Inoiki stood atop a long rock cliff, his eyes closed, the wind brushing softly against his clothes. He focused on the battlefields of all five divisions, his sensory range spreading wide like an invisible net. Every detail flowed into his awareness—the clash of steel, the surge of chakra—and then, suddenly, he felt them.

The reanimated ninjas.

They were appearing across the different division battlefields all at once.

So it begins.

Having just telepathically communicated with Shikaku and all the Kages—that he was going to send Naruto to the Fourth Division battlefield—Inoiki slowly opened his eyes. His gaze shifted toward Naruto, calm but resolute.

"Naruto, I know you’ve been itching to get to the frontlines. Now is your chance. The battle has finally begun, and it now requires your strength."

As soon as Naruto heard this, his face lit up with a grin. He rotated both his shoulders and arms, stretching as a faint crack echoed from his joints.

"I was waiting for you to say that," he said, rolling his neck slightly. "I was getting bored just staying here, meditating and doing nothing."

Inoiki nodded with a small smile. Without another word, the large sphere of chakra-conducting metal behind him began to shift. Its surface rippled unnaturally before collapsing inward, then extending outward again—reshaping itself under Inoiki’s psychokinetic control. In mere moments, it transformed into a long, gleaming sword, hovering steadily in the air.

Naruto didn’t need any explanation. He knew the routine.

The instant Inoiki leaped onto the sword, Naruto followed without hesitation, landing lightly behind him. The metal hummed faintly beneath their feet.

With a subtle motion of his will, Inoiki propelled the sword forward.

It shot across the sky.

The wind roared past them as the ground blurred below, forests and ridges streaking by like shadows. They cut through the open air, flying directly toward the battlefield of the Fourth Division—and within minutes, they were already above it, the distant sounds of war rising to meet them.

As soon as Inoiki appeared above the battlefield of the Fourth Division, the vast, war-torn landscape stretched beneath him—dust swirling in the air, the ground scarred with deep craters and shifting sand. Without wasting a moment, he descended, the floating sword lowering smoothly before touching down a short distance beside Gaara. Naruto landed with him, steady and ready.

Looking toward Gaara, Inoiki spoke, his voice calm yet firm. "I have brought you the support that you will need to fight against those," he said, his gaze shifting toward the reanimated Kages standing ominously in the distance, their presence heavy and suffocating.

Across the battlefield, through the perception of the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, Kabuto became instantly aware of Inoiki’s arrival.

And honestly speaking, Kabuto was not that surprised.

He had expected Inoiki to appear—after all, the situation on the Fourth Division battlefield was already on the brink of turning dire if reinforcements did not arrive. Still, Kabuto watched closely through Mu’s eyes, his interest sharpening.

But then, to Kabuto’s surprise, something unexpected happened.

Inoiki spoke with Gaara for only a few brief moments... and then turned to leave.

Kabuto’s eyes narrowed slightly.

He’s not staying?

For a brief second, confusion flickered through his mind—but it was quickly replaced by excitement.

Because Naruto was still here.

And if Naruto was present on this battlefield, then there was a very real chance that he might be able to fulfil Obito’s request—to capture him. After all, Naruto was the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails... and absolutely essential to their plans.

Returning to the exchange between Inoiki and Gaara, Gaara looked toward him, his expression as composed as ever, though the tension of the battlefield reflected faintly in his eyes.

"Naruto will be a great help in this battle," Gaara said. "Thank you for sending support."

The wind stirred the sand around them as the looming figures of the reanimated Kages stood ahead, silent... waiting.

Inoiki nodded slightly. "Although I would love to stay here and fight with all these previous Kages and see their individual strength, right now there are parts of the battlefield that are completely outmatched due to the appearance of some very powerful reanimated ninjas who need to be suppressed."

As he spoke, his gaze briefly lingered on the distant figures of the reanimated Kages, a faint glint of interest in his eyes—another time, perhaps.

Without wasting another moment, Inoiki rose into the air once more, stepping onto the floating sword as it lifted beneath his feet, held steady by his psychokinesis. The blade hummed faintly as it ascended before shooting forward, leaving behind a fading trail in the air.

Gaara watched him go, the sand around his feet shifting softly with the wind. He understood. With Inoiki’s powerful sensory ability, he must have already pinpointed the most disadvantageous positions across the battlefield.

And now... he was heading there.

...

Meanwhile, the Surprise Attack Division led by Kankuro was carrying out their task with precision. The battlefield in their sector was quieter, but far from safe. Shinobi moved swiftly, setting up traps—wire mechanisms, explosive tags, concealed pitfalls—each one carefully placed to weaken Obito’s forces.

These traps were not just for their division; they would become tools for the entire allied army, turning the terrain itself into a weapon.

A faint rustle of movement broke their rhythm.

Just as they were setting another trap, an injured figure stumbled into their vicinity, his steps uneven before he collapsed onto the ground.

Zazi, one of the Konoha ninjas, immediately sensed the chakra signature and his eyes widened. "He’s Muta. Muta, are you all right?"

Without hesitation, Zazi rushed toward him.

Nearby, a member of the division activated his Byakugan, veins bulging around his eyes as his vision pierced through the scene. His expression changed instantly.

"Wait—!" he tried to warn—

But before he could finish—

Muta, lying on the ground, slowly lifted his head. His face was pale, his breathing shallow. Looking directly at Zazi, he forced out a weak, broken whisper.

"Run... away."

The words barely carried through the air.

Zazi frowned, confusion flashing across his face. "What? Why—?"

In that very instant—

Muta’s body moved.

With sudden, unnatural speed, he lunged forward and grabbed Zazi from behind, his arm snapping around Zazi’s neck, locking him in place.

Kankuro immediately understood what was happening. As a puppeteer himself, the signs were unmistakable—the unnatural control, the precise timing.

He did not hesitate.

Chakra threads shot out from his fingers, slicing through the air toward Muta.

At the same time, the Hyuga ninja focused deeper with his Byakugan, his vision locking onto the insect pot strapped to Muta’s back.

Chakra was gathering inside it.

Condensing. Compressing.

His eyes widened.

"It’s going to explode!" he shouted. "Immediately run away! Create defenses—he’s going to explode!"

The atmosphere shifted instantly. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

One of the Iwagakure ninjas reacted on instinct, stepping forward as his hands rapidly formed seals, preparing an Earth Release technique to shield the group.

But from a distance—

Deidara had already completed his hand sign.

In the next moment, the explosive clay hidden within Muta’s insect pot detonated.

A loud boom tore through the air—

But then—

Something strange happened.

Muta’s body and the insect pot separated at the very instant of detonation, as if pulled apart by an unseen force. The pot exploded violently... yet the explosion did not spread.

It was contained.

Compressed into a radius of barely one foot, the blast churning violently within an invisible boundary, unable to escape—as if an unseen barrier had wrapped around it at the exact moment of ignition.

The shockwave never reached them.

The flames never spread.

Only a violent sphere of destruction raged in place.

Everyone froze.

Then, almost at once, the sensory ninjas felt it.

A presence.

Above them.

"There—!" one of them shouted, pointing toward the sky.

All eyes turned upward.

Floating high above, against the open sky, stood a young man clad in black ninja attire, a Konoha forehead protector resting across his head. His blonde hair shifted slightly with the wind, and his sky-blue eyes looked down calmly at the scene below.

Beneath his feet, a long sword hovered in the air, perfectly steady.

Inoiki.