Desperate Situation

All this while, a pair of eyes watched them from high above. No matter how fiercely they fought, nothing escaped his gaze.

Shin, cloaked in black, silently watched it all. They had already left behind the Land of Lightning's most rugged highlands; farther down lay the Land of Moon.

Judging by the situation, the normal choice would have been to stop pursuing them. After all, they were about to leave the Land of Lightning's borders.

But in truth, Kinkaku and Ginkaku had no path of retreat. The moment they chose the risky course of staging a coup, they had set foot on a road of no return.

If they gave up their pursuit of Senju Tobirama, Kumogakure and Konoha might still have room to reconcile, and war might not necessarily break out. But that was not what the two brothers wanted.

If Senju Tobirama escaped back home, Kumogakure's pack of bone-devouring higher-ups would surely hand the brothers over to appease Konoha's fury. Even with elite troops under their command, at most they could trigger internal unrest, only to be suppressed in the end.

Their only way out now was to go all the way—kill Senju Tobirama and start a war with Konoha. Only then, under pressure from Konoha, would Kumogakure choose to protect powerful combatants like the two brothers. They might even obtain the position of Raikage.

That was why they were fighting so desperately. Otherwise, they would never have risked their lives so foolishly just because Shin had said he wanted Senju Tobirama dead.

In this world, people lived for themselves.

After another clash, both sides suffered losses. Senju Tobirama and his group entered the Land of Moon, where the terrain changed completely. There were still highlands, but forests became more plentiful, making it more suitable for their escape.