Then the five of them set off on their return journey, heading for the battlefield where the Water Shadow was stationed.
This time, their route hugged the far south, where they would basically never be surrounded by Konoha forces. They could not have been more high-profile, just short of telling Hiruzen Sarutobi to his face, The real me is here!
Come on, try smashing me to death with one blow again!
Under such circumstances, the pressure on Konoha multiplied. After two failed surprise attacks, they finally expressed a willingness to negotiate, and their first demand was that Rimuru be handed over.
Jiang Rui burst out laughing when he heard the news. With Great Sage's help, he led the other four in wiping out two small Konoha outposts in succession, along with several small ninja squads that had no idea what was going on. Only then did Konoha finally lower its head, changing its demand to, Get this damned menace out of here already!!
Stop letting him run wild in the Land of Fire, will you!!
Only after receiving the Water Shadow's orders did Jiang Rui reluctantly lead the four of them onward at full speed toward Mist's frontline headquarters.
There was one thing Jiang Rui had not expected!
The mission had actually been completed directly after this incident!
Two days later, Jiang Rui and the others successfully joined up with the Water Shadow's forces. Dressed in a black trench coat, Jiang Rui naturally took a seat at the negotiating table between the two sides.
Mist only needed to pay one price: it was forbidden from continuing to interfere with any of Konoha's future actions.
As for what Konoha had to give up, that was rather more substantial.
But for Konoha, these losses could be clawed back from Sunagakure after they