Naruto left once again, leaving the four Kage and Sasuke completely helpless. This time, they were thoroughly defeated.
"Damn brat!" The Fourth Raikage climbed up and smashed the floor fiercely with his good arm.
"Alright, stop complaining. The Sage's secret treasure has been taken by Naruto. What should we do now?" Terumī Mei asked.
"There's no way. That guy's movements have always been secretive, and we are obviously no match for him in a direct confrontation," Tsuchikage Ōnoki said with a gloomy face.
"Let's go back first. Staying here won't help anything," Tsunade said as she stepped forward to treat the Fourth Raikage's injury.
The four Kage were carried out of the Sage's cave dwelling by Sasuke's Susanoo.
But just as they left the cave, the head of the Thousand-Armed Buddha called out to them.
"Hey, descendant of the Sage of Six Paths, how is your mission going? Did you stop that brat with the Rinnegan?" the Thousand-Armed Buddha asked.
"Sorry, Senior. We were no match for Naruto, and he snatched the Sage's secret treasure," Tsunade answered.
"That's really terrible," the Thousand-Armed Buddha said regretfully.
The four Kage fell silent upon hearing this.
Suddenly, an idea struck Tsunade, and she asked: "Senior, do you want to leave here with us? I still have many questions I want to ask you."
Although the Thousand-Armed Buddha was now just a big head and had completely lost its combat power, in Tsunade's view, the intelligence it possessed was extremely precious and would be of great help to them.
The Thousand-Armed Buddha was moved upon hearing this: "Your proposal is very good. Since I was created, I was ordered by the Sage of Six Paths to guard the cave dwelling. I have lived in vain in this dark secret realm for over a thousand years. Now that my mission is complete, it is time to go out and see the world."
His voice paused for a moment, then he spoke again: "However, I can no longer move. I'll have to trouble you to take me out."
"No problem." Tsunade agreed immediately, then turned to Sasuke and said: "Sasuke, please."
Sasuke didn't speak, just nodded.
He was a person who understood the big picture and knew the role the Thousand-Armed Buddha could play.
"Wait a moment." The Thousand-Armed Buddha blew a breath towards the Sage's cave dwelling. Inside the cave, various runes on the walls were instantly activated, and the cave visibly shrank by a large circle.
The Thousand-Armed Buddha opened its huge mouth and swallowed the Sage's cave dwelling in one gulp.
Seeing the surprised looks of the four Kage, the Thousand-Armed Buddha explained: "This cave dwelling was built by the Sage of Six Paths with special materials. It is a good treasure in itself. It's reasonable for me to take a little something as payment for guarding the secret realm for the Sage for a thousand years, right?"
The four Kage nodded one after another.
"What it said is completely correct, but I feel weird in my heart," Terumī Mei whispered.
"Its tall image in my heart collapsed instantly," Tsunade also whispered.
"Exactly, that's the feeling."
Sasuke used Susanoo to encase the four Kage and then pushed the Thousand-Armed Buddha's head out of the secret realm like a dung beetle pushing a ball.
...
Back on the small island, the war here had ended.
After Naruto left, the remaining army of over 200,000 White Zetsu retreated like a tide. At this time, only the Allied Shinobi Forces remained on the island, licking their wounds.
Kazekage Gaara temporarily took Tsunade's position to reorganize the Allied Forces. When he saw the huge Buddha head surfacing from the sea, he was startled, thinking Naruto's subordinates were landing on the island again.
But when he saw the familiar purple Susanoo surfacing with the Buddha head, he breathed a sigh of relief and controlled the sand to carry his body towards Susanoo.
After Sasuke threw the Buddha head onto the shore and deactivated Susanoo, Gaara hurried forward to ask: "How is the situation?"
"We failed. The Sage's secret treasure was taken by Naruto," Terumī Mei answered.
Gaara nodded upon hearing this, not feeling much surprise because this was expected.
Even eight Tailed Beasts joining forces were no match for Naruto. The five of them chasing him was a choice made out of helplessness. Fortunately, they returned safely, which was a blessing in disguise.
"What do we do next?" Gaara asked.
"Withdraw the Allied Forces back to the mainland first. There is no meaning in staying on the island anymore," Tsunade said.
"Hokage, where do you plan to withdraw the Allied Forces? This battle is over. There is no point in gathering the Allied Forces together anymore. I propose we each return to our own villages," the Fourth Raikage said.
Terumī Mei immediately retorted: "What's the difference between disbanding the Allied Forces and waiting for death? If we gather together, we still have a chance of winning!"
"Gather together so it's convenient for that brat to annihilate us? That brat only needs to summon a meteorite from eight hundred miles away to wipe out the Allied Forces!"
"Alright, stop arguing. Now is not the time for infighting!" Tsunade interrupted their conversation, then said seriously to the Raikage: "Let the Allied Shinobi Forces gather together. Our Konoha still has the Four Red Yang Formation to protect them. If we disband the Allied Forces, aren't we just waiting to be slaughtered by Naruto?!"
"This old man agrees with the Hokage's view and proposes that the entire Allied Force withdraw to the Land of Fire, Konoha," Tsuchikage Ōnoki said.
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
Four of the five Kage expressed their agreement, so the Raikage had to agree to their plan.
...
"I didn't expect the status of the four of them to be higher than yours. Aren't you a descendant of the Sage of Six Paths? Why didn't you become the leader of the Ninja Sect?" The Thousand-Armed Buddha, who had watched a big drama with great interest, looked at Sasuke and asked teasingly.
Its voice was very loud, and everyone around could hear it.
"That set of rules in your memory is long outdated. Now is the era where the Five Kage are the talkers of the Ninja World," Sasuke said expressionlessly.
"Who is it?" Gaara whispered to the four Kage.
At first, he thought the Thousand-Armed Buddha was Naruto's subordinate, then he thought it was Sasuke's trophy. Now listening to its tone, it didn't seem to be the case.
Tsunade briefly recounted their experience in the Sage's secret realm to Gaara, making him frown.
"So Naruto's strength will increase again?"
"That's right." The four Kage nodded in unison.
"...Considering past friendship, is it too late for us to surrender now?"
"Don't even think about it. That kid has long gone crazy. If you don't want to turn into ashes with the Ninja World, then fight hard," Tsunade patted his shoulder encouragingly.
"..." Gaara was speechless and choked with emotion.
Tsuchikage Ōnoki then asked Gaara: "Kazekage, I didn't have time to ask just now. Has the casualty count of the Allied Shinobi Forces been calculated?"
"There are less than 70,000 Allied Forces left. The loss is around 31,000," Gaara answered in a deep voice.
"Hmm... better than expected," Tsuchikage Ōnoki said.
Tsunade sighed: "If Naruto hadn't intervened twice in the battlefield, I'm afraid the casualties of the Allied Forces wouldn't have exceeded ten thousand."