"Everything comes at a price. We came here seeking peace, but your Tsuchikage welcomed us with greed."
Xingzhuo's voice rang especially loud through the grieving crowd.
"He chose his own fate. If you want someone to blame, blame him and his disciple for their greed. We of Konoha are people of noble character. Once we make a promise, we keep it."
As he spoke, he took the yellow-brown invitation from Lingyin and crouched to tuck it into Mu's bandages.
"Now, I've delivered the invitation meant for you to the Second Tsuchikage. Since the First Tsuchikage was willing to end this matter at the cost of his own life, my companions and I will be magnanimous and overlook Iwagakure's attack on the three of us."
With that, under the gaze of dozens of bloodshot eyes, he took a step back, grabbed Yuto and Lingyin, and escaped instantly with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Heaven knew, forcing a village's Kage to his death had never been part of his plan!
There were still hostages beneath his feet. Now that he had a chance to run, he'd better take it!
If he stayed, even wringing every last bit of life force out of Yuto wouldn't be enough to secure the final victory.
After teleporting away, Xingzhuo received a mission notification.
But he didn't open the System Panel to check it right away.
Instead, he used his last bit of chakra to summon an Ink Wash Flying Bird with Super Beast Imitating Drawing, then climbed aboard and fled toward the Land of Fire as if his tail were on fire.
They might have been in the right this time, but Iwagakure wasn't going to reason with him.
The three rested on the bird for more than two hours. Yuto repeatedly used the Mind's Eye