"Pfft—"
Slamming hard into a tree and coming to a halt, the Raikage spat out a mouthful of blood.
The Kumogakure Ninjas nearby were stunned; their pillar of strength had actually been injured.
"Lord Raikage, are you alright!"
The Kumogakure Ninjas pushed back their opponents, created distance, and rushed toward the Raikage.
The Konoha Ninja did not pursue; they were also stunned at this moment.
They had actually witnessed the Raikage being sent flying and injured, a scene that hadn't even occurred during the Third Shinobi World War.
"Cough, cough—"
The Raikage coughed a few times, caught his breath, slowly stood up, stared fixedly at him, and said through gritted teeth:
"It's all that guy Killer Bee's fault for distracting me. I won't let him off the hook later."
He was very confident in his younger brother's strength and did not believe anyone in Konoha could hurt him. He had just been worried, which caused him to lose focus.
Kakashi looked at the Raikage, who had only sustained minor injuries, and frowned. He had been aiming to take his life.
"Did he use Lightning Release to block that strike at the critical moment? What quick reaction speed."
"Boom—"
A crack suddenly exploded from the center of the battlefield, and a figure holding the unconscious Killer Bee burst out from the ground.
When the Raikage saw that Killer Bee's entire body was charred black and his presence was weak, his pupils constricted. His original anger was instantly replaced by shock and fury as he roared:
"Bee, how did this happen? Who injured him like this?"
The Kumogakure Jonin holding Killer Bee said to the Raikage:
"Lord Raikage, we should hurry and take Lord Bee for treatment. His injuries are truly too severe."
Upon hearing this, the Raikage looked around. He knew that this war could not continue; the Hidden Cloud Village could not win. If it went on like this, he might even end up losing his life here.
He looked at Homura Mitokado with an unwilling expression. "This time, you Konoha have won. However, it's not over. The Hidden Cloud Village will definitely return."
After saying this, he glared fiercely at Kakashi, as if trying to memorize his appearance forever.
"Kumogakure Ninjas, retreat!" The voice resounded across the entire battlefield.
The Kumogakure Ninjas who were fighting heard this and immediately created distance from their opponents, rushing toward the rear.
The Konoha side did not stop them; their casualties were also heavy. Since the strategic objective had been achieved, they did not want to cause unnecessary sacrifices.
Upon seeing this, Homura Mitokado let out a long sigh of relief and shouted loudly: "Stop! We have won!"
The Konoha Ninja erupted into earth-shattering cheers. Everyone raised their weapons high and shouted, their exhausted faces filled with wild joy and relief.
Kakashi also let out a long breath, his tense body finally relaxing.
Looking at his hands, he still didn't know what had happened to his body, what the light particles in the air were, or how he had entered that god-like state at the end.
There were too many mysteries that needed to be unraveled one by one.
At this moment, Homura Mitokado walked over to him, smiling, and said: "Kakashi, congratulations on defeating the Raikage. I will request a commendation for you from the Village."
As the number one person of the new generation, Kakashi being able to cross the threshold of Kage-level was tremendous news for the Village.
Konoha was currently experiencing a shortage of talent; the Fourth Hokage had died in battle, and of the Sannin, two had left and one had defected. It was an unprecedented state of emptiness, and Kakashi crossing this threshold happened to fill the void.
"You are too kind. It was just a stroke of luck; I'm not sure if it could happen again," Kakashi said modestly. He really didn't know how to enter that state.
Homura Mitokado shook his head, thinking he was being modest.
The medical department at the rear base.
Kenta was wrapped like a zongzi, lying on the bed unable to move. Aoki Yoru and Yui were lying on their beds with listless expressions; this was the aftermath of excessive consumption of Chakra and mental energy.
On the side, Kakashi looked at them with amazement. "Congratulations to you all; you actually managed to defeat the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki!"
On the way back to the camp, he had met Maruboshi Kosuke's team. Hearing them recount the process, everyone had looks of disbelief, as if they were listening to a tall tale.
Not just Kakashi, but everyone else in the room was looking at them with shock and awe. They hadn't expected that the three of them, at such a young age, could actually defeat the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
Although they hadn't seen the process, just the giant lightning beast and the earth-shattering explosion were enough to imagine the intensity of the battle.
"Well! We almost died. This time was just good luck; we borrowed the timing. Any other time, we would have only been able to flee in a sorry state."
Aoki Yoru, lying on the bed, had a splitting headache. He hadn't expected the aftereffects of excessive mental energy consumption to be so great.
"Woo woo woo—"
Kenta, who was wrapped up like a zongzi, moved his mouth and made sounds.
Kakashi was puzzled. "Does Kenta have some need?"
"He is congratulating you on defeating the Raikage," Aoki Yoru translated for him.
Then he congratulated him: "I also have to congratulate you, Kakashi-sensei. You are now famous throughout the Ninja World."
Yui, next to him, nodded in agreement. To be able to fight the Raikage to that extent was a rarity in the Ninja World.
Upon hearing this, Kakashi shook his head. He felt this time was an accident, and it might not happen again.
He didn't feel any joy. If he carried too many expectations, trouble would follow one after another, just like his late father.
At this moment, an Anbu pushed aside the curtain and walked in.
"Excuse me, Lord Kakashi, Lord Jiraiya requests your presence."
Kakashi was surprised upon hearing this: "Lord Jiraiya has arrived at the front line?"
The Anbu nodded: "Yes, he arrived three hours ago. He spoke with Advisor Homura Mitokado and asked me to invite you over."
Kakashi nodded, said goodbye to his disciples, and walked out of the tent.
"Hahaha—"
Sitting in the main seat, Jiraiya saw Kakashi enter, stood up, walked to his side, patted his shoulder forcefully, and laughed loudly:
"Kakashi, I've heard everything. I thought you would continue to sink, but I didn't expect you to finally cross that threshold. You truly live up to being Minato's disciple."
He was filled with joy at Kakashi getting back on his feet; after all, Kakashi was essentially his grand-disciple.
He then added with praise: "And you have also trained three excellent disciples. I have learned about the process; the three little ones are very good. In the future, they will be the pillars of the Village."
Kakashi smiled bitterly: "Thank you for your praise, Lord Jiraiya, but I am still confused."
Under Jiraiya's curious gaze, Kakashi described his previous state in detail.
Jiraiya's knowledge was incomparable to his; perhaps he might know something.
Listening to Kakashi's description, Jiraiya's originally casual expression gradually became serious.
"Does Lord Jiraiya know something?" Kakashi asked tentatively, seeing Jiraiya's expression.
Jiraiya nodded slightly: "I have some leads. Wait a few seconds."
After saying this, he bit his finger, smeared blood on his palm, and pressed his hands together.
Kakashi stood to the side, watching quietly.
A few seconds later.
"Summoning Technique."
"Poof—"
White smoke rose, and two toads appeared, one green and one purple. The purple toad wore a scarf and held a rice scoop—it was none other than Toad Fukasaku and Toad Shima.