They were good for causing chaos, but expecting them to accomplish anything substantial was pure delusion.
One glare was enough to keep them completely under his control.
A desperately wanted to rescue his brother, but when he saw the ice-sealed Killer Bee being dragged to Minato's side and branded with three or four seals, just like Yugito had been earlier, he made his decision.
"We..."
"Little one, you're nearing your limit, aren't you?"
At that moment, a figure strode forward from the rear - the Third Raikage had arrived.
His right hand was heavily bandaged, but the rest of his body appeared relatively unscathed, showing no signs that his injury would hinder his combat abilities.
Instantly, the two sides parted, using the Third Raikage as a dividing line, and the battlefield fell silent.
"Let's talk properly. Where's Tsunade?"
The Third Raikage extended his left hand, grabbed a broken tree from behind him, and sat down.
"Meow~ Lady Tsunade is drinking at the camp, waiting for you to bring her your head."
Chimei Saigami held his ground, but inwardly cursed.
'This father-son duo from Kumogakure is ruthless. The Fourth Hokage immediately severed his hand when struck by Amaterasu, and this guy comes to fight like nothing's wrong, despite his mangled right hand. Do they even care about their own bodies? Can't you just act like a proper patient?'
"Little one, it's been a long time since anyone managed to injure me. Your Wind Release is quite impressive. Hmm... even though you're just a cat, you're undeniably strong," the Third Raikage gave Raj a thumbs-up.
When he decided to intercept the Rasenshuriken, he had considered it carefully.
On one hand, he wanted to test himself and see if the technique could actually harm him.
On the other hand, he was the Third Raikage.
The situation presented him with the perfect opportunity to take the full force of the attack head-on.
That's why he felt no particular anger or animosity toward Raj - just that he was too cowardly and lacked any real backbone.
"Let's make peace. You return Yugito and Killer Bee to us, and Kumogakure will help you fight Iwagakure. It's a fair trade."
The Third Raikage sat there, chatting and laughing as if he were in his own backyard.
How arrogant!
Raj took a few steps back.
"Your proposal is intriguing, but if you truly seek peace, you should offer more sincerity. Let's discuss this at our main camp."
Minato stood up.
He'd recovered some of his Chakra, though not to his full strength.
Still, he could definitely unleash a Rasenshuriken at full power.
If the Third Raikage tried anything, they could all go down together.
"You want the Raikage to go to your main camp?!"
A took an angry step forward, ready to fight Raj and Minato to the death.
But Raj darted to Killer Bee's side and gently placed a paw on his head.
Killer Bee had already regained consciousness.
However, a Sealing Technique had been applied to him, completely sealing his Chakra.
In his current state, relying solely on Taijutsu, even Genma could defeat him, let alone Guy, Kakashi, and Obito guarding him.
Despite being surrounded by enemies, Killer Bee showed no fear, rapping in his signature eccentric style.
"Enemies surround, but this big man ain't scared, you fools, you bastards!"
"Bee, shut up!" A roared.
'What's with this timing? Is he trying to pour fuel on the fire? Can't he just be quiet?'
With a swift paw strike, Raj sealed Killer Bee's mouth with ice.
Raj then leaped onto Killer Bee's head, now standing nearly as tall as the seated Third Raikage.
"Meow~ Is this your surrender?"
"Whatever. Surrender or negotiate, it doesn't matter. The real issue is you return Yugito and Bee to us. In exchange, our Kumo Ninja will help you divert Onoki's forces."
The Third Raikage sat there, clearly having thought this through.
The fundamental reason for attacking Konoha was to expand their territory, but Konoha's two Flying Thunder God Technique users had given him a headache.
Fighting these two spiky-skinned rats was worse than arm-wrestling his old friend Onoki.
At least Onoki was straightforward, unlike these two from Konoha...
"We're open to cooperation, but we can't return the Jinchuriki yet. They're our war trophies. Besides, what if you break your word? Konoha would lose out big time."
Tsunade's voice came from behind.
With a cold smile, she emerged from the forest, punched a tree, snapped it in half, and casually sat on the fallen trunk, looking utterly composed.
"Would I break my word?"
The Third Raikage shot to his feet, his right hand reaching out -
Hisss! Pain!
Accustomed to using his right hand, he instinctively moved it first when exerting force.
His face twisted slightly, but he didn't cry out in pain.
Instead, he endured the agony, sitting upright and speaking in a calm tone.
"Since I have given my word, I will not go back on it."
"Who can guarantee that? You promised the Kiri Ninja you'd attack Konoha together, and now you're running away, aren't you, meow?"
Raj mercilessly twisted the knife.
His words plunged the entire Kumogakure delegation into silence.
'Can't we have a civil conversation? Are you deliberately trying to provoke me? If we had won, would you still be sitting here? It's not like I've lost my temper because of your Flying Thunder God Technique. Now that you've captured a Jinchuriki and a key figure from the Kumogakure, what else can I do? Surrender isn't shameful.'
The Third Raikage sighed, preparing to continue, but Tsunade interrupted, her words flowing like a stand-up routine.
"Raikage, look - if you hadn't started this fight tonight, I might have been able to heal your arm. But now you've sent Killer Bee over... The A-B Combination - won't it sound odd with only half of it?"
"..."
A's lips twitched, and he remained speechless for a long moment.
"It's just one hand."
"Meow~"
"My specialties are Lightning Release Armor and the Four-Finger Thrust, not Ninjutsu. Do you think I can't kill without my right hand?"
"Meow!"
"..."
The Third Raikage took a deep breath, forcibly ignoring the persistent cat calls.
At that moment, Matatabi's summoning time expired, and he automatically returned to the Ninja Cat Castle.
Rin remained behind, assisting in treating Konoha's wounded, and the atmosphere once again fell into silence.
After a long pause, the Third Raikage sighed.
"Fine. Heal my hand and release Bee.