Persuading Surrender

Jiraiya did not expect his suspicions to be confirmed; the other party was indeed deliberately luring him here.

"What is it that you want?"

He stared at the other party with a solemn expression.

"Hmm?"

Uchiha Arashi was taken aback by the question. "What do I want?"

"You attacked Konoha, slaughtered Anbu ninja, and fabricated a trail leading through the Land of Grass toward the Land of Earth, all to lure me here. What exactly are you trying to achieve?"

Jiraiya asked again.

Uchiha Arashi suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

"These questions are utterly nonsensical. The Uchiha clan has been wiped out, leaving us homeless. We have no choice but to seek revenge against the culprits and eliminate those who hunt us down. And now, you ask me what I am doing? Is your Excellency still half-asleep? How else could you spout such drivel?"

"The one who wiped out the Uchiha clan was Uchiha Itachi, and the village has already listed him as a wanted criminal..."

"And so what? Do you truly believe Uchiha Itachi could have annihilated the entire Uchiha clan alone? You don't take me for a fool, do you? Besides, I am also an Uchiha. Do you think I don't know what happened that night?"

"..."

Right. The person standing before him was an Uchiha.

Jiraiya sighed inwardly.

"The Uchiha were plotting a coup. To maintain stability, the village had to eliminate all potential threats."

"Isn't that just a trumped-up charge? Does the mere mention of a coup mean I deserve to die? If that's the case, the Uchiha should have purged the villagers of Konoha long ago. There were plenty of villagers who wanted the Uchiha dead, and given their hatred for the Police Force, they seem like unstable elements as well."

Uchiha Arashi followed Jiraiya's logic, nodding as he finished speaking.

"Killing ninja isn't easy, but slaughtering a few civilians is effortless. Although I am already a traitor to Konoha, I grew up there after all. For the sake of Konoha's peace, perhaps I should go back and slaughter a batch of villagers."

"You..."

Jiraiya was choked by these words.

He naturally knew his own argument was full of holes, but he was also speaking the truth. As far as he knew, the Uchiha did indeed show signs of plotting a coup, and it had likely reached the brink of eruption. Otherwise, knowing his teacher, the Third, he would never have slaughtered a clan within the village without absolute evidence.

Moreover, there were other large and small ninja clans in the village. If the village had acted without justification, did they really think the other clans would just sit idly by?

Did they not understand the concept of "when the lips are gone, the teeth are cold"?

The fact that no one intervened proved that the Uchiha were indeed a grave danger, one that could have triggered a massive catastrophe.

Maintaining stability was a consensus shared by everyone, not just the one-sided rhetoric of the Third.

Unfortunately, when it came to verbal sparring, he was clearly no match for Uchiha Arashi.

"Come back with me."

"What?"

"Although you have committed grave errors, the Hokage is willing to spare your life. Come back with me and accept your punishment. You will lose your freedom, but you will survive."

Jiraiya stated the Third's decision.

The Uchiha had already been wiped out, and only a few survivors remained. Unless they could all awaken the Mangekyo, they were not enough to shake Konoha. But as long as these people existed outside, they remained a significant threat. More importantly, if other nations were to grasp the power of the Sharingan, it would pose a genuine danger to Konoha.

Therefore, after careful deliberation, the Third decided to let these people live.

Even if they had attacked Konoha and caused many deaths, he was willing to make concessions as long as it ensured the peace of the village.

Jiraiya's most important mission on this trip was to persuade them to reconcile; continuing the fight would benefit neither side.

This was the greatest sincerity the Third and the upper echelons of Konoha could offer.

Uchiha Arashi, however, was so angry he laughed.

"You slaughtered thousands of my clansmen, and now you want me to surrender and return to the village to accept punishment? Do you think I'm an idiot? You claim you can guarantee my life—why don't you say that to the dead Uchiha? See if they believe your ghost stories."

"So, you have decided to refuse?"

"What do you think?"

"Then there is no other way..."

Jiraiya sighed.

"In that case, I have no choice but to defeat you with my own hands and drag you back!"

Before his voice had even faded, he had already prepared his ninjutsu.

"Ninja Art: Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"

In the next second, Jiraiya's hair elongated abruptly, lashing out toward Uchiha Arashi like a python.

Though the hair appeared soft, it possessed immense strength; if one were ensnared, even solid rock could be easily crushed. Furthermore, the hair grew at an astonishing speed, reaching Uchiha Arashi in the blink of an eye.

Uchiha Arashi had already activated his Mangekyo. The moment the long hair was about to touch him, he suddenly shifted half a step to the side and completed the hand seals with one hand.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

A dozen fireballs flew along the strands of hair toward Jiraiya.

Jiraiya reacted even faster, retracting his hair at a speed far exceeding that of the fireballs.

He immediately flashed away, completing the hand seals while mid-air, and slammed his palms onto the ground the moment he landed.

"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"

The ground beneath Uchiha Arashi suddenly began to soften, the once-solid rock defying logic as it rapidly transformed into a swamp.

This ninjutsu could artificially create a marsh, depriving enemies of their footing, making it highly effective against large targets. Even against a single opponent, if it couldn't trap them completely, it was still useful for restricting their mobility.

Unfortunately, Jiraiya had encountered someone who did not play by the rules this time.

"Earth Release? Interesting..."

Uchiha Arashi smiled faintly, and where Jiraiya could not see, the Eye of God glowed slightly.

At the same time, Uchiha Arashi gave a light stomp, and the ground that had been churning and on the verge of becoming a swamp suddenly calmed down, the softened earth reverting back into solid rock.

"?!"

Jiraiya widened his eyes, his face filled with disbelief. "What kind of ninjutsu is this?"

"The kind that can defeat you, of course!"

Uchiha Arashi clenched his fist, and the surrounding rocks surged violently as sharp stone pillars erupted from the ground, thrusting toward Jiraiya.

Jiraiya had no choice but to retreat at high speed, constantly changing direction to dodge the attacks rising from beneath his feet.

Meanwhile, he observed the Masked Man opposite him, noticing that the opponent showed absolutely no signs of performing hand seals.

Is it a Kekkei Genkai? Or a dojutsu? He can control rock, and there's that other space-time type... This is going to be troublesome.

After dodging for a moment, Jiraiya suddenly stopped and slammed his right hand hard against the ground.

"Summoning Technique!!!"