However, how could Kōki admit that he was in a period of decline? Besides, Kitsuchi's words were clearly just speculation. If he really showed signs of weakness, that would be truly dangerous.
Therefore, he had to project a strong sense of confidence in order to intimidate Kitsuchi.
Thinking this, Kōki walked straight towards the Kitsuchi, and said to Kitsuchi with a mocking expression, "Since you think I'm bluffing, why don't you take action and verify your guess? Or are you scared?"
As he spoke, his steps toward the Kitsuchi quickened, and he secretly activated the remaining Chakra within his body, causing several towering trees to suddenly sprout from the ground.
His relaxed and confident demeanor actually made Kitsuchi doubt his own guess. He thought to himself, "Could my guess really be wrong? Otherwise, why would that Wood Release kid dare to get close to me?"
As Kitsuchi, filled with self-doubt, watched Kōki get closer and closer, the invisible pressure he felt grew stronger and stronger, and he finally lost his initial confidence.
He panicked!
He feared that Kōki still possessed considerable strength, so upon seeing Kōki approach, he immediately retreated, increasing the distance Kōki.
There was no other way; Kitsuchi dared not gamble. He was the last Kage Level shinobi in the Iwagakure forces. If something happened to him, Iwagakure could simply declare surrender.
Seeing the Kitsuchi recede, Kōki smiled, but his smile was only in his heart; on the surface, he still maintained his confident demeanor.
As the Kitsuchi receded, the Iwagakure behind him were immediately thrown into panic.
They had only been inspired by Kitsuchi to rekindle their fighting spirit, but now that Kitsuchi Tu had retreated, their hard-won morale collapsed immediately. What caused even more commotion among the Iwagakure was the appearance of a white-haired figure.
"It's Jiraiya, one of the Sannin Jiraiya. He's broken free from Lord Kitsuchi's control!" A Iwagakure exclaimed in terror upon seeing Jiraiya's sudden appearance.
That's right, the person who came was Jiraiya, who had been trapped by Kitsuchi using Earth Release. He had successfully escaped and was standing in front of Kōki.
"Sorry I'm late!"
Jiraiya's tone was apologetic; he hadn't expected the Kitsuchi to be so troublesome, and he almost got into trouble because of his carelessness.
"It's alright, Lord Jiraiya. It's just a small village called Iwagakure. Even without your help, I can handle it all by myself." Kōki waved his hand dismissively at Jiraiya's apology.
That confident demeanor lessened Jiraiya's guilt considerably.
The Konoha Ninja nearby, seeing Kōki's expression, felt even more confident.
But secretly, Kōki breathed a sigh of relief. Actually, he was really afraid that Kitsuchi would just come up to him and start fighting.
Fortunately, Kitsuchi's confidence wasn't that strong, or perhaps he had too many concerns, which allowed his empty city strategy to succeed.
Seeing Kōki's nonchalant demeanor, Jiraiya laughed heartily, " Kōki, this won't do. If I don't step in, the old men in the village will really give me a good scolding."
After saying that, he turned to look at the Iwagakure people opposite him, " Iwagakure guys, if you want to make a move, then bring it on. Jiraiya is here waiting for you."
It's clear to anyone with eyes that the Iwagakure has lost much of its fighting spirit, Konoha's victory is a foregone conclusion.
However, considering that if the pressure on the Iwagakure Ninja continues to be too great, they might continue to fight desperately to protect themselves.
That would inevitably cause unnecessary damage to Konoha. Therefore, he wanted to try to scare away Iwagakure as much as possible, since the two Jinchūriki captured by Kōki were already a huge achievement.
On the other side, Kitsuchi's excellent leadership mind made him instantly understand Jiraiya's hidden meaning.
He didn't want his troops to suffer heavy losses, but he was also unwilling to abandon the village's important Jinchūriki so easily. So, he feigned a tough tone Jiraiya, " Jiraiya, if you return our two Jinchūriki, today's battle will end here. Otherwise, we will not retreat so easily."
These words almost made Yuki, Jiraiya was behind Kōki, burst out laughing. Kitsuchi was completely treating Konoha like idiots! How could Konoha possibly agree to such a request? Who would agree to the terms of the weaker party when they held the advantage?
If such conditions are agreed to, then one would be a complete traitor to Konoha.
Clearly, Jiraiya a fool. How could he possibly agree to such a ridiculous condition as Kitsuchi's? He replied domineeringly, "Then let's continue. I just couldn't bear to see your Iwagakure ninjas die in vain. Since you, Kitsuchi, don't appreciate it, I won't say anything more. Let's see whether Iwagakure can't withstand the losses first, or Konoha can't withstand the damage."
Now things were really messed up. Kitsuchi Jiraiya disagreed, which was somewhat expected, since Jiraiya some brainless idiot. But he hadn't expected Jiraiya refuse so directly, even suggesting continuing the war. Wasn't the Will of Fire of Konoha supposed to value comrades the most? This completely contradicted the Will of Fire.
"Haha, Jiraiya, don't be angry. Doesn't your Konoha always emphasize not abandoning your comrades? Now, if you just give us two Jinchūriki who are meaningless to you, we can coexist peacefully today. Isn't that saving the lives of your Konoha Ninja?"
Fortunately, he didn't really intend to get the two Jinchūriki back just by talking. He had already secretly arranged for someone to rescue Roshi and Han. His words were merely to lull Jiraiya and Kōki into a false sense of security and buy time.
Behind Kōki, where Roshi and Han were, a large, rough hand quietly emerged from the brownish-yellow ground, gently dragging Han deeper into the earth.
All of these actions were carried out very discreetly, and were not detected by anyone from Konoha.
Just as the large hand was about to take Roshi away in the same way, Kōki realized something was wrong.
Kitsuchi's endless ramblings, coupled with his refusal to take any action, seemed to be nothing more than stalling for time.
Out of caution, Kōki used his Sensory Ninjutsu to investigate whether Kitsuchi was plotting something.
As it turned out, this perception actually led him to discover something amiss: his house was about to be completely robbed. Kōki couldn't help but curse Iwagakure for being shameless, resorting to such a tactic of stealing his house.
Therefore, he immediately shouted at Jiraiya, " Lord Jiraiya, Kitsuchi is stalling for time; he's sending Jinchūriki!"
Before Jiraiya could react, he immediately ran back, but since he wasn't at his peak, he was a little too late; half of Roshi's body was already buried in the ground.
Thinking that he couldn't let Iwagakure take both of his spoils, Kōki disregarded the fact that he would expose his weakness and prepared to use his last Superhuman Strength Technique, hoping to shatter the ground and force Iwagakure to retreat.