Bring Lord Jashin Into the Fold

Darui listened to Demiurge's report. His languid expression gradually turned grave, and hesitation flickered in his eyes.

After a moment of silence, he lowered his voice. "Are you sure you can pull it off? Isn't the risk too great?"

Demiurge straightened gracefully, wearing an assured, knowing smile.

"Please rest easy, Lord Raikage," he replied calmly. "Even if the plan goes slightly awry and things don't turn out as we hope,

it will be nothing more than another mad act by those lunatics in the Jashinist Cult. They've always been secretive and unpredictable. What would any of it have to do with Kumogakure?"

His words were a carefully woven web that left them free of blame.

Darui frowned. He looked toward the place where Naruto and the other three had disappeared, then back at the War Weapons behind him, built at enormous cost to Kumogakure.

The promise of gain, the stirrings of ambition, and his wariness of Konoha clashed fiercely within him.

At last, the hesitation in his eyes gave way to cold resolve. He nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Understood." Demiurge caught his meaning and smiled with satisfaction. He stepped back and crouched slightly.

The next instant, with a sharp whoosh, a pair of enormous, leathery demon wings burst from his back, radiating an ominous aura!

The wings blotted out part of the moonlight and cast a fearsome shadow across the ground.

Demiurge beat his wings and rose soundlessly into the air. Like a giant bat merging with the night, he flew toward a designated point far from the battlefield and soon vanished into the darkness.

Darui remained where he was, staring after Demiurge for a long time without a word.

The Canopy Screen's footage ended there.

In the present, the solemn, stirring farewell outside Iwagakure unfolded clearly before the Third Tsuchikage,