A watched with growing desperation as the twelve chakra chains tightened around his brother's body. Every time Killer B tried to move, the links pulled even harder, while the Eight-Tails' chakra continued to weaken little by little. At the rate Danzō's technique was progressing, it would not be long before B was completely subdued.
The Fourth Raikage immediately understood what would happen if he did nothing.
Killer B would be captured.
Without thinking twice, A poured even more chakra into his Lightning Release Chakra Mode and rushed toward his brother's position. However, before he could get very far, Jiraiya appeared directly in front of him and blocked his path.
The Raikage stopped violently, shattering the ground beneath his feet.
"Jiraiya, move!" he roared furiously.
The lightning surrounding his body intensified even further, spreading in every direction and striking the ground hard enough to send small clouds of dust into the air. A tried to move around him, but Jiraiya immediately shifted to block his path again.
"Over my dead body, Raikage" the Sannin replied seriously. "Unless you agree to a ceasefire and negotiate peace."
A's eyes narrowed.
"I'm not here to negotiate with you!"
He charged forward again, trying to break through Jiraiya's defense by force. The Sannin quickly formed several hand seals and created two shadow clones, one appearing on either side of him. All three immediately spread out, blocking every possible route toward Killer B.
Jiraiya had no desire to see this war continue. The death of his student still weighed heavily on him. The Nine-Tails' attack had not only taken Minato's life, but also caused massive destruction, countless deaths, and growing instability inside Konoha.
During his journey to the battlefield, the toads of Mount Myōboku had told him everything that had happened while he was gone. They had told him about the attack, Minato's death, the situation inside the village, and the fear and distrust beginning to spread among its people. Jiraiya had listened to all of it in silence.
Right now, all he wanted was to stop more people from dying.
He had spent most of his life searching for peace, traveling across the shinobi world and trying to understand how the endless cycle of hatred between villages could finally be broken. For a long time, he had believed Minato might be the Child of Prophecy mentioned by the Great Toad Sage.
Minato had possessed extraordinary talent, intelligence, and the ability to inspire trust in the people around him. Jiraiya had truly believed his student might one day become the person capable of changing the shinobi world.
But Minato had died too soon.
Perhaps he had never been the chosen one. Or perhaps he had been, only for fate to take away his chance to fulfill that role.
Whatever the truth was, Jiraiya no longer wanted to watch students, comrades, and innocent villagers die in wars that never seemed to end.
"This can end right now" Jiraiya said firmly. "Order your men to stop, accept a ceasefire, and we can negotiate."
"My brother is being captured and you're still talking about peace?!" A shouted.
"That is exactly why you should accept it."
The answer only made the Raikage even angrier.
A roared and poured more chakra into his Lightning Release Chakra Mode. The pressure became so intense that Jiraiya's clones were forced to take a step back before the Raikage launched himself forward at full speed.
One of the clones tried to stop him with the Wild Lion's Mane Jutsu, but A tore straight through the hardened hair and destroyed the clone with a single strike. A cloud of smoke briefly covered the area, but before he could continue, another clone attacked from the side and sent several strands of hair toward his legs.
A burst of lightning erupted from the Raikage's body, instantly tearing through the restraints.
The real Jiraiya used those few seconds to raise an earthen wall directly in front of him.
A smashed straight through it.
However, three more Jiraiya were already waiting on the other side.
Jiraiya knew that in his current condition, defeating the Fourth Raikage would be extremely difficult. Fortunately, he did not need to defeat him.
He only had to slow him down.
Every second A spent fighting him was another second Danzō and the others had to secure Killer B's capture.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the struggle against the Eight-Tails had almost reached its end.
The twelve chakra chains had successfully suppressed nearly all of Gyūki's power. Its enormous body gradually began to shrink, its tentacles disappearing one after another until the gigantic form of the Eight-Tails dissolved into a mass of reddish chakra.
A moment later, Killer B returned to his human form and collapsed onto his knees, completely exhausted.
The twelve chains remained wrapped tightly around him, restraining his arms, legs, torso, and neck. B tried to move, but barely managed to tense his muscles. His chakra had been almost completely suppressed.
Danzō was breathing heavily. Maintaining the technique had consumed an enormous portion of his chakra reserves. His face had turned pale, a thin line of blood ran from his nose, and his hands trembled from the strain.
Even so, he could not suppress the excitement he felt.
His plan had worked.
He had defeated the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki.
"Capture the Jinchūriki!" Danzō roared with what strength he still had left.
Although they were exhausted as well, Inoichi, Chōza, and Shikaku immediately responded. Chōza partially reduced the size of his body and began moving toward Killer B, while Inoichi kept his technique ready in case the Jinchūriki somehow regained control. Shikaku extended his shadow across the ground to restrain B even further.
Baku also moved closer, ready to use its enormous body to prevent any escape, while the Root shinobi began closing the perimeter around them.
Everything indicated that Killer B's capture was practically guaranteed.
From the other side of the battlefield, A watched as Konoha's shinobi surrounded his brother.
His fury reached a new level.
"B!"
A massive burst of Lightning chakra exploded from his body. His armor intensified further, and the ground beneath his feet shattered as he desperately tried to break through Jiraiya's defense.
But the Sannin had already created five shadow clones.
Six Jiraiya now stood between the Raikage and Killer B.
One clone raised another earthen wall while a second extended its hair toward A's arm. A third tried to wrap several strands around his legs, while the remaining clones positioned themselves directly in his path, prepared to sacrifice themselves if necessary.
A destroyed one clone with a punch before smashing through the earthen wall and eliminating another with a powerful kick. Yet every attack cost him precious time.
Jiraiya knew his clones could not hold the Raikage back for long, but he continued using everything available to slow him down.
"You're not getting through!"
A charged again.
Two clones immediately threw themselves at him and grabbed both of his arms. The Raikage released a violent burst of lightning and destroyed them almost instantly, but even that forced him to stop for another few seconds.
And those few seconds might be enough.
Chōza, Shikaku, and Inoichi were already only a few meters away from Killer B, while the Root shinobi prepared additional sealing formulas to reinforce the chains.
The capture was only moments away from being completed.