Boom, boom, boom...
The Golden Figures slowly advanced with their enormous, heavy legs.
However.
Though it seemed slow, due to their immense size, each stride covered twenty to thirty meters, making their actual speed astonishing.
By the time everyone snapped out of their shock at the Golden Figures remaining unscathed after seven Bijudama, the giants were already upon them. Their sky-blotting forms raised legs and ruthlessly stomped down.
"Minato!"
The Second Hokage shouted, instantly vanishing from his spot.
Minato also understood and teleported after him.
The two appeared beside the Golden Figure the moment it raised its leg to stomp, one on each side, placing hands on the giant's shoulders. Then...
Whoosh!
A black shadow flashed ahead. The Golden Figure's colossal form, along with the Second Hokage and Minato, vanished from the spot.
"Everyone, clear the area!"
B raised his right hand high. Eight octopus tentacles erupted from behind him, then his entire body transformed into the Eight-Tails, charging head-on towards a Golden Figure.
Two behemoths collided, unleashing endless shockwaves. Nearby trees, along with the topsoil, were blown away.
Yagura was a step slower but also transformed into the Three-Tails. Its massive body curled up, rolling like a tire at high speed, crashing into a Golden Figure.
Its enormous size and hard shell, rolling at high velocity, actually knocked down a Golden Figure more than twice its height.
For a moment, shockwaves rolled, and debris and wood chips flew everywhere.
"Although I can't undergo a Tailed Beast Transformation, I can still handle opponents a Tailed Beast can fight with this!"
Kushina focused her gaze. Huge chains erupted from her waist and abdomen, tightly binding one of the Golden Figures.
The Golden Figure struggled violently but lost its balance and fell to the ground.
The Third Hokage repeated his earlier tactic, pushing another Golden Figure back against the wall.
"If the younger generation is working so hard, I can't idle either!"
The First Hokage clapped his hands together. [Wood Release: Wood Human Technique]!
Giant wood erupted from the earth, descending in human form, throwing a punch at a Golden Figure.
The two colossi exchanged blows, setting off shockwaves. Within a kilometer radius, no one dared approach.
At this moment, Minato and the Second Hokage returned to the battlefield.
The Second Hokage's expression was normal, but Minato was slightly breathless.
The two had just worked together to teleport a Golden Figure to the ground using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Earlier, when the Chakra Cannon blasted the First Hokage and others down to the ground, the Second Hokage, in order to return them one by one to the Sky Castle, had left Flying Thunder God markers on the ground beforehand.
Now, the two joined forces to send the massive Golden Figure away.
However,
The greater the teleportation distance of the Flying Thunder God Technique, the more, bigger, and heavier the objects or people carried, the more Chakra consumed.
Four kilometers in altitude, the target being a hundred-meter-tall figure made entirely of unknown metal... this distance and payload... the Second Hokage was fine. He was from the Senju Clan, possessing strong vitality and Chakra volume far exceeding ordinary people. Plus, as an Impure World Reincarnation, he had near-infinite recovery.
But Minato couldn't manage.
He had already used the long-distance Flying Thunder God several times earlier to return the Third Hokage and others to the Sky Castle.
Now, after sending a Golden Figure to the ground and jumping back, his Chakra Consumption had reached a level affecting combat ability.
"Can you continue?"
Tobirama asked.
He only possessed seventy percent of his living Chakra volume. Alone, he couldn't teleport an object of that weight that far; he needed assistance.
"I can manage three more times."
"Then let's send away three more!"
"Mhm!"
As they spoke, the two appeared beside a Golden Figure about to stomp into the crowd with unspoken tacit understanding, teleporting it away. Then they returned again, repeating the process with two more Golden Figures.
With four fewer Golden Figures on the battlefield, the space felt considerably more open.
The Allied Shinobi Forces seized the opportunity to charge towards the Mechanical City.
If they couldn't breach the Mechanical City, any gains made here would be meaningless.
However, although the Third Hokage pushed one away, Minato and the Second Hokage together removed four, and Killer B, Yagura, Kushina, and the First Hokage each impeded one, three Golden Figures still remained on the battlefield.
Their massive bodies and unrivaled strength were something ordinary people couldn't withstand. They rampaged through the ranks with no one to stop them.
For a time, the earth shook, agonized cries rose continuously, wood, debris, and flesh fragments flew everywhere, and screams and angry roars echoed one after another.
"Everyone, disperse! Bypass the Golden Figures and attack the Mechanical City. As long as we breach the Mechanical City and drag the enemy onto the battlefield, they will hesitate due to the risk of friendly fire."
Shikaku's voice suddenly sounded in the minds of the Allied Shinobi Forces.
Hearing this, everyone's spirits lifted. Leading the Allied Shinobi Forces in a dispersed formation, they advanced towards the Mechanical City.
The Golden Figures swept with their hands, stomped with their legs... but they were only about a hundred meters tall, merely three in number, completely unable to block the entire battlefield's advance path. A large number of Allied Shinobi Forces bypassed them from the sides, launching a charge towards the Mechanical City.
...
On the city wall.
The Third Kazekage watched the battlefield situation. "It seems the Twelve Golden Figures can't hold them back!"
"But they can't hold back the Twelve Golden Figures either!" Ryuji responded with a smile.
The Third Kazekage looked at the three Golden Figures wreaking havoc on the battlefield and nodded slightly. "Indeed."
Then he changed the topic. "But the Allied Shinobi Forces' target isn't the Twelve Golden Figures; it's us inside the Mechanical City. They don't need to stop the Golden Figures."
"Is that really the case?" Ryuji said something with an ambiguous meaning, puzzling the Third Kazekage.
Ryuji explained with a smile. "Namikaze Minato and the Second Hokage teleporting four Golden Figures to the ground is a misstep!"
"Why?"
"They thought sending the Golden Figures far from the battlefield would be fine. But they aren't without attachments."
"Could it be..."
Ryuji chuckled. "Correct. I ordered the four Golden Figures to head towards Kumogakure, Iwagakure, Konohagakure, and Kirigakure respectively. They will destroy every Shinobi Village that joined the Allied Forces along their path."
"...Incredible!" The Third Kazekage fell silent for a long moment before uttering these two words.
The Allied Shinobi Forces had concentrated all their strength in this war against Sunagakure, leaving minimal forces guarding their villages.
At this time, having Golden Figures with power comparable to Tailed Beasts striking directly at their heartlands, they would be powerless to resist.
Regardless of the outcome here, the Allied Shinobi Forces would end up the losers.
"Not at all, it's just ordinary strategic thinking." Ryuji replied modestly.
"Ordinary strategic thinking..."
The Third Kazekage thought of Ryuji's past glorious achievements and couldn't help but take a deep breath.
"Prepare for battle. Although it might be a good option to let them enter the Mechanical City and experience the despair inside a steel beast, that would inevitably cause damage to the city. We, having just undergone large-scale construction and production, have no money for repairs."
"That's true. Then let's have everyone deploy!"