Chapter 332: The Debut of the Thunder Drum
"What a pity. The souls of several Hokage have been sealed away, and even Kakuzu's body was sealed. It seems that 'Captain Tonbo' possesses techniques capable of sealing even souls!"
Kabuto smiled at the masked man as he completed one Reanimation after another. He truly felt it was a loss; with Kakuzu's strength, he would have been a formidable asset on this battlefield.
Behind him, several figures emerged from the ground. If Team Taka were here, they would recognize them as the test subjects Sasuke had released from various bases after killing Orochimaru. Every one of them bore a Cursed Seal on their body.
"I hope you won't obstruct my plans..." the masked man said coldly.
"Of course not. Now, let us set out; our enemies are ready," Kabuto said with a laugh.
One by one, the reanimated dead opened their eyes in shock. Sasori, Deidara, Nagato, Itachi Uchiha, and many others were summoned back to the world of the living. Then, uncontrolled, they moved out in various formations toward different sectors of the front.
Whoosh!
The masked man gave Kabuto a long, deep look before vanishing to prepare his own objective.
Deep Underground.
A relentless army of White Zetsu began to move along the roots of the Earth's veins, heading toward the Alliance's main camp. They were packed together like swarming insects.
Inside the Turtle Island.
Naruto Uzumaki was currently in the secret space of the Hidden Cloud, practicing the techniques Killer Bee was teaching him.
"Uncle Bee, I have a bad feeling about this."
An ominous premonition surged in Naruto's heart.
Killer Bee replied in rhyme: "Focus your mind, leave the worries behind. Your task right now is to learn to control the Tailed Beast transformation!"
Hearing this, Naruto could only set aside his worries. Following Bee's instructions, he entered the mental space within his body and began a tug-of-war with the Nine-Tails, attempting to seize its chakra.
As he used the Sage power to defeat the Nine-Tails and began siphoning its chakra, a massive flood of hatred poured into his mind. The negative energy of the past washed over him like a tidal wave. Even with the warmth he felt from his friends and teachers, he struggled to withstand the fox's monstrous resentment.
Uncle Tonbo, Kakashi-sensei, Grandpa Third, Iruka-sensei...
Outside, Killer Bee and the Eight-Tails watched as the chakra on Naruto's body shifted violently.
"He passed the Trial of the Waterfall of Truth, yet he still can't withstand the Nine-Tails' malice?" Bee marveled at the fox's power. It was exceeding his expectations.
But there was nothing he could do. If Naruto truly lost control, Bee would have to use the sealing jutsu of this space to lock the Nine-Tails here and wait for the next Jinchuriki.
The Eight-Tails added: "Mhm. That Nine-Tails guy... as much as I hate to admit it, he really is the strongest among us!"
"Wait, it seems to have stopped."
Bee watched as the Tailed Beast Cloak, which had been consuming Naruto, receded until it was only half-covering him.
"What happened?"
While they were talking, a red-haired figure appeared in Naruto's mental space to speak with him.
"Mom!" Naruto cried, tears streaming down his face.
"I expected you might be treated poorly by many in the village, but I didn't think that Tonbo Tobitake kid would be so bold. It seems Minato's judgment was correct; he truly possesses a powerful Will of Fire."
Kushina listened to Naruto's story, specifically how Tonbo had looked out for him when he faced injustice from the villagers. She remembered the "Ramen Kid" she had talked to while she was pregnant. Back then, he was just a Chunin, wasn't he? Now he had become a hero of Konoha, earning a title nearly as legendary as Minato's.
"Yeah, though he really loves to show off—just like Sasuke," Naruto laughed.
The Front Line.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Rise!"
Boom!
Kitsuchi slammed his hands onto the ground, creating a volcano-like terrain that continuously spat out White Zetsu. The ninjas behind him were stunned by the sheer number of enemies.
"Quick! Kill them!"
Swoosh! Swoosh!
"Ugh, they're so strong..."
"Their reactions are too fast! Everyone be careful, don't engage them one-on-one!"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
The moment they clashed, both sides began to take heavy casualties. Even ninjas like Kitsuchi and Kurotsuchi found this volume of enemies troublesome—especially since these Zetsu were remarkably fast.
"Mhm, there certainly are a lot of them."
Tonbo Tobitake was holding a camera, continuously recording the scene with a series of clicks. He looked down at the emerging Zetsu. Within his sensory range, he could feel that these Zetsu were integrated with his own technology.
Kabuto is indeed a genius. He actually managed to research my neural traits so deeply and apply them to the White Zetsu. The difficulty for the Alliance has just spiked.
Faster reactions meant a vertical leap in combat power. Tonbo understood this perfectly. He created another shadow clone to handle the photography. The clone summoned a giant eagle and retreated to a safe distance, snapping away. He had to make sure his coolest moments were caught on film.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Poof!
Ninja Tool: Horikawa Thunder Drum.
"Genjutsu: Riotous Palace Taiko!"
BAM!
A chaotic, discordant drum melody erupted from Tonbo's hands. The sound waves swept across the battlefield, rolling endlessly toward the White Zetsu. Every ninja fighting below heard it.
"It's Captain Tonbo's Genjutsu support!"
"What kind of Genjutsu is this? I've never seen it before!"
"Look! The enemies are becoming clumsy and disorganized! Incredible!"
"As expected of Konoha's Genjutsu Master—he can precisely target the enemies with his illusions!"
The Alliance ninjas quickly noticed that the Zetsu, who had been fighting with fluid, high-speed movements, suddenly became fumbling and uncoordinated. The ninjas seized the opportunity to strike.
Splat! Slash!
"Damn it! Spread out the battlefield!"
The White Zetsu weren't stupid. They felt their chakra becoming incredibly turbulent. Their bodies were frequently performing involuntary movements, and they realized they had been caught in a technique. Even when they tried to use Genjutsu-breaking methods, they found themselves recaptured almost instantly.
Since they had once infiltrated Konoha and learned Tonbo's Genjutsu-dispelling techniques, they immediately understood the principle of this attack: it was a continuous Genjutsu strike delivered via music. They needed to maintain a constant defensive jutsu to block it, but they didn't have the opening or the resources to do so.
Tonbo wasn't fighting alone, and he could fly. It was a nightmare for the enemy. The Zetsu were forced to stretch the front line to a length where Tonbo couldn't focus on everyone at once.
"This is a terrifying Genjutsu ninja. A single technique can shift the entire course of a war!" Kurotsuchi muttered, driving a kunai into a Zetsu's skull. Her eyes drifted to the sky where Tonbo was beating his drum. Since the drumming started, their fight had become more than twice as easy.
"Kurotsuchi, don't be careless. Chakra and the range of Genjutsu are both finite. We can't rely too much on Tonbo's illusions."
As the commander, Kitsuchi noticed the overall situation. In such a massive theater of war, no matter how powerful a Genjutsu was, it couldn't cover every inch. He was only assisting a portion of the troops for now.
Still, it was already impressive. As long as Tonbo had chakra, he was a literal death sentence for the enemy.
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