Hiruzen would not let Torifu create another chance for an attack; this time, he accurately pressed the Sealing Technique on the forehead of the demon fox.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in the demon fox's eyes disappeared, and the red cloak on its body gradually disintegrated, as the chakra began to flow back towards its core.
Hiruzen finally breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, he made it in time.
He then looked at Hakushi and Ruri, who were surrounded by Konoha ninjas, took a deep breath, and his eyes showed immense complexity.
"Surrender now, you no longer have any power to resist, you can't escape."
Minato urged Hakushi and Ruri to give up and not continue down the wrong path.
In such a heavy encirclement, and with the Hokage himself present, Hakushi and Ruri had no way to escape.
"What are you saying, Minato? Isn't the real battle just about to begin?"
Hakushi ignored Minato's persuasion.
As soon as Hakushi finished speaking, Hiruzen sensed that something was wrong.
He turned around to see that the demon fox, which was withdrawing red chakra, suddenly emitted a moist aura.
Water?
Just as this thought formed in Hiruzen's mind, the moist water aura became more intense, spreading like a water mist.
"Retreat!"
At Hiruzen's shout, Torifu and the surrounding Konoha ninjas all scattered.
What surged out of the demon fox's body was an ocean-like volume of water.
The water surged violently, splashing in all directions, crashing into buildings and stirring up white waves.
The engulfing flood left the Konoha ninjas looking aghast.
Hiruzen remained calm, forming seals with his hands, and powerful chakra erupted from his body.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
A towering earth wall rose from the ground like a fortress, withstanding the onrushing water, as the ground rumbled.
Rumble!
Rumble!
The sound of the monster rioting continued to roar.
Even the ground began to tremble incessantly, as if it had gone berserk.
Over the water soared a giant dark blue water creature—a serpent.
Its very presence was enough to wipe away the calm from the faces of the ninjas.
With a fierce body stretching dozens of meters long, it cast a huge shadow and flicked its forked tongue, with scarlet blood light shining from its vertical pupils.
Under the black night, its figure looked even more ferocious and terrifying.
At this moment, two figures stood atop the head of the giant water serpent, looking down at the Konoha ninjas on the ground.
The water serpent continued to raise its head upward, its large body beginning to sway, glancing at the Konoha ninjas before quickly turning to head toward the Death Forest.
Just its movement left a trail of destruction through buildings and streets.
"Pursue them! Don't let them escape!"
Kushina was still inside the water serpent, and Hiruzen led the Konoha ninja in pursuit, advancing towards the Death Forest.
Hakushi and Ruri rode on the head of the water serpent, as it moved through the forest, wreaking havoc on the ground, toppling trees on both sides, with the earth booming and sand and dirt flying wildly.
Behind them, a large number of Konoha ninjas were in pursuit, rough estimates numbering over several hundred, many of whom were Jonin.
Even the Hokage and his direct unit, the Anbu, had joined the chase.
"The chakra absorption should stop here. If you absorb any more Tailed Beast Chakra, your body won't be able to withstand it. There's no need to continue."
The water serpent halted its body, but due to its massive size, it still caused a wide area of destruction when it stopped.
"This creature's power is remarkable."
Ruri could feel the immense power within the water serpent.
Though its body appeared cumbersome, its movements were swift and any random coil could result in widespread devastation.
"Its Immortal Technique mode is similar to Raidenmaru, a rather unique type. From the beginning, I intended to use it to absorb the Tailed Beast Chakra, as a means to restrain those people from Konoha."
Hakushi replied.
Suddenly, Kunai flew towards them from behind.
Hakushi turned his head, seeing Minato with Kunai in hand, whose attack had been deflected by a Shadow Blade from the Shadow Dancer.
Minato frowned, bothered yet again by this shadowy entity.
Yin Style Ninjutsu?
What triggers it?
This, Minato couldn't discern at all.
Clearly, no seals had been formed.
"It seems your neural reflexes are a bit slower than your Space-Time Ninjutsu, Minato. Just a moment ago, you nearly hit me."
Hakushi smiled, looking at Minato who had appeared here.
He wasn't in the least surprised that Minato had arrived here before him.
Ruri then leapt into action, her body soaring towards Minato, attacking with a punch from the front.
Minato sidestepped, dodging, swinging his Three-pronged Kunai towards Ruri's body.
Clang!
The Shadow Blade blocked the Kunai, sparking.
Then the Shadow Blade extended and changed direction, thrusting towards Minato's heart.
Minato evaded awkwardly, Ruri's punch barely missed him, and then he vanished in a flash of golden light.
"Huff... Huff..."
Minato, cold sweat covering his face, his entire nervous system on high alert, hid behind a tree.
"I can't do this. Fighting them alone is too much."
Facing such relentless continuous attacks, continuing the battle would only lead to certain death, with no hope of victory in sight.
In such circumstances, he could only use Space-Time Ninjutsu to evade.
"Kushina, I will definitely rescue you, wait for me."
At this point, the Konoha ninjas departing from the village also arrived here.
One figure after another dashed through the forest, sealing this place tightly.
"Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!"
A Konoha Jonin placed both hands on the ground, transforming it into a marsh.
But seeing the water serpent still swimming swiftly through the swamp, he knew this restrictive ninja technique was ineffective against it.
"You two... stop! Tell me, why are you doing this?"
Hiruzen's angry voice thundered down, glaring at Hakushi and Ruri with a regretful expression.
He had held immense hopes for these two people's futures.
Is this the reward he gets in return?
Destroying the village, hurting comrades, manipulating the Nine-tails, any one of these are unforgivable crimes.
"Lord Hokage, we aren't the kind of people you imagine. We're truly sorry to disappoint you and cause you such regret."
Hakushi looked down from above, with indifferent eyes fixed on him.
It was an indifference Hiruzen had never seen before.
Hiruzen was slightly bewildered, a sudden connection forming in his mind.
Was it because of the matter with Danzo and Sakumo?
Is this revenge?
His heart was torn between anger and guilt.
Seeing the expression on Hiruzen's face, Hakushi knew he was deep in emotional turmoil and spoke to interrupt his inner thoughts:
"No need to blame yourself. From the beginning, I didn't hold even a shred of resentment towards you for such a thing. I'm not a child. I just feel that this village is no longer of use to me... that's all."
"You... really..."
Hiruzen stared at Hakushi in shock.
It seemed he couldn't believe that the Hakushi he knew could truly be so cold-hearted and indifferent towards the village.
Had he abandoned the Will of Fire passed down from the First Hokage?
Suddenly, Hiruzen felt a sense of being deceived, his most cherished values trampled upon.
The injured village ninjas, the devastated village, and most importantly, the desecrated Will of Fire...
Recalling all this, Hiruzen's shame was completely replaced by anger.
He started forming seals, biting his finger, pressing it to the ground.
Seeing this, Hakushi began forming the same seals, biting his finger, and pressing it on the head of the giant serpent.
"Summoning Jutsu!"