A massive rock wall stood before them. Kinkaku and Ginkaku walked out along the path opened by the Kumogakure Ninja squad when they entered. They saw that the battlefield outside was extremely tragic; the ground was covered in the traces left by Ninjutsu, with some Kumogakure Ninja transferring corpses while others were responsible for guarding.
Seeing Kinkaku and Ginkaku emerge, the Kumogakure Ninja who spotted them hurriedly saluted and said, 'The Second Raikage wishes to see the two of you.'
Kinkaku gave a soft 'tch.' He knew what the Second Raikage would say without even meeting him; he probably wanted to hold them accountable for their unauthorized actions this time.
If he had successfully captured Fūmori Masaki and the others, the Second Raikage wouldn't have been able to say anything, and he could have mocked the Second Raikage properly. But now...
Kinkaku glared secretly at Ginkaku. He felt that if it weren't for the fact that he was his younger brother, Ginkaku would certainly not have survived until now. Even though Ginkaku had lost the basho fan, he couldn't bring himself to punish Ginkaku.
With a feeling of frustration, Kinkaku and Ginkaku went to meet the Second Raikage. At this moment, the Second Raikage was tallying the losses from this engagement because those pursuing Kumogakure Ninja had fallen directly into an ambush and were suppressed by the Konoha Ninja at the start of the battle, barely gaining any advantage.
Even so, not many people died. The Second Raikage only hoped to strike a blow to the hawkish faction, so at the appropriate time, he led his troops to attack, forcing the Konoha Ninja to retreat and stopping the losses before they could expand.
The ones who suffered the most severe losses this time were undoubtedly those Kumogakure Ninja who had followed Kinkaku and Ginkaku. They were all supporters of Kinkaku and Ginkaku, the most staunch hawks, and they had all died. The others who had chased after them did not suffer many casualties, but they were clearly hit hard by the Konoha Ninja's ambush.
When the Second Raikage saw Kinkaku and Ginkaku, he immediately noticed that the basho fan on Ginkaku was missing. Although there were rumors in Kumogakure about Kinkaku and Ginkaku possessing five six paths treasure tools, no one had ever seen them. The basho fan was the first six paths treasure tool to appear, and its ability to use the power of five Chakra nature transformations was tempting—
Yet now, the basho fan had vanished. One had to know that Kinkaku and Ginkaku protected the six paths treasure tools very closely; usually, Ginkaku would carry it around as if to show it off. The Second Raikage felt there must be a reason for this and asked, 'Ginkaku, where is your six paths treasure tool?'
As soon as these words were spoken, Ginkaku's expression immediately turned ugly. Having the six paths treasure tool stolen made him lose face in front of his brother, and now the Second Raikage, whom both brothers disliked, asking this question felt like a slap in the face, yet he had no choice but to admit it.
'It was stolen by Konoha Ninja...' Ginkaku said, enunciating each word. Every word seemed to cost him a great deal of effort.
'What!' The Second Raikage was shocked, and the Kumogakure Ninja present also showed expressions of surprise. That Kinkaku and Ginkaku could actually have a six paths treasure tool stolen from them was truly incredible.
Although incredible, the Second Raikage had to accept that it was true. His gaze swept slightly over the faces of the others. Kinkaku and Ginkaku were the leaders of the hawkish faction; it was their strength that fueled the fanaticism of the hawks.
Now, the Kinkaku and Ginkakus Squad had suffered heavy losses, and its leaders had even lost a six paths treasure tool. It could be said that the series of failures caused the mythical aura surrounding Kinkaku and Ginkaku to gradually fade, and the other Kumogakure Ninja no longer respected Kinkaku and Ginkaku as they once had.
In this way, the Second Raikage's peace policy would not encounter as many obstacles when implemented. Although this was a good thing, the loss of the six paths treasure tool was a huge loss.
His goal in hoping for peace was to preserve the vitality of Kumogakure in time and exchange the smallest price for the end of the war. But honestly, he really did not expect Kinkaku and Ginkaku to lose the six paths treasure tool; this was an unnecessary loss.
'Kinkaku, Ginkaku, because of your underestimation of the enemy and rash advance, your troops fell into a trap, and even the Six Paths Sage's treasure tool was stolen by the enemy. This matter will not end so easily,' the Second Raikage said expressionlessly. 'When we return to the camp, we will summon the Jonin to discuss your punishment. You won't have any objections to that, will you?'
'Hmph, no!' Kinkaku said coldly. He wasn't the type to welch on such matters, but he didn't want to look at the Second Raikage's face any longer, so he turned and left.
The Second Raikage sighed softly, hoping that this would be the last time. Now that Kumogakure could not gain any benefits on the battlefield and had even lost a six paths treasure tool, if the fighting continued, he didn't know what price Kumogakure would have to pay. It was better to end it early.
At this very moment, Fūmori Masaki and the others, who had caused Kinkaku and Ginkaku to lose so much face, were heading towards the Konoha camp along the predetermined route. Confirming that the Kumogakure Ninja were not pursuing them, they finally breathed a sigh of relief and could chat freely.
'The goal this time has been achieved, and we also got something pretty good.' Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the basho fan that Satomi was holding and smiled. 'This treasure tool caused us quite a bit of trouble on the battlefield; it's really great now.'
'Yeah, its power is really strong,' Satomi nodded and said.
'Masaki, this is probably really the Six Paths Sage's treasure tool,' Hiruzen Sarutobi said. 'I heard Kinkaku say that if one doesn't have the Six Paths Sage's bloodline, one cannot use this.'
At the time, Kinkaku was only whispering; Satomi and Fūmori Masaki did not hear it, but Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was closest to Kinkaku, heard it clearly. Upon learning this incredible news, he immediately kept it in mind and only now brought it up.
'The Six Paths Sage's descendant?' Satomi was slightly stunned and said incredulously, 'No way, I've never heard that our ancestors were the Six Paths Sage.'
After a thousand years of changes, the descendants of the leader of the Shinobi Sect, which was the faith of the continent—namely Ashura—had forgotten their own ancestors after being reduced to Ninja who were driven by others.
Whether it was the Senju Clan or the Uchiha Clan, neither knew that their ancestors were actually the Six Paths Sage. Uchiha Madara only learned that his ancestors were the Six Paths Sage from the stone tablet in his clan.
'Really?' The others were surprised to hear this. The Six Paths Sage was a figure from mythology. When it was said that Kinkaku and Ginkaku were descendants of the Six Paths Sage, it was already shocking enough, but now it was said that the Senju Clan were also descendants of the Six Paths Sage.
'Could we really be descendants of the Six Paths Sage? I thought our clan were descendants of a powerful believer in the Shinobi Sect, but I didn't expect it to be the Six Paths Sage...' Satomi said with some confusion.
'It's very possible.' Fūmori Masaki of course knew that the Senju Clan were indeed descendants of the Six Paths Sage. He said to Satomi, 'When I used the treasure tool, I felt that my Chakra was almost sucked dry, but you used it with ease. There must be a reason for this; it's likely the Six Paths Sage's bloodline at work.'
'It's truly incredible.' Satomi still couldn't quite believe it.
'This kind of thing can't be explained clearly here. Let's tell our teacher when we get back. The teacher is now the leader of the Senju, so he should know more about it,' Danzo said.
The group nodded. To verify this claim, they hurriedly quickened their pace and rushed to the camp. When they arrived at the camp, Tobirama was reorganizing the troops. Upon learning that Fūmori Masaki's squad had returned, he immediately put down what he was doing and came out to welcome them.
Seeing that everyone was standing there safe and sound, Tobirama's face was slightly moved. After a while, he said, 'It's good that you are alive. You are all heroes of Konoha.'