The lightning surging around Takuno receded like a tide, and he returned to his perpetually unhurried demeanor, speaking.
"Let me tell you something. The commotion from our battle has probably attracted the Kumogakure Ninja. Congratulations."
"Hmph! The Konoha guys won't be far behind, will they? Is this all part of your plan?" She had already seen through the man's twisted sense of humor.
"Heh, very clever." Takuno chuckled softly. "So, want to avoid becoming a Konoha captive? Then muster your last bit of strength and run."
With that, he turned and prepared to leave the ruined battlefield.
"Wait—wait a minute!" Yugito screamed with all her might, struggling to prop up her heavy body with her elbows. Every movement caused her vision to blacken from pain, her face turning ashen white, and large beads of sweat to roll down.
The powerful regenerative abilities of a Jinchuriki were fully evident at this moment; even after suffering such severe injuries, her vitality was astonishingly tenacious.
Takuno heard the sound and glanced back slightly.
Seeing Yugito manage to forcefully sit up, a flicker of admiration for the Jinchuriki's powerful life force crossed his eyes.
"Who exactly are you?!! Why?!" Yugito's voice was hoarse, her eyes filled with endless confusion and complex hostility.
This question was crucial to her.
This enigmatic enemy had disrupted everything, let her go, and yet his demands were so 'insignificant'!
Takuno had his back to her, his steps unbroken. His voice was carried clearly by the wind: "Just a Ninja obsessed with collecting peculiar things from around the world. You can call me the Collector."
As his words fell, his figure seemed to merge into the deepening twilight, a gentle sway, and he vanished completely.
"The Collector?"
On the desolate and silent battlefield, only Yugito remained, laboriously chewing on this unfamiliar title.
Confusion enveloped her eyes like a thick fog.
She had survived, but found no trace of the gratitude she should feel in her chest.
Instead, the images of her fallen comrades, their dying gazes, and the desperate cries of the Kumogakure Ninja pressed heavily on her heart, a suffocating weight more unbearable than her physical pain.
After a long while, a swirling fallen leaf landed on her blood-stained hand.
Yugito bit her lower lip hard until she tasted a faint, sweet metallic tang.
Her once confused eyes were gradually replaced by cold resolve, shining astonishingly like a quenched blade.
"Next time we meet, I will be stronger! Strong enough to—" she whispered, each word a vow squeezed through clenched teeth, "—I will also spare you once! And then personally send you to hell!"
She forcefully propped up her fatigued, crumbling body, enduring the excruciating pain as if her internal organs were shifting, dragging her heavy, numb, injured legs, staggering step by step towards the direction of the Kumogakure Ninja army's base camp.
She had to meet her own people before a legendary Ninja like Jiraiya arrived!
Once captured by Konoha, she would become a bargaining chip for the enemy, a heavy blow to Kumogakure, and a complete trampling of her personal dignity!
Perhaps she should thank 'The Collector' for his efficient fighting style?
The swift resolution of the battle had, on the contrary, bought her this brief but incredibly precious respite.
Finally, just before the light on the edge of her consciousness was about to completely extinguish, several familiar silhouettes, accompanied by anxious shouts, appeared on the rugged mountain path at the edge of her vision.
"Lady Yugito!!!" The heart-wrenching, concerned cry was like heavenly music.
The tightly stretched string of her heart finally snapped.
"That's good, you're here. Let's leave quickly—" Yugito's pale face managed to pull into a difficult, relieved arc.
Before the smile could fully bloom, her accumulated injuries flared, darkness completely swallowed her consciousness, and her body collapsed like a broken puppet.
Her last sight was the panicked figures of her Kumogakure comrades rushing towards her.
The pungent smell of scorched earth, mixed with the lingering Tailed Beast Chakra, permeated the scarred battlefield. When Jiraiya finally arrived in a hurry, the sight before him made him gasp.
The earth looked as if it had been trampled by a giant, covered in bottomless cracks and massive craters.
His brow furrowed. That Chakra, without a doubt, belonged to Kumogakure's Matatabi; its power, though ferocious, was at its limit.
However, the other aura that had confronted it and caused such destruction had vanished without a trace, as if evaporated into thin air.
This clean disappearance was terrifying.
"Who exactly was it?" he muttered to himself, full of confusion. "Someone capable of facing a fully Tailed Beast-transformed Two-Tails and ending the battle in such a short time? And even erasing their own tracks?"
Jiraiya was filled with doubt and alarm. He had rushed from the Konoha camp at top speed, expecting to reinforce his fellow Konoha Ninja who were facing the Two-Tails, but the scene before him far exceeded his expectations.
The powerful individuals with such strength on the Konoha front lines should all be stationed at headquarters right now.
"Could it be that besides Konoha and Kumogakure, there's a third force entrenched on this battlefield? And this force seems to be specifically targeting Kumogakure?"
Once this thought emerged, it entwined itself around his mind like a vine.
He had long felt that this war was unusually 'pure'; Kumogakure had been honestly fighting only on the front lines, without any dirty tricks?
Now it seemed that it wasn't that they didn't want to, but rather that their 'hands and feet' had already been mercilessly severed by this invisible third party!
Who exactly was this mysterious force? And what was their objective? Based on the current clues, one could only speculate that they had a deep grudge against Kumogakure and possessed unfathomable power—
Looking at the massive crater beneath his feet, as if struck by a meteorite, Jiraiya couldn't help but click his tongue.
This destructive power, even the 'Monster Strength' fully unleashed by his old partner Tsunade, whom he remembered, was somewhat inferior.
If he were to know that the creator of this giant crater had merely thrown a single punch, even the eyes of a 'Sannin' like him, accustomed to all kinds of storms, would probably pop out in shock.
Ultimately, Jiraiya, unable to obtain more effective intelligence, had to leave with a mind full of doubts, feeling vaguely uneasy.
He didn't know that the Two-Tails Jinchuriki Yugito Nii had been severely wounded; otherwise, with his strategic insight, he would have immediately suggested that Konoha launch a strong offensive.
He now had to quickly bring back the significant discovery of 'the existence of a third party' to the camp. Regardless of whether the other party had hostility towards Konoha, such an unknown and powerful entity must be met with the highest level of vigilance and preparedness.
A hidden stronghold far from the battlefield's clamor.
When Takuno's figure appeared and he casually tossed the unconscious Kumogakure captive onto the ground, The Snow Shinobi, already terrified by the earth-shattering battle commotion in the distance, led by Roga Nadare, all breathed a sigh of relief.
What followed was an indescribable shock and reverence.
From a distant location, the roars that seemed to tear the heavens and earth apart, and the frantic trembling of the ground, all indicated that one side of the battle was by no means ordinary.
Any Ninja with a bit of common sense could guess that it was Kumogakure's weapon of war—a Tailed Beast!
And during the time Takuno was away, they couldn't even imagine how their Lord could have survived such a catastrophic power.
However, Takuno not only returned, but he did so with such ease, not only escaping unharmed but also bringing back a trophy.
—
This meant that even the legendary Two-Tails could not stop Lord Takuno's advance, and was even suppressed by him!
This realization was etched into the hearts of all the Snow Shinobi like a brand, a reverence and fanaticism that came from the depths of their souls.
"Lord," Roga Nadare steadied himself, asking with an incredulous tone, "Is he the Two-Tails Jinchuriki?"
If so, how to deal with this hot potato would be a big problem.
"No," Takuno's answer was concise and casual, with a hint of laziness. "My target wasn't her, so I let her escape."
These understated words, in the past, would certainly have aroused secret suspicion or worry among the Snow Shinobi.
But at this moment, having witnessed Takuno's achievement of not only being unharmed after confronting a terrifying entity like the Two-Tails but also bringing back a captive, Roga Nadare and the others felt that these words possessed unparalleled persuasiveness.
Takuno seemed to recall something, a flicker of thought crossing his eyes.
"Our existence has been exposed to Kumogakure." He calmly issued new orders. "The original plan to ambush Kumogakure squads is canceled. The focus of subsequent work will shift to 'recovering the fallen'."
He had already meticulously arranged for a portion of the Snow Shinobi to assume the identities of certain Konoha Ninja who had 'died' on the battlefield.
As a member of the intelligence department, he knew specific information about many Ninja, and as a medical captain, he could even ascertain their physical data!
Combining this, he carefully selected some Snow Shinobi and physically disguised them as the enemy.
Furthermore, he chose solitary individuals who had few friends, so as long as they didn't deliberately stand out, almost no one would discover them.
The mission of these special Snow Shinobi was to infiltrate the battlefield's periphery after each major battle, primarily to 'recover' Kumogakure Ninja whom Takuno had expertly faked into a 'suspended animation' state using Medical Ninjutsu, as well as some Kumogakure Ninja who were knocked unconscious but not killed by other Ninja during combat.
This part was his main channel for acquiring 'materials'.
As for rounding up Kumogakure squads, it was largely just to draw out the target, Yugito.
Now that the objective was achieved, there was naturally no need to risk further baiting actions.
"Understood, my lord!" Roga Nadare accepted the order without any doubt.
Takuno mused that with his whereabouts exposed, Kumogakure would undoubtedly be on high alert and would not easily dispatch reconnaissance teams again.
If they did, it would definitely be a trap, and it was highly likely they would directly send a terrifying entity like the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer Bee to investigate!
Although Killer Bee was eccentric, his perfect mastery of the Eight-Tails' power made his strength undeniable in the Ninja World.
Through his engagement with the Two-Tails, Takuno had a deeper assessment of his own combat power, and he was confident that he could stand undefeated in a one-on-one fight with the Eight-Tails.
However, merely being undefeated was not what he sought. If he faced both the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki and the Fourth Raikage Ay, known for his speed and strength, who might accompany him, his chances of defeat would be significant.
Moreover, he already possessed a special horn specimen containing a large amount of Eight-Tails Chakra, obtained from Orochimaru. Hunting Killer Bee himself now seemed inefficient and too risky, not a wise move.
Having made his arrangements, Takuno's figure instantly vanished from the stronghold.