"Damn it!"
Tsunade slammed her fist onto the command table, trembling with frustration.
"Why… why would a monster like him be resurrected in this era?!"
She gritted her teeth. The strength of someone from the Sengoku era—a warrior even her grandfather couldn't defeat alone—was now walking freely across their battlefield. All the confidence they had built up since the beginning of the war now seemed hollow.
"Second Grandpa… why did you ever invent that forbidden technique… Impure World Reincarnation?!"
Her fists clenched tighter.
The man Konoha had once killed had returned.He would seek vengeance.And he would start with them.
But then—
"Tsunade, get ahold of yourself!"
Fourth Raikage's voice thundered through the room."Kenpachi is powerful, yes—but it's not time to give up!"
His voice cut through the haze of despair.
"Our real enemy is the one pulling the strings behind the curtain! And this war—this war determines the future of the ninja world!"
Tsunade blinked. The Raikage's anger shook her back to reality.
Yes… he's right.
She was the Fifth Hokage.The one entrusted with the Will of Fire.This was the first time all five great villages stood united—how could she falter now?
"You're right."
Tsunade stood up straight. Her gaze burned with new fire.
"Haichi! Relay this to the Mizukage's Third Unit—have them move out immediately. We Five Kage will confront Zaraki Kenpachi together!"
"Understood!" Haichi replied.
There was no turning back now.
Meanwhile, with Gaara's Unit...
"Zaraki Kenpachi?" Gaara murmured, confused. "Who is that?"
Ōnoki's projection had just faded. But even the fragment of their conversation was enough to leave the command shaken.
As the story of Kenpachi's legacy spread through the ranks—his duel against the First Hokage, Uchiha Madara, and Second Hokage—the faces of every shinobi paled.
"No way..."
"They needed three legends to bring him down?!"
"How are we supposed to stand a chance?!"
Even Gaara's soldiers, hardened by war, hesitated. The fear was palpable.
Ōnoki turned to Gaara.
"Kazekage... what now?"
Gaara's fists were clenched at his sides. His face was calm—but his breath trembled.
Then he spoke.
"We fight."
His voice was firm.
"We go to rescue our allies. If the Hokage and Raikage are heading to the battlefield, then so are we."
"This war will decide the fate of our world. Even if it takes all Five Kage, we must win!"
Without hesitation, he raised his hand and signaled the advance.
Ōnoki hesitated a moment longer, remembering the cut that had split nations… but then sighed and took flight.
On the battlefield...
The sand was littered with the remains of the cannon fodder reanimations. Temari and her forces had pushed hard—but now, they stood frozen.
Atop a dune stood a man clad in a black warrior's robe.Hair spiked like thorns.His spiritual pressure alone was suffocating.
"Why… can't I breathe?" one shinobi gasped.
"He hasn't even moved, and I feel like I'll pass out…"
"That's Zaraki Kenpachi?! The Demon of Cloud Shinobi?"
"He's the one they say even Hashirama and Madara couldn't defeat without Tobirama helping!"
"We're… we're not ready for this…"
One step at a time, the coalition began to retreat—fear taking over their instincts.
Temari trembled. Sweat rolled down her temple. Her knees buckled—but she gritted her teeth and steadied herself.
"No…"
"We can't back down—not here!"
She raised her fan high and shouted:
"He's just one man! Yes, a terrifying one—but we've faced worse and won!"
"First Hokage defeated him once—and we've just received word: the Five Kage are coming!"
Her voice cut through the panic like a kunai.
"Hold him here—buy time until they arrive!"
For a moment, silence.
Then—like a spark igniting dry kindling—her words lit a fire in the hearts of the shinobi.
"The Five Kage?! Then we still have hope!"
"We just need to stall him!"
"Even monsters can be slain!"
Their fear was now masked by adrenaline. With renewed momentum, the ninja coalition advanced again—rushing toward Kenpachi with shouts of defiance.
But they didn't realize…
Their courage… was just another form of fear.
The desperate cry to "fight" was their subconscious reaction to terror.A way to destroy what they feared.To forget how powerless they truly felt.
And then—he moved.
Temari's eyes widened.
"He's coming this way…"
From the crest of the sand dune, Kenpachi took a single step.
A chill wind rolled across the battlefield.
Another step—sand crunched beneath his boots.
And then…
He smiled.