Jiraiya watched the massive back of the Eight-Tails receding, his eyes burning with unwilling intensity!
How great a price had Konoha paid to secure today's victory? How could they easily let go of the Fourth Raikage Ay, who was on the verge of having Kumogakure's backbone severed?!
He wanted to give chase! He still had Senjutsu Chakra left; perhaps he could—
As if sensing Jiraiya's killing intent and determination, the galloping Eight-Tails beast suddenly twisted its body!
Its hideous mouth opened, and a vast amount of Chakra, enough to make everyone on the battlefield feel heart palpitations to the point of suffocation, gathered and compressed frantically!
A high-density black energy sphere rapidly took shape in its mouth, emitting destructive gravitational waves that even distorted light!
Tailed Beast Ball!
That pitch-black orb of destruction, like an abyss, was pointed not at Jiraiya himself, but at the direction where the main Konoha forces and the remnants of Kumogakure were fiercely clashing!
A silent warning clashed violently between their thoughts!
Pursue? The cost would be the lives of hundreds or even thousands of their own ninja army, enduring a point-blank Tailed Beast Ball explosion! This wouldn't be a victory; it would be mutual destruction!
Jiraiya's pupils shrank sharply, his hands clenched until they cracked.
Flames of anger burned fiercely in his chest, but were eventually suppressed by reason.
He saw the desperate madness in Killer Bee's beastly eyes—the light of a cornered beast pushed to the brink, willing to do anything to protect what it cherished.
He had the chance to detonate the Tailed Beast Ball before it hit the battlefield, but doing so would be extremely risky, and he wouldn't be able to continue the pursuit. It wasn't worth the cost.
"Bastard—!" A low curse squeezed out of Jiraiya's throat, full of frustration and resentment.
He could feel the other party's determination to leave quickly, that pitch-black Tailed Beast Ball locking onto every heartbeat of the battlefield behind him.
Resisting the urge to pursue, he retreated sharply while remaining on guard, but finally, he slowly dissipated the remaining Sage power gathered in his palm.
The massive Eight-Tails in the distance let out a heavy breath, seemingly confirming the threat was gone, and the terrifying Chakra fluctuations in its mouth slowly faded.
It didn't look back; its massive body stumbled slightly, but it disappeared into the distant dust and smoke at an even more resolute speed.
Big Brother, you must hold on!
"It's over, Little Jiraiya." Fukasaku slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, his weathered frog eyes looking at the smoke in the distance and the dissipating Tailed Beast aura, his tone carrying an unspeakable sigh, "Though it's a pity, this is the best choice for now."
Although Shima was still brooding over letting the enemy escape, seeing Jiraiya's dejected profile, she softened her tone: "That's right, that's right! That barbarian Raikage was almost beaten to a pulp, and the Eight-Tails has become a bald-tailed octopus, half-dead! This war, Kumogakure definitely can't keep fighting. We won!"
Jiraiya's tense body slowly relaxed; Fukasaku and Shima were right.
He closed his eyes, replaying the image of the Fourth Raikage with twisted arms, shattered armor, and a dying breath;
The image of the Eight-Tails' back, shredded and bloody by the Collector's Ninjutsu, with its tentacles almost all severed;
Then considering Yugito's weakened strength, all three of Kumogakure's top combat powers had been heavily damaged. After this battle, Kumogakure's core strength had been completely broken!
The goal of this battle, to force Kumogakure to stop invading Konoha, had been achieved!
A heavy sense of fatigue, mixed with a great sense of relief, washed over Jiraiya's entire body like a tide.
The Sage Mode Chakra that had supported him and pressured his nerves finally receded like a tide.
The withdrawal of the massive Natural Energy brought a slight dizziness and a deep sense of weakness.
The wonderful lingering charm of insight and explosive power brought by Senjutsu had disappeared. The sense of transcendence during the battle faded, and his senses returned to the mundane. The pungent smell of blood on the battlefield, the scent of scorched earth, and the wails of the wounded instantly became incredibly clear and heavy.
But seeing the incredible ecstasy gradually appearing on the faces of the Konoha Shinobi on the battlefield, and seeing the remnants of Kumogakure fleeing in panic and retreating in a state of collapse, an unspeakable sense of heavy satisfaction overwhelmed his physical fatigue.
It's over!
This brutal war of attrition, footnoted by soil soaked in blood, Konoha had won!
"Hiss, splendid, truly splendid." An exclamation of admiration that didn't reveal much emotional fluctuation suddenly rang out from the side.
A gray-robed figure appeared quietly like a ghost; it was the Collector, who had retracted his "Kujaku Myōhō: Dragon God" and arrived here at some unknown time.
His gaze under the mask swept over the scorched earth, overturned by the Sage Art: Massive Rasengan like a meteorite crater, then toward the mess and deep gullies left by the fight between the Fourth Raikage and Jiraiya, and finally rested on Jiraiya's exhausted but still upright figure.
"The true power of one of 'Konoha Sannin'—it lives up to its reputation. In just a few breaths, you were able to push Ay, who was in his peak and..."
"known for the 'strongest attack and defense,' into a dead end."
The Collector's tone carried a hint of inquiry and evaluation, "If not for that Killer Bee's intervention, I'm afraid the Ninja World would have one less Kage today."
He paused and added, as if stating an objective fact: "Of course, the Eight-Tails' frenzy also exceeded expectations.
To save its brother, it even tanked my Ninjutsu, allowing it to provide support here. That can be considered my mistake."
Jiraiya slowly turned around, staring at this mysterious collaborator before him.
The other's gray robe flapped in the wind, and the gaze hidden behind the hood and mask was like a bottomless cold pool.
Although the cooperation had achieved its goal, having seen the terrifying form of that purple-gold dragon the other party controlled—
The deep wariness in Jiraiya's heart grew quietly beneath the joy of victory.
"Likewise." Jiraiya's voice was low and gravelly, with the hoarseness after battle, "Your 'Purple-Gold Giant Dragon' technique played a vital role in pinning down the Eight-Tails. Without you sharing the pressure, facing the full Eight-Tails, my Sage Mode might not have been able to unfold so smoothly and lock onto the Raikage."
"As for the final turn of events," Jiraiya continued, his tone returning to the sincerity of an employer, "there's no need to explain. The power and will the Eight-Tails erupted with at that moment surpassed common logic. It's not entirely your responsibility that it was able to break through with the Raikage."
He paused and made a serious promise: "The agreement remains unchanged. Your assistance was highly effective, and Konoha recognizes this contribution. The remaining part of the transaction will be delivered as agreed."
The Collector seemed satisfied with Jiraiya's straightforwardness.
Without any hesitation, he casually threw a small sealing scroll.
"Very well. The information on the specific delivery location is inside. A pleasure doing business with you, Lord Jiraiya." His words were still brief and cold.
As soon as he finished speaking, the gray-robed figure turned into a cloud of ethereal white smoke, dissipating like a ghost into the smoke and dust permeating the battlefield.
Jiraiya was a bit stunned seeing this. He didn't even come in his true body?
Was he worried I would use Sage Mode against him?
Jiraiya gave a bitter smile. How could he, the great Toad Sage, do something like burning bridges after crossing them? This was truly annoying.
He had originally wanted to ask the other party about the Uzumaki Clan, but it seemed there was no chance now.
"A Shadow Clone from beginning to end, he never even showed his true body?" Fukasaku looked at where the white smoke had dissipated, a hint of amazement flashing in his wise frog eyes, "This level of caution and strength is unfathomable."
"Hmph, a guy playing mystery!" Shima flicked her tongue, her words unable to hide her dissatisfaction with this mysterious character's style, "I always feel like you're losing out a bit by making deals with him, Little Jiraiya—"
Jiraiya gripped the scroll that still carried the lingering warmth of the other's Chakra, looking deeply at the retreating Kumogakure forces in the distance, listening to the increasingly loud waves of cheers belonging to Konoha gathering from all over the battlefield.
"No." A genuine, relieved smile finally broke out on Jiraiya's face, his voice not loud but full of power.
"Maybe he's not a likable guy. But at least this time, he was on our side. It's precisely because we had this key 'trump card' that we could end this damn war so quickly!"
He looked at the scarred but still standing Konoha Shinobi in the distance, at the young figures searching for the wounded in the ruins, his eyes full of complexity.
"It's over," Jiraiya whispered softly, as if to carve these words into his heart.
He looked at the two Sages and thanked them tiredly but sincerely: "Old Man Fukasaku, Granny Shima, you've really worked hard this time. Without your help, today's battle would be unimaginable."
"Alright kid, why are you being so polite with us!" Shima waved her hand.
"Haha, seeing that you're fine and Konoha has won, we're relieved." Fukasaku smiled kindly, stroking his beard.
Then he turned serious, "I'm sure there will be a thousand things to handle after the war, so go and deal with them. We two old folks will head back first."
Two clouds of white smoke rose, and with a slight "poof" sound, the two Sages of Mount Myōboku disappeared from Jiraiya's shoulders.
The last bit of resistance from Kumogakure on the battlefield disappeared.
Cheers shook the heavens! The flag of Konoha fluttered in the wind over the land ravaged by war.
Jiraiya stood at the edge of the giant crater that symbolized the heart of the battle, looking around at this land of ruins, corpses, and survivors.
The afterglow of the setting sun painted a layer of sorrowful and heroic blood-red over the devastation.
Victory, after all, it was built with countless lives.
He took a deep breath of the air heavy with smoke and blood, his gaze becoming firm and heavy.
"Finally, it's time to end this!"
The smell of smoke and blood faded in the wind, no longer the burning scent of the center of the battlefield, but the painful embers of the battle's end.
Far away from that land boiling with victory and defeat, the Collector's figure solidified deep in a rarely visited dense forest.
He stopped under the shadow of a gnarled ancient tree, with only the sobbing of the forest waves around him, completely isolating the noise of the war.
At this moment, the mask concealing his identity was removed by its owner, revealing the real face of Takuno beneath. His expression carried a hint of exhaustion after the big battle, yet it couldn't hide the sharp light of scrutiny and thought deep in his eyes.
At this time, he was watching the figure of Eight-Tails Killer Bee escaping with the critically injured and dying Fourth Raikage Ay.
After a moment of hesitation, Takuno still chose not to block the other party's path at this time.
Although he also hoped to obtain the method for the Lightning Release Chakra Mode from them, this was not a good time—
Because the current Eight-Tails Killer Bee seemed heavily injured, but he was like a cornered beast. If someone blocked his path again at this time, there was a high probability he would fight to the death regardless of everything.
Moreover, asking for the method of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode at this time would be no different from exposing the fact that he had lied before.
His gaze finally turned away from Eight-Tails Killer Bee and fell onto his palm, where a small sealing scroll lay quietly.
It felt cool to the touch, but contained within was breathtaking power—a large number of severed limbs and tentacles left behind by that massive beast, the Eight-Tails.
Rubbing the patterns of the scroll with his fingertips, Takuno could clearly sense the violent Chakra sealed within, its vast quantity far exceeding expectations.
"It wasn't a waste of effort." He certainely smiled, the corners of his mouth curling slightly into a cold expression.
Originally, he only thought about cooling down the battlefield between Konoha and Kumogakure so that he wouldn't be so busy.
As it turned out, under the Eight-Tails' desperate and frantic counterattack and Jiraiya's amazing Sage pressure, it evolved into a fatal blow to Kumogakure's top combat power, eventually leading to a complete conclusion far beyond his imagination. Kumogakure's backbone was indeed snapped.
The war clouds hanging over the Ninja World were finally about to dissipate.
Kumogakure Village lost its Raikage spear (Fourth Raikage Ay near death), its strongest pillar among the Jinchuriki (Eight-Tails Killer Bee heavily injured), and one of its core threats (Yugito injured and unable to exert full strength in the short term).
The vacuum of high-end combat power meant that the scales of war had completely tipped toward the Konoha side.
Kumogakure had no other choice but to retreat and sue for peace. Konoha's victory was now set in stone.
Takuno closed his eyes slightly and rubbed his forehead tiredly.
The intensity of the Sage Mode shown by Jiraiya was still vivid in his mind.
That kind of power, which stood above ordinary Kage-level, was enough to drag the Raikage, who claimed to have the "strongest spear and shield," into the abyss of death in an instant.
If not for Eight-Tails Killer Bee's unexpected burst of willpower and sacrificial determination to intervene—the fall of a Kage might have been right before his eyes.
This strength was both within expectations and yet particularly shocking because of its decisive role in the battle.
As his thoughts turned, a sense of deviation from the "original work's" trajectory quietly emerged.
He clearly remembered in that buried timeline, the gloom of this conflict eventually turned into the tragedy of Hyuga Hizashi dying in place of his brother, becoming a footnote to Konoha's humiliating peace agreement.
Wasn't the root of that compromise precisely the disadvantage on the battlefield? The current situation was a complete reversal.
As the absolute victor, and with a leader like Minato who had decisive power rather than a sluggish Third Hokage, would history still repeat itself when Kumogakure tried to kidnap Hyuga Hinata?
I'm afraid if Kumogakure dared to play with fire again, they would face an even tougher iron fist from Konoha.
The times are different, and the gears of fate will inevitably turn in a different direction.
There was a slight dull pain in his shoulder from the Eight-Tails' fist wind passing by. Takuno stretched his muscles; this small price was not worth mentioning in front of the rich rewards.
He took a deep breath of the cool forest air, and his mind gradually calmed down.
The biggest obstacle before him, the endless Ninja World conflicts, had been temporarily shattered.
This meant that a rare and precious buffer period was about to come.
He would no longer be excessively bound by Konoha's requests for help or potential crisis whirlpools, and could devote his valuable energy to the fields he truly desired to explore.
Time, for him now, was a more precious resource than gold or silver.
His gaze turned toward the distance, seemingly piercing through the layers of the forest sea, looking toward the direction of Konoha.
In the next few years, if no external force stirred up huge waves, the Ninja World should enter a relatively stable period of recuperation.
The major events further down the line—
Probably the Uchiha Coup and Uchiha Massacre, but the plot had been changed beyond recognition by him. Would this event still unfold like the original work? The possibility didn't seem high.
Perhaps the Uchiha Massacre might not happen, but the possibility of a coup is definitely not zero!