After a brief thought, the Suna unit's captain lifted his head and ordered the others,
"Since that's the case, we'll leave this area to the Mist shinobi. We're going to support the other units!"
Hearing the captain, the other Suna shinobi exchanged glances and nodded.
Indeed, there was no point in them staying.
The aftershocks from those two's attacks might be enough to injure them—if that happened, Suna would lose face.
Under the captain's lead, the Suna shinobi turned and hurried toward other fronts where they were fighting Konoha.
Jiraiya cast them a faint glance and drew his eyes back.
Compared to that group from Suna, the Six-Tails' jinchūriki before him was the real problem.
As for Utakata, whether Suna left or not made little difference to him; in fact, they were only in the way.
"Why spark a war between villages? Isn't peace what everyone wants?!"
Jiraiya looked across at Utakata and shouted.
He knew the question sounded naive, but he had to ask.
Utakata didn't answer. The chakra cloak covered him so completely that Jiraiya couldn't read his expression.
But even tail-transformed like this, Utakata could still hear him—Jiraiya was sure of it.
After a while, a low voice came from Utakata's mouth:
"Rather than fighting you here, I'd rather be napping on a tree branch right now."
Jiraiya's eyes lit up. "Then why do this?!"
Why?
Utakata slowly straightened. The dark red chakra began to recede from his head, revealing his real face.
When it dropped to his neck, it stopped.
His eyes opened a fraction. Staring at Jiraiya, his voice went cold:
"Peace? You and I both know the so-called peace in front of us is an illusion. How long can it last?"
Jiraiya drew breath to speak, but Utakata's voice cut in again.
"The 'peace' you talk about is the biggest mockery to us jinchūriki. If there were truly peace, why would someone like me be standing before you as an enemy?"
Yuto-sama was right. Instead of waiting for the shinobi world to erupt, it's better to end it in one stroke—strangle all wars in the cradle.
"If… if the world really is at peace, then why do so many people hate us? Why have so many… so many died because of us?"
A tremor shaded Utakata's tone; his teacher's face flashed in his mind.
Jiraiya's expression stiffened. The words he'd meant to say stuck in his throat.
Utakata wasn't wrong—the existence of jinchūriki itself was the sharpest mockery of "peace."
If each village truly wanted peace, why capture Tailed Beasts and forge jinchūriki?
"You're wrong…"
After a long moment, Jiraiya forced out the words and tried to continue—but Utakata's eyes slid shut again.
Dark red chakra spread back over his face, and a quiet voice followed.
"Maybe I'm wrong. But right and wrong aren't judged by our current comfort. If you've never lived true peace, how can you know this 'balance' among the Five Great Villages is right?"
"Besides, in shinobi wars there's never right or wrong—only winners and losers."
With that, Jiraiya knew there was no point in talking further.
A jinchūriki who could fully control a Tailed Beast—this Six-Tails in front of him was without question a top-force of the Mist, maybe even one of its leaders.
Only by taking him down could they hope to negotiate with all of the Mist.
End it quickly.
That thought flashed through both their minds at once.
They were both top-tier forces—whoever fell would sway the entire battlefield.
Utakata, already half transformed, flared with even denser Tailed Beast chakra.
Boom!
A dull detonation rolled from within his body. In the next instant he swelled at a speed visible to the eye.
Full Tailed Beast Transformation!
"Roooar!!"
A Tailed Beast even larger than Gamabunta—slug-like and immense—rose before Jiraiya.
"So this is the Six-Tails' true form?"
Jiraiya blinked, then his face hardened. He shouted to Gamabunta, "We're going all out from here!"
"Didn't need you to tell me!"
Gamabunta bellowed back, lunging forward—faster and faster.
Each bound made the earth quake beneath him.
By now Utakata had taken on Saiken's full form.
Calling him "Utakata" felt pointless—this was Saiken.
Watching Gamabunta charge, Saiken's body compressed; a cluster of vents on his head aimed forward and blasted a mass of white vapor.
Highly corrosive gas!
The stench of acid spread the instant it spewed out. Trees ahead withered and vanished at a speed you could see.
Gamabunta's huge pupils tightened—but he didn't slow.
Thick columns of water roared from his mouth, trying to use water's properties to neutralize the acidic fog around Saiken.
Standing on Gamabunta, Jiraiya also flashed through seals with a terse shout:
"Doton: Yomi Numa (Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld)!"
Rumble!
A vast swamp opened under Saiken's bulk, and that massive body began to sink.
Seeing this, Jiraiya's face brightened—then froze a heartbeat later.
Saiken screeched; the great body pressed flat, then its soft, elastic mass slipped free of the mire with ease.
Jiraiya clicked his tongue, crouched, and patted Gamabunta. "Let's go!"
Bang!
Gamabunta drove off the ground and vaulted high.
Katon: Gamayū Endan (Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet)!
Scorching flame poured down, blanketing Saiken.
Using the blaze as cover, Gamabunta twisted midair. When he reappeared, he'd flown behind Saiken.
He ripped the short blade from his waist and hacked toward the back of Saiken's head.
Ankijutsu: Gama Tantō-zan (Hidden Weapon Art: Toad Short-Blade Slash)!!
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