"Enough with the endless chatter! If you keep talking like this, how long am I supposed to wait?!"
Inside a cave, Kabuto Yakushi, clad in a red robe, sat on the ground. Before him lay a board covered in scattered star-like points, with white pieces placed upon the intersecting marks. Each piece represented a practitioner of Impure World Reincarnation.
"It's about time. Get ready to fight!" A smile curled across his lips as the snake tail behind him flicked its bright red tongue. Behind him, Anko Mitarashi, once Orochimaru's disciple, lay unconscious. Kabuto had captured her alive while she was investigating an Akatsuki base.
He raised one hand, channeling chakra into the pieces on the board. Far away in the desert, the four former Kage fighting there sensed it at the same time.
Feeling their bodies begin to move beyond their control, their expressions abruptly changed. The Third Raikage roared, "Stop us, quickly! That bastard is controlling our bodies! Please, I'm a Lightning Style ninja—send a Wind Style ninja to fight me!"
Ōnoki and Gaara's expressions changed simultaneously. Without hesitation, they launched their attacks. Behind them, the ninja forces sprang into action as well, charging respectively toward the Third Raikage and the Second Mizukage.
"Gaara, let me see this so-called growth of yours! Stop me here, surpass me, and protect Sunagakure—that is your duty as the Kazekage!" the Fourth Kazekage roared. Sand mixed with gold dust continuously surged up beside him.
Yellow sand likewise poured from the gourd on Gaara's back, shifting into various forms as it attacked the Fourth Kazekage. He said quietly, "Yes. That's exactly what I intend to do, Father."
The great battle was on the verge of erupting. One side consisted of more than ten thousand ninja, while the other had only four. Yet despite the