In truth, the moment Hanzo and Tetsuya saw those two colossal entities—one crimson, one bone-white—looming over the landscape, a seed of regret took root in their hearts.
This was especially true for Tetsuya, the leader of the Hidden Grass, who had been half-enticed and half-coerced by Hanzo into joining this alliance.
Even if they had never seen a Tailed Beast in the flesh, the legends left by their predecessors and the accounts in historical archives were proof enough of their horror. With the Hidden Grass's meager strength, facing a single Tailed Beast was already beyond their limits, let alone two. And that was without factoring in the ten thousand shinobi from the Leaf and Stone currently on the field.
But the arrow was notched; it had to fly.
There was no turning back for Hanzo or Tetsuya now.
They clung to a single, desperate hope: if the two beasts went berserk, they would attack everyone indiscriminately. If that happened, their disadvantage wouldn't be as crippling as it appeared.
Besides, they weren't entirely without a prayer. The Salamander's overwhelming toxin was their ultimate win condition.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Staring down the familiar, giant Salamander, Jiraiya and Orochimaru didn't hesitate. In a twin burst of smoke, Gamabunta and Manda slammed into the battlefield.
Previously, they had worried that giant summons would merely be massive targets, but with two Tailed Beasts and the Salamander already out, those concerns were out the window.
"Jiraiya, things look a little... intense out here," Gamabunta grumbled the moment he appeared. He immediately clocked the two creatures larger than himself, his gaze lingering grimly on their lashing tails.
"Orochimaru, are you trying to get me killed?!" Manda was even less polite.
The giant serpent had expected another easy feast like the one at the Suna camp. Instead, he had manifested right in front of two terrifying monsters with four and five tails respectively. He even ignored his old rival, the Salamander, in favor of staring at the Jinchuriki.
"Relax. Those two 'terrible' fellows are on our side," Orochimaru replied, selectively sharing the truth to manage the notoriously difficult snake.
"The Stone and the Leaf teaming up against the Rain and Grass? Orochimaru, do you take me for an idiot?" Manda didn't believe a single syllable.
"Shut up. You aren't that easy to kill," Orochimaru hissed, his voice cold. "Do your job, and every Rain and Grass ninja on this field is yours to eat!"
He had to dangle a massive carrot. He knew Manda was devoid of any sense of loyalty; if the situation got too hairy, the snake would simply unsummon himself and flee back to Ryuchi Cave.
Manda's cold, slitted eyes shifted from the terrifying beasts to the thousands of Rain and Grass alliance troops. He flicked his tongue, greed finally overriding his fear. Danger and a gourmet feast—he needed to weigh his options carefully.
"Hey, Jiraiya, where's Tsunade?" On the other side, Bunta had summoned his short blade, his eyes wary as he scanned the perimeter. "Dealing with that overgrown newt seems more like her specialty."
"Minato took her back to the camp to brew an antidote."
"Yo! So you're the Boss Toad, Bunta?"
As Bunta prepared for combat, Hatani suddenly appeared at the toad's feet. He looked up, shouting a curious greeting.
"Hm? Is this that new 'problem student' who's been giving you such a headache?" Bunta looked down, his eyes full of curiosity.
"Hanzo, what is the meaning of this?"
While Bunta and Hatani were getting acquainted, Hiruzen and Ohnoki had already squared off against Hanzo. Hiruzen's face was a mask of iron; he had been relieved just days ago by news of the peace treaty, only to be met with this.
"Hah. The Five Great Nations have sat atop their high thrones for far too long," Hanzo replied, making no attempt to hide his intentions. With men of this caliber, lies only made one look like a clown.
"Trying to pull the Great Nations down? It seems you've prepared yourself to be ground into dust," Ohnoki sneered, mocking Hanzo's overestimation of his own strength. "Roushi! Han!"
He didn't waste another second on words. He barked an order to the two fully transformed Jinchuriki.
Hiruzen's heart skipped a beat as he saw the red ape and the white beast unhinge their jaws. Countless specks of light, like droplets of pure energy, began to converge toward their mouths, condensing into dense, black spheres.
"Big Nose, are you insane?!" Hiruzen roared, dropping all pretense of formality. He knew exactly what they were doing: they were charging Tailed Beast Bombs.
Ohnoki ignored him. Instead, he brought his hands together, a glowing geometric cube manifesting between his palms.
"Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
The Hidden Stone would be the sole victor of this war!
'Damn it!'
Both Hiruzen and Hanzo cursed simultaneously, reacting in the same heartbeat. Hanzo, weaving a one-handed sign, triggered a Body Flicker to retreat at high speed, but not before barking an order to his summon.
With a silent, guttural roar from Ibuse, another massive cloud of toxin was sprayed into the air.
Hiruzen's body was caught in the rapidly expanding white cube of the Particle Style, supposedly dismantled into molecules. However, Ohnoki's eyes narrowed. He knew he'd missed; the thing shattered by his jutsu was merely a wooden log.
'That damn monkey... his seal speed is still as disgusting as ever,' Ohnoki cursed internally. But as he looked at the Tailed Beast Bombs, now the size of human heads, his frustration turned to smug triumph.
'Turn into ash under the light of the Tailed Beasts!'
The wind was shivering. It was cowering, trembling in absolute terror.
This was the first time Hatani had ever felt the wind project such raw emotion. He didn't know whether to be terrified or grateful to the two monsters charging their ultimate attacks.
The final bottleneck that had been holding his progress back—the one he couldn't break through no matter how much he practiced—had suddenly snapped under this immense pressure.
Having finally touched the wind's own "sentience," Hatani's first instinct was to do something to soothe it. But he was at a loss.
He reached out with his mind, and the wind answered instantly.
'Open your heart... open your body... open everything... and let us in?'
Hatani hesitated. He was still young—what if he couldn't handle the "volume"?
The wind had always been kind to him, but he had seen firsthand the devastation it could cause his enemies. If that kind of destructive power entered his body, even just a fraction of it, he might find himself getting "isekai'd" all over again.