Qingyun sat on the Divine Condor's back, admiring the beautiful scenery racing past and taking the occasional sip of wine. He looked utterly at ease, nothing like a man about to enter a battlefield.
That was the confidence strength gave him. With his current power, unless Madara Uchiha or the Kara lurking in the shadows made a move, Qingyun had no rival in the shinobi world. Even the Third Raikage, famed as the Strongest Spear and the Strongest Shield, could at most last a little longer against his Perfect Susanoo and three-point origin returning energy. What did Qingyun have to worry about?
Time passed as Qingyun leisurely drank and enjoyed the scenery. Five days later, he reached the front lines defending against Sunagakure. Hearing the battle cries below, he opened his eyes and looked down.
At that moment, Orochimaru had summoned Manda, who was coiled around an enormous monster. A monk sat atop the monster, his head bowed so that his face could not be seen.
Qingyun immediately recognized him as Bunpuku, Sunagakure's One-Tail Jinchuriki. This was the man who had created the Feigning Sleep Technique, a ninjutsu that released the Shukaku inside him and allowed the One-Tail to wield all his abilities to their fullest. In a sense, he was an unconventional perfect jinchuriki.
Shukaku excitedly pounded his belly, firing air cannons at the Konoha ninja below. Although Manda was enormous himself, he was still considerably smaller than Shukaku. Moreover, Shukaku possessed a wide range of abilities, including a Sealing Jutsu, and his body was made entirely of shifting sand. Manda could not restrain him at all and instead had to watch out for his Sealing Jutsu. He was utterly frustrated.
Besides Shukaku, Chiyo, Ebizo, Rasa, Pakura, Karura, and the others led Sunagakure's ninja in a relentless assault on