"I advise you to lie down and accept the treatment, it's better that way. Those few moves I've already disrupted your nervous system almost completely. Best not to move your body for three days."
Hakushi kindly persuaded.
Even though Jiraiya was showing strong willpower at the moment, such pointless stubbornness was just wasting the best healing time, making the recovery slower.
After all, the battle here was already over.
Jiraiya panted, adjusting his breathing.
"You don't need to threaten Tsunade like this. Even if you don't kill me this time, I will still seek opportunities to stop you... Your existence is truly too dangerous for the Ninja Realm."
After saying this, Jiraiya seemed like he was resigned to death, panting even more heavily.
"Jiraiya, please stop talking!"
Tsunade's tone carried a hint of prevention, not wanting Jiraiya to anger Hakushi at this time.
The sacrifice was already big enough, she didn't want her best friend to die here as well.
Hakushi looked at Jiraiya, his tone remaining as calm as before.
"Don't worry, Tsunade-sensei, I won't be angered by words of this degree, just slightly find it a bit pathetic."
"You say pathetic?"
Hakushi glanced at Jiraiya lightly, turned around, showing his back to Jiraiya and Tsunade, walking forward.
"If you can't change anything and only blindly pray for heaven's rain and dew, then just stand aside, do nothing, say nothing, keep silent."
After about a dozen steps, Hakushi stopped.
He bit his thumb with his mouth, making it bleed.
Then he pressed his palm onto the void, black runes spread out.
Bang!
Amidst the smoke, a human head-sized flaming red jade emerged, floating in Hakushi's hand.
Hakushi raised his hand towards the sky, displaying the red jade.
"Go on. End all of this."
The red jade heard Hakushi's command, slowly floated from Hakushi's palm towards the sky.
"What are you doing?"
Jiraiya looked puzzled at the red jade floating into the sky.
Is that sphere... also a Summoning Beast?
Hakushi answered: "To pave the way forward."
The floating speed of the red jade became faster and faster, reaching a certain height, it no longer ascended but charged rapidly towards afar.
Jiraiya froze for a moment, then his face drastically changed, that direction was...
A terrifying guess emerged in Jiraiya's mind.
This terrifying guess, along with the unease in his heart, might likely become reality.
"Wait, you wouldn't want to—"
"So didn't I say, just keep silent. Even if you know, what can you do then?"
Hakushi didn't even turn his head, raised his gaze, silently watched the distant sky.
◎
"She's already at her wits' end, don't give her a chance to catch her breath!"
"Victory is right in front of us!"
The Hidden Sand Ninjas rushed forward crazily, enclosing all exits in a surrounding circle.
Ruri, holding the Flame Circle Fan, struggled to reflect the Hidden Sand Ninja Techniques back, though she repelled a batch of them, more Hidden Sand Ninjas would then come charging.
Because she couldn't maintain the Mangekyo Sharingan, she could only use the Three-Tomoe Sharingan to fight.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Extinguishing!"
Ruri performed the Seal with one hand, catching the surrounding Hidden Sand ninjas off guard.
Gold Sand pressed up, extinguishing the vast fiery waves.
Seeing the weakened Ruri, Rasa felt thrilled, his attacks seemed divinely assisted.
With such a godsend opportunity, Rasa would certainly not let go.
If not striking while she's weak now, dealing with her would become even harder down the line, and perhaps there won't be a second chance like this.
Ruri knew these Hidden Sand ninjas hated her to the core, after all, during the previous battle, she alone had wiped out almost one-third of the Hidden Sand here, if not for Might Duy's interception, more Hidden Sand ninjas would have died by her hands.
After repelling the entangling Hidden Sand Jonin, she desperately dodged several Explosive Kunai, rolling and jumping amidst the explosions, barely catching a breath, she found herself surrounded by Kunai and Shuriken from all directions.
During the battle, a gust of wind swept in, dispersing the Kunai and Shuriken around Ruri, creating a safe zone.
A young girl dressed in Witch's Attire swooped down from the sky, skimmed low across the desert, and Ruri's figure vanished from the desert, taken skyward.
Ruri looked down at the dense Hidden Sand ninjas below, they had already turned into tiny black dots.
Not far from her, a flaming red jade floated, soon the red jade began a free-fall down to the desert.
"What is that? A red sphere?"
Many keen-eyed Hidden Sand ninjas noticed a red ball suddenly dropping from high altitude.
Just preparing to condense Gold Sand beneath his feet to chase Ruri, even Rasa couldn't help but pause, watching the red ball falling from the unknown source.
"Isn't this ball something familiar?"
Rasa found it familiar, carefully pondering where he had seen something similar.
Buzz!
The vibrating sound of the air drew Rasa's attention, halting his thoughts.
Only to see around the red jade, a large number of black Arrays swirling, circling the red jade.
Centering on the red jade, it began to emit dazzlingly white light.
Boom!
The dazzling white light sphere expanded hugely, the Chakra within started to condense, looking like a small sun.
Seeing this, Rasa's pupils constricted, cold sweat pouring down his face.
"Retreat quickly!"
He roared loudly, but it was simply too late.
The dazzlingly white small sun expanded once again, terrible cracks appeared on its surface.
Red and black energy seeped out from the dazzling white cracks.
A massive mushroom cloud erupted without warning.
The clouds in the sky were instantly swept away.
A sandstorm enough to flay bodies arose from the desert, shockwaves strong enough to crush bones started rippling in all directions.
The terrifying roar echoed across the desert for a long time with lingering reverberations.
...
Rasa crawled out with difficulty from the protection layer of Gold Sand, spat blood fiercely, tried several times to stand, but his body remained askew, dust-covered, with the dignity of the Kazekage gone.
He stared blankly at the scene before him.
Corpses, corpses, bodies...
Corpses were everywhere.
And those who survived seemed like sleepwalkers, staggering as they walked, their clothes like his own, torn and dirty, their eyes hollow and numb, devoid of focus.
Footsteps sounded behind him, Rasa slowly turned around.
A man and a woman appeared in his sight, it was Hakushi and Ruri.
Seeing the pair, Rasa opened his mouth, found his throat hoarse, unable to speak, or perhaps, saying anything at this moment was already futile.
Whether anger or hatred, anything from his brain vanished completely, leaving only emptiness, nothing else.
At this time, a small red figure slowly descended from the sky.
Stopped on Hakushi's shoulder, folded its wings.