Four Kage Battle Gato

Gato and Uchiha Ruo stepped into the Circle together, and a mysterious liquid immediately clung to them both.

A while later.

A powerful surge of Chakra burst forth.

Gato emerged as if reborn. Uchiha Ruo lay on the ground, but he still appeared to be alive. That was why Uchiha Yoru had not intervened.

He was not ruthless enough to sacrifice a clansman for information, even if many Ninja would consider it the right choice.

"So this is what power feels like?"

Gato opened his Three Tomoe Sharingan and swung his metal-like Steel Arm.

"Congratulations, Lord Gato!"

Hiruko bowed respectfully.

"Come on, let's take revenge on Konoha! Konoha will be the first stepping stone in my conquest of the world!"

Gato laughed wildly.

"Lightning Release: Lariat!"

A rough male voice rang out. Before Gato could react, he was sent flying and slammed into the Cave wall, leaving a human-shaped imprint.

"Who dares get in my way?"

Uchiha Yoru took one look. Well, damn. The Four Kage lineup! This was almost the same lineup that fought Madara.

It seemed Uchiha Itachi had not arrived. He was probably still wrapped up in his romance with Izumi. Uchiha Yoru had told them not to disturb the young couple, after all. That was why he had not come.

"Four Kage? Even better!"

"Come at me!"

Gato dusted himself off, seemingly unharmed.

As for why the Four Kage had come to help, Kurotsuchi had rushed to tell the old Tsuchikage about the matter as soon as she arrived.

But he had simply sipped his tea and told Kurotsuchi not to rush. This was Konoha. If anything went wrong, it would be Konoha's problem! Why should they hurry?

Karin Uzumaki had received the same information: a mysterious group had captured Uchiha Yoru. With a wave of her hand, she declared that if the Four Kage wanted to establish a partnership with Konoha, they should bring Uchiha Yoru back.

Otherwise...

The Four Kage were no fools. They knew that if they did not keep pace with Konoha, they would be left far behind. They agreed at once.

That was how things had come to this.

In truth, they had no idea that trade with the other Ninja villages was already part of the plan. It was also one of the reasons the Kage had been invited here.

But trade was trade, and Konoha would still set the prices.

Karin Uzumaki was taking advantage of the Kage's ignorance of trade. Sure enough, once they heard the news, they followed Kurotsuchi's directions here without a second thought.

The Tsuchikage had not intended to exert himself. He had planned to bring Uchiha Yoru back and leave. But this Gato was awfully arrogant!

Gato had openly challenged the Four Kage, even demanding that they kneel and submit to him.

"Liger Bomb!"

The Raikage exploded into motion. Blue lightning covered his body as he charged forward like a bolt.

He seized Gato by the collar and slammed him into the ground. Lightning Release Chakra erupted, blasting out a massive crater.

"Swift Release!"

"Steel Release: Steelification!"

Gato rose as though nothing had happened. Moving at a ghostlike speed, he struck back with a heavy punch.

It did not seem to hurt the Raikage much, though. It only forced him back half a step.

"I already told you I'm immortal! Nothing you do to me will work!"

"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!"

Mei Terumi spat a highly corrosive acid from her mouth.

"Dark Release: Inhaling Maw!"

A vortex appeared in Gato's hand and swallowed the Lava Release's seemingly all-consuming acid whole.

Everyone present felt their eyelids twitch.

Neither Mei Terumi's Kekkei Genkai nor the Raikage's Taijutsu should have been so easy to counter. Yet this man had brushed both aside.

Hidden in the shadows, Uchiha Yoru thought, He must have gathered them all and strengthened every Kekkei Genkai! Otherwise, going by the original story, a single hit from the Raikage would have been enough to put him down!

"He has Dark Release, Steel Release, Storm Release, and Swift Release Kekkei Genkai. Judging by his eyes, he's also incorporated the Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai!"

"Five Kekkei Genkai? What a monster!"

The Four Kage stared in shock.

"Sand Binding Prison!"

Countless grains of sand surged around Gato and bound him tight.

"Even if you can absorb Ninjutsu, you can't absorb sand, can you?"

"Tell me where Uchiha Yoru is," Gaara demanded. If he had not wanted information about Uchiha Yoru, he would not have left Gato's head exposed!

"He was killed long ago. We used another member of the Uchiha Clan as the sacrifice instead!"

"What?"

Oh, no. This is going to be bad.

Uchiha Yoru gave Gato a sympathetic look.

There was no way Gaara would hold back after hearing that.

"Die!"

In an instant, sand swallowed Gato completely!

Gaara clenched his hands, intending to crush Gato to powder.

But no matter how hard he tried, the sand would not tighten any further. It seemed to have met something impossibly hard. No matter how much Chakra Gaara used, he could not crush it.

Gato, his entire body turned to steel, broke free of the sand.

With Swift Release, he charged toward the Four Kage. The Raikage met the attack head-on, grabbed Gato by the leg, and smashed him into the ground.

"Let's see if your body can withstand this!"

"Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop!"

In the original story, this was the blow that had severed the Eight-Tails' horn and cut through Madara Uchiha's initial-form Susanoo.

Raikage A leaped into the air, gathered all his Lightning Release Chakra in his hand, and plunged downward.

A tremendous crash echoed through the entire Cave.

"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!"

"Sand Shower!"

"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"

A small, transparent cube appeared in Ōnoki's hands. Compared to the other Kage's Ninjutsu, it looked tiny.

But no one dared underestimate it. This was a Kekkei Tōta formed by combining wind, earth, and fire Chakra.

When the Dust Release struck, it left a massive crater. Nothing remained inside. The Lava Release and the sand alike had been erased completely.

"What the hell is that old man?"

Gato emerged from the ground, shaken. If that had hit him, he would have vanished on the spot.

Being immortal did not mean he could reassemble himself after being reduced to atoms.

Better run. A man has to know when to bend.

"Think you can escape?"

A vast tide of sand surged up behind Gaara and covered the entire Cave, hardening it so Gato could not easily escape.

"Come on, we can talk this out!"

"Tsuchikage, let me handle him."

Gaara ignored Gato's plea. His sand truly was Gato's weakness.

The Tsuchikage nodded. His old bones could stay on the sidelines and watch.

"Come, then! Face my wrath, Coward!"

The entire ground shook violently.

The ground itself turned to sand, filling the air and leaving Gato nowhere to retreat!

"Storm Release: Lightning Wave!"

Dozens of powerful lightning bolts struck the sand, but they did no good. Apart from blasting out a crater, they achieved nothing.

Half of Gaara's body had already taken on the form of a Tailed Beast.

"I never expected the Kazekage to be a Jinchūriki!"

The sand grew stronger than ever. Trapped within it, Gato felt his steel-hard body offer no protection as it was slowly compressed and crushed!

Even as his body was crushed, it kept reassembling and healing, but it was no use.

The sand was destroying him far faster than he could recover.

Then!

A hand appeared within the sand. Gato seized it like a lifeline and was pulled free.

"Hiruko!"