Emerging from the explosion of the ink clone, Shisui did not pursue the retreating Killer Bee. Instead, he turned to Byakuya, who had been watching the battle for some time, and curiously asked, "Lord Byakuya, why didn't you stop Killer Bee?"
Byakuya, remembering something, replied, "Killer Bee's strength is not on the same level as Yugito's. Even if the two of us joined forces, it would be a tough battle. There's no need to complicate things further. Besides, the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan isn't quite as legendary as I expected. You're much weaker than the fabled Madara Uchiha. You can't even fully control a Jinchūriki."
Shisui fell silent. While the Mangekyō had indeed enhanced his strength, apart from Susanoo, the other improvements were not as significant. It certainly wasn't as overwhelmingly powerful as the legends suggested.
Byakuya chuckled, then said, "Madara Uchiha wasn't that strong from the beginning either. One day, your power might surpass his, but for now, you should focus on yourself. Your Mangekyō has already been exposed. Killer Bee saw your Sharingan, and so did all these Cloud ninjas."
Hearing this, Shisui glanced at the trembling Cloud ninjas nearby and sighed softly, "Ever since that day, I stopped trying to hide my Mangekyō. Only by showing enough strength can I protect the clan."
"Protecting the Uchiha with just this power won't be enough. It's not only the people in the Hokage building who are plotting against your clan."
Byakuya gave Shisui a meaningful look, then said, "The ones who will ultimately destroy the Uchiha... will be the Uchiha themselves."
Shisui pondered this cryptic statement, feeling that Byakuya was hinting at something, but he had no idea what exactly. He looked at Byakuya again, only to see him with an inscrutable expression, which left Shisui feeling even more perplexed.
Sighing, Shisui gave up trying to figure it out and said,
"Lord Byakuya, I'll go help Lord Jiraiya. I'll leave these Cloud ninjas to you."
With that, Shisui disappeared in a flash.
After Shisui left, Byakuya turned his attention to the Cloud ninjas. He found a jōnin who looked like a leader and directly asked, "Where are Sasori of the Red Sand and Kakuzu?"
The Cloud jōnin was momentarily stunned, then his face twisted in terror.
Sasori and Kakuzu were external mercenaries Cloud Village had recruited recently. They had killed many Konoha shinobi on behalf of Cloud. How could this Konoha ninja know them?
At that moment, the jōnin realized something terrifying.
Byakuya must be in the same organization as Kakuzu and Sasori. They were all mercenaries who knew each other, manipulating the war from the shadows. In front of them, both Konoha and Cloud were nothing but playthings.
How ridiculous...
Seeing that the Cloud jōnin was unwilling to answer, Byakuya immediately used genjutsu to force the information out of him. He quickly learned the location of Sasori and Kakuzu and vanished into the forest.
As Byakuya disappeared using the Body Flicker Technique, the surrounding Cloud ninjas let out a collective sigh of relief.
The boy, who had descended upon them like a demon lord, was finally gone. But was there even a need for this war to continue? Should they still go and support the Fourth Raikage and Lord Killer Bee?
They exchanged glances and saw the same confusion in each other's eyes.
In the end, with heavy sighs, they came to an unspoken agreement: this war between Cloud Village, Konoha, and the Land of Hot Water was nearing its end.
---
In another part of the battlefield, the Raikage, in his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, was unstoppable. His speed, strength, and defense were all greatly enhanced, and even basic ninjutsu couldn't harm him.
Among the Konoha ninjas present, the only one left who could face him was Jiraiya.
In Sage Mode, although Jiraiya's speed and strength still couldn't match the Fourth Raikage, he was able to barely withstand the Raikage's relentless attacks thanks to his Frog Kumite and the buffering of natural energy.
As he used the force of the Raikage's punch to leap backward and create distance, Jiraiya quickly formed hand seals and shouted,
"Sage Art: Goemon!"
With his shout, the two sages on his shoulders, Fukasaku and Shima, also formed seals. Fukasaku launched a powerful Wind Release, while Shima released a stream of Oil Release. Finally, Jiraiya spewed out a stream of fire, completing the Sage Art: Goemon technique.
In an instant, a fan-shaped wall of fire formed, reaching thousands of degrees in temperature, distorting the air around it as it swept across the battlefield like a tidal wave.
Even the Fourth Raikage, as formidable as he was, couldn't afford to directly confront such intense heat.
As the flames closed in, he quickly vanished from the area enveloped by the Goemon, reappearing on the ground beside Jiraiya.
At this moment, the Raikage felt a surge of relief that he hadn't charged in with his subordinates earlier.
Although Konoha lacked a proper Jinchūriki due to the chaos caused by the Nine-Tails incident, the combination of Jiraiya and his summoned beasts could easily match a Jinchūriki's strength. And this was just one of the legendary Sannin—besides Jiraiya, Konoha still had Tsunade and Orochimaru.
As the Fourth Raikage dodged the flames, other Konoha ninjas joined the fray, keeping a close eye on him. Though the Raikage possessed near-beast-level regeneration and chakra reserves, he wasn't invincible.
Seven or eight years ago, Iwagakure's Ōnoki had devised a plan to surround and wear down the Third Raikage, who had the strength to physically combat tailed beasts. They managed to exhaust and kill him in battle.
If they could defeat or even kill the Fourth Raikage here, this war would quickly come to an end.
Just then, a booming voice echoed behind the Konoha ninjas, followed by a blood-red figure breaking through the sound barrier, charging toward them at high speed.
"Lariat!"
The incoming figure was none other than Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki.
Sensing that the Fourth Raikage might be in danger, Killer Bee had rushed to the battlefield, hoping to assist his brother.
In response to Killer Bee's Lariat, both Hiashi Hyūga and Chōza Akimichi stepped forward.
Using his massive, enlarged body and the Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation in tandem, they managed to block Killer Bee's attack, but Chōza was forced to cancel his Partial Expansion Jutsu, and Hiashi felt as though his bones were about to break.
Though the two had successfully stopped Killer Bee, they couldn't prevent him from reuniting with the Fourth Raikage.
As Killer Bee arrived at his brother's side, the Raikage immediately asked,
"Killer Bee, why did it take you so long to come to my aid? Where's the rest of the backup?"
"Big bro, about that..." Killer Bee started to speak but was cut off by the Raikage's sharp glare, prompting him to answer honestly, "I was held up by an Uchiha and some kid, that's why I was delayed."
"An Uchiha? One who could stop you?" The Raikage's face darkened.
Killer Bee hurriedly explained, "Not just any Uchiha—he has the Mangekyō Sharingan. And that kid… he has an endless supply of explosive tags..."
"Mangekyō Sharingan?!"
Upon hearing this, the Raikage's expression became grim.
When had Konoha gained a Mangekyō Sharingan user? They had hidden this ace so well—it seemed Konoha had intentionally feigned weakness to lure them into a trap and weaken their forces.
The faces of the Konoha ninjas also changed upon hearing the words Mangekyō Sharingan. They realized the significance of this revelation.