Jiraiya, Minato, and Shisui didn't bother to comfort Shibuki and the Takigakure people.
They only knew how to say nice things, and nice things only made the ungrateful push their luck.
Looking at Kakuzu, Shibuki suddenly made an unprecedented decision; he knelt directly in front of Kakuzu: "Senior Kakuzu, you are a senior of Takigakure."
"I am still young and cannot be the leader of Takigakure. Please, Senior Kakuzu, become the leader of our group. Lead us to take back what belongs to our Takigakure."
"Shibuki—"
The Takigakure Shinobi looked at Shibuki in shock as he pleaded with Kakuzu to become the leader of Takigakure.
Speaking of which, Kakuzu's age was enough to make him an ancestor of Takigakure, and he was also a Shinobi trained by Takigakure.
It would be perfect for him to be the leader of the Takigakure Shinobi.
However, he was a rogue Shinobi, the S-rank rogue Shinobi who had cruelly taken the hearts of all the high-ranking officials back then.
Just because they had said the wrong thing earlier, Kakuzu wanted to kill them.
This showed that Kakuzu still had the ways of a rogue Shinobi and didn't remember his Takigakure origins at all.
If they recognized such a person with a distorted personality as their boss, they'd be in for it for the rest of their lives!
But then again, Kakuzu was very powerful. With the Earth Grudge Fear Forbidden Jutsu, he was hard to kill, having even survived a technique at the level of a Biju Bomb.
This showed just how difficult he was to kill!
Now that they had lost their Village, they needed a strong person to protect them.
"Be your leader? Ridiculous!"
Takigakure wanted him to do it, but he wasn't interested!
Kakuzu sneered: "A bunch of pathetic wretches, always hoping someone can hold up the sky for you."
Kakuzu had been betrayed once by Takigakure and never wanted to be betrayed a second time.
Everyone from Takigakure lowered their heads at Kakuzu's harsh words.
Kakuzu scolded the group like they were raw recruits: "I'm telling you, I don't want to play any bullshit leader games with you right now."
"I just want to make money now! I need to take action and become richer than anyone else."
"Do you have money?"
The Takigakure Shinobi hung their heads even lower.
When they evacuated, everyone ran like rabbits; who cared about money then?
They were now penniless, waiting to go to the Feudal Lords to beg for food.
Without money, Kakuzu sneered even more blatantly: "Without money, who would be your leader? Without money, who will recover the Seven-Tails and the Hero Water for you?"
"If you don't have money, get lost and stay out of my sight!"
Kakuzu turned and left.
Jiraiya chased after him: "Senior Kakuzu, where are you going? Our Konoha's employment of you hasn't expired yet."
Kakuzu snorted without looking back: "Jiraiya, rest assured! I won't run away; I'm just going to handle some private business."
Kakuzu only had one heart now and had to go to the black market to replenish the hearts for the Earth Grudge Fear Forbidden Jutsu to feel secure.
Deserting?
Kakuzu had never thought of it, even though he had almost died earlier because of the Seven-Tails' Biju Bomb.
But Kakuzu didn't have any jutsu to escape the Deep Forest Emergence, and it would be even worse if he was caught by Ryou.
He would scour all of my money and then spend it on prostitutes.
In that case, Kakuzu would rather die than tell anyone where he hid his money.
Furthermore, Kakuzu was very credible; since he accepted Konoha's employment, he will remain employed until Madara was defeated.
After Kakuzu left, Jiraiya comforted Shibuki: "Shibuki, don't take Senior Kakuzu's words to heart; people like him have strange personalities!"
Shibuki shook his head: "No, Lord Jiraiya, I think Senior Kakuzu is right. There's no such thing as a free lunch; if you want to gain something, you must sacrifice something."
Shibuki said, calling out to the Takigakure Shinobi: "Everyone, I've decided. We will join the Shinobi Allied Forces to recover our Seven-Tails and the ancient tree."
"Sure, sure, you charge at the front then, you go deal with Uchiha Madara!"
Some Shinobi from Takigakure who were afraid of death grumbled in their hearts.
But everyone voiced their support for Shibuki.
"The leader is right; we must rely on our own strength to take back what belongs to us."
"We will join the Five Great Nations to deal with Uchiha Madara!"
Many Jonin supported Shibuki's decision. In the current situation, everyone had to pick a side.
Those who don't pick a side are defaulted to supporting the Eye of the Moon Plan, people who want to live in a dream.
Takigakure had always hidden behind the waterfall and hadn't experienced a Shinobi World War. The greatest pain they had suffered was the destruction of their Village now, with the Seven-Tails and the ancient tree taken away.
They were practical people and would not accept the illusory world of the Eye of the Moon.
Such a thing is only sought by those who have given up, or those whose edges have been smoothed by life, completely losing their drive.
Admittedly, such people existed in this world, but one shouldn't negate those who were proactive.
If they didn't join the Shinobi Allied Forces, the result would be waiting for a handout.
Either dreaming that the old Village had returned.
The Seven-Tails hadn't run away, and the Great Tree of Takigakure hadn't been carried off.
Or the Shinobi Allied Forces won, and they mercifully returned the Seven-Tails and the Great Tree of Takigakure to them.
How could such a good thing happen?
Times had changed. Someone as powerful and merciful as Hashirama could not be found in this era.
The Seven-Tails and the Great Tree of Takigakure could only be snatched back by their own strength.
Just as Shibuki was about to say something, a group of dark-skinned men wearing Kumogakure headbands suddenly appeared in front of the fleeing villagers.
The Konoha Anbu members were puzzled; why would Kumogakure Shinobi appear here?
Minato saw a familiar figure: "Hiashi!"
"Great, it's Minato!"
Hiashi was also pleasantly surprised and rushed over with the Konoha messengers.
"Minato, listen to me, go stop the Raikage and the others quickly. They've run to Takigakure to deal with Uchiha Ryou!"
"Nani—"
Jiraiya held his head, feeling a bit of a breakdown, and ran towards Takigakure: "Minato, hurry! They are definitely no match for Ryou."
A Kage and two Jinchuriki; if it were before, they might have been able to put up a fight against Ryou.
But that's assuming Ryou doesn't summon the Thousand-Armed Kannon.
With the divine power of the Thousand-Armed Kannon, probably only the First Hokage could suppress it if he were alive.
Moreover, Wood Release completely counters Tailed Beasts.
Even if the Fourth Raikage's Lightning Release chakra Mode has strong defense, can one person withstand the Veritable 1000-Armed Kanon?
What do the Fourth Raikage, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, and the Two-Tails Jinchuriki have to deal with Ryou?
The people of Kumogakure are truly too reckless!