"Huff! Huff! Huff!"
The sound of heavy breathing echoed across the battlefield where the fighting had subsided.
Jiraiya, covered in sweat, was slumped on the ground, his chest heaving, looking extremely tired and disheveled.
His body was covered in dust, and his ninja outfit was covered in cuts from swords and burn marks from flames.
His once impeccably clean white hair was now a patchwork of black and gray, as if it had been rolled in a pile of dirt. If Orochimaru were here, he probably wouldn't be able to maintain his cool demeanor and would be laughed to death by Jiraiya's current appearance.
Of course, Minato, as Jiraiya's Minato, wasn't Jiraiya off. His once dazzling golden hair, which was as bright as the sun, had lost its luster and become quite dull. His face was covered in dust, and there were traces of Release Technique left on his ninja vest.
" Minato, how are you now?" Jiraiya had finally caught his breath, asked Minato beside him.
Most of the attacks were aimed at Minato, so Minato is under much more pressure than him.
"It's alright, Jiraiya- sensei, I'm fine, just a little tired."
Those frequent attacks really exhausted Minato.
You know, he's a speed-type ninja; logically, he should have an easier time.
But that wasn't actually the case. Although he was fast and easily dodged attacks, his main task was to subdue the Konoha Ninja were under the influence of Genjutsu. Moreover, his intense battle with Jörmungandr had greatly depleted his strength, leaving him with very little fighting power in the end.
Therefore, facing a massive attack from a large number of ninjas that resulted in both sides suffering heavy losses, Minato struggled to cope and ultimately only managed to knock out the ninjas with Jiraiya's help.
"It's good that you're alright. I never expected there to be a master of Genjutsu in the Light Organization. They were able to control so many Jonin and catch us completely off guard. Now that Roshi has been taken away, I don't know how I'm going to explain this to the old man."
Jiraiya was plagued by a headache at the thought that his carelessness had led to the village's most valuable asset being stolen. He didn't Jiraiya know how to face Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Minato also showed a remorseful expression at this moment. He also bore some responsibility for Roshi being taken away, after all, the person was lost in his and Jiraiya's hands.
No matter how you look at it, he was suspected of dereliction of duty. Therefore, he was somewhat distressed, unsure of what kind of punishment he would face next.
Just as Minato and Jiraiya were both consumed by self-blame...
"Thump thump thump"
Suddenly, a lot of footsteps came from behind, and they all looked back.
They saw a dense array of Konoha Ninja standing behind them. These ninjas were the ones who had spontaneously come to support Jiraiya and his group after seeing the unfavorable situation in the camp.
Upon arriving at the battlefield, they were greeted by a scene of devastation: ruins and shattered earth. Gamabunta, bleeding profusely from his wounds, Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze slumped on the ground, and at their feet, a group of Elite Jonin who were still breathing but had fallen into a coma.
They then realized that the reality on the battlefield was far more severe than they had experienced in the camp.
Seeing the surprised expressions on the faces of the support ninjas, Minato and Jiraiya exchanged a wry smile. They were indeed surprised, after all, who would have thought that just three enemies could overwhelm them and inflict such heavy damage?
After returning to Konoha's camp with the Konoha troops, Jiraiya first reported the situation on the battlefield to the village and awaited the village's next instructions.
Aside from this matter, he was simultaneously undergoing treatment and making new strategic deployments, because the loss of Roshi could potentially lead Iwagakure to have negative thoughts and bring about war.
Therefore, he needs to be prepared to face an attack from Iwagakure.
Meanwhile, by the time Jiraiya's information reached the village, it was already around ten o'clock in the morning.
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sitting in the Hokage's office, looked at the intelligence report in his hand with a furrowed brow, occasionally making "tsk tsk tsk" sounds while smoking.
This was followed by a long sigh, accompanied by thick white smoke.
Hiruzen Sarutobi never imagined that the situation in Konoha would deteriorate to such a degree in just a few days.
First, the Kumogakure deployed its Tailed Beast, nearly invading the Land of Land of Fire. Then, the Jinchūriki they had painstakingly captured were rescued by a mysterious organization. This series of bad news left him with a terrible headache, and he could only relieve his frustration by smoking.
With a loud "thump," the door to the Hokage's office was suddenly pushed open.
Danzo rushed in, his eyes filled with cold rage as he angrily confronted Hiruzen Sarutobi, saying, " Hiruzen, look at what you've done! Is this how you led Konoha? First, we were almost attacked at our doorstep by Kumogakure, and now even some nobody can trample on Konoha. If our teacher knew you'd led Konoha to this state, he'd be furious enough to come back to life!"
Danzo's preemptive and imposing manner momentarily stunned Hiruzen Sarutobi, but he quickly recovered.
"Alright, Danzo, enough of that. Tell me, what brings you here?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi remained completely calm in the face of Danzo's accusations.
Others might be Danzo by Danzo's indignant behavior, but how could he be Danzo?
Based on his Danzo of Danzo, his longtime friend, Danzo wouldn't have the time to reprimand him; Danzo definitely had other motives.
Seeing that his performance had been exposed by Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo showed no embarrassment whatsoever. He immediately withdrew his previous angry expression and put on a calm one again. The scene, which resembled a split personality, made people sigh that he truly deserved to be called the " Darkness of the Shinobi World."
" Hiruzen, you need me. Give Root back to me. With my leadership, Root can fully help Konoha achieve victory. Whether it's infiltration, assassination, or even intelligence gathering, Root can handle it all. As for this Light Organization Root, Root can deal with that too. You don't want to watch this organization become famous ninjas by stepping on Konoha's body, do you?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi could ignore everything else, but he couldn't overlook the last sentence. That's right, as the number one village in the Shinobi World, how could Konoha be used as a stepping stone for other organizations to gain Shinobi World? Konoha's reputation could not be trampled on at will.
Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath, looked at Danzo's calm face, and said, "Alright, Danzo. I can return the Root to you, but you must guarantee to eliminate the Light Organization as soon as possible. If you fail to eliminate the Light Organization, then..."
"Then you don't need to say anything, I already know. If I don't eliminate the Light Organization, I will voluntarily hand over the Root back to you."
At this moment, Danzo filled with arrogance. In his eyes, the elite Root would easily defeat an unknown group. Even if the members of the Light Organization could defeat Minato and Jiraiya, so what? How could just two members possibly defeat the entire Root? The forbidden techniques and self-destructive secret techniques of Root were not just for show.
Danzo was unaware that he had completely underestimated Aizen and his group's strength. His arrogance led to the destruction of Root he had founded, at the hands of Aizen and his allies, and even to his own downfall...
"Alright, since Danzo given his assurance, I won't say anything more. My only request is to resolve the Light Organization's problem as soon as possible and prevent it from becoming a variable in the Shinobi World War."
"Don't worry, Hiruzen, I'll definitely handle this perfectly."