"Tendo..." Uchiha Shin held the ancient sword hilt emitting a cold, sharp aura, looking at the figure floating in midair, and said calmly, "Pain?!"
At this moment, everyone stared at the suddenly appearing leader of the Akatsuki organization, the mysterious man with the Rinnegan.
The ninjas immediately halted their hand seals, their eyes filled with vigilance as they watched the two masked figures.
Although their villages...
Had decent relations with the Akatsuki, who knew if this sudden appearance of the Akatsuki leader was here to snatch the swords?
After all, those were blades capable of taking on ten opponents at once!
Though the current situation didn't seem too dire, at least...
The Rinnegan and the Mangekyō appeared to be enemies.
"You've finally shown yourself here," Pain said in an icy tone. "Uchiha Shin!"
"What is your purpose in collecting these blades?"
Hearing Pain's words, everyone's expressions tensed as they turned to stare at Uchiha Shin...
They, too, desperately wanted to know why this Mangekyō user was exterminating clans and seizing blades. Could these weapons hide some secret they were unaware of?
"For the peace of the shinobi world!" Uchiha Shin curled his lips slightly and said indifferently. "This world has long been sick, and I..."
"Uchiha Shin, will bring true light and true peace to this world."
"..."
Hearing Uchiha Shin's answer, the ninjas from the major villages fell silent.
Now...
Was it that doing evil deeds without invoking "peace" made one seem low-class?
Otherwise, why did arms dealers keep preaching about shinobi world peace, why did even Konoha—the leader of the Five Great Shinobi Villages—invoke shinobi world peace before dirty deeds, and now...
This clan-destroying maniac...
Was also shouting about shinobi world peace?
Were they being mocked for not being well-read?
Otherwise, what did any of this have to do with shinobi world peace?
If they started a war in the future, should they also chant "shinobi world peace"?
If they didn't, it somehow felt...
Like they'd be the villains!
"Shinobi world peace." Hearing Uchiha Shin's words, Pain fell silent for a moment before shaking his head. "Though I don't know what you intend to do, only equality, freedom, and democracy..."
"Are the sole path to achieving shinobi world peace."
"Your method is doomed to fail. Therefore..."
"Come with me to the Akatsuki."
"Stubborn fool!" Uchiha Shin snorted disdainfully. "The Akatsuki is nothing but a gathering of naive people."
"As for taking me back..."
Uchiha Shin raised his blade toward Pain. "Let's see if you have the ability."
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
...
Watching the two confront each other, the ninjas who had initially planned to intervene stopped in their tracks and quickly retreated, their faces filled with terror...
"Th-this... is this a ninjutsu?"
Seeing the unbelievable techniques before them, the ninjas fell silent.
Was this really something a shinobi could unleash?
Even their Kage probably weren't this strong!
"What do we do now?" A Kiri-nin asked Raiga, their commander, with a pained expression. "What kind of shinobi power is this?"
Having lived over twenty years, single for over twenty years, he...
Had never seen a shinobi this strong. Were they even practicing the same shinobi arts?
"Is... is the Mizukage this powerful?" The Kiri-nin watched the earth-shaking battle in the distance and gasped. "These techniques are beyond comprehension."
However...
Raiga himself felt a pang of frustration. He was just on a mission—why had he stumbled into a battle between gods?
And... should they still try to seize the sword?
"Let's observe first," Raiga gripped his own blade and said expressionlessly. "If things become impossible, we'll retreat."
The ninjas from the other villages stared in disbelief at the battle between the Rinnegan and Mangekyō. These techniques...
Even a C-rank jutsu was being used like a forbidden technique!
"How much chakra does that require?!" A Konoha-nin exclaimed. "The First Hokage must have been this strong too."
Beside him, Danzō stared fervently at Uchiha Shin, muttering, "This is the power of the Mangekyō... This is the power of the Mangekyō."
So this was its true strength!
No wonder it could rival the Wood Release of the God of Shinobi.
Danzō...
Touched the bandages over his right eye, narrowed his eyes, and smirked.
"I will master this power."
"Danzō-sama..." Hatake Sakumo watched the divine battle and took a deep breath. "What should we do now?"
Trying to seize the blade from these two...
Even if they combined all the ninjas from the five villages, they wouldn't survive a single jutsu from them!
If the First Hokage had this kind of power back then...
Why didn't he just conquer the shinobi world and enforce peace?!
Why make them suffer like this now?
"Wait," Danzō snapped out of his thoughts, touching his eye, and said calmly. "If things become impossible, we'll abandon the mission."
"Don't worry. I'll personally explain to the Hokage."
"Mission failure won't be your fault."
"Danzō-sama!!"
Everyone was moved by his words. They hadn't expected Danzō to be so understanding.
Only Sakumo looked at him strangely. As part of the pro-Hokage faction, he wasn't worried about repercussions, but...
Had Danzō changed?
"Ahem," Danzō coughed twice. "For now, we'll hold our position and observe."
"This is a battle between the strongest in the shinobi world!"
"An opportunity rarely seen."
"So take this chance to watch carefully."
"It might inspire us."
But...
Was the First Hokage really this strong?
With such power appearing in the shinobi world, how should the Five Great Villages respond?
Especially when their true goals remained unknown.
Such terrifying power...
...
Land of Rain.
Amegakure battlefield.
"Tsunade, the Hokage has issued orders," Jiraiya said to Tsunade with a smile. "I'm to temporarily take command of the Suna front."
"What is the old man thinking?" Tsunade frowned at Jiraiya. "You just got here, and now he's sending you to the Suna front."
"The battlefield is ever-changing," Jiraiya chuckled helplessly. "Sakumo was assigned a sudden mission, so I'm filling in."
Besides, this was a command position!
If he could achieve some merits during this time, wouldn't it strengthen his bid for Hokage?
"You... hmph..." Tsunade glared at him unhappily. "I know what you're thinking."
"Don't worry. I support you."
"Thank you, Tsunade," Jiraiya smiled warmly at her. "Believe me, I will become Hokage and change this world."
He touched the crystal necklace Tsunade had given him.
"And this necklace carries your blessings, so..."
"I will definitely succeed."
"I..." Tsunade glanced at the necklace in his hand, a flash of sorrow in her eyes. "Believe you."
Back then, when Nawaki wanted to become Hokage, she had given him the necklace, but...
She hoped it would bring Jiraiya luck this time.
"When Orochimaru arrives, I'll return to the Suna front to assist you, so..."
"You must be careful."
Hearing Tsunade's words, Jiraiya smiled gently and hugged her, whispering, "When the war ends, we..."
"Let's get married."