," Tōma replied lightly. "I just trust the Allied Forces more than you do."
Before either could respond, a messenger from the intelligence division arrived with urgent news.
The Allied surprise unit had clashed head-on with Akatsuki's own ambush force.
And the enemy they encountered… were shinobi who were already dead.
They had been summoned back through a forbidden technique known as Edo Tensei.
"…Edo Tensei?" Ōnoki's voice rose sharply. "That cursed jutsu?"
He had lived through the era of the Second Hokage. No one in the room understood the horror of that technique better than he did.
"Yes," Tōma said, nodding. "That one."
Ōnoki stared at him, clearly resisting the urge to turn this into a political accusation. This wasn't the time.
"Hokage," he said slowly, "since this jutsu originated in Konoha… do you know its weakness?"
Tōma shook his head.
"There isn't one. Not in the conventional sense. There is a flaw, but it's not something outsiders can exploit. The only way to release Edo Tensei is for the caster to undo it themselves."
"Even killing them won't work?" the Raikage demanded.
"No."
The Raikage slammed his fist against the wall. "Then why the hell was something this vile ever created?"
"You already know the answer," Tōma replied calmly.
The Raikage fell silent.
The wars between Kumo and Konoha had forced desperate measures back then. Arguing now would only expose old guilt.
"Then give us a solution," the Raikage snapped. "You're the Supreme Commander."
Tōma set his teacup down.
"Edo Tensei shinobi usually fight below their original peak," he said. "But the real problem is that as long as the jutsu remains active, they regenerate endlessly."
He did not mention that these bodies were made using White Zetsu material, granting them effectively limitless chakra. That information would only crush morale. And explaining how he knew would raise more questions than answers.
"However," he continued, "regeneration takes time. During that window, sealing techniques can immobilize them permanently."
Ōnoki nodded slowly. He hadn't known that. The Second Hokage's original use of the technique had been… excessive. There had never been room to experiment with sealing.
"When Orochimaru attacked Konoha," Tōma added, "he used Edo Tensei to summon the First and Second Hokage. They're still sealed beneath the village."
Ōnoki's eyes widened. "You're serious?"
Tōma repeated himself, deadpan.
Then Ōnoki burst out laughing.
"Hah! That man getting dragged back by his own jutsu? Serves him right!"
"Then notify all units immediately," the Raikage said. "Seal on sight."
"Already done," Tōma replied. "I sent the order while we were talking."
Both men nodded.
Then Ōnoki paused. "Wait. You're saying Orochimaru can use Edo Tensei?"
"Yes."
"Then the caster might not be Uchiha Madara at all," Ōnoki said slowly. "Back when Madara left Konoha, that jutsu didn't exist yet."
"That's likely," Tōma agreed. "But finding Orochimaru won't be easy."
The Raikage growled. "That snake…"
No one blamed Tōma. Orochimaru was an enemy to Konoha as much as anyone else.
Hours passed.
Eventually, even Ōnoki left to assist on the front lines.
Only Tōma and the Raikage remained in the hall.
The Raikage's expression darkened as stretcher after stretcher was brought in. These weren't lightly wounded shinobi. These were soldiers whose fighting days were over, whether they survived or not.
And these were only the worst cases.
The intensity of the war far exceeded expectations. Akatsuki was just one organization, yet it was holding off the combined might of five villages.
Tōma remained silent.
What the Raikage saw was only a fraction of the battlefield.
Tōma himself was present here in body, but his spiritual shadow clone hovered high above the battlefield, observing everything. Every clash. Every death. Every surge of chakra.
The sensations flowed back to him in real time.
The war was brutal.
Even with Naruto and Sasuke on the front lines, casualties mounted. And both of them had become prime targets. Obito had unleashed nine tailed beasts to contain them.
All nine.
Including a reconstructed Nine-Tails.
Using the chakra Tōma had deliberately left behind, combined with remnants from the Gold and Silver Brothers, Akatsuki had created a chakra mass rivaling the real thing. Mindless, but devastating.
Without Naruto and Sasuke, the battlefield would already have collapsed.
Some events from Tōma's memories never occurred. There were no White Zetsu infiltrators disguised as Allied shinobi. That tactic had originally been used to force Naruto onto the battlefield.
This time, Naruto was already there.
Another key difference was Hyūga Neji.
Because Yamato had never been captured, the enhanced White Zetsu variant never came into existence. Neji, with a clear target and a refined Byakugan, was stronger than ever.
Tōma had kept a close watch.
Nothing happened.
Still, this was only the first day.
Akatsuki hadn't revealed its full hand. Orochimaru hadn't released the true monsters bound by Edo Tensei.
If they did, the carnage would double.
Tōma leaned back, exhaling slowly.
He considered what would have happened if he'd intervened earlier. If he'd acted decisively from the beginning.
Then he dismissed the thought.
His goal required the chakra of all nine tailed beasts. No matter how the path twisted, bloodshed was inevitable.
If he'd acted openly, Konoha might have become the enemy instead. The other four villages would have united against him. Akatsuki might have joined them.
And in the end, casualties wouldn't have been fewer.
Just different.
Tōma sensed it then.
Several massive chakra signatures flared on the horizon.
"…This is bad," he muttered.
Naruto and Sasuke were still being restrained. Gaara and Ōnoki could intervene… or—
Tōma stretched, eyes gleaming faintly.
Maybe it was time he moved.
If not his true body, then at least his spiritual clone.
The next morning, those chakra signatures appeared before the Allied Forces.
The battlefield froze.
Because standing before them were the legends of the past.
The Second Tsuchikage.
The Second Mizukage.
The Third Raikage.
And the Fourth Kazekage.
The dead had returned.
...
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