"Everyone, hold your breath!"
Apart from Sasuke, Gaara was the only member of the Allied Shinobi Forces who had seen the strange buds at the center of the forest, thanks to his ability to fly. But his warning had clearly come a little too late.
The strange buds had begun blooming before Gaara called out. As the flowers opened, countless clouds of golden pollen blotted out the sky and scattered across the entire forest.
Just as Gaara tried to control his sand to envelop the pollen, the First's voice reached his ears.
"You're this generation's Kazekage, aren't you? Just let them fall asleep. I don't want to kill any of you."
Although Orochimaru was controlling him to fight the Allied Shinobi Forces, he had indeed given the First a certain degree of freedom.
The First could choose how to defeat the Allied Shinobi Forces. Right now, for instance, he would rather trap the entire army within his ninjutsu than slaughter them all.
Along with the First's voice came a Wood Dragon soaring through the air, with the First himself standing atop it.
"Shield of Shukaku!"
Gaara's response was impressive despite the lack of time. He immediately constructed an enormous shield shaped like Shukaku, roughly ten meters thick, in front of himself.
The next moment, the Wood Dragon slammed into Gaara's Shield of Shukaku. To his astonishment, his shield was scattered with ease.
This Wood Dragon can absorb my chakra!
Unlike others who broke through his defenses with brute force, the First's Wood Dragon passed through Gaara's Shield of Shukaku as though it were nothing but a pile of loose sand.
That was because the chakra Gaara used to maintain his defense had all been absorbed. Without chakra holding it together, the sand dispersed in midair on its own before the