🚨 Important Note : For the continuity of this story consider to Support us on Pãtreon/Flokixy to access advance Chapters and To Support The Daily Update
"Orochimaru has already run away, and Tsunade has no interest in continuing the fight," he said to Tsunade, "How about it? Let's just finish here, or it will be troublesome if Jiraiya comes."
Although watching Tsunade struggle with whether to kill Orochimaru was interesting, Orochimaru also knew that Jiraiya probably no longer had much desire to fight.
Tsunade let out a soft snort and said, "One confused, one crippled. Who lives and who dies is yet unknown."
However, although Tsunade said this, she also didn't want to continue fighting, because after Orochimaru left, this battle lost all meaning.
Tsunade was not afraid of fighting, but she did not want to engage in a meaningless battle.
Orochimaru agreed with her. He wanted to help her create a world without war. Tsunade was willing to stain her hands with blood for this.
She wouldn't say that this was a necessary sacrifice, but she would also hope that every drop of blood on her hands was stained on the way to that goal.
Thinking of this, Tsunade sighed and said, somewhat bleakly, "I don't know what kind of villain I will be in the eyes of future generations."
Orochimaru heard this and chuckled, "If that day ever comes, you might even become a great hero who liberates all humans from the hands of 'ninja,' after all, the history of the ninja world has always been written by the victors."
Tsunade chuckled lightly and shook her head. Then, a fist-sized Little Shukaku quickly landed on her shoulder.
Tsunade said to Little Shukaku, "Go tell them, I'm also retreating. We'll meet at the place we agreed upon."
Little Shukaku nodded, then turned into a ball of sand and dispersed.
Wu Jie naturally wouldn't let Tsunade, his only collaborator, die. When he was preparing to escape, he had already sent Little Shukaku to inform her in advance.
Orochimaru saw Tsunade about to leave and chuckled, "It's been a long time since I've been so pleased as I am today. You helped me pass a message to Manda. I'm waiting for his transaction."
Tsunade let out a soft snort, agreeing.
Then, she jumped onto Manda's head. With both hands, she formed a hand sign. With a whoosh, the huge Manda split into countless small Mandas. By the time all the small Mandas had run away, Tsunade's figure also vanished from here.
Orochimaru turned his head to look in Jiraiya's direction, then let out a light chuckle and retreated into the shadows with Yakushi Kabuto.
...
Jiraiya stood in place, his head bowed, looking desolate. Only he was left there, his tall figure appearing so lonely and powerless at this moment.
Akimichi Choza collapsed beside him, his eyes bulging with rage and resentment, possessing the power of ten thousand jin yet nowhere to unleash it. He had no control over his own life or death.
Jiraiya sadly reached out and closed Choza's eyes. Even though he had long grown accustomed to death, his companion's departure still saddened him. Especially since this incident happened right beside him, yet he was powerless to do anything.
Jiraiya stood stunned in place, but then, slowly, waves of weeping sounds gradually reached his ears.
Jiraiya heard the sound and turned his head to look. The direction the sound came from was the devastated Shortbook Street. Pain rapidly spread through his heart in an instant.
This time, he couldn't do anything. Even though he had grown into one of the legendary Sannin, he was still like a child who had just stepped onto the battlefield, unable to change anything.
The Child of Prophecy...
I must quickly train the Child of Prophecy to correct this wrong world!!
The cries of the common people echoed heartbreakingly. Jiraiya then took a deep breath and looked towards Shortbook Street.
Large sections of houses there had collapsed, and the earth was shattered. Deep, unseen craters and chasms like bottomless abysses spread everywhere. Raging fires consumed everything.
Jiraiya's expression changed. He had failed to protect his comrades in the village, but at least, he had to rescue the common people trapped there!!
But at this moment, just as Jiraiya was about to step onto Shortbook Street, Kakashi, bandaging his injuries, rushed over, following behind. His first words made Jiraiya's face turn pale with shock: "Lord Jiraiya! Naruto has been captured by the Akatsuki!!!"
"What!?" Jiraiya was instantly shocked. He took a large stride and rushed over, grabbing Kakashi's shoulders and asking anxiously, "How could Naruto be captured?! What exactly happened?"
Kakashi's face was a little pale, but he quickly replied, "Not long after Kushina joined the battle, two members of the Akatsuki attacked us. They left a special scent on Naruto's body that they used for tracking, and then immediately came to find him."
Saying this, Kakashi immediately formed a hand sign with both hands. Then, pressing them to the ground, with a soft whoosh, a miniature ninja dog was summoned.
Kakashi said, "This is ninja dog Pakkun. He can lead us to find Naruto!"
Pakkun, seeing the pale-faced Kakashi, immediately asked nervously, "Kakashi, what's wrong with you!?"
Kakashi shook his head, "No time to explain. Pakkun, I'm entrusting the tracking mission to you!"
Pakkun was an experienced ninja dog. He understood what was important and immediately nodded in agreement: "I understand, leave it to me!"
Saying this, Pakkun immediately followed the scent Kakashi gave him, rapidly searching in all directions.
Kakashi also took this time to give Jiraiya a detailed account of the Akatsuki's two members' information.
A moment later, Pakkun pointed in one direction, then said to Jiraiya, "It's this way! Follow me!"
Saying that, he ran off like a dog leading the way.
He absolutely could not let the Child of Prophecy be harmed!
Jiraiya saw this and showed no hesitation. He immediately gave chase.
Only the fiercely burning Shortbook Street was left behind him.
...
Time, rewind slightly.
Roar!!!!
Armored Shukaku's giant Yin Release Staff flew from his hand, directly slamming into the side of the Akatsuki's Immortal Duo.
The terrifying impact was like a powerful wind ninjutsu, directly sending them flying. Then, they landed on their heads, like furious Mandas, with a thump, they directly plunged into the earth.
Fortunately, they weren't directly hit by those dozens of meters long heavenly pillars. Otherwise, they would have turned into a pulp, and there wouldn't be enough chakra left to consume.
With a thump, Kakuzu and Hidan pulled themselves out of the earth.
Hidan spat out a mouthful of mud and grass roots, then complained to Kakuzu, "Kakuzu, what are you doing? Why do you always provoke that thing for no reason? Don't we both know we can't beat that exaggerated thing?"
Kakuzu rarely used his finger to rub his cheek, then said, "This... is also a rare experience, isn't it?"
"Huh? Is there something wrong with your brain?"
But Hidan didn't know that.
From now on, Kakuzu could not only brag to others about how he once assassinated the First Hokage...
...but he could also tell others that he once fought against that war machine.
Kakuzu ignored Hidan's complaints. The roar of explosions came from behind him. He looked back at the strangely shaped and green-faced Armored Shukaku, then said, "The Uzumaki doesn't want to leave. This level of destructive power has already surpassed the Kage level. There's no bounty that matches their destructive power. And Manda isn't a good match either. Let's go see what's up with the Nine-Tails kid."
Hidan pouted when he heard this, "Our mission isn't to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. And that woman isn't easy to deal with either."
Kakuzu said indifferently, "What you said is true, but since we've encountered them, let's try. And we just need to wait patiently; the opportunity will always arise."
To be honest, Kakuzu didn't really want to take on this bounty mission. He always felt that the more money he earned for the organization, the faster Konan spent it. Who knew where all that money went?
Perhaps this time, after capturing the Nine-Tails, he would also ask Konan for leave to take a vacation and accumulate his annual leave.
Kushina protected Kakashi and Naruto and retreated to the edge of the battlefield. They didn't go too far, so they were quickly discovered by Kakuzu and Hidan.
However, the two did not make a move at this moment. Instead, they hid in a nearby forest to observe the situation.
According to Armored Shukaku's performance, Kakuzu judged that Kushina would soon enter the battlefield.
Kakuzu wasn't some peerless genius, but his nearly a hundred years of ninja experience had given him extremely rich insights. These insights, after being refined by time, had transformed into valuable assets, allowing him to always appear experienced when facing various situations.
And clearly, his judgment this time was not mistaken.
On the other side of the battlefield, ear-splitting roars continuously came. Flames and giant rocks flew everywhere. The earth continuously vibrated and cracked. Deep, bottomless fissures spread everywhere. A furious wind blew, bringing with it a large pile of giant rocks and various house ruins.
Kushina, manipulating the Adamantine Sealing Chains, tried to block all the dangers here, but it only took a moment, and Manda was battered into a cloud of smoke, returning to Ryuchi Cave.
Kushina's expression instantly changed. She had entrusted Naruto to Kakashi, then turned and rushed onto the battlefield.
Hidan wanted to go up and join the fight, but Kakuzu stopped him. Only after Kushina truly engaged with Armored Shukaku did he and Hidan retreat further back, heading towards Naruto's location.
But just as they approached Naruto, less than fifty meters away, the Fire Gate suddenly said to Kakashi in a low voice, "Kakashi-captain, those two Akatsuki members are lurking behind us. They're only about fifty meters away. They don't look friendly."
Akatsuki!?
Kakashi's heart sank when he heard this.
It's Naruto!
He instantly guessed the Akatsuki's objective.
Between the capture of Killer B and the Akatsuki's ambush of Jiraiya and Naruto, Jiraiya would send intelligence about the Nine-Tails to the village, so Kakashi also knew about this.
Moreover, although Kakashi didn't know the Akatsuki's specific intelligence, he knew that Kakuzu and Hidan were S-rank rogue ninja wanted throughout the ninja world.
Facing such strong opponents, Kakashi didn't believe he could protect the unconscious Naruto on his own.
Thinking of this, he immediately looked at Jiraiya and Kushina, who were currently fighting Armored Shukaku in the distance. He then dismissed his idea.
That side was too dangerous. If they rushed over to seek protection, they would only add more trouble to Jiraiya and the others. That giant Armored Shukaku could casually strike, and they would have to rescue themselves.
But if he didn't do this, if he let the enemy find an opportunity, Jiraiya and the others might even lose this battle.
Kakashi pondered for a moment, then immediately looked at the fiercely burning Shortbook Street. He then said to Fire Gate, "I'm afraid those two are not your opponents. I will take Naruto to Shortbook Street and use its complex terrain to engage them!"
Fire Gate nodded vigorously, "I understand!"