Amegakure, Leader's Residence.
Yahiko and Konan were anxiously waiting.
Until they had a definitive outcome, Amegakure dared not act recklessly.
However, Yahiko had already prepared for the worst.
If Nagato and Minato failed to rescue Jiraiya-sensei and ended up captured themselves, there would be only one path left for him to take.
He truly didn't want to turn against Konoha, but he would never abandon Nagato and the others for the sake of Amegakure.
They shared the same ideals and had walked this path together.
If achieving peace meant sacrificing his comrades, it would completely contradict his original intentions.
Amegakure was no match for Konoha, but the Land of Fire was not in a position to easily wage war either.
And if one of the Five Great Nations were the instigator of conflict, Konoha would not be willing to lose Amegakure as an ally!
Yahiko had prepared thoroughly for this possibility.
"Lord Yahiko!"
A ninja suddenly rushed in from outside.
Yahiko stood up in an instant, ignoring the sharp pain from his wounds caused by his sudden movement. "Is Nagato back?!"
Konan also turned toward the messenger, her expression filled with urgency.
"No, it's an envoy from Konoha."
An envoy… from Konoha?!
Yahiko's heart sank.
He glanced outside at the sky—by his estimation, it was still too early for news to arrive.
A bad premonition surged within him.
Yahiko took a step forward but nearly stumbled.
Fortunately, Konan reacted quickly and caught him.
"Yahiko…" Konan said worriedly.
Yahiko asked, "Do you recognize the person who came?"
"It's Konoha's Jonin squad captain, Maruboshi Kosuke."
Yahiko took a deep breath. "Let him in!"
............
The alley was deathly silent.
Minato reached out toward Naruto.
Naruto, frightened, instinctively shut his eyes.
But instead of harm, he only felt a hand gently rest on his head.
Opening his eyes, he looked up at the so-called villain in front of him, only to see that the man's expression was strangely contorted, as if he were struggling to suppress something deep inside.
"Hey."
Just as Minato was immersed in his grief, an untimely voice suddenly interrupted.
"Can you take your hand off him?"
Everyone turned toward the source of the voice.
A girl stood alone in the otherwise empty street, holding a plastic bag with several skewers of dango inside.
"Anko-neechan!"
Seeing a familiar face, Naruto and Sasuke immediately brightened, running toward her without hesitation.
Minato didn't stop them.
He merely stood in silence, watching as the two children ran away.
Naruto and Sasuke reached Anko and clung to the hem of her clothes, both making faces at Minato from behind her.
Anko handed them the bag. "Hold this for me."
Then, she warned them sternly, "And don't sneak a bite!"
The two boys held onto opposite sides of the bag, obediently nodding.
Anko took a step forward, locking eyes with Minato and Jiraiya.
"Namikaze Minato. Jiraiya. This mess—you're the ones stirring things up from behind the scenes, aren't you?"
She let out a cold scoff. "The village is in chaos, and yet he still calls himself Hokage? What a joke."
From behind her, Naruto suddenly spoke up. "Anko-neechan, don't talk bad about my dad!"
Sasuke nodded in agreement. "Yeah!"
Anko turned and glared at the two children. "Shut up, or I'll hand you over to the bad guys!"
The two kids were instantly frightened into silence, not daring to say another word.
Anko-neechan is so scary…
At that moment, Minato finally withdrew his gaze from Naruto.
He turned and walked over to Jiraiya, grabbing his arm.
In the next instant, both of their figures vanished into thin air.
Anko, who had been preparing to make a move, paused in surprise.
She glanced up at the massive insect-like beast in the sky, furrowing her brows in deep thought.
She let out a sigh of relief and turned to look at Naruto and Sasuke. "What are you two doing outside? Were you taken out here?"
"It was Naruto! He insisted on coming to watch the execution."
"Liar! You're the one who said you wanted to come!"
"No, it was you!"
The two brothers started blaming each other.
Anko, annoyed by the noise, smacked both of them on the head.
They instantly fell silent, clutching their heads with teary eyes.
She scolded them, "Go home, now!"
After saying that, she picked up her bag and stood up.
But Naruto and Sasuke grabbed the hem of her clothes again.
"Anko-neechan, we're scared. Can you take us home?"
"..."
..............
Outside the Main Gate of Konoha.
Hakumen and Guy were locked in battle with Nanabi, Chomei.
The power of a Tailed Beast was not to be underestimated—every casual movement of its limbs caused the ground to rupture and the surrounding forests to be utterly devastated.
Fortunately, Konoha's protective barrier shielded the village from the destruction, even managing to deflect a full-powered Tailed Beast Bomb, sending it flying away.
The two of them watched as the bomb exploded in the distant sky, forming a massive, mountain-sized fire-red mushroom cloud.
The resulting shockwave bent the nearby forest in all directions, tearing countless massive trees straight from their roots.
This left them both deeply shaken.
If that attack had landed directly on them, their bodies would have been utterly obliterated!
But what troubled them most was Nanabi defense—it was unbelievably strong.
The beetle-like exoskeleton was incredibly tough.
Even Hakumen's Forty Gods Vacuum Strike, a technique capable of shattering mountains, had only managed to leave a faint white mark on its shell!
This is the power of a Tailed Beast!
Compared to it, humans were still far too insignificant!
"Hakumen, do you have any ideas?"
Guy delivered a powerful punch against Chomei's body, only to have the impact reverberate back, causing his own hand to throb in pain.
Having recently made a bold promise in front of the Hokage, even Hakumen couldn't help but feel a slight sense of frustration.
Would the Hokage have to come deal with this personally after all?
Beside him, Guy's chakra surged once more, his body now surrounded by visible spiraling blue energy and thick white steam.
Guy's eyes were now filled with white energy, his entire body transforming into a streak of blue light as he launched relentless attacks around Chomei.
However, no matter how fast or fierce his strikes were, he couldn't break through Nanabi exoskeleton.
Whenever he aimed for the beast's unarmored areas, Chomei would release a dense cloud of scale powder, forcing him to back off.
"This again?!"
Guy couldn't help but feel frustrated.
Just then, he noticed the beast gathering chakra once more.
A swirling mass of black, red, and blue energy condensed in front of its mouth, forming a nearly solid black-and-red sphere.
"Guy, watch out!"
Hakumen shouted from below, warning him to retreat.
He suggested falling back into Konoha and using the village's protective barrier to block the incoming Tailed Beast Bomb.
Both of them quickly withdrew behind the barrier—only to realize that Chomei had suddenly flapped its wings and soared high into the air.
"Something's wrong! It's aiming at the ground!"
............
Inside the Hokage's Office.
The world outside was in chaos, yet Makoto sat leisurely in his chair, sipping tea as he admired the view through the floor-to-ceiling window.
Knock, knock, knock—
"Come in."
The door opened, and a figure stepped inside.
"Lord Hokage, we've received word from Lord Kosuke. He reports that the mission has been completed, and they are on their way back."
"I see."
Makoto responded calmly, placing his teacup down on the desk.
The messenger quietly withdrew, and Samui approached, carrying a black cloak.
She draped it over Makoto's shoulders as he rose from his seat.
"Lord Hokage, it's cold outside. Please be careful."
As she carefully adjusted his cloak, Makoto simply reached out and gently brushed his fingers against her chin.
"It's time to put an end to this farce."
--------------
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