Among the crowd, many Sand shinobi stepped forward and stood beside Rasa.
They hesitated.
They wavered.
They were afraid.
But in the end, they chose to stand firm.
After all, Sunagakure had existed for decades. Even if the tide of history could not be stopped, there would always be people willing to stand and defend the final wall.
They glared at Konoha like they were staring at criminals.
The atmosphere instantly became tragic.
The people watching the broadcast could not help feeling emotional.
"They're incredible. Even in this situation, they still dare to stand against Konoha."
"If it were us, would we be able to keep our convictions?"
"Come on, stop romanticizing it. They're just stubborn old conservatives clinging to a dying system."
"No. There's still meaning in what they're doing."
"They'll become an example for the other villages."
"An example of what happens when you stand in the way of unification."
"You mean…"
"You don't really think Konoha only sent people to Sunagakure, do you?"
"If I had to guess, the other villages probably have Konoha elites at their gates too."
"Fifth Hokage is insane…"
"That level of confidence means he already believes Konoha can crush the entire ninja world by itself."
In Kumogakure, the Fourth Raikage looked at the gathered Cloud shinobi with a grim expression.
"No one in our village would betray us," he said coldly.
But deep down, he understood exactly how desperate Rasa felt.
If Konoha had secretly turned half of Kumogakure against him, he knew he would go insane.
Over in Iwagakure, Onoki silently studied the expressions of his own shinobi.
He did not say anything.
But suspicion had already begun growing in his heart.
"No wonder Naruto let us go back then," Onoki thought bitterly.
"He needed time to infiltrate the villages and reduce resistance before unification."
"That monster's schemes really are terrifying."
In Kirigakure, Mei Terumi gave a helpless smile.
"Anyone who's had contact with Ringo is suspicious now."
As one of the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Ringo Ameyuri had ties to countless Mist shinobi.
And among them all, Mei herself was probably the most suspicious person in the village.
Nearby, Yagura lowered his head silently.
Back when Naruto came to Kirigakure as the president of the Red Sun Society, he had crushed the entire village.
Even as a perfect jinchūriki, Yagura had been defeated effortlessly.
Now that he knew Naruto and the Fifth Hokage were the same person, he could not imagine Kirigakure standing against Konoha.
That monster alone could sweep through the entire ninja world.
Everyone else in Konoha was only there to handle the details.
Back at Sunagakure, the sand behind Rasa rose into the sky like a tsunami.
"Come then, Jiraiya! Tsunade!"
Beside him, Chiyo stared quietly at Tsunade.
"We've fought each other for so many years," Chiyo said.
"I'm old now."
"But you…"
"You still look exactly the same."
There was bitterness in her eyes.
But also relief.
"This is the last time."
"After today, I'll never have to see your face again."
Ten white-clothed puppets instantly appeared around her.
Chiyo's eyes sharpened.
She was ready to fight to the death.
But Tsunade simply stepped aside.
"Sorry, Chiyo."
"Your opponent today isn't me."
The mysterious man in black stepped forward.
He removed his hood.
Bright red hair.
Cold eyes.
A black cloak with red clouds.
Sasori.
Chiyo froze.
"Sasori?"
"Why?"
"There is no reason," Sasori said coldly.
"Today, your opponent is me."
The audience watching the broadcast exploded.
"That's Sasori!"
"He turned the Third Kazekage into a human puppet!"
"So the strongest Kazekage in history really disappeared because of him…"
"This is unbelievable."
"That's his grandmother too…"
"This fight is tragic."
Meanwhile, countless people across the ninja world watched nervously.
If Konoha lost here, then Naruto's dream of unifying the ninja world would become a complete joke.
Peace would remain just another fantasy.
Then—
Jiraiya moved.
His body blurred and disappeared.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Rasa.
"So fast!"
Rasa's pupils shrank.
A Rasengan slammed into him.
His body burst apart into sand.
He had switched with a sand clone at the last second.
But Jiraiya did not stop.
He attacked again.
And again.
And again.
Explosions of sand filled the battlefield.
Rasa used every technique he had.
His Magnet Release was pushed to the limit.
But it was useless.
Jiraiya was too fast.
Too overwhelming.
There was no time to counterattack.
No time to think.
Rasa could only defend desperately as the battle spiraled out of control.
Then the collapse came.
One mistake.
Then another.
Then everything fell apart.
A final Rasengan slammed into his chest.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
Rasa crashed to the ground and rolled across the sand.
He tried to stand.
But his body would not move.
He could only lie there, staring blankly at the sky.
"So this is defeat…"
"But maybe…"
"Maybe this is freedom too…"
The entire fight had lasted less than a minute.
The entire ninja world was stunned.
Everyone knew Jiraiya was strong.
But this?
This was not just strength.
This was complete domination.
And then the camera turned toward Tsunade.
She had already lowered her fist.
The fierce aura around her had disappeared completely.
The camera shifted again.
All around her, the Sand shinobi who had challenged her were lying on the ground.
Elders.
Jonin.
Elite shinobi.
All defeated.
Every single one of them.
The audience fell silent.
Then the shock exploded.
"My god…"
"Konoha Sannin are monsters…"
"They're way too strong…"
"No wonder Naruto dared to make a move against the entire ninja world…"
"This isn't weakness from Sunagakure."
"This is Konoha being overwhelmingly powerful."
And in that moment—
For countless people watching—
The dream of unifying the ninja world no longer sounded impossible.
For the first time…
It sounded real.
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