The coastal area of the Land of Frost had been formed by the southward shift of the sea, but because most domesticated species lived in the mountains, the early inhabitants of the Land of Frost paid little attention to the coastline.

  The indigenous people also cked a suffitly strong anization to support the development of the coastal region.

  Its development was credited to the Warring States Period. The desire for territorial expansion by various tries ied previously fragmented areas.

  The location of the Land of Frost happeo separate the Land of Lightning from the mainnd pins. Whether forces from the mainnd wao expand northeastward or the Land of Lightning wanted access to the mainnd pins, they had to pass through this area.

  "Notice how the mountains funnel everything through here?" Masashi gestured at the natural formations.

  Pakura nodded, her eyes following his indication. "Like a natural chokepoint."

  "Exactly. Perfect for bleeding an army dry... if you know what you're doing." And I've seen it done before, from both sides.

  This coastal passage was the most direct route. If the Land of Lightnio march through the mountainous passages instead, its supply lines would stretch too far, creating logistical issues for its army.

  By advang through the coastal passage, the Land of Lightning could traverse the area in the shortest time, ehe mainnd, avoid overstretg its battle lines, and directly threaten the mainnd pins nations.

  However, the Land of Frost was mostly mountainous, making it difficult to struct a passage here easily.

  During the Warring States Period, ninjas were the dominant for the battlefield. Faced with these human-shaped artillery that could walk without turning, the fortification teiques of various tries developed rapidly.

  To develop this shortcut linking the mainnd, the Land of Lightning ied resources to support the stru of a vilge in the Land of Frost. By settling the popution, this narrow passage developed at rocket speed, supported by a rge popuce.

  At the end of the Warring States Period, uhe immense pressure of the alliaween the Senju d the Uchiha , the Land of Lightning once again provided funding to assist the Land of Frost in strug three fortified vilges at both ends and the middle of the passage as military strongholds.

  These vilges were ied into the surrounding mountains and bays, effectively sealing off the passage.

  Although the Senju and the Uchiha did not unch a joint assault afterward, these three strongholds transformed the coastal passage into a prehensive military defense system. This remaihe case until the outbreak of the First Great Ninja War, when the Konoha ninja army became the first force to directly attack this defense system.

  His pn at the time was to use 381 tireless, endlessly regeing reanimated bodies as the vanguard to break through the defenses, destroy key passes, and rehe coastal region useless for transportation.

  However, he was surrounded beh the southern stronghold by a massive ti of Kumo's jonin after summoning only 69 reanimated bodies.

  fronted with the Lightning Release Chakra Mode pioneered by the Sed Raikage, he, uo escape, chose a desperate fight. Before dying, he ahe 69 reanimated bodies to head north, kill any Kumo ninja they entered, and burn any fortresses they came across.

  Two and a half of the three strongholds colpsed, and the coastal passage was engulfed in fmes. Over 40 Kumo jonin perished in this battle, with none of the Raikage's direct subordinates surviving.

  The rebuilt southern stronghold was identical to the one in Masashi's memories.

  The southern stronghold was abze with lights. Its t walls stretched from mountain to sea, f an ied deferucture.

  These walls were desigo resist explosive tags, the primary destructive tools used by genin and in. Though the tags varied in explosive power, typically ranging from oo three meters in diameter depending on quality, they were limited in effectiveness.

  Thus, the stronghold was meant to block genin and in.

  Stopping jonin, however, was a different matter. The designers of the stronghold never had that hope.

  Even the same explosive tags, when used in the Sed Hokage's Tandem Paper Bombs, became devastating.

  Su attack was impossible to defend against.

  Stopping jonin was a task only jonin could handle—a universal truth.

  Uhe night's cover, a group of "people" reached the woods west of the stronghold.

  Masashi and Pakura walked at the front.

  "What a majestic fortress," Pakura remarked, admiring it.

  In the Land of Wind, such a mountain-and-sea-based military fortress was unthinkable due to the enviro.

  "Majestic? Where? It's all for show and useless in practice," Masashi said dismissively. "As a jonin, I have every right to say so."

  Pakura eechless.

  Sure, you're a jonin, but you're practically on the level of a Kage. What try could build a fortress you couldn't breach?

  After his retort, Masashi's Sharingan fixated on the distant fortress, stirring old memories.

  He wondered how those 69 reanimated bodies performed in the end. After his reination, he couldn't find any relevant information.

  But after that i, Kumo and Konoha entered peace talks.

  Both the Raikage and the daimyō of the Land of Lightning died during those iations, and Hiruzen subsequently ruled Konoha as Hokage for decades.

  "Who's going first?" He turo the 312 reanimated jonin behind him.

  "I will." A white-haired burly man stepped forward with an eager grin. "I've always been trolled in the past. Let me fight freely for once."

  Masashi stepped aside aured. "Go ahead and put on your show."

  The white-haired man g the Uchiha and strode forward.

  This time, Masashi imposed no mobility restris oheir only limitation was that they must not, in any way, link him to the identity of Muzo.

  Everyone shared the same thought about this rule: This guy hadn't ged at all—he was definitely pnning to screw over the Uchiha .

  Aside from Kai, no one cared. If he wao mess with the Uchiha, they were fih it.

  Every ninja had beeen by either the Uchiha or Senju at some point. The only difference was whether it was because they sided with the Senju and got beaten by the Uchiha, or vice versa.

  Now that the two were fighting each other, if not for the situation, they would've cpped in celebration.

  "Watch closely. This is how you break a 'perfect' defense."

  The white-haired mahe forest, his pace quiing as he charged toward the stronghold.

  As a reanimated body, his strength wasn't what it used to be, but the gap wasn't massive. In fact, his physical prowess had even improved.

  As he approached the walls, the Kumo ninja statiohere noticed him.

  Shouts rang out from the walls, but the white-haired man ighem, maintaining his speed.

  The air whistled as kunai with explosive tags attached rained down from the walls.

  His vision was sharper than in life. He spotted the tag designs at a gnd grinned.

  Such a simple design—low-quality goods.

  With a tearing sound, bone spikes emerged from his body. He pulled a bone bde from his shoulder, casually defleg several kunai to the ground before leaping.

  Boom!

  The explosion's shockropelled him like a onball toward the top of the wall.

  In the forest, Masashi, seeing the white-haired man begin his assault, formed a series of hand seals.

  The reanimated bodies behind him began to vanish one by one.

  ---

  As the first line of defense for the coastal passage, the Kumo ninjas retained signifit forces ironghold despite needing their main troops to move south. Though predominantly staffed with new recruits, it still housed over a thousand ninjas, including more than thirty special jonin and five full-fledged jonin.

  Among these five jonin, one articurly notable.

  inally, after the death of the Third Raikage, the neointed Fourth Raikage issued a strict order forbidding Killer B, the jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails, from leaving the vilge without his explicit permission.

  Having already lost a close family member, he couldn't bear another loss.

  However, this opportunity was too rare to pass up, and Killer B himself persistently lobbied to join. Weighing his options, the Fourth Raikage relutly allowed his brother to apany him on the mission.

  Still, given that Konoha's ander was her than Jiraiya of the Sannin, the Fourth Raikage exercised cautioationed Killer B in the southern border as a garrison ander rather than taking him into the main battlefield in the Land of Hot Water.

  And so, Killer B grew bored.

  Though beled as a "ander," his role was rgely symbolic. This wasn't because he'd been sidelined but because he cked the skills for actual and.

  "ander B, the patrol reports are ready," a guard called from outside his door.

  "Yeah yeah, just leave them there, yo! 't you see I'm about to flow?" B waved dismissively, focused on his notebook.

  As a perfectly trained jinchūriki, his education focused ohing: being a spearhead alongside the Fourth Raikage, using the power of the Eight-Tails to break through enemy defenses and clear paths for the main army.

  On this particur day, he was, as usual, practig his rapping.

  Then he heard the sound of explosion tags going off.

  Sihe vilge stored rge quantities of supplies for the frontline, Killer B's first thought was that someone had actally triggered an explosion tag.

  It never crossed his mind that they were utack.

  After all, Kumo had the numerical advantage, allowing them to deploy more scout teams. A small elite squad might infiltrate the southern vilge, but aire army making it here unnoticed?

  Impossible.

  As for a small group—who would dare mount a frontal assault?

  Ahat his rap session was interrupted, he decided to find the unlucky fool responsible for the disturbance.

  But when he opehe door, he was greeted by fmes erupting in the south.

  The 20-year-old Killer B froze.

  A series of explosions quickly snapped him back to reality.

  "Idiots! Fools!" Without stopping to think why the vilge was utack, he rushed back to his room to grab his ons and bolted out the door.

  Bounding over rooftops toward the southern wall, hesaw a horrifying se.

  "They're everywhere! How did they get past our scouts?" a Kumo ninja screamed before a bde cut him down.

  "These chakra signatures... they're not normal!" another squad leader shouted, trying to rally his men before being engulfed in fmes.

  These aren't ordinary ehe Eight-Tails rumbled in his mind.

  Hundreds of agile, highly coordinated enemies were sughtering every Kumo shinobi in sight with terrifying efficy.

  A white-haired man a bone-like armor was ughing maniacally as he dove into a group of shinobi. The moment he he bone armor shattered into razor-sharp bdes, cutting down dozens of shinobi as if they were grass.

  Blood sprayed in arcs as limbs and bodies fell like rain, the bone-cd warrior moving through the age like a dance of death.

  And he was just one of many.

  Killer B saw over a dozen enemies using elemental jutsu of all five natures, cutting down wave after wave of Kumo defenders.

  More attackers ighe resistaogether, setting fires throughout the vilge.

  Massive plumes of smoke billowed from the southern warehouses, and the fmes grew fiercer with each gust of wind. Explosions echoed as the stored explosion tags detonated, blowing roofs sky-high.

  Killer B was both furious and armed. As a perfect jinchūriki, he immediately called upon the Eight-Tails.

  He suspected he might be under a genjutsu—these attackers all seemed to be at least jonin-level! Though they appeared to be only at the lower end of that spectrum...

  A quice revealed there were at least 200 of them. Emptying out all of Kumo wouldn't even e close to matg this force.

  At least there weren't aes.

  "Little brat from the Yotsuki ?" A voice suddenly called out from his side.

  A dazzling bde sliced toward Killer B's neck with impeccable timing and precision. No one in his memory had ever executed a ssh like this.

  A veteran. Ae jonin.

  With a g, his bde sprang from its sheath, parrying the strike.

  In the refle of his bde, he saair of blood-red eyes.

  Not good!

  The thought had barely formed before he ulled into a genjutsu. But in an instant, the Eight-Tails broke him free.

  Without hesitation, Killer B infused his bde with lightning chakra, severing the enemy's on and tering with a strike that bisected his foe.

  But it was only an illusion.

  "Not bad," the enemy said, iing his brokeo wield lightning like that—impressive."

  "Uchiha…" Killer B's eyes narrowed.

  This wasn't a living person.

  The cracked, ash-gray skin and hollow bck eyes left no doubt in his mind.

  Edo Tensei…

  In this world, no vilge remembered Edo Tensei as vividly as Kumo.

  Everything about it was cssified at the highest level. Only a select few top officials ae shinobi knew of its horrors.

  As well as the hat could not be spoken.

  Kumo still sealed away 69 Edo Tensei bodies.

  Not even Konoha, which had agreed to peace talks, khe extent of Kumo's losses.

  A deafening roar shook the ground.

  His gaze shifted beyond the enemy shinobi. The southern wall colpsed, crumbling like soft tofu before scattering into rubble.

  The tremors quickly spread, toppling buildings and burying screaming Kumo shinobi beh the debris.

  He saw another Kumo jonin embraced by a dead man, triggering a of explosions that engulfed entire blocks. The fmes spread rapidly, turning the southern distrito an inferno.

  All the attackers were reanimated corpses.

  Konoha had deployed Edo Tensei once again.

  "This vilge won't hold much longer," the Uchiha revenant remarked. "And your rades will all die. Fleeing alohat wouldn't sit well with yht?"

  "Who summoned you?" Killer B demanded.

  "'t say," the Uchiha sneered. "That bastard pced a restri on us. Besides, I hate the Yotsuki . My name is Kai. Perhaps you'll bee his puppet as well."

  Killer B avoided his gaze.

  Stay alert, B, the Eight-Tails warned.

  Though his oppo was a corpse, his genjutsu was formidable. Even the Eight-Tails warned him to avoid eye tact.

  Killer B wasn't yet the powerhouse he'd bee years ter, capable of defeating Mangekyō Sharingan users like Sasuke with raw taijutsu.

  His skills in both taijutsu and ninjutsu were still far from that level.

  The teique he was developing, the Acrobat, was inplete.

  "Yo, dead gramps trying to act tough, fool, ya fool!" Killer B decred as his chakra fred, red chakra swirling around him. "Got things to do, ain't dying to no corpse, that's my rule!"

  A giant octopus tentacle shot out from him, lunging toward Kai with devastating force, crushing everything in its path.

  "So, you're a jinchūriki," Kai remarked, sidestepping the attad tering in one fluid motion.

  The tentacle's severed end hit the ground, leaving a crater ione.

  In life, Kai had mastered fire and wind.

  "I take back what I just said. You won't bee a puppet; you'll just die."