"He went after Zetsu," Konan added from the side. Her expression, once filled with confusion, surprise, and sadness, had now returned to its previous calm. However, rather than the panic and lifelessness she had shown before when she couldn't find Nagato, there was now a faint spark in her eyes.
"… …"
Link nodded. "Thank you."
Jiraiya stood up, wearing a complicated look on his face. It seemed there were things he wanted to say to his two students.
Akatsuki had turned into a fearsome organization harboring rogue ninja. The three students he'd once believed dead… He was seeing Yahiko, who had actually died, and Konan, who was still alive.
What about Nagato, that boy with the Rinnegan who might have been the Child of Prophecy?
Link checked Kakashi's and Guy's injuries.
[Guy is badly hurt, but it's not too serious. Kakashi's eye has been taken, just as I figured…]
He knew that from here on, things might get complicated.
Although you can't transplant eyes into an Edo Tensei reanimation, there are countless ways to exploit a Mangekyō Sharingan. If Uchiha Itachi could put one into a crow, it'd be absurd if Madara couldn't manage something similar with all those White Zetsu around. Implant the eye in a White Zetsu, slap on a curse seal—then do whatever you want.
Given the Sharingan's "plug-and-play" nature, using Kamui wouldn't be difficult at all.
[No wonder Obito was skulking around behind Nagato's back. With Kamui in the mix, Madara might've wiped out Obito's base in the Kamui dimension already.]
Link couldn't help smiling at the thought that Obito had once again been double-crossed by Kakashi.
Such is fate.
But once he was done laughing, he had to face reality: The Rashōmon that Hashirama had summoned wouldn't last forever, whereas Edo Tensei Madara could drag things out indefinitely. If Madara used Kamui to stall for five hours, who in the world could handle him?
Someone could. Yes, there were ways.
Link sighed. After giving Kakashi, who wasn't too badly injured, a bit of healing, he turned and pulled the black rods out of Might Guy.
There was little resistance. Likely because Madara, busy fighting a fully powered Hashirama, couldn't spare the concentration to keep controlling Guy.
As long as they're not Truth-Seeking Orbs, those black rods are just chakra receivers. They need someone on the other end actively controlling or interfering through them. Otherwise, as shown in the manga, even ordinary Konoha researchers could simply pull them out.
[Delicate Illness Extraction Technique.]
He expended over sixty percent of his chakra in one go. If he couldn't get Guy back up, and the fight dragged on until Rashōmon expired, they would have to rely on the Eight Gates. And that was a trump card that could be crucial in a big battle.
[Besides the injuries from this fight, Guy's got a ton of old wounds… This is going to be a little messy. He's way too reckless. With so many lingering injuries, he should've come to me for treatment a long time ago…]
Link swallowed two soldier pills, caught his breath, and continued. Just like when he healed Lee, if he went all-out and kept shoveling in soldier pills, no matter how serious the injuries—if they weren't outright fatal—he could bring someone back.
At that moment, he really missed Utakata. Having a living "battery" sure beat doping himself with soldier pills.
[Still not awake yet?]
Link observed that Guy, now nearly recovered to a healthy condition, and Kakashi were both still unconscious. He mulled it over briefly.
Apart from some lingering exhaustion, they should be fine. If they were still out cold, perhaps there was some seal or curse in effect.
"Leave them to me," Jiraiya said. He had just finished exchanging a few words with his two students and walked over, face grim. Putting a hand on Kakashi's chest, he looked up at Link in mild surprise.
He knew better than anyone else how severely these two were hurt, and now they'd practically recovered in such a short time. Link's medical-ninjutsu skills were clearly top-notch.
Jiraiya concentrated, gathering chakra. A sealing pattern spread from his fingertips across Kakashi's body.
"Release!"
Finishing, Jiraiya swayed on his feet, and Link quickly steadied him with a hand on his shoulder. Right away, Jiraiya felt the effect of this Delicate Illness Extraction technique.
Gravely injured moments earlier, he was restored almost miraculously. It felt nothing like ordinary medical ninjutsu—there was no sense of a healing process at all. It was as if he'd simply been returned to perfect health out of nowhere, which was hard to believe.
[This technique…?] He stifled the urge to ask questions, noticing that his complexion had improved significantly. Glancing over at Konan and the ghostly Yahiko (both potentially privy to dangerous intel), he planned to bring his students back to the village soon.
Jiraiya kept at it, and before long, he released the seal on Might Guy.
"Mmph—…?"
Kakashi sat up, his mask gone from the battle and having been taken captive, revealing a strikingly handsome face. For a second, confusion flickered across his features. Still, as an elite jōnin, he quickly assessed the situation and forced his still-weakened body to stand.
"Wah—!"
Thud!
Guy awoke even more abruptly. The instant the jutsu on him was dispelled, he opened his eyes and swung a punch—landing it right on Jiraiya's nose.
"Ah, sorry! Sorry!" He sat up, looking much more energetic than before. He felt lighter than ever, rubbing the back of his head apologetically.
Jiraiya clutched his nose, blood leaking out, and said grimly, "We have reinforcements from the village. Anyway—get ready to withdraw."
He still had no clue what was happening outside. He and Orochimaru had snuck in, then stayed indoors. Without the ability to fly like Konan, there was no chance to witness those "godly" battles. All he'd sensed was two massive chakras fighting at a distance. Beyond that, he knew nothing.
With no intel, the best option was not to get in anyone's way. Nobody could really join a fight against Uchiha Madara anyway. And regardless of who Konoha had sent to help, now wasn't the time to go poking around.
"Wait," Link interjected, having caught his breath. "Lady Tsunade and my friend are still here. Outside, the one fighting is the First Hokage."
"??" x5
Jiraiya was the quickest on the uptake among them. He didn't stop to question why in the world the First Hokage would be out there; it just wasn't the moment.
"I'll go meet up with Tsunade," he said. Whether Orochimaru or Tsunade, both were people he deeply cared about.
With that, he vanished in a body flicker.
Konan, standing beside Yahiko, spoke calmly. "Link, can we talk in private?"
At those words, Kakashi pressed a hand to the empty space where his eye had been, glanced at his friend, and then silently backed off, molding chakra and surveying the area.
Guy, still a bit slow, simply turned and followed Jiraiya.
"Konan—" Yahiko looked worried. As a deceased person, he figured he should trust his old friend, but this was the so-called "Great Trickster of the Pure Land." What if his innocent little sister was deceived?
Konan returned his gaze firmly. He hesitated a few moments, sighed, and drifted off.
Like an overprotective father, he hovered not far away, face full of concern.
At last, the place fell quiet. Konan was silent for a few seconds, then said, "What exactly must I do for you to—" But as she was speaking, Link's expression shifted. "Come with me. We'll talk in a minute."
He had sensed a sudden disturbance in Senju Tobirama's chakra.
He absolutely couldn't let anything happen to that "kid." Otherwise, there'd be no explaining it to the village—or to the First Hokage.
With that thought, he vanished in a flicker.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 100 Chapters Ahead of Others!