Post-Battle Cleanup

Jiraiya looked relieved, asking if the Wood Dome that had just protected Nadeshiko and the others was used by Uchiha Qiu Yang.

"Nothing escapes your eyes, Teacher. Haha!"

It was as good as an admission.

Hearing this, Jiraiya let out a sigh of relief; it seemed the survivors inside the Wood Dome had indeed been teleported away by Uchiha Qiu Yang using the Flying Thunder God.

It was fortunate it hadn't been Yamato, or the masked man would surely have killed everyone inside when he entered to verify the situation.

However, Jiraiya remained worried—the woman with whom he had made a promise long ago seemed to be in a dire state.

"Let's go, take me to see how they are doing."

Uchiha Qiu Yang nodded and led the way; since the enemies had already been eliminated, he did not use the Flying Thunder God to travel.

Naruto and Yamato, still reeling from the shock of Uchiha Qiu Yang's Kamui, hurried to follow behind.

Yamato, in particular, hung his head like a frost-bitten eggplant, his mind a complete mess.

As the saying goes, comparisons are odious, and comparing people only leads to frustration.

The Wood Release ninjutsu he had once taken such pride in was, compared to Uchiha Qiu Yang's, the difference between a child and an adult.

"Jiraiya-sensei, aren't you curious why I can use Wood Release and the Second Hokage's techniques?"

Uchiha Qiu Yang felt the journey was too dull, so he took the initiative to chat with his teacher with a cheeky grin.

Jiraiya shook his head, indicating he had no interest in that.

Or rather, he had long since been mentally prepared for this through the prophecy of the Great Toad Sage.

If the person of the prophecy did not possess extraordinary talent, they could hardly be called the person of the prophecy.

All Jiraiya needed to do was guide the mindset of this prophesied individual and ensure he did not stray toward evil.

As for how far his strength would grow, he could not control it, nor did he wish to.

Soon, the group arrived at the place where Uchiha Qiu Yang had placed the survivors, only to find that Nadeshiko's master, who had been severely wounded, was now breathing her last.

Sakura, drenched in sweat from exhaustion, was using medical ninjutsu to keep her alive. Seeing them arrive, she explained the situation:

"She suffered severe internal injuries, and she is already..."

She was hanging on by a thread, waiting for Jiraiya.

"Ji... Jiraiya... long time no see!"

"I am so sorry..."

Jiraiya sighed, walked over, and knelt down to support the middle-aged woman as she tried to lift her head. Memories of their past flashed through his mind, yet he was powerless to save her.

Just as he had been powerless to stop his dear friend Orochimaru from defecting all those years ago.

"Little... girl, I have things to discuss with Jiraiya. No need... no need to treat me anymore. You all... leave... give us some space."

Nadeshiko cried and begged her master not to, but upon seeing her master's stern gaze, she dared not disobey and stood there like a child who had done something wrong.

Uchiha Qiu Yang found this side of Nadeshiko quite novel. After receiving a signal from Jiraiya, he took Nadeshiko's small hand and called for her clansmen to move further away.

He didn't care if his teacher was discussing political negotiations or sharing personal confidences with that woman.

It was none of his business anyway!

"Uchiha Qiu Yang, is there really... no way to save my teacher?"

Uchiha Qiu Yang did not answer; instead, he leaned in closer, patted her head, and pulled her against his chest.

"People must experience parting and death before they can grow up."

When he had saved them, his Sharingan had already revealed that her master's injuries were beyond saving—unless Naruto, who would eventually receive the power of the Sage of Six Paths and the Yang Release, were to appear!

But for Naruto, who had yet to obtain the chakra of the nine tailed beasts, that was nothing more than a fantasy.

How could Nadeshiko not understand what he meant? She gripped his clothes and let out a muffled sob.

Uchiha Qiu Yang patted her back, offering soft comfort. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something very important between him and Nadeshiko that he had overlooked, but he couldn't quite recall what it was.

Ten minutes later...

Jiraiya walked toward the group with a heavy expression and announced what Nadeshiko's master had just entrusted to him—

From this day on, Nadeshiko would become the leader of these survivors, and Jiraiya, representing Konoha, had agreed to assist them in collectively relocating to Konoha.

After finishing these matters, Jiraiya cast a meaningful glance at Nadeshiko, who was still sobbing uncontrollably against Uchiha Qiu Yang's chest.

Once Nadeshiko recovered from the grief of losing her master, the first thing she had to face was how to handle the aftermath.

"I want to find and bury my fallen clansmen before returning to Konoha with you. Is that alright?"

Nadeshiko looked up at Uchiha Qiu Yang with a pitiful expression. He couldn't bear to refuse, so he turned to seek the opinion of the mission leader, Jiraiya.

Jiraiya nodded in agreement; he had promised an old acquaintance he would take care of these people, so he would naturally not refuse.

However, he added a condition:

"We must finish this within a day, or I fear that old monster from Iwagakure might return."

Having secured the time, Nadeshiko naturally didn't complain about the rush. After wiping her tears on Uchiha Qiu Yang's clothes, she prepared to take action.

"Nadeshiko, when I activated the Deep Forest Emergence ninjutsu, I specifically avoided your clanspeople... You just need to search in the areas where the growth isn't as dense."

Nadeshiko conveyed her gratitude with reddened eyes, and after tending to her master, she led the remaining clanspeople to search for the other victims in the village.

Influenced by the sorrowful atmosphere, Naruto and Sakura also followed along to help.

Qiuyang watched Nadeshiko's fading back and sighed.

Sigh, that is why the Ninja World needs a powerhouse capable of dimensional-level suppression over everyone.

Take Naruto and Sasuke after the Fourth Great Ninja War, for instance; they were truly existences capable of crushing all ninja villages. With them acting as a deterrent, the Ninja World became much more peaceful, and the situation where disorderly expansion triggers wars ceased to exist.

Unfortunately, with his current strength, he cannot become an existence that crushes everyone.

"Captain Yamato, please use Wood Release to create the corresponding number of wooden coffins after they confirm the number of victims."

Yamato was a warm-hearted person by nature, and seeing Qiuyang address him as captain so politely, he agreed immediately.

Soon, everyone spent the better part of the day collecting and preparing all the victims, placing them in the open space outside the original shrine.

After obtaining Nadeshiko's consent, Qiuyang and Jiraiya stood on either side and used Earth Release ninjutsu to create several hundred burial pits in this open space.

Once all the victims were buried, Jiraiya led the survivors of the village on the journey back to Konoha.

Because some were not ninjas, their travel speed was much slower. After following the group for a day and finding no other abnormalities, Qiuyang took advantage of the team's rest time to find his teacher.

Perhaps sensing a crisis after witnessing Qiuyang's strength, Naruto had been pestering Jiraiya throughout the journey to teach him new, powerful ninjutsu.

Jiraiya was thoroughly annoyed and was currently using this rare break to close his eyes and rest.

Hearing footsteps, he assumed it was Naruto coming to bother him again, but he let out a sigh of relief when he opened his eyes and saw it was Qiuyang.

"What is it? You brat aren't thinking of leaving the team to do something else again, are you?"

"Truly, the one who knows me best is my teacher!"

Qiuyang grinned as he sat down beside his teacher, requesting to leave the team to attend to other important matters of his own.

In any case, the team was now within the borders of the Land of Fire, and he assumed Ōnoki wouldn't be brainless enough to come in here and cause trouble for them.

He had no choice!

He had to hurry and find the Two-Tails jinchūriki Yugito and the Four-Tails jinchūriki Rōshi to obtain the Tailed Beast parts.

Otherwise, if Akatsuki got there first, he would be finished; he had absolutely no confidence in being able to demand the missing Tailed Beast parts from Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan.

Under Qiuyang's persistent pestering, Jiraiya finally agreed to his request, only demanding that he return immediately if he received a summons from the village.