The Sand Village's ninja forces had already taken up positions around the village, waiting for the monsters to appear.
But after waiting for most of the day, they still hadn't seen any of the monsters described in the reports.
"Lord Kazekage! Could the monsters have changed course?"
Maki, a Jonin of the Sand Village, spoke quietly to Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage. They couldn't just keep waiting like this.
"Rasa, are you sure those monsters can talk?"
"Could they be ninja beasts from some unknown sacred land?"
Granny Chiyo, an adviser to the Sand Village, wore a grave expression. If the situation hadn't been urgent, and Rasa hadn't come to ask her in person, she wouldn't have come.
She would rather have continued her semi-retired life of fishing. After her son and daughter-in-law died in battle and her grandson defected, much of the warmth in her heart had already faded.
"If we hadn't confirmed the whereabouts of every tailed beast, I'd almost suspect these were tailed beasts!"
"Could that monster with eight dragon heads have something to do with the Eight-Tails, Gyuki?"
"The giant cat with blue flames in the reports sounds a lot like the Two-Tails, Matatabi!"
Rasa's expression was just as grave. Ninja beasts that could speak generally had considerable power behind them.
Yet these five monsters weren't even of the same species. Their appearances varied wildly.
"Actually, if these ninja beasts can talk, we might be able to communicate with them."
"If we can sign summoning contracts with them, we might gain five powerful allies!"
A gleam flashed in Ebizo's eyes. Of the five great ninja villages, only their Sand Village and Konoha Village had just one tailed beast each.
But Konoha Village possessed the strongest, the Nine-Tails, while the Sand Village's One-Tail was the weakest according to