The massive explosion drew the attention of the other Assault Units.
The Fourth Kazekage, who was controlling gold sand to crush the Fusion Beasts alongside Gaara, raised his head toward the explosion and frowned.
Ever since entering Amegakure, he had been beset by Fusion Beasts.
These Fusion Beasts were immune to poison and could keep fighting even after their limbs were severed, leaving the Puppeteers in his unit helpless. Only a handful of Jonin, along with him and Gaara, could barely hold them off.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru, who had joined Sunagakure's unit and promised to fight alongside them, was nowhere to be found.
This left the Fourth Kazekage inexplicably irritated. He drove his gold sand with greater force, crushing the Fusion Beasts trapped in the sea of sand into pulp and eliminating any chance of turning them into Modified Beast Puppets.
Noticing the subtle change in the Fourth Kazekage's expression, Gaara suggested, "Lord Kazekage, should we regroup with the other units?"
Gaara addressed Kazekage Rasa with the distant title "Kazekage," rather than the affectionate "Father."
But the Fourth Kazekage saw nothing wrong with that. He regarded himself solely as the Kazekage, and a descendant who inherited the Kazekage's bloodline could be trained into a powerful subordinate.
In the original timeline, even after being brought back through Impure World Reincarnation, he had remained extremely cold when he saw Gaara, who had become the Fifth Kazekage.
After hearing Gaara's suggestion, the Fourth Kazekage gathered his subordinates and headed toward the explosion, accepting Gaara's advice through his actions.
Gaara followed behind the Fourth Kazekage with an indifferent expression. He simply could not love a father like this.
Elsewhere.
Chōjūrō swung his Greatsword, knocking an attacking Fusion Beast into the air, only to be ambushed by others. Though he was already one of Kirigakure's