Renya sheathed his blade, flicking off the beads of blood on its edge, and slid the sword back into its scabbard.
"It's nothing more than the will of the dead—utterly worthless."
He had never had any fondness for these so-called wills used to brainwash people.
Including Konoha's so-called Will of Fire.
Ōnoki was indeed a decent Kage, but what did that have to do with him?
War was inherently ruthless; taking a few lives was perfectly normal.
If not for his own overwhelming strength, the one leaving last words would have been him.
No—after taking a hit from Dust Release, he probably wouldn't even have had the chance to leave any last words.
"Lord Tsuchikage!"
At that very moment, the energy sustaining the Severed Sky Stone Prison Barrier finally dissipated.
The Iwagakure ninja maintaining the barrier saw this, their eyes instantly turning red.
They had never imagined that their invincible Tsuchikage-sama would die just like that on the battlefield.
Hearing the shout, the ninja fighting in the distance all stopped, instinctively turning to look toward where the barrier had been.
They saw Renya standing alone, with three headless corpses lying on the ground.
"Mizukage-sama!"
"Tsuchikage-sama!"
"Raikage-sama!"
The ninja from each village were instantly dumbfounded.
Three Kage-level powerhouses working together, and they still weren't Renya's match?
Staring at Renya's pair of scarlet eyes, despair surfaced on their faces.
If even their own Kage were no match, could they possibly win this war?
Especially the Kumogakure ninja—it was as if they had returned to the days of being dominated by Konoha's Poison Master.
Some of the younger Kumogakure ninja finally witnessed the demon their elders spoke of.
One man standing against three Kage-level powerhouses, easily killing all three in a counterattack.
If that wasn't a demon, what was?!
"Damn it, we're too late!"
The late-arriving Hiruzen and the others felt helpless at the sight.
The overall commander, Nara Mikage, had ordered them to head to the main battlefield to support Renya, but they couldn't simply abandon their own fights to rush over.
So by the time they finished off their opponents and hurried over, the battle was already over.
"Renya, that guy is as strong as ever."
Uchiha Kagami looked at the headless corpses by Renya's feet and couldn't help but sigh.
Both of them possessed Mangekyō Sharingan, yet he was far inferior to Renya.
Moreover, his eyes were meant to deter his own clan, and he wouldn't easily use them.
Unless it was absolutely necessary.
Otherwise, if his eyes went blind, he wouldn't be able to deter the clan anymore.
"Iwagakure ninja—your Tsuchikage was willing to surrender to Konoha before his death."
Renya looked toward the ninja who had stopped fighting in the distance. His voice, amplified by chakra, rang clearly in everyone's ears.
"His only request was that I let you leave. You may now pack up and return to Iwagakure Village."
"Waaah… Tsuchikage-sama!"
Countless Iwagakure ninja were moved to tears.
They never expected that even at death's door, the great Tsuchikage was still thinking of them.
To have followed such a Tsuchikage—they felt it had all been worth it.
"Poison Master, may we recover Tsuchikage-sama's body for him?" The Iwagakure commander stepped forward and asked, "Iwagakure Village is willing to pay to ransom Tsuchikage-sama's remains!"
With Tsuchikage-sama gone, he was now the highest-ranking official present.
He believed that even if the village leadership learned of this, they wouldn't blame him.
"Fine." Renya didn't refuse.
Although Ōnoki's body could have been used to extract intelligence for Konoha, he wanted to give him a dignified ending.
Well, mainly because they were paying.
Anyone who turns down money is an idiot. As for how much to charge—that was up to him.
A Tsuchikage's body was worth a few hundred million, right?
The Kumogakure ninja and Kirigakure ninja present all turned their eyes to Renya, hoping he would speak of the Raikage's and Mizukage's last words.
Unfortunately, what they didn't know was that neither of the two Kage had any chance to leave last words.
Well—actually, the Second Raikage did say something before he died.
The Iwagakure commander called over several Iwagakure ninja, who carefully began to collect Ōnoki's remains.
Soon after, countless Iwagakure ninja withdrew from the battlefield.
"Poison Master, the Iwagakure delegation will personally go to Konoha to discuss compensation."
After saying this, the Iwagakure commander turned and left the battlefield.
With their spiritual pillar, Tsuchikage-sama, gone, this war had already lost all meaning.
They couldn't beat Konoha anyway—better to cut their losses in time.
As the Iwagakure ninja withdrew, only the Kumogakure and Kirigakure ninja remained on the battlefield.
The Konoha ninja and the Amegakure ninja watched them warily.
"The war is over." Hiruzen murmured softly.
Without even looking, he knew that Kumogakure and Kirigakure had already lost the will to fight.
They would surrender soon enough.
Renya—this guy had ended the war early by his own strength alone.
Just as Hiruzen expected, the commanders of Kumogakure and Kirigakure stepped forward of their own accord.
"Poison Master, we are willing to surrender."
Even with three villages allied, they hadn't gained any advantage—let alone with just the two of them now.
If they didn't surrender, they would eventually die here.
Renya wasn't surprised. When he killed the three Kage earlier, he had already guessed this outcome.
The Second Shinobi World War was finally over—it was time to go back to the village and bask in the sun.
Renya lifted his head and looked at the still-gloomy sky, cold rain pattering against his face.
In such miserable conditions, he didn't want to stay another moment.
"I accept your surrender."
Renya looked at the two trembling commanders before him and spoke in a low voice.
"Poison Master, we would also like to ransom back Mizukage-sama's/Raikage-sama's body."
The commanders of the two villages gathered their courage to speak.
There was no helping it—the Poison Master's presence was simply too overwhelming.
Especially those Mangekyō Sharingan eyes, which left no room for even a hint of resistance.
They were both afraid that Renya might kill them on a whim.
"Fine."
Renya's gaze settled on the Kirigakure commander's face.
The Kirigakure commander was so frightened he was about to wet himself, unable to figure out how he had offended Renya.
Just as he was on the verge of losing control, Renya's leisurely voice drifted over.
"I also have the Third Mizukage's headless body here. Does your Kirigakure Village want it as well?"
The Third Mizukage's head had been handed over to the Nara clan head—by now, it had most likely already been mined for intelligence by the Yamanaka clan.
But he did still have the Third Mizukage's headless corpse.
With the mindset that selling one is selling, and selling half is still selling, he asked the question.
"Huh?" The Kirigakure commander was momentarily stunned, but quickly reacted.
"Yes, yes, yes!"
By all rights, the Third Mizukage was the one they truly acknowledged as Mizukage. The one just killed had merely been a temporary pick.
His seniority was shallow and he couldn't command respect at all.
Being able to ransom back the Third Mizukage's remains was naturally the best possible outcome.
Even if it was only the body, it was better than nothing.
Seeing this, Renya didn't waste words and directly took out the storage scroll containing the Third Mizukage's body.
"Do you want to inspect the goods?"
"N-no need! I trust your character!"
The Kirigakure commander shook his head repeatedly and hurriedly accepted the storage scroll.
What a joke—if he actually inspected the goods on the spot, wouldn't that imply he didn't trust the Poison Master?
"Good to trust."
Renya nodded in satisfaction. Not inspecting the goods saved some time.
He wasn't so bored as to cheat people with a fake corpse.