"Elder, are we really going to take responsibility for the sensory missions?"
Baki asked Ebizo only after Jiraiya and Tonami Nara had departed.
Although it was true that the desert monsters controlled by the Hidden Sand Village's secret techniques were unaffected by the fog of war, he felt that letting the fog continue to wear down the Leaf's active forces wouldn't be a bad thing.
Ebizo naturally knew what Baki was thinking, but he still shook his head slightly. "The timing is about right. If we don't contribute now, Jiraiya will become dissatisfied."
He followed up with a serious deduction. "Given Jiraiya's personality, if there isn't significant progress, he might abandon this mission altogether to preserve the lives of the Leaf ninjas."
Baki's eyes widened. "How is that possible? The current Hokage of the Leaf isn't his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, but Danzo Shimura, the man known as the Darkness of the Shinobi!"
If Hiruzen Sarutobi were in power, he might be indecisive and indulge his student.
But that fellow Danzo...
As long as he could achieve his goals, he would probably strike without hesitation even if it meant sacrificing his own son!
This was the perception most people in the Shinobi World had of the Darkness of the Shinobi, and Baki was no exception.
"I agree with your viewpoint, but with Jiraiya's character, he likely won't care about Danzo's attitude."
As an elder who had lived through the First Shinobi World War, Ebizo saw people and events much more clearly than Baki.
"Regardless, it is time for us to act. We can't let the Jashin Religion reap all the benefits," Ebizo finally decided.
Seeing that the Hidden Sand Elder's mind was made up, Baki said no more and simply accepted the order in silence.
Next, the ninjas of the Hidden Sand Village finally demonstrated their legendary secret technique—the Monster Control Technique!
One by one, wind scorpions, dragonflies, and centipedes unique to the desert were summoned, surging into the mist like a tide to conduct reconnaissance.
Eerily, the mist that could obscure almost all other forms of detection had absolutely no effect on these desert creatures!
With the support of precise intelligence and the secret technique Scorpion Jade, which greatly enhanced close-combat capabilities, the Sand ninjas were unstoppable. They broke through over a dozen strongholds in succession, pushing the battlefield to a town just twenty kilometers from the capital.
Such a terrifying offensive gave Jiraiya a deep sense of crisis.
The strength of the Hidden Sand Village was likely even more formidable than he had imagined.
As a Sand ninja used a powerful Wind Style jutsu to blast open the town walls, the Wind-Fire Allied Forces finally captured the first major town of the Jashin Religion.
With the Sand ninjas as the vanguard, a large number of ninjas poured into the town known as Willow River.
The town's Divine Guards had already retreated or died in battle; at this moment, those remaining in the town were merely followers with no combat effectiveness.
Even so, the Allied ninjas maintained a state of high alert.
The Sand ninjas in front constantly maintained the Scorpion Jade secret technique, with sharp scorpion claws always guarding their sides.
Suddenly, a woman erupted from the crowd. Holding a common kitchen knife, she charged toward a nearby ninja with a scream.
"Give me back my son's life!"
The outcome held no surprises. In the face of the prepared Sand ninjas, such an attack couldn't cause any damage.
The sharp scorpion blade easily pierced the woman's body. Blood spurted out, and her angry, vivid face turned cold as her life force drained away...
The woman's death seemed to ignite the fury of the followers. They donned hideous expressions and prepared to swarm forward, intending to use their lives as weapons for one final struggle.
The group of Sand ninjas also took up their formations, ready to use ninjutsu to slaughter these people at any moment.
Seeing this scene, Jiraiya hurriedly shouted, hoping to prevent the occurrence of this tragedy.
"Everyone, listen to me!"
His voice acted like a pause button, briefly halting the conflict that was destined to explode.
"I am Jiraiya of the Hidden Leaf Village in the Land of Fire! Our goal this time is solely to eradicate the Jashin Religion!"
"I can use my own reputation as a guarantee! As long as you withdraw from the Jashin Religion and cooperate with the Allied Forces' work, we will absolutely not take action against you!"
Hearing these words, some of the more radical Sand ninjas immediately became dissatisfied.
After all, this was a town their Sand ninjas had taken down. Why should Jiraiya be the one to have the final say?
However, under Ebizo's suppression, they did not contradict Jiraiya—the nominal commander—in a public setting.
Unfortunately, the citizens did not seem grateful. Instead, they questioned Jiraiya. "Why? We were clearly living well. Why do you insist on disturbing our lives?!"
"The ninjas of the Hidden Steam Village oppressed us at will, and the nobles of the Land of Rivers exploited us wantonly. Finally, Lord Jashin killed them all and gave us plenty of food and a beautiful life..."
"Now you want to deal with Lord Jashin and make us leave the Jashin Religion?"
"On what grounds?!"
"That's right! On what grounds?!"
These words instantly sparked support from all the citizens. Countless people spoke up passionately, wantonly accusing the great nations and nobles of their oppression, seemingly pouring out all the injustices of their fates!
"No matter what, it was Lord Jashin who brought us food. He was the one who drove away the nobles and ninjas. I find it impossible to betray Lord Jashin!"
"Exactly! Long live Lord Jashin!"
"Praise Lord Jashin!"
They waved the gifts of Jashin, their chants surging toward the Allied Forces like a tsunami.
A flicker of killing intent crossed Baki's eyes. He spoke to the sympathetic Jiraiya. "Talking is useless. These followers are beyond saving. The only way is to kill them all!"
With that, Baki prepared to command the Sand ninjas to begin the massacre.
But Jiraiya was not ready to give up yet.
"Wait! Just a little longer!"
He stopped Baki's movement and grit his teeth. "These citizens have been deceived by Jashin. As long as they recognize reality, they will surely find their way back!"
Jiraiya then immediately summoned the two Sages of Mount Myoboku at maximum speed.
"What is it, Jiraiya?"
After a period of recovery, Fukasaku's body was mostly healed, though he still appeared a bit weak.
As for Shima, she stared at the surging crowd before her with a heavy expression.
"It seems you are in an all-out war with the Jashin Religion."
Jiraiya nodded and said briefly, "I need you to perform a Sage Art to dispel the Genjutsu shrouding this town and restore these followers' sanity!"
If I can just show these citizens that the so-called gifts of Jashin are nothing but rotten vegetables and disgusting insects, they will surely wake up!
Jiraiya believed this fervently.
"We understand."
Fukasaku's expression turned equally solemn. Synchronizing with Shima on the other side, he clapped his hands together to gather natural energy and release a Sage Art.
"Sage Art: Frog Call Illusion Dissolution!"
Wave after wave of frog-call soundwaves containing Sage Chakra were released from the two Sages' mouths.
Every "divine gift" touched by these sound waves revealed its true form.
The food in the hands of the followers turned into various strange insects and decaying leaves. A stench of rot immediately filled the air, causing a wave of nausea.
"Everyone! Look closely at what is in your hands! These are not divine gifts at all! That Jashin is merely deceiving and using you!"
Jiraiya roared with emotion. He wanted to wake these citizens; he wanted to prove that the path of the Jashin Religion was wrong!
All the followers raised their heads simultaneously, and a thousand gazes converged on Jiraiya.
Jiraiya thought they were about to wake up, but in the next second, their words left him stunned.
"Jiraiya, was it?"
"Do you think you are particularly great?"
A man asked calmly.
"This isn't about being great! You have been deceived by Jashin!"
Jiraiya opened his hands and spoke excitedly.
But he was immediately met with an even more intense response—one that struck his heart like a bullet, shattering it!
"Do you think we don't know the truth about this food?!"
The moment those words were uttered, not only Jiraiya but the other ninjas present froze in place.
Jiraiya's lips trembled. "What did you say? If you know the truth about the food, then why..."
"Because we want to live!"
The man's expression instantly twisted as he screamed out his inner resentment and fury.
"If we don't eat these things, how are we supposed to survive?!"
"When have you high-and-mighty ninjas of the great nations and nobles ever cared about the lives of us citizens from small countries?"
"The Land of Rivers is nothing more than a battlefield where you fight each other! And we are nothing more than expendable sacrifices!"
"Lord Jashin gave us food and a beautiful life. Even if it's all fake, at least it lets us live happily..."
"What about you?!"
"Why won't you even grant us this last bit of hope?"
"Why?!"
The screaming stopped abruptly. To the shock of all the ninjas, all the followers began to mutate simultaneously.
Their bodies twisted and then bloated!
Bone spikes emerged one after another. Their torsos extended rapidly, manifesting various insectoid characteristics as they transformed into countless monsters, silently staring at the Allied Forces.
"For Lord Jashin."
The man at the head spoke those four words.
These words acted like a catalyst. In an instant, the monsters transformed from the followers boiled over!
"Quick, retreat! Jiraiya!"
Fukasaku, on his shoulder, broke Jiraiya's stupor and pulled him back quickly.
The army of monsters, numbering over a thousand, let out terrifying roars and charged toward the Allied Forces like a tide.
"Attack! Attack!"
Baki's expression filled with horror, and he hurriedly commanded the ninjas to launch an offensive.
But while his reaction was swift, the other ninjas were not as fast.
Before this, no one could have imagined that the helpless civilians from moments ago would transform into such a terrifying army of monsters in an instant.
By the time they recognized reality under Baki's roar, the hideous army had already reached the nearest Sand ninja squad.
At this point, these followers showed no human traits at all. Their body surfaces were covered in bone spikes, and any part of them could serve as a weapon to deliver a fatal blow to the ninjas.
In an instant, the Sand ninjas suffered countless casualties...
Seeing this, Baki's eyes nearly split with rage. Disregarding his comrades at the very front, his hands quickly formed signs to unleash a large-scale ninjutsu.
"Wind Style: Cyclone Jutsu!"
The violent wind instantly transformed into countless blades that shrouded the incoming monsters. Innumerable wounds appeared on the creatures, blood sprayed wildly, and some were even sliced into several pieces.
The experienced Ebizo also reacted with maximum speed.
He threw out a puppet; subsequently, the puppet's abdomen opened, and a large quantity of poison senbon poured onto the monsters like a downpour, killing over a dozen instantly.
Jiraiya's face was grim. Seemingly wanting to save the situation, he immediately spoke to the two Sages on his shoulders. "Two seniors, I must trouble you."
"Understood."
Fukasaku and Shima quickly grasped Jiraiya's intent and began forming signs to help him absorb natural energy.
With their help, toad-like features appeared on Jiraiya's face, and the red markings became even more vivid and hideous.
This time, he did not hesitate, opening with a powerful technique.
"Sage Art: Goemon!"
The toad oil spat by Jiraiya, the flames from Fukasaku, and the hurricane from Shima instantly turned into a surging sea of fire that slammed violently into the incoming tide of monsters.
The scorching flames incinerated everything. The churning toad oil covered every inch before being ignited into a towering inferno. Even the houses made of rock turned glowing red, showing signs of melting.
Under the might of the fire, the monsters' roars turned into endless wails, and their sudden offensive ground to a halt under the suppression of the Sage Art.
The brilliant firelight danced on everyone's faces. Only now did they truly understand the weight of the title "Sannin."
Monsters that had left them helpless were easily suppressed by Jiraiya.
However, they then thought of Jiraiya's earlier soft-heartedness toward these creatures, falling into a contradictory state of mind.
Of course, due to the initial chaos, many monsters had already charged into the Allied ranks. Jiraiya could not cover those monsters without hitting the Allied ninjas, so the chaos continued for about half an hour.
It finally ended with the last follower's roar of "Long live Lord Jashin!"
Of the thousand-plus residents of this town, none were spared; all were dead.
And on their corpses, Jiraiya could clearly see a faint smile—a longing for the Divine Kingdom.
Nearby ninjas were rescuing the wounded. The scorpion claws extending from their bodies and the Quinques in their hands moved constantly, helping the ninjas with their work.
Jiraiya glanced again at the charred monster corpses on the ground, and he suddenly felt a lapse in his spirit.
In the end, who is the real monster?