After the Hidden Mist retreated, the Third Mizukage also withdrew.
As for the tailed beasts—who cares about them? Tailed beasts that can't win a war are nothing but useless burdens.
Inside the white barrier—
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
The Three-Tails Jinchūriki and the Six-Tails Jinchūriki kept letting out agonized screams.
"Sealing techniques… the key to the life-and-death bond between a tailed beast and its Jinchūriki should lie in this trace of soul power. Otherwise, it's hard to imagine what kind of method could bind their lives together so completely."
"Then how exactly do tailed beasts revive? Could it be that their bodies regenerate through an extreme cellular healing ability, like Tsunade, or by integrating natural energy into their bodies to produce some kind of miraculous transformation, like Ryoha? But when it comes to the soul… that's something we'll have to leave to Orochimaru-sensei. There's also someone named Dan—Tsunade's boyfriend in the original story, I think. Not sure if he's dead yet. His Spirit Transformation Technique is quite impressive too."
"Insect Swarm: Devour."
As Aburame Shiken spoke, he sent the exhausted Three-Tails and Six-Tails Jinchūriki off to the Pure Land.
Three-Tails Isobu — revival countdown begins.
Six-Tails Saiken — revival countdown begins.
"Speaking of which, the Sage of Six Paths doesn't seem like a harmless figure either. Sitting in the Pure Land… we might as well treat him as a hidden boss. We can't afford to ignore him."
After this battle, the Hidden Mist front was nearing its conclusion.
Although the Hidden Mist never thought highly of tailed beasts, they had to admit—without them, they simply couldn't break through the Aburame clan's sea of insects.
...
Bang!
Jiraiya was kicked flying.
"Heh… that kick was still lighter than Tsunade's punch."
Jiraiya gave a bitter smile.
"Konoha truly is full of talent. There's you, Tsunade, Orochimaru… and before that, Hatake Sakumo. And now the younger generation is growing up as well. How could such a Konoha not inspire fear?"
The Third Raikage spoke slowly.
Jiraiya wiped the blood from his mouth.
"Haha, then why don't you hurry up and surrender to Konoha? Maybe we'll even give you decent treatment."
"It's precisely because we refuse to surrender that we're fighting you Konoha to the death."
The Third Raikage slowed his steps and looked down at the chaotic battlefield below.
A Cloud ninja, even in death, would try to land one final strike on the enemy.
Konoha's shinobi were even more ruthless—whether they lived or died didn't matter; they'd slap several Explosive Tags onto themselves first.
They had no intention of surviving.
"Those Byakugan users… are they from the Hyūga Clan?" the Third Raikage asked.
"I'm an honorary Hyūga ninja—Hyūga Hiyasu! Come to hell with me!"
"Gentle Fist: Chakra Burst!"
The Hyūga ninja charged straight into the crowd, unleashing all the chakra in his body.
His meridians shattered, killing him instantly—but the surrounding Cloud ninja were blasted away, only to be finished off by nearby Konoha shinobi.
Scenes like this were everywhere.
Members of the Akimichi clan dying after exhausting themselves.
The Yamanaka clan trading their lives one-for-one.
The Nara clan, even on the brink of death, still trying to wound as many enemies as possible.
At the chakra cannon position—the Third Raikage didn't even dare to look.
A single small position had already cost the lives of at least two hundred Cloud ninja.
But he quickly steadied himself.
"With the current strength of the Hidden Cloud, even fighting a quarter of Konoha is this difficult. If we let you continue to grow, how could we possibly sleep peacefully beside you? How could the Hidden Cloud Village survive in the ninja world?"
"One-Fingered Assault."
Boom!
As the smoke cleared, Jiraiya used his last bit of chakra to block the attack.
After that, his stamina was completely drained, and he fell unconscious.
"If I kill you, Konoha's balance of power will collapse. This battle will count as a victory for the Hidden Cloud—and it will trigger a chain reaction elsewhere."
"Konoha… everything is your fault for being too strong. So strong that if we don't risk everything, we'll simply die quietly. That's the ninja world—no single village is allowed to dominate… unless that village is the Hidden Cloud."
After saying that, the Third Raikage prepared to strike.
...
The Eight-Tails was forced back once by the combined efforts of three toads, when it suddenly felt something was wrong.
"This is bad—Jiraiya can't hold on anymore. We need to go back."
"Damn it, at such a critical moment."
"Ugh."
Gamabunta quickly called out to those nearby.
"Hey! Something's wrong on Jiraiya's side—be careful!"
Leaving without a word isn't my style.
With that, the three toads withdrew from the battlefield.
"Well done, B."
A shouted loudly in praise.
Now that a breakthrough had appeared, victory over Konoha was within reach.
"Though I don't like saying this, being distracted on the battlefield is deadly."
Hyūga Hiyasu suddenly appeared behind A.
"What—"
A sharp chop struck the back of A's neck.
His consciousness faded into darkness.
As for why he was knocked out instead of killed—
Aburame Shiken: "Hiyasu, the Third Raikage is definitely going to die this time—Duy has already gone. If possible, let that person become the Fourth Raikage."
Hyūga Hiyasu: "Why? Eliminating one Kage-level fighter should help us more, right?"
Aburame Shiken: "That's true, but I have a feeling… if he becomes the Fourth Raikage, the Hidden Cloud won't pose much of a threat to us in the future. A brute can't lead a powerful organization."
Hyūga Hiyasu: "Doesn't matter. Your call. I'm just the muscle anyway. By the way, what about Killer B?"
Aburame Shiken: "If you can kill him, do it."
Being taken seriously doesn't feel great… but not being taken seriously feels even worse.
"Hey! You over there, tailed beast! Turn around, or I'll kill your brother!"
Hyūga Hiyasu shouted loudly.
"What?! Let go of my brother!"
Killer B quickly took control of the body as the Eight-Tails' eight tentacles lashed toward Hyūga Hiyasu.
Hiyasu deliberately held back a bit, allowing A to be rescued.
"That one can't be killed… this one's a bit harder."
Hiyasu sighed softly.
"This'll take some effort."
"Monstrous Strength: Force Strike!"
In a flash, Hyūga Hiyasu appeared before the Eight-Tails and punched it flying.
"How is this possible?! How can a human possess such monstrous strength?!"
That punch left the Eight-Tails questioning reality.
...
Elsewhere—
"Who are you?"
The Third Raikage stared at the man surrounded by green vapor—Might Duy—with confusion.
Who is this guy?
He's not even on Konoha's list of key targets.
Might Duy gazed quietly at the sky.
"The sky is really blue today."
"A powerful opponent, clear weather, and a decisive moment… there's no better stage than this, is there?"
He turned to look at Might Guy, who was tightly held by Hyūga Hizashi.
"Son, witness the most glorious moment of your father's life."