"Boom!"
A violent tremor came from the ground, and the steel fortress crawled out of the rift, crushing trees, and slowly moved south.
Kashirō, who had been concealing his presence, shuddered. His Shadow Clone within the fortress dissipated on its own, transmitting back the conversation between Haidō and the others, as well as the fortress's internal structure. "Huh? They actually delivered themselves to my doorstep. What a stroke of luck! The Gelel Stone? What is that? It seems Shelin will be very pleased."
Watching the fortress slowly disappear, Kashirō stopped following it and instead focused on Temujin and several armored soldiers who jumped off the fortress and headed towards Konoha, and followed them.
"Crunch, crunch..."
Unexpectedly, just as the mantis stalks the cicada unaware of the oriole behind, Zetsu slowly emerged from where Kashirō had been standing. "Hey Black Zetsu, this warship is amazing!"
Black Zetsu, with his usual cold indifference, said, "Yes, they also have the ability to transform into beastmen and control that Haidō."
White Zetsu chuckled, "The leader said that the Land of Rivers is merely the trigger for the war, you don't need to take it so seriously."
Black Zetsu, a being who has lived for thousands of years, felt immense pressure from the young ninjas of the Land of Rivers. If they grew stronger, they might become an obstacle to his resurrection of Kaguya: "Hmph, the more wars we have, the faster our plan will be completed. Enough with the nonsense."
"Fine, I'm really impressed by you, so gloomy."
Let's turn back time a bit.
Land of Wind Beach
Hongshi smiled at Gaara and said, "(͡°͜ʖ͡°)✧ Come, Lord Kazekage, I have something good to show you."
Gaara looked at Hongshi's cheeky expression and asked, "What is that?"
" Sealing Jutsu: Eight Trigrams Seal!"
Hongshi suddenly unleashed his right claw, striking Gaara in the abdomen.
"Puff!"
Gaara flying dozens of meters backward, landing on the beach, foaming at the mouth. His clothes were burned through his abdomen, and his Shield of Sand was completely stripped away, emitting white smoke. A circle of Eight Trigrams Seal techniques appeared.
Baki was shocked and leaped to his feet, waving his right hand in the air. "Oh no! That bald, muscular black man from Konoha ambushed Gaara! Wind Release: Great Wind Blade!"
An invisible Wind Blade, ten meters long, slashed rapidly toward the Hongshi.
"Hiss!"
When the Wind Blade touched the top of the Hongshi, it turned into a gentle breeze and dissipated, having no effect whatsoever.
Kankuro stood frozen in disbelief. "A sneak attack? What is Hongshi up to?"
Temari swiftly opened her Great Sickle Weasel Fan, biting her finger. "Could he be a spy? Summoning Technique: Wind Release, Zanzan Dance!"
Gaara, at this moment, held the prestigious position of Kazekage of Sunagakure. Given this situation, Temari naturally couldn't stand idly by.
The Great Sickle Weasel Fan was swung out, bringing a violent gale, and at the same time, a white weasel-like veterinarian named Kamatari appeared in the gale.
Carrying a scythe, Kamatari sped through the wind towards the Hongshi: "Slash!"
Hongshi Immobility: "Wow, this mouse looks so cute."
The Zanzan Dance surrounded the Hongshi, and under Temari's control, the gale formed a knot of Wind Blade, with Kamatari and hundreds of Wind Blade constantly severing the Hongshi.
However... it was still useless. The Wind Blade couldn't budge the Hongshi at all, and the attacks from the Kamatari only produced sparks on the Hongshi.
"Cut!!!"
Kamatari a scream.
Amidst the swirling wind, Hongshi slowly reached out and grasped Kamatari in his hand. "Hehehe, come on, let me touch it!"
The Wind Blade barrier dissipated, revealing that Hongshi had already grasped Kamatari in his hand and was stroking its fur.
"What kind of body is this?! Temari- sama Kazuma- sama's Wind Release had any effect on it!"
"Didn't he just treat our injuries?"
The surrounding Sand Ninja were shocked and somewhat puzzled; Hongshi seemed to have no reason to attack Gaara.
Meanwhile, Gaara was having a "friendly conversation" with One-Tail Shukaku, inside his body.
The sealed space is a windless desert.
Shukaku sat in the middle, looking around in confusion; it was clear that this was also his first time here.
Gaara stood opposite Shukaku, the two staring at each other. Finally Shukaku spoke first, " Gaara, it seems you've found a good ally. That bastard Hongshi, it looks like I won't be able to possess your body anymore. Speaking of which, this guy's Sealing Jutsu are even more powerful than mine. How can such a being exist? Even the old man..."
Shukaku was proficient in Magnet Release and Sealing Jutsu, and the moment he was sealed, he already knew that he could not break the seal in his current state.
Gaara was silent for a moment. "Protect the Sand Ninja. I need your power. I will talk to Hongshi about how to break the seal. I just want to get some sleep."
"Haha, haven't you always been afraid of my power! Knowing that I would take over your body after you fall asleep, you've endured this long without sleeping."
Gaara shook his head. "No, I don't sleep not because I'm afraid you'll take over my body, but because I'm afraid you'll destroy the village. I've always considered you my comrade."
"Ha???"
Hongshi: "Stupid, aren't you? Didn't expect that, did you?"
Shukaku saw the Hongshi standing on its head, and its massive tail swept outwards, trying to knock the Hongshi off. "You bastard, when did you show up here! Get off me!"
Hongshi lightly stomped his foot, but Shukaku was crushed as if by a mountain, his body falling to the ground and sinking deep into the yellow sand, unable to move. "Hey, I set this seal, which means I have the power to kill you directly. Kurama wouldn't dare to act recklessly. You're much dumber than him."
Shukaku was startled. Nine-Tails never mentioned its name; only Shukaku, a fellow Tailed Beast, and the Sage of Six Paths, the creator of the Tailed Beast, knew it. "How do you know that stinky fox's name!"
Hongshi: "Ah, Kurama is my little brother now."
Gaara said coldly, "How did you end up here?"
Hongshi shrugged. "This sealed space was created by me, so why can't we come in? I covered up the Sealing Jutsu you used to seal Shukaku with the Eight Trigrams Seal. You two can communicate freely in this space."
Shukaku: "Hmph, anyone who wants to communicate with this guy will be sealed away by you, I accept it."
Hongshi: "Can't you stop being so tsundere? Gaara, you two just lack communication. That seal from before was really weak. You can sleep and rest now. You can chat again tonight, but if you don't wake up soon, Temari is going to arrest me."
After saying that, Hongshi disappeared into the sealed space.
Gaara: "This guy..."
Shukaku, unusually serious, said, "Hey Gaara, you can't afford to make an enemy of this guy. His power is far greater than the old man's."
" Temari! That's enough!"
Just as Temari and Baki were preparing to attack again, Gaara's voice came from afar. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that Gaara had stood up again and was controlling the surrounding sand to re-condense into Armor of Sand on his body as he slowly walked over.
Temari quickly asked, " Gaara, are you alright?"
Gaara walked to Hongshi's side and rescued the struggling Kamatari from Hongshi's grasp. "Hmm. I'm fine. Hongshi is our ally. He was just helping me seal Shukaku."
"Seal... Shukaku?"
Hongshi snatched Kamatari back. "Of course! Without asking any questions, you just threw in a few Ninjutsu. I was terrified!"
Choji and Shino stepped forward to ask what had happened, but they weren't entirely clear on the situation either.
" Zanzan! Slash!!!" Kamatari struggled within the giant Hongshi hand, but to no avail.
Hongshi held Kamatari above his head. "This Kamadori looks quite to my liking. Temari, why don't you give it to me?"
"Ding ding ding!"
Although Kamatari couldn't speak human language, he could understand it. He kept hacking at the Hongshi's forehead with his sickle until the sickle shattered into several pieces.
"(꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ) Slash! Slash!"
Looking at his broken scythe, Kamatari burst into tears.
Hongshi: "Oh dear, oh dear, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'll make you one!"
"Bang!"
To stop Kamatari from suffering, Temari dispelled the Summoning Technique: "Alright, we've won this battle."