No, Jiraiya and the others appeared a kilometer away.
They survived, thanks to Minato's Flying Thunder God.
Ryou wasn't surprised; with the Flying Thunder God, Minato was naturally invincible.
Even if Hashirama summoned the Senjutsu Buddha or Madara summoned the Majestic Attire Nine-Tails, Minato could survive.
Because battle isn't a slapping contest where I slap and you must take it with your face.
Minato's Flying Thunder God can evade all attacks.
He might not be able to beat you, but you can't kill him either.
On the contrary, you must always be alert for Minato's Flying Thunder God; the moment you slack off, he'll deliver a finishing blow.
To deal with someone like Minato, you have to attack his weakest point.
Namely, his Village and his loved ones.
Ryou was the same; Minato couldn't handle his Thousand-Armed Kannon, and he had no way to deal with Minato's Flying Thunder God.
With this kind of person, you have to seize his wife and children to threaten him.
"Forget it, let these rats go!"
Ryou did want Shisui's Mangekyo, but with Minato by Shisui's side, Ryou simply couldn't catch him.
Anyway, the capture of the Chomei was already a million-level success, so forget about these stragglers.
Ryou controlled the Thousand-Armed Kannon, carrying the Chomei from underground toward Amegakure.
...
Jiraiya and Shisui looked at the tragic sight of Takigakure smashed to pieces by the Thousand-Armed Kannon.
At this moment, all words in the world lost their meaning before absolute power; everything before them was so absurd, grand, and eerie that it defied description.
If such a technique were unleashed in Konoha, who could stop it?
Unless the First Hokage were resurrected, no one could block such a Ninjutsu.
Shisui had once wanted to witness the power of his ancestor Madara, but seeing this Thousand-Armed Kannon, all his fighting spirit toward Madara instantly turned into fear.
Seeing a single leaf fall and knowing autumn has come, Ryou was already unrivaled just by using Hashirama's techniques.
Then that Uchiha Clan ancestor, who shared the same fame as Hashirama—just how stunningly brilliant was he?
The Warring States Period was truly a terrifying era.
And the two who ended the Warring States Period, Madara and Hashirama, had already become myths, ranking among the immortals.
Fearing these youngsters might be too arrogant to accept such a scene of absolute suppression, Fukasaku offered words of comfort: "Withdraw. Current Little Ryou is already approaching the heights of Hashirama and Uchiha Madara."
"He is not someone you can handle. Go back and form the Shinobi Allied Forces; then everyone can discuss a countermeasure together."
Jiraiya and Minato had no objections. The One Tail had already been taken; if the Chomei was taken, so be it!
Anyway, they still had seven Tailed Beasts; the advantage was theirs!
"Withdraw?"
Shisui clenched his fists tightly. Ryou was right.
He used Kotoamatsukami to control the Chomei into becoming a Summoned Beast; this was an infringement upon the Tailed Beast. What did it mean to now act as if they had a bond?
Where did they have a bond?
Shisui felt he had wronged the Chomei; he had deceived it for its power, and now he was abandoning it under the pressure of even greater power.
Shisui thought of the close friend whose talent had once made him jealous; they were partners who fought side by side.
But when that friend fell into a desperate situation, Shisui chose to run away because of his own weakness and jealousy.
Afterward, Shisui regretted it for a lifetime, which led to the awakening of his Mangekyo.
He hated himself for why he was jealous of the other person. Why was he weak? Why didn't his will become stronger?
Because he hated his own will, Shisui awakened the Kotoamatsukami, which could permanently modify another's will.
From that moment on, he told himself never to abandon a partner again and never to face a weak version of himself again.
"Lord Jiraiya, Lord Minato, I would like to ask you for a favor."
Shisui knelt before Jiraiya and Minato.
Jiraiya helped Shisui up: "My boy, if you have a request, just say it. Minato and I will certainly help you."
Shisui activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Minato and the two Great Sages on his shoulders were startled.
"Mangekyo Sharingan?!"
Shisui nodded painfully: "Yes, but this is not a power to be proud of. It is a curse I received for abandoning a partner!"
The group fell silent; it seemed the way Shisui awakened his Mangekyo was somewhat unspeakable.
Fukasaku stroked his beard. The way the Uchiha Clan awakens the Sharingan is either by witnessing the loss of a loved one or by desperately trying to protect one.
The Uchiha are a clan of love; because of their deep love, it turns into extreme hatred when lost.
Every Uchiha Clan member who awakens the Mangekyo has lost someone they loved most.
As long as war exists, the Uchiha's tragedy will continue to exist.
Shisui then informed the lords of his Mangekyo's exclusive Dojutsu—Kotoamatsukami.
"My Mangekyo has a Dojutsu called Kotoamatsukami. This technique requires no eye contact and can modify the target's will without being detected. Once modified, it is permanent."
"(((ﾟДﾟ;)))."
Fukasaku and Shima both dared not look at Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan.
No eye contact required, and it permanently modifies a person's will?
How sinister was Shisui's Mangekyo?
Jiraiya had previously speculated about Shisui's act of turning the Chomei into a Summoned Beast, thinking Shisui had an incredibly powerful Dojutsu that could modify a Tailed Beast's will.
But he didn't expect that not just beasts, but even a human's will could be modified by him.
Even Jiraiya was a bit afraid to look into Shisui's eyes.
How are these young people nowadays getting more perverted one by one?
Only Minato dared to look Shisui's Mangekyo in the eye. Not looking was useless; Shisui had already said Kotoamatsukami could be activated without eye contact.
If Shisui wanted to, they would all be controlled by his Kotoamatsukami right now.
Jiraiya and the others were merely fearful of having their wills modified by Shisui.
Minato said to Shisui: "Shisui, you are willing to trust us and tell us about Kotoamatsukami because you want to use it to modify Ryou's will, right?"
Shisui nodded: "Both my left and right eyes can use Kotoamatsukami, but this Dojutsu is too terrifying. Releasing it once requires a cooldown of over ten years."
Jiraiya and the two Toad Sages breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, then looked at Shisui directly again.
That's right! If such a terrifying Dojutsu didn't have a long cooldown, wouldn't the Uchiha be invincible?
Jiraiya analyzed: "Your right eye previously used Kotoamatsukami to modify the Chomei's will, so now only the Kotoamatsukami in your left eye remains."
"Shisui, look toward Uchiha Ryou and correct his evil will."
Shisui shook his head: "It's too far. I must get closer."
Shisui then touched his eye: "Originally, I was saving this Dojutsu for Uchiha Madara, but after seeing the Toad Song of Death performed by the two Sages, I suddenly understood."
"Genjutsu is ultimately false; as long as the victim realizes it, it is false."
Even the strongest sound-based Genjutsu was broken by Ryou with the help of his partner. Shisui felt Kotoamatsukami might not be able to deal with Madara's Rinnegan.
In that case, he would settle for the next best thing: using Kotoamatsukami to control Ryou, who was weaker than Madara.
Ryou's power gave Shisui a glimpse of the possibility of dealing with Madara.
His power was currently the closest to Madara's, so if he became part of the Shinobi Allied Forces, they would be like tigers with wings.
They would no longer fear the threat of Madara.
Shima worried: "Little Shisui, aren't you thinking too perfectly? The Sage Genjutsu that the child's father and I cast was broken by him before."
Shisui explained: "The two Sages cast an offensive Genjutsu, which Ryou would be guarded against. But my Kotoamatsukami silently changes his will."
"He might not even know about this move himself. If he can't guard against it, he will be controlled by Kotoamatsukami."
Fukasaku nodded: "Alright, we'll listen to Little Shisui. Minato, use the Flying Thunder God to take Little Shisui close to Little Ryou. Little Shisui, take the opportunity to launch Kotoamatsukami on him."
"Completely modify Little Ryou's will and make him a member of the Shinobi Allied Forces. That way, we'll have more confidence in dealing with Uchiha Madara."
Minato nodded and began to discuss the battle plan with Shisui.