"Tch, this guy looks pretty intimidating at first glance, but in the end he's staying so far away. Who knows what he's thinking."
Although Mōryō's appearance was quite imposing, after fighting for half a day, not only had he not gotten any closer to Konoha, but he even showed signs of retreating backward.
This made the others watching feel a sense of mockery in their hearts. Even the slight wariness that had arisen from his demonic nature gradually turned into contempt.
"Forget about him, Deidara. The tricky ones have already found us."
"Got it, Big Brother Sasori. But since they've latched onto us, the tailed beast matter probably has nothing to do with us anymore."
Hearing Sasori's reminder, Deidara's gaze also turned toward the two people approaching their side. One of them Deidara recognized—the famously renowned Sharingan Kakashi.
The other was wearing a green training suit. Although he didn't know this person, since they could team up with Kakashi to deal with him and Sasori, their strength probably wasn't weak either.
Because neither of them—whether it was Explosion Release or puppet techniques—feared being surrounded and attacked very much.
"The Akasuna no Sasori feared by the Hidden Sand Village and the missing-nin from the Hidden Rock Village, Deidara? Be careful, Gai. These two aren't easy to deal with."
"Sorry, but this isn't a place where you can do whatever you want."
After warning his comrade, Kakashi immediately lifted the forehead protector covering his Sharingan. The opponents were both very strong, leaving little room to hold back.
"You're the son of Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Kakashi? Perfect. Deidara, leave him to me. You go deal with the one with the thick eyebrows."
...
"Hidan... I didn't expect it to really be you. Why are you participating in the attack on the village as well?"
Looking at the figure opposite him that somewhat resembled one from his memories, Jiraiya's expression could not help but darken somewhat. He had already experienced a former comrade harming the village once; he just hadn't expected such a thing to happen again now.
"Wow, impressive. Hidan, I didn't expect you to actually know one of the legendary Sannin, Jiraiya. That's a big shot."
Seemingly not noticing Hidan's silence, Shinnō began to mock unrestrainedly after realizing the two knew each other, though his tone showed no trace of respect for Jiraiya.
"Hehehehe, Jiraiya, you're asking why I'm here? It's simple. I came here to prove to all of you that the person you once looked down on has now surpassed you."
After a moment of silence, Hidan suddenly burst into loud laughter, his voice carrying a hint of madness, yet his pointed sarcasm showed that he was exceptionally clear-headed at this moment.
"It seems you have some grudge against this legendary Sannin, Hidan. In that case, do you need me to step in and help you take care of him together?"
By the end, Shinnō's lips curled into a ferocious grin. The thought of a legendary big shot dying by his hand made his heart surge with excitement.
"No need. I want to handle him personally. Just help me keep these annoying pests from interfering. Their strength may be lacking, but flies can still be very irritating sometimes."
Hidan had no intention of teaming up with Shinnō. Instead, he pointed at the dozens of ninjas lying around them—these were the ones they had encountered before meeting Jiraiya.
"..."
Jiraiya had naturally noticed those ninjas lying around in miserable states. Although he had anticipated such a situation in his heart, hearing Hidan's extremely mocking metaphor still caused a flash of anger to appear on his face.