With Orochimaru's escape, the battle that should never have happened finally came to an end.
Shinji, who had been keeping a close eye on the battlefield through Naobi, breathed a sigh of relief.
The outcome of the battle meant nothing to him. As long as the half of the Nine-Tails sealed inside the Reaper's belly reappeared in the Shinobi World, he would have achieved his goal.
After that, all he had to do was spread the information and let the Akatsuki Organization learn of it. The rest was for Nagato and Obito to worry about.
So Shinji used Naobi to give Karin, who was still at the battlefield, a few more instructions.
"Understood!"
Karin had been frustrated that she hadn't completed the deal, but when she received Shinji's new instructions, she quickly acknowledged them.
Then she, Ryūsetsuna, and Chiyo began arranging the battlefield.
Orochimaru, Kabuto Yakushi, and the three Hokage had withdrawn in great haste, leaving behind plenty of traces.
Most prominent were the trees brought forth by Wood Release. Although many had quickly withered once they were no longer sustained by Wood Release Chakra, the battlefield was still covered with trees that looked utterly out of place in the surrounding terrain.
"Over here!"
Ryūsetsuna suddenly called out.
Karin and Chiyo, who had split up, hurried over. Following Ryūsetsuna's pointing finger, they found a specially made Kunai in a crack in the ground, engraved with the words "Sword of Ninja Love."
"Yes, this is it!"
Karin had just fought the Fourth, and she recognized at a glance that the Kunai in the crack was one of the Fourth Hokage's signature weapons.
Putting on gloves, she carefully took the Kunai from the crack and set it on the ground. Karin quickly formed Hand Seals. "Four Symbols Seal: Seal!"
As she pressed