After leaving the tent, Hayato wore a thoughtful expression.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's body had aged too severely. The Tree of Life had caused far too much irreversible damage; even infusing him with vitality could not make up for it.
From now on, Sarutobi Hiruzen could no longer use advanced ninjutsu, or his life would be at risk. For Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had spent his entire life on the battlefield, enjoying his grandchildren might not be such a bad ending.
The curtain had finally fallen on a hero of the ninja world.
There were nine tailed beasts, each with different abilities and personalities.
Kurama of the Nine-Tails was tsundere, Gyūki of the Eight-Tails was gentle, Isobu of the Three-Tails was a shut-in, so calling Shukaku of the One-Tail a "brat" could not have been more fitting.
At that moment, Gaara had already used the False Sleep Technique and fallen asleep. Naruto, meanwhile, had used the Nine-Tails' chakra to summon a giant toad—Gamabunta.
Shukaku and Gamabunta were roughly the same size, but Gamabunta was a fairly powerful summoned beast, while Shukaku was an aggregate of chakra. There was quite a gap in their strength.
Shukaku had only one tail, but a tailed beast's strength was not determined by how many tails it had. In the desert, even Kurama would find Shukaku troublesome. Even outside the desert, Shukaku ranked in the middle among the nine tailed beasts.
Shukaku howled strangely and continuously fired Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullets, while Gamabunta kept intercepting them with Water Release: Water Bullets.
At this rate, Gamabunta might not last more than a few exchanges.
Hayato found Jiraiya hiding behind a tree.
Hayato said, "Lord Jiraiya, is it really alright for you to show up without putting in any effort?"
Jiraiya glanced at Hayato. "It's you, kid. That