The once-barren desert had become a Primeval Forest teeming with life. Gaara had gathered sand into a massive, tightly packed defensive shell, barely holding off the invasion of Advent of a World of Flowering Trees. Yet his force of over ten thousand had been reduced to fewer than a thousand by casualties, with even more ninja scattered by the forest and missing.
Gaara stared at Madara Uchiha, his face dark with helplessness, and suddenly realized just how weak and powerless he was. To protect the troops under his command, that last jutsu had drained nearly half his chakra.
The First Hokage's Wood Release-when had Madara Uchiha mastered that power?!
Beside him, Temari's lovely face was filled with terror. She urgently asked the Sensor Ninjas contacting headquarters, "What did headquarters say?"
A Konoha ninja swallowed and replied hoarsely, "Lord Hokage, Lord Tsuchikage, and Lord Raikage are already on their way. They want us to do everything we can to hold out until they arrive."
"How could they?"
"They want us to fight that monster? What is headquarters thinking?!"
"We'll die! We couldn't even withstand a single attack from him! Do they want us to buy time with our lives?!"
The ninja who had survived beneath Gaara's protective layer of sand looked broken and helpless as they surveyed their utterly transformed surroundings. It was like the work of a god.
"All Jonin will stay with me to hold Madara Uchiha back and buy time for reinforcements. The remaining Chunin and Genin will search for survivors and get them out of here." Gaara took a deep breath and issued his orders to the ninja.
Some ninja looked hesitant and unwilling to leave, wanting to stay and help, but Gaara firmly refused.
"This is no longer a battle Chunin or Genin can take part