After reluctantly agreeing to Byakuya's plan, the group made their way toward the center of the battlefield.
On the way, they encountered Konoha ninjas engaged in combat with Cloud ninjas. Upon seeing Byakuya and his companions, who were dressed in Fire Cloud attire, the ninjas immediately halted their fighting.
One Konoha ninja recognized Yahiko and quickly said, "Yahiko-sama, are you here to support Jiraiya-sama? With your assistance, Konoha will surely defeat Kumogakure."
Yahiko remained silent, but Konan interjected, "We are here to end this war. Both sides, lay down your weapons immediately, or prepare for another fight."
The Konoha ninja wanted to say more, but upon seeing the explosive tags hovering in the air, he obediently shut his mouth. The Cloud ninjas also were also not courageous enough to mock them, unsure if these Rain ninjas would suddenly launch an attack.
With their presence intimidating countless ninjas, Byakuya and his group successfully reached the center of the battlefield.
At this point, the battle between the Fourth Raikage and Jiraiya had intensified.
Both the Fourth Raikage and Jiraiya, who were the main forces, bore injuries and their chakra was unstable, making it possible for them to lose control of their chakra modes at any moment.
Although Shisui was no match for Killer Bee, his Susanoo served as an excellent shield.
With the support of numerous Konoha Jonin, they had slightly gained the upper hand over Killer Bee. However, Bee's chakra seemed endless, making it difficult for him to be defeated anytime soon.
Seeing the evenly matched situation on the battlefield, Byakuya couldn't help but exclaim, "Yahiko, if we were to kill all the ninjas present, do you think it could spark a new ninja world war? By then all the nations would fight over the land of the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire, engaging in a fierce struggle."
Hearing this, Yahiko felt a rush of panic. He cautiously said to Byakuya, "Byakuya, you must be joking, right?"
"Looks like I can't hide it from you, Boss Yahiko."
Byakuya scratched his head and continued, "What can I say? I have a kind heart; I'm the peacemaker of the ninja world. Without me here, the entire ninja world would descend into chaos."
As for Byakuya's self-praise, the Akatsuki ninjas present wanted to retort but found no words to do so.
Given the current situation, Byakuya was indeed a key figure in maintaining the balance in the ninja world. If he were to truly eliminate the combatants on both sides, the ninja world would undoubtedly plunge into great chaos.
However, whether it would be the nations attacking Konoha and Kumogakure or targeting Amegakure was uncertain.
The arrival of Byakuya and his group soon drew the attention of Jiraiya and the Fourth Raikage, both of whom stopped fighting.
With confidence, Jiraiya declared, "Fourth Raikage, you might as well surrender now. A few of my students are as strong as I am, and they have come to support Konoha."
The Fourth Raikage's expression darkened, but surrender was out of the question. There was only a dead Raikage, not a surrendering one. However, why were these Rain ninjas helping Konoha? Had the Amegaure secretly reached an agreement with Konoha?
At that moment, Byakuya slowly descended from the air, positioning himself between Jiraiya and the Fourth Raikage. He said, "I'm sorry, but we are not on Konoha's side, nor are we on Kumogakure's side. We are here to do just one thing: to end this war."
The Fourth Raikage noticed Kakuzu and Sasori next to Byakuya and snorted coldly, saying, "War merchants like you sure have guts to talk about ending wars? Your Amegaure must be profiting from both sides."
Byakuya didn't deny it as he nodded lightly. "What you say is true, Raikage, but we are indeed here to end this war. If any of you wish to continue fighting, we of the Amegaure will attack whoever it is."
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Raikage's expression changed instantly as he disappeared from his spot, lunging toward Byakuya.
Compared to verbal exchanges, the Fourth Raikage preferred the collision of fists; if he couldn't be persuaded through force, any words would be ineffective.
Byakuya was well aware of this. Sensing the Fourth Raikage's position, he moved to confront him directly.
Before long, Byakuya felt the Raikage's overwhelming power. Each punch exchanged with him left Byakuya's arms tingling, and his whole body trembled.
Is this the speed and strength of the Fourth Raikage? It surpasses even that of the tailed beasts.
Quickly creating distance, Byakuya kept a close eye on the Fourth Raikage, suspecting that the Yotsuki clan might have some Otsutsuki bloodline; otherwise, how could their physical constitution be so formidable?
(AN: Again, author is aligning Raikage with a clan even though he isn't. I remember reading same setting in another Naruto fic but I forgot.)
After all, his own bloodline was already close to Ashura, not far from the Sage body.
As Byakuya was astonished, the Fourth Raikage was equally shocked. Apart from his father and Killer Bee, it was the first time he encountered a ninja daring enough to face him head-on.
Who is this kid? Why does he possess such a powerful physique?
If this kid teamed up with Jiraiya, he might be thoroughly defeated.
With this thought in mind, the Fourth Raikage placed his hands on his hips, pondering how to secure more advantageous terms for Kumogakure in the upcoming discussions.
Seeing Byakuya's formidable strength, many Konoha ninjas wanted to rush in and attack.
In their view, Amegaure clearly stood with them, and the so-called end to the war was merely a way to tilt the scales in favor of Konoha.
At this moment, Kakuzu and the others blocked the Konoha ninjas' path.
Yahiko and Konan also stopped Jiraiya, solemnly saying, "Jiraiya-sensei, please ask the Konoha ninjas to refrain from acting rashly. We are here to facilitate a serious discussion."
"If there are issues, they can be resolved at the negotiation table; there's no need to provoke a war."
Jiraiya glanced at Yahiko and Konan, recalling what he had previously said, then sighed softly, saying, "Konoha is the victim in this war and so, we are naturally willing to negotiate. But the Raikage kid isn't necessarily on board. They are currently occupying the land of the Land of Hot Water and show no signs of wanting to give up the war."
Hearing this, the Fourth Raikage felt displeased from afar and retorted, "Jiraiya, what does the Land of Hot Water have to do with Konoha? We sent troops to assist the Land of Hot Water in quelling rebellion. You are the ones who deliberately intervened in this war."
"Raikage, the Land of Hot Water is an ally of Konoha and so, when our allies are attacked, we must retaliate."
Jiraiya countered without backing down, firmly believing that Konoha was on the side of justice.
The Fourth Raikage sneered, "Is the Land of Hot Water truly on Konoha's side? During the last Ninja World War, Yugakure was an ally of Kumogakure. It was you Konoha who assassinated Yugakure leader, forcing them to side with Konoha!"
"Is that so?" Jiraiya was taken aback, he hadn't known this key information.
As Jiraiya and the Fourth Raikage argued publicly, revealing secrets without a care, the surrounding ninjas stopped fighting, waiting for a shift in the situation.
At this point, whether they could determine a winner or loser was no longer important to these ordinary ninjas.
Then, Byakuya suddenly interjected, "Sorry to interrupt you ladies but if you want to argue, you can wait until the war is over. You still haven't answered my question: do Konoha and Kumogakure still want to continue fighting?"