Shadow

Black iron sand surged up from the ground like a waterfall, meeting the wave of sand Gaara had created.

Perhaps the Third Kazekage's iron sand could not match Gaara's sand in quantity, but it was no weaker in power.

The two sides remained deadlocked for a while before the black iron sand and yellow sand fell back to the ground at the same time, contributing a desert spanning who knew how many hundreds or thousands of square meters to the Land of Fire.

Sure enough, people from the Land of Wind were all land killers.

Only then did the four former Kage notice the five figures floating behind the sand wave, as well as the white light flickering in Ōnoki's hand.

"Dust Release: Original Boundary Detachment Technique!"

"Dust Release: Original Boundary Detachment Technique!"

The Second Tsuchikage reacted quickly enough. His cylindrical Dust Release light met the cone-shaped Dust Release light fired by Ōnoki. This Ninjutsu completely disregarded the principle of using a point to break through a surface, and the two forcibly fought to a standstill.

A brilliant white light flashed as their Ninjutsu exploded at the point of collision. The ground caught in the blast sank away out of thin air, and the sand, stones, earth, trees, and insects that had been there vanished completely.

Dust Release could break down everything it struck into atoms, leaving nothing visible to the naked eye.

In any case, Naruto could not understand the effect of this Ninjutsu. With his meager knowledge of physics and chemistry, even if all that stuff had been reduced to atoms, it was still packed into such a small space. Shouldn't some physical or chemical reaction occur, forming some new compounds or elements? After all, it was decomposition, not disappearance. Yet in the anime, it looked as though everything had simply been annihilated out of thin air. Was that scientific? He would have to ask Orochimaru about it if he got the chance.

Gaara placed the Mizukage, Raikage, and Killer B on the ground while he himself floated two or three meters above the ground alongside Ōnoki.

The five of them each watched their respective predecessors, their feelings complicated.

"You're still alive, Ōnoki. But you've really aged into quite a state," the Second Tsuchikage said. He did not actually want to fight that badly. At the very least, before fighting, he wanted to ask how the village was doing now.

"Lord Mū's Dust Release is truly no weaker than it was back then." Ōnoki kept one hand behind his back, praying that his old waist would hold out.

"A, Bee, the two of you look much more mature. I wonder whether your skills have improved as well." The Third Raikage folded his arms and sized up his son. Back then, he had stayed behind to cover the retreat and been dragged to death on the battlefield, leaving his son with a complete mess to deal with.

Come to think of it, every Raikage was called A. Naruto could not understand whether the Third Raikage had felt awkward calling his own son by the same name.

Blue arcs of electricity crackled across the Fourth Raikage's body. "We'll find out if we try, you bastard old man! You died and still had to cause trouble for others!"

Killer B raised one leg and struck a strange pose. Using his mouth, neck, shoulders, armpits, and the bends of his legs, he clamped seven swords onto himself in one go. Even with a sword in his mouth, he muttered, "Let's settle this, fool, ya fool!"

"Perfect. Let me see how much you've grown!" Lightning Armor covered the Third Raikage's body as he transformed into a streak of light and clashed with the AB Combo.

Over on the Raikage's side, it was a touching reunion between father and son. Both had fiery tempers and preferred speaking with their fists rather than their mouths. The other Kage, meanwhile, took advantage of the fact that they had not yet been forcibly ordered into battle to have a proper conversation, at least figuring out the current situation.

"After several decades, the Five Great Shinobi Villages have joined forces once again? And it seems the relationships between the villages are even closer than last time." The First Mizukage sighed. "Speaking of which, what exactly did that guy Gengetsu do for Kirigakure to fall so low that a child had to bear the responsibility of a Kage?"

Perhaps because he was old, the First Mizukage's gaze at Yagura was full of paternal affection... Damn that paternal affection!

Yagura's expression instantly changed as he roared, "This old man is not a child!"

What First Mizukage? What predecessor? This old man was going to beat him to death today!

"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"

"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"

The First Mizukage countered with the same Ninjutsu, and the two fought to a draw. The enormous amount of water temporarily formed an Artificial Lake here. The two stood facing each other atop the water's surface while the others moved slightly away from the battlefield.

"My, my, what an impressive young man." The First Mizukage praised him. In truth, he did not want to resist. After learning about Kirigakure Village and the Shinobi World's current state, he felt it would be fine to simply be defeated and sent back to the underworld. Unfortunately, his body would not obey him and began moving on its own.

As soon as he finished speaking, the First Mizukage formed another set of hand seals. "Water Style: Hidden Mist Technique."

They had the sensory-type Second Tsuchikage, Mū, on their side. Once the Hidden Mist Technique succeeded, even if the two Mizukage were evenly matched in assassination techniques, their side would hold the advantage.

"Wind Release: Typhoon Passing!" Yagura naturally would not let him have his way. This was a Wind Style technique specifically designed to counter the Hidden Mist Technique. As the head of Kirigakure, with a whole group of subordinates skilled in assassination under him, how could he lack a means of keeping them in check?

Before the Hidden Mist Technique could even take shape, a hurricane scattered it. Yagura gripped the black club in his hand and charged forward.

According to the intelligence on Impure World Reincarnation, reincarnated people could recover from injuries endlessly. To seal them, one had to trap them or inflict severe wounds that could not quickly heal. So what would happen if Coral Palm struck him? Yagura really wanted to try it.

The First Mizukage was also a battle-hardened shinobi. He kicked apart the Water Clone that had attacked from below before exchanging blows with Yagura.

Things were relatively peaceful between the Third Kazekage and Gaara. Out of respect for his predecessor, Gaara told him about Sunagakure Village's current situation and, incidentally, about the fate of Sasori of the Red Sand, who had killed him.

The Third Kazekage felt some regret over Sasori. He had been a rare genius of Sunagakure Village, yet he had unexpectedly attacked the Kazekage himself. After sighing for a while, he looked at Gaara. "Are you Rasa's son? You became Kazekage at such a young age. You have a promising future."

Gaara's tone remained calm. "Many things happened."

"It looks like it has been difficult." Iron sand rose around the Third Kazekage as he said with a bitter smile, "This dead predecessor of yours not only can't help you, but also has to cause you trouble. And this isn't the first time I've caused you trouble, is it?"

"Don't Care." Gaara waved a hand, and sand floated around him as well. "My goal is to lead the companions of Sunagakure Village toward better lives. Whether the things left behind by my predecessors are conveniences or troubles, I will accept all of them. That was the resolve I had before becoming Kazekage."

"Is that so? Then that's good." The Third Kazekage smiled. Having such a successor truly made him happy. "Then please defeat me, Fifth Kazekage... Kazekage!"

"That goes without saying!" Gaara waved his hand, and the sand wave rose again.

Black iron sand and yellow sand collided. At times, they crashed like two waves of water; at times, they tangled like two long dragons; at times, they turned into torrential rain to attack; at times, they became enormous shields to defend.

They had to watch not only the battle in front of them, but also remain constantly alert for sand or iron sand suddenly bursting up beneath their feet. The danger was no less than in close-quarters combat.