Shoom…
The lightning spear shoots toward Kinkaku at an incredible speed.
Boom… Boom…
It leaves numerous sonic booms in its wake and instantly arrives in front of Kinkaku.
Kinkaku swiftly turns around and attempts to grab the spear with his hands.
Bang…
The lightning spear pierces through Kinkaku's palm and stabs into his chest. Kinkaku grabs the spear with both of his hands and prevents it from penetrating through his body.
Bang…
The powerful momentum from the spear pushes him backward and pins him down on a hill.
Krrk… Boom…
The lightning spear explodes and electrocutes Kinkaku.
GYAAAHH…
Kinkaku screams in pain as the bolts of lightning continue to strike him down.
"Damn you, weaklings!"
Kinkaku pulls out the lightning spear from his body and enters the next phase of his transformation. Bone armor covers his entire body, and he easily deflects the kunais and shurikens hurled toward him.
"Fire Style: Pheonix Sage Fire Bomb Jutsu,"
Izumi takes a deep breath and fires multiple giant firebombs toward Kinkaku.
Boom… Boom… Boom…
The fireballs bombard Kinkaku's body and explode on top of him. The bone armor on his body slowly melts from the heat of the jutsu.
Back at the headquarters,
"Minato-sama, I received a message from the elders of the Kumogakure village. They have sent an artifact to seal Kinkaku." Mabui informs Minato.
"Hmm… What is it?" Minato turns towards her.
Mabui takes out a storage scroll and makes a series of hand signs.
Poof…
She summons a giant amber pot with a white Shimenawa rope around its neck. A wooden lid is covering the contents of the pot.
"This is Kohaku no Johei, one of the five treasured tools that were used to seal the Eight-Tails during its rampages."
"Hmm… I have heard the rumors about this treasured tool. But it seems more like a large urn than a pot!" One of the Iwagakure elder remarks.
Mabui nods in response and continues.
"It differs from the guard, Benihisago… in that instead of casting a curse with the Kokinjo rope, the user has to just call the name of the target he wants to seal. If the target answers the call of whoever is holding the pot, his voice is immediately recorded, and he becomes sealed."
"Mm… that's definitely easier than the Benihisago. However, if Kinkaku is already aware of its effect, then there are very low chances that he will fall for its trap." The Iwagakure elder remarks.
"There is also another method to use the sealing pot!" Mabui opens her mouth.
"The user has to weaken the target he wants to seal and then later make a series of hand signs to seal the marked target," Mabui reveals the hand signs to Minato.
"Since the situation is urgent, I will use the Ethereal Transmission Jutsu to send it to the battlefield." Mabui makes a ram hand seal.
A bright light engulfs the artifact and in the very next instant, it appears beside Izumi on the battlefield.
"Izumi!"
"Lord Fourth!" Izumi holds the Kohaku no Johei in her hands. Minato explains the sealing procedure to her.
Izumi turns her attention to Kinkaku. The latter recognizes the pot in her and realizes her intentions.
"NOOO!! I won't let you seal me like that." He yells in fury and riles up his chakra to the max. Kinkaku focuses all his tails in front of his body and charges up a massive amount of chakra in front of him.
"That's…" Izumi's eyes narrow as she senses some threat from the chakra ball in front of Kinkaku.
"I won't let you mess around any longer."
Two giant chakra arms float beside Izumi. The chakra arms extend their hands forward and summon a giant katana.
Izumi glances at Kinkaku and whispers.
"Kenjutsu: Gotamshiki,"
Izumi lunges forward in a burst of speed. She instantly appears in front of Kinkaku and launches a flurry of attacks.
SLASH…
Izumi slashes Kinkaku's body in several fragments. She quickly puts down the Kohaku no Johei on the ground and removes its lid to reveal a black gooey substance.
Swish… swish…
Izumi quickly makes the necessary series of hand signs.
"Record and Seal!"
A powerful suction force originates from the black gooey substance and seals Kinkaku within it. Izumi covers the pot with the lid.
"It's done!"
She sighs and relaxes a bit.
"She did it!"
The rest of the allied shinobi force cheers in joy, and the few captains and vice-commanders heave a sigh of relief.
They turn their attention towards a cloud of mist in the instant. Mizukage and her forces are still trapped within that mist barrier.
Izumi holds the crimson gourd, Benihisago in her hands.
"How can I release Samui-san and Atsui-san from this gourd?" She flips it upside down.
"Umm… It should be Unbind and Release!" The Ino-Shika-Cho trio walks toward her.
Mm…
Izumi forms a mental image of Atsui and Samui.
"Unbind and Release Atsui, Samui!"
Fwoosh…
The Benihisago spits out Samui and Atsui from its opening.
"Phew… I thought I was a goner for a second. That was a hot experience!" Atsui wipes the cold sweat from his body.
"It wasn't a cool experience for sure!" Samui also agrees with her brother.
"Let's recoup our forces for now. A lot of shinobis lost their life in this battle and many more are critically wounded." Samui, who is also the captain of the squad, issues a series of orders.
The combat medic team tends to the wounds of the injured personnel.
-------------------------------
On the desert battlefield,
Gaara takes a step forward towards the rapidly approaching sandstorm. He extends his arm and a giant palm of sand covers the entire battlefield.
The gigantic hand falls from the sky and flattens the rapidly approaching sandstorm.
On the other side of the sandstorm,
"Huh!"
A shinobi with brown spiky hair frown as he stares at the giant hand of sand in the sky. The giant hand smashes down on the ground and flattens his
"Hmm… this powerful technique and this chakra? Is One-tail on a rampage again?" The first Kazekage frowns.
"That seems to be the case, Reto-sama!" The second Kazekage, Shamon nods in agreement.
"Oh, Shamon! I didn't expect you would also join me in the afterlife at such a young age!" Reto sighs in melancholy.
"Reto-sama, I failed to live up to your expectations. I didn't expect to die under the hands of an assassin from the Kura clan of Konohagakure." Shamon shakes his head.
"Hmm… since you are here; does this mean the Second Hokage is still alive?" Reto questions him.
"No, that doesn't seem to be the case. The second Hokage Tobirama Senju died earlier than me. So, it shouldn't be him. Looks like someone else brought us back with his technique." Shamon explains the situation to Reto.
"It has been twenty years since the second shinobi war and currently the third Shinobi war is underway." Another Edo shinobi from Suna explains to them.
"Five years have passed since the end of the Third Shinobi War!" Another shinobi with a stone headband explains to them.
"Hmm… you!! Why are you here?" The Edo Suna shinobi from earlier jumps at the Iwa shinobi and grabs his neck.
"Why would I be here, you ask? It's because I died just like you, dumbass!" The Iwa shinobi slaps away his hand.
"It's the fourth shinobi war! But I am not sure of the day." A silent Konoha Edo shinobi opens his mouth.
"Huh!" The rest of the Edo shinobis turn their head toward him.
"How do you know that?" The rest of them question him.
"Erm… well… because I died on the very first day of the battle." The Konoha shinobi speaks with embarrassment.
"…"
The silence of the battlefield pierces Konoha's shinobi's heart like an arrow.
"Umm… I got careless and was ambushed by the enemy while fighting against a group of ten other shinobis." He attempts to explain to hide his embarrassment.
"Huh! Didn't you die in your sleep?" Another Edo shinobi from Kiri opens his mouth.
"…"
The awkward silence lasted for a while.
Ahem…
Reto clears his throat and turns towards the Konoha shinobi.
"Can you explain the current situation to us? What period is this? Who are the current Kages and who is fighting against who in this battle?"