"Even if the Ten-Tails truly appears, Konoha's Seventh Hokage and Uchiha Sasuke are still around. I believe that with their strength, they can definitely save the shinobi world again."
Kankurō, seeing Gaara lost in thought, said reassuringly after closing the door to the Kazekage's office.
"It's not just the Ten-Tails. There's Kara's Code, and Otsutsuki Momoshiki within Boruto. Each one is a potential crisis," Gaara sighed. "Although the Seventh Hokage and Uchiha Sasuke are powerful, dealing with even one Ten-Tails would stretch them to their limits."
"At worst, we'll just form another Allied Shinobi Force," Kankurō said casually. They had defeated even the progenitor of chakra, Otsutsuki Kaguya; what were a few jumping clowns who only dared to hide in the shadows?
"Times have changed..."
"Hmm?"
Gaara shook his head, offering no further explanation.
BOOM!!!
A massive explosion roared, the sound traveling from the distance and reaching their ears.
"That direction... is it the Academy?!" Kankurō's expression changed.
Gaara gazed at the distant glow of fire. Nearly twenty years as Kazekage had ingrained in him an instinct to remain calm in the face of crisis.
Two minutes later, a Sunagakure ANBU operative appeared in the office.
Gaara looked sideways at him. The ANBU's subsequent report would determine how he responded to this sudden emergency.
"Kara's Code suddenly appeared near the Ninja Academy, manipulating a large number of puppets in a destructive rampage..." the ANBU briefly explained the situation unfolding far away.
"Code... he's finally here." Gaara's eyes flickered. After a moment of contemplation, he issued several orders. "Evacuate the surrounding villagers! Notify the ANBU and all Jonin without current assignments to eliminate any enemies appearing in the village! ANBU squad leaders, with me!"
"Yes, sir!" The ANBU operative vanished.
"According to Konoha's intelligence, Code's strength is somewhere between Kage-level and that of the Seventh Hokage and Sasuke. Do we need to deploy those human puppets?" Kankurō asked, following closely behind Gaara.
The fierce wind howled past their ears. Gaara hesitated for a moment, then said, "Use them after the civilians have been evacuated."
"Understood." Kankurō nodded. Even now, with significant changes in technology and ideology, human puppets were still a taboo.
"White Zetsu?!" Recognizing the appearance of the enemies wreaking havoc on the field, Kankurō couldn't help but exclaim in shock. For those who had experienced the Fourth Great Shinobi War, these white, humanoid monsters had left a rather deep impression.
"No, not White Zetsu. They should be another type of weapon created by Code through that Ten-Tails." At first glance, Gaara had also mistaken these monsters for White Zetsu. But upon closer observation, he realized that the creatures before them were quite different from the White Zetsu of the Fourth Great Shinobi War. The most notable difference was that these monsters all had some black markings on their bodies, more or less.
"My apologies. Sunagakure wasn't originally on my itinerary," Code said, sitting cross-legged atop a giant monster, looking down at the two of them with an air of leisurely amusement.
"That's strange. I don't see a hint of apology on your face," Kankurō retorted, his peripheral vision catching sight of a child's corpse lying in a pool of blood. His fist, clutching a scroll, turned white at the knuckles.
"It doesn't matter, as long as you can feel my apology," Code smiled faintly.
Gaara clenched his right fist. Sand, saturated with chakra, surged from both sides, slamming towards Code.
Before the two brothers could observe the outcome, they felt a shadow loom over them. The giant Zetsu-like creature Code had been sitting on moments before had appeared behind them, its hands clasped together like a hammer, smashing down heavily.
Shhh! Shhh!
Splattering sand and dust shot mercilessly towards the two, who were sent flying backward. A wall of sand rose to protect Gaara completely. Kankurō violently unrolled the scroll in his hand, and Salamander suddenly split open, encasing him in its hard shell.
Crack!
A soft sound.
Code turned his head. A puppet resembling a young boy had appeared at his side at some unknown point, its hands spread wide, countless poisoned senbon shooting out at a terrifying speed.
"Sasori of the Red Sand from Akatsuki?" Code stroked his chin, looking at the nearby puppet with keen interest. During a period of idleness, he had thoroughly researched the Akatsuki, who had instigated the Fourth Great Shinobi War. He was naturally no stranger to the human puppet before him. "A pity, being controlled by such a waste."
A claw mark extended out. Code lifted his finger slightly, and all the chakra threads Kankurō was using to control the human puppet were severed.
"One."
A flippant voice sounded by his ear. Kankurō, still not understanding why his chakra threads had broken, felt his heart leap. Before he could react, his vision went black, and he instantly lost consciousness.
"Kankurō!" Gaara's face changed drastically, but he maintained his composure, warily observing his surroundings. His opponent's sudden teleportation just now—even he hadn't been able to react in time. According to Konoha's intelligence, he uses 'claw marks' to move... There are no claw marks on the ground...
His gaze suddenly locked onto the area beneath Code. A monster, barely the size of a three-year-old child, was crawling on all fours. Upon closer inspection, a very inconspicuous 'claw mark' could be seen in its armpit.
Understanding the cause and effect, Gaara immediately manipulated his sand to crush all the surrounding monsters, regardless of size.
"Oh my, you found out." Code pulled his claws out from Kankurō's chest.
"Hhhooo..." Noticing that Kankurō still had a sliver of life, Gaara's mind raced. He secretly manipulated his sand, slowly moving it towards Kankurō.
"Wind Style: Wind Scythe Jutsu!" "Earth Style: Earthen Wall!" "..."
The ANBU squad leaders had all arrived and, coordinating with Gaara's actions, unleashed their ninjutsu. Amidst a raging gale, Gaara successfully rescued his brother. But immediately after, Code's voice sounded right beside his ear.
"As expected of a ninja who survived the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Boruto and Kawaki took several hits before they figured that out."
When? There were no claw marks!
"Forgot to remind you, the intelligence Konoha gave you is outdated," Code chuckled, his claws lashing out.
Pfft!
Piercing through the thick sand wall, several deep, bone-exposing wounds were left on Gaara's back.
"Wind Style: Sandstorm Formation!" A strong gust of wind blew forth, but its target wasn't Code, but Gaara. Under the precise control of the ANBU squad leader, Gaara was successfully moved far away from Code.
"Honestly, since the result is death either way, why waste both our time?" Code said helplessly.
"That's what we wanted to say to you." Boruto's angry voice seemed to pierce through space.
"How so fast?" The thought had barely crossed Code's mind when a heavy fist landed on his cheek. His handsome face visibly deformed.
"Daikokuten!" Code's figure had just been sent flying when a massive cube plummeted directly down.
"Boruto?" The situation had turned dramatically. Gaara looked at the drastically changed youth who had suddenly appeared on the field, his face filled with nothing short of shock. From that outburst just now, he had clearly sensed Boruto's chakra—it was a power he couldn't match.