Upon learning that Fūmori Masaki was arriving with reinforcements, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others were immediately overjoyed. It had to be said that the Slug prepared by Fūmori Masaki beforehand had truly come in handy. Without it, they might have had to send someone to draw the attention of the Kinkaku and Ginkakus Squad while the others went to find reinforcements.
There was no need to imagine what the fate of the person acting as bait would be; even if Tobirama were to act as the bait, the result would likely be the same. After all, they were facing two individuals possessing Nine-Tails Chakra along with twenty elite Ninja. It was likely that only the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara could guarantee victory; in the current Ninja World, no one could face these formidable enemies alone.
Now, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others looked at Tobirama, awaiting his orders. Should they rendezvous with Fūmori Masaki and his team, or was there another battle plan?
Clearly, Tobirama did not intend to rendezvous directly with the main force. He was worried that doing so would cause Kinkaku and Ginkaku to lead their squad to retreat, causing them to lose the opportunity to annihilate them in one fell swoop. Therefore, he needed to stall them before they could react, so that by the time Fūmori Masaki arrived, they would be unable to escape into the forest and vanish without a trace.
"Prepare yourselves. The coming battle will be a hard one, but we only need to hold out until Masaki and his team arrive," Tobirama said.
Everyone nodded. The enemy had an overwhelming numerical advantage. Even though Tobirama could hold off Kinkaku and Ginkaku on his own, the remaining elite guards were four times the number of the Second Hokage's guard unit. A well-coordinated four-person team could defeat enemies whose strength was a level higher than their own.
They stopped fleeing and rested on the spot to recover Chakra and spent energy. No one spoke; even if they wanted to liven up the atmosphere, it clearly wasn't the right time.
Tobirama continued to sense the distance between the Kinkaku and Ginkakus Squad and the Konoha forces. When he felt the time was right, he spoke: "Are you ready?"
"We are ready, Master," the guard unit said in unison.
"Very well, move out." After saying this, Tobirama and the others hid in the forest, preparing to set an ambush.
Meanwhile, Kinkaku and Ginkaku were rushing toward them with their elite guards. They had not yet noticed the arrival of the Konoha forces, as their full attention was focused on the trail of Tobirama and the others. Kinkaku and Ginkaku were certain that they were getting closer and closer to their target and would meet soon.
Although they were slightly surprised that the other side had stopped running, Kinkaku and Ginkaku, who were in high spirits, didn't care. They only had one thought in mind: to find the Second Hokage and kill him along with the Second Raikage.
Although the two were ignoring some things in this state, their combat awareness was increasingly sharp. Just as Tobirama and the guard unit suddenly struck, they reacted immediately, taking timely countermeasures and blocking the attack completely.
"Hahaha! Finally coming out to fight, Second Hokage. That's more like the leader of a Ninja Village. If you just kept running around like a stray dog, wouldn't that be a laughingstock?" Kinkaku laughed while releasing Nine-Tails Chakra, his entire body enveloped in translucent, bright red Chakra.
Seeing that the surprise attack hadn't achieved good results, Tobirama was not surprised. Kinkaku and Ginkaku were experts, and the guards around them were all elites; they wouldn't be taken out so easily. Facing Kinkaku's provocation, Tobirama didn't care. He was not the type to be provoked, and he began to act with the guard unit according to the predetermined battle plan.
When the two sides began to engage in fierce combat, the commotion caused was so great that Fūmori Masaki didn't need the Slug to lead the way; he could tell their location. Hearing the huge noises from afar and the various Doton jutsu that occasionally shot into the sky, Fūmori Masaki understood that he had to speed up and hurried over with his troops.
When he arrived, the battlefield was basically divided into two parts: one between Kinkaku, Ginkaku, and Tobirama, and the other between the Kinkaku and Ginkakus Squad and the Second Hokage's guard unit.
Tobirama seemed to be holding up well, but the members of the guard unit were already covered in wounds—this couldn't be helped; five people were dealing with twenty elites. Even if their individual strength was higher, they couldn't gain any advantage against the coordinated teamwork of the enemy.
However, the misfortune of the guard unit ended there because Fūmori Masaki had arrived with his troops. Now, the numerical advantage had reversed. Initially, the Kinkaku and Ginkakus Squad had surrounded Tobirama and the guard unit; now, the joint Konoha and Kumogakure forces had surrounded the Kinkaku and Ginkakus Squad.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku noticed the suddenly appearing Konoha Ninja and Kumogakure Ninja and couldn't help but sink their faces. They didn't understand why these people were here; clearly, the Second Hokage and his guard unit were all here and shouldn't have had time to pass on intelligence.
While the two were confused, Tobirama and the guard unit immediately coordinated with the main force to relieve the pressure. While the two sides stood in a standoff, Sora looked around the entire battlefield but did not see her master or his personal guards. Although this shouldn't be the original battlefield, the Second Raikage couldn't have just been let go, with Kinkaku and Ginkaku only chasing the Second Hokage.
"Kinkaku, what happened to my master!" Sora demanded sternly.
"You mean Da? Hehe, he is certainly here." Kinkaku patted the red gourd on his body. "If you miss him, I can let you keep him company."
"Traitor!" Sora couldn't help but say.
"Traitor? Da is the traitor to Kumogakure. How could someone from our Kumogakure do something as weak as seeking peace!" Kinkaku snorted coldly. "Even if only one person remains, we must continue to fight. We must not stop until we have given everything."
"You are insane." Upon hearing this, Sora felt that Kinkaku and Ginkaku were mentally unstable. To think that such people were called the light of Kumogakure made her feel uncomfortable now.
"Who is really insane? Sora, why are you standing with the Konoha Ninja? Don't forget they are the enemy. You are a member of Kumogakure, yet you are with the enemy; who is the real traitor?" Kinkaku said viciously.
"Because we are allies now, and both sides hope for peace. You—those who incite war—are the ones who shouldn't exist," Fūmori Masaki said at this moment, smiling at Ginkaku. "I am also curious; you have failed several times already, yet you are still relentless."
"Fūmori Masaki!" Seeing this person, Ginkaku's gaze appeared exceptionally cold. He gripped the seven star sword tightly, as if he wanted to crush it.
"No need for nonsense, let's do this." Seeing Tobirama nod at him, Fūmori Masaki knew that Tobirama had recovered his strength during the conversation, so he gave the order.
The Konoha Ninja and Kumogakure Ninja charged toward the Kinkaku and Ginkakus Squad simultaneously. As traitors, neither the Konoha Ninja nor the Kumogakure Ninja could tolerate them. On the other side, Fūmori Masaki, Sora, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the others, along with Tobirama, engaged Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Fūmori Masaki indicated that he would deal with Ginkaku, while the others should go help Tobirama deal with Kinkaku.
"Fūmori Masaki, do you think you can defeat me alone?" Seeing that Fūmori Masaki didn't need assistance from others, Ginkaku felt like he was being underestimated.
"I don't need to think; the last time already proved that your strength is only so much," Fūmori Masaki said, referring to the battle at the grain storage site.
Ginkaku would never forget that battle. It was that time he lost his arm and was currently unable to use Ninjutsu. All of this was thanks to the person in front of him!
Fūmori Masaki saw Ginkaku's pupils gradually bloodshot, and the Nine-Tails Chakra on his body becoming increasingly bright red. He carefully sensed the flow of Natural Energy around him and thought to himself, "It is indeed as I thought."
During the battle at the grain storage site, he had felt an abnormal flow of Natural Energy. At first, he thought it was caused by the Nine-Tails Chakra, but he later discovered that was wrong. He should have thought of it sooner: Kinkaku and Ginkaku had devoured the flesh and blood of the Nine-Tailed, thereby obtaining Nine-Tails Chakra. Although it was only to the extent of six tails, this Nine-Tails Chakra seemed inexhaustible. It was just flesh and blood, so why did this situation occur? Or was there something replenishing the used Tailed Beast Chakra?
Combining this with the abnormal flow of Natural Energy, Fūmori Masaki finally understood: after Kinkaku and Ginkaku devoured the flesh and blood of the Nine-Tailed, that flesh became a source of power. By absorbing the surrounding Natural Energy, it was then converted into Tailed Beast Chakra, providing it for Kinkaku and Ginkaku to use.
Although it was an unverified guess, Fūmori Masaki felt it was very likely. After a Tailed Beast died, it would be reborn somewhere in the world, so where did such huge amounts of Chakra come from? It couldn't just appear out of thin air. If it were converted from Natural Energy, then it could be explained. Although Chakra and Natural Energy were two different things, this didn't mean they had no connection. The Nine-Tailed had said that the Ten-Tails was the Natural Energy of the world itself, which proved the relationship between Natural Energy and Tailed Beast Chakra.
The God Tree rooted in the earth absorbed Natural Energy and bore the Chakra Fruit; in other words, it underwent some kind of conversion method, and Natural Energy became Chakra. If there were a Secret Technique or device in the future that mastered this conversion method, then...
Coming back to his senses, Fūmori Masaki stared at Ginkaku and pulled a scroll from his body. Immediately, he summoned something that looked like a staff or a rod from it and gripped it in his palm. He pushed his finger forward slightly at the tip, and Ginkaku saw a flash of cold light appear at the end of the rod-like object, making his eyes sting slightly.
It turned out that this thing was a blade, and the exterior was its scabbard. Ginkaku narrowed his eyes slightly; it looked exceptionally sharp.
"Ginkaku, you will be the first opponent for this new ninja tool," Fūmori Masaki said.