This was an Eight-Headed Iron Sand Serpent. Its enormous body was held aloft by the universe's fundamental electromagnetic force, blotting out the sun and sky above the Demon Country Capital, covering nearly the entire heavens.
By sight alone, compared to it, the Nine-Tails was as tiny and adorable as a mouse before its massive form.
And it was an elephant.
As the eight enormous serpentine heads rose and soared, heaven and earth changed color. Winds rose and clouds surged, while the turbulent air currents they stirred up formed one chaotic Uzumaki after another in the sky.
As the giant serpent's black, Iron Sand-textured hide writhed, one vague yet distinct human face after another emerged across its surface.
Men, women, old people, children—each one was lifelike.
They wailed soundlessly, their hollow mouths stretched wide, their hollow, deep-set eyes empty, and their features twisted in agony and savagery. Densely packed together, each face resembled a serpent's scale, pressed tightly against the others.
At the center where the serpent's body connected, a human figure emerged and rose like drifting sand, then opened his eyes.
The Third Kazekage.
It had worked.
After struggling up and crawling out of a deep, dark abyss, the Third Kazekage lowered his head and stared blankly at his own hands.
Beside his ears were the shrill wails of vengeful spirits. Beneath him, countless arms waved and twisted, desperately trying to drag him back into the abyss. It seemed like an illusion, but when he looked again, the phantoms before his eyes had vanished.
"Willpower!"
"Especially the willpower of the soul!"
"Without extraordinary willpower, one's soul will be drowned in the endless sea of spiritual noise, making it difficult to seize control of the puppet."
"The chances of success are almost zero."
"It's impossible."
Orochimaru spoke at length in the