Madara's sudden appearance wasn't entirely a bad thing. His arrival fully proved that everything Minato had said earlier was true.
After Madara stirred things up like that, whatever small schemes or doubts people still harbored were completely scattered. From that point on, there was no longer any resistance to the formation of the Allied Shinobi Forces.
As for who would become the commander of the alliance, that was even less worth discussing. With both Gekko Hoshiyomi and Hashirama on Konoha's side, who would dare compete?
Since Hoshiyomi had no intention of acting as the central commander, and Hashirama was far too unreliable, the position of commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces ultimately fell to Minato.
After Minato finished his inaugural speech as commander, that agenda item was considered settled. Next came the discussion of how to protect the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails.
Since only those two tailed beasts remained, the protection plan was quite simple—find them and place them together under heavy guard.
At the mention of this, the Fourth Raikage, A, visibly perked up. He looked at Minato with barely restrained excitement.
"Fifth Hokage, can you really be sure? Are you certain my brother is still alive?"
Seeing A's agitated expression, Minato couldn't help recalling how his Rasenshuriken had once nearly crippled him. Thinking back on that clash, Minato felt that using A as a test subject back then had indeed been a bit inconsiderate, so he spoke gently:
"I'm certain. Madara was very clear—he wanted us to hand over the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails ourselves. That means they truly didn't manage to capture the Eight-Tails."
Hearing this, A first broke into a smile, but then became somewhat at a loss.
"If he wasn't captured… then why hasn't he come back all these years? Could it be that the injury I caused him back then was so severe that he doesn't want to see me anymore?"
Seeing A's self-blame, Minato quickly tried to console him:
"Raikage, you don't need to blame yourself. You were under your enemy's genjutsu at the time. Given how deep the bond between you brothers is, I'm sure he won't hold it against you."
Those words lifted A's spirits somewhat.
"If that's the case, then no matter what, I have to find him before Madara does. Not just for the sake of the shinobi world—but because, as his older brother, I owe him an apology."
The other three Kage also spoke up, expressing their willingness to help search for Killer B within their respective countries.
At that moment, however, Hoshiyomi wore a strange expression. He remembered that in the original story, after faking his death, Killer B had secretly gone off to enjoy himself.
If he remembered correctly, B had gone to the Land of Iron to learn rap from a somewhat short middle-aged man.
Could it be that Killer B was still in the Land of Iron even now?
...
"♪ A ninja must endure~ must endure the tears~~ ♪"
Master Sabu stood atop his massive axe, passionately singing his enka.
Wiping the corners of his eyes, moved by emotion, Sabu turned back to instruct Killer B:
"It's not just about singing—you have to put feeling into it, understand? Now you try."
"Let me give it a shot—ah, achoo!"
Before Killer B, dressed in full hip-hop fashion, could even start, he suddenly let out a huge sneeze.
Seeing this, Sabu tilted his head in curiosity.
"Killer B, you actually sneeze? Could it be you caught a cold? That's really rare."
Rubbing his nose, Killer B struck a few awkward rapper poses and launched into a clumsy freestyle:
"Yo yo, a Jinchūriki catching colds—
Is it the dry weather, or someone thinking of me?
Haha better be careful, don't let your head overheat"
After finishing that rap, Killer B felt extremely satisfied. He struck a rock hand sign and let out a series of strange shouts:
"Wooooeeeeeeee~ That was some seriously good rap inspiration, fool! Ya fool~!"
As he spoke, Killer B didn't forget to turn back and ask Sabu:
"Master, do you think my rap just now had enough emotion in it?"
Sabu, utterly speechless, rubbed his forehead, feeling that bringing up this topic in the first place had truly been an act of self-inflicted suffering.
Just as Sabu was agonizing over what kind of evaluation he could give without dampening Killer B's musical enthusiasm, the Eight-Tails inside Killer B suddenly spoke up:
"Idiot Killer B… come to think of it, your brother seems to have been invited to that so-called Five Kage Summit. Don't you think it might be because he's missing you?"
Hearing his brother mentioned—a name that hadn't been brought up in years—a trace of nostalgia flashed in Killer B's eyes behind his sunglasses. His freestyle mood vanished, and he spoke dejectedly:
"My bond with my brother is that strong. Under normal circumstances, he'd never do something like that. I think he must've been controlled by someone back then.
But when I told everyone about it, they all thought it was impossible. Some even said I'd gone crazy. Even Samui and the others doubted me."
Seeing Killer B so downcast, the Eight-Tails also looked troubled. After thinking for a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up:
"If that's the case, why don't you go to the Five Kage Summit in person and point it out? That place is basically gathering the strongest shinobi in the entire world—someone there is bound to notice something's wrong."
Killer B's eyes lit up instantly.
"That's it! Eight-Tails, you're a genius!"
He jumped to his feet and asked Sabu:
"Master, do you know where the Five Kage Summit is being held?"
Sabu froze for a moment, then broke into ecstatic joy.
"After all these years, you're finally willing to go see your big brother? The Five Kage Summit is right over there—I'll take you!"
With that, Sabu gave a whistle and summoned the giant raccoon, Ponta. Mounting Ponta, he sped off toward the direction of the Five Kage Summit venue.
Sometimes, things really do line up perfectly.
Just as the Five Kage Summit had ended and the Kage of the five villages were walking out together, Killer B and Sabu arrived at the front gate of the venue.
The Raikage and Killer B locked eyes from afar—both froze for an instant, then joy flashed through their eyes at the same time. Ignoring the stunned gazes of everyone around them, they erupted into motion and vanished from their spots in a blur.
Blue lightning chakra armor flared around the Raikage, while Killer B was wrapped in the crimson cloak of tailed-beast chakra.
Like two comets, they rushed toward each other at high speed. At the moment of impact, they raised their right arms in perfect sync and collided at a speed too fast for the eye to follow.
Red and blue light crashed together with a deep, heavy boom. Killer B and A crossed past each other, arms still locked from the strike—framed by lightning armor and chakra cloak, it formed an incredibly striking scene.
As he executed their signature move—the Double Lariat—with A once again, Killer B felt a surge of emotion deep in his heart.
He's back. They're all back!
...
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