I patted the black Wooden Box in my coat pocket and flicked my wrist.
"All right, found you. Don't worry, old man. I'll send you on your way."
The moment I finished speaking, the Wood Dragon Carriage beneath my feet plunged into a dive.
Its enormous wooden body whipped up a rank gust before landing firmly among the rubble.
Muddy water and flecks of snow splashed over the sides of my shoes, cold and clammy.
Meanwhile, beneath the pitch-black signal tower, inside that bottomless cavern...
Yellow, muddy water dripped steadily into a damp, dark corner.
The air reeked of earth that had gone years without sunlight, mixed with the strange stench of dead snakeskin.
Kabuto Yakushi sat cross-legged on a blue stone slab covered in grit.
White scales covered his face, and the crooked glasses on his nose glinted coldly.
His fingers were long and pointed, and the gaps beneath his nails smelled of moldy paper.
He clutched several clay puppets representing his Impure World Reincarnation subjects.
An absurdly comical grin stretched across his mouth, revealing two rows of slender, pointed teeth.
"Who would've thought Konoha's ninja would fold so easily?"
He muttered under his breath, sticking out his tongue to lick his bluish lips.
Through the Second Tsuchikage's eyes, he could clearly see the distant battlefield.
The allied forces of Konoha and Kumogakure were in utter disarray before a handful of former Kage.
"God's plan has begun. Konoha meets its end today."
He shook his head smugly, his tail slapping loudly against the stone.
"That brat called Sen Senju is probably crying on the front lines right now."
He stared at the clay puppets in his hands and spoke to himself.
Suddenly, the tree roots deep underground gave a low, muffled rumble.
Rumble.
Clods of earth shook loose from