And yet, even with Sage Mode in his grasp, he still couldn't activate it instantly.
Is this what a genius looks like?
Is this the kind of talent possessed by someone destined to reshape the ninja world?
Only now did Jiraiya truly realize the difference between a dead last and a genius. That crushing sense of loss washed over him like a tide.
The blue little toad lay flat on his back, exposing his pale belly, staring up at the sky full of stars. Surrounded by chirping insects and the occasional drifting night-blooming flowers, Jiraiya suddenly felt like lying there forever.
Maybe lying flat isn't such a bad thing after all.
"Shall we go take a stroll through the Sand Ninja camp together?"
The excitement in Yuki Seisui's eyes hadn't faded in the slightest. Seeing this, Uchiha Haru nodded.
"As long as it's your request, I'll do it."
Her voice was very soft, yet it echoed endlessly in Yuki Seisui's ears.
Looking at Uchiha Haru, some of the excitement in Yuki Seisui's eyes subsided. He gazed at her intensely and couldn't help asking, "Really… anything?"
Feeling the heat in his gaze, Uchiha Haru gently nodded.
"Then—"
"When we get back, let's tell your grandfather that he's about to have a great-grandchild!"
"That's not very appropriate, is it?" Uchiha Haru frowned, her small face flushing red soon after.
"We're still young… isn't it too early to be talking about babies…?"
She hadn't paid the slightest attention to the first half of Yuki Seisui's words.
Her mind was completely filled with the second half.
"Your grandfather wants a great-grandchild… great-grandchild… great-grandchild…"
Seeing her reaction, Yuki Seisui wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "We'll let him hold one after we come of age. For now, we'll just fool him a little."
Lying on the grass and gazing at the starry sky, Jiraiya suddenly didn't feel like following Yuki Seisui anymore.
As someone who had been single for so many years, watching this scene really wasn't easy on the heart.
Six students—no, more accurately, five. After all, he was merely Uchiha Haru's team leader.
Five students.
Yuki Seisui and Minato had both gotten themselves girlfriends early on.
Nagato didn't need to worry about it at all. Even if he didn't like girls, the elders would probably arrange one for him sooner or later.
Konan was even less of a concern—such a cute girl, and not at all like Tsunade.
And then there was Yahiko…
Jiraiya felt as though the sky itself had collapsed.
Looking at Yahiko was like looking into a mirror.
Yahiko was almost exactly like him when he was young.
Five students—two already had girlfriends, two didn't need to worry at all, and the last one was a carbon copy of his younger self, perfectly positioned to struggle with the problem of finding a partner.
What a sin…
Jiraiya let out a long sigh.
While Jiraiya was still sighing, Yuki Seisui couldn't be bothered with any of that. He hoisted the two bamboo poles onto his shoulders, took Uchiha Haru with him, and headed straight for the Sand Ninja camp.
With the Nine-Tails Golden Body Mode active, let alone two corpses hanging from the bamboo—he wouldn't even feel the weight if there were twenty. They were as light as foam.
The golden chakra cloak enveloping Yuki Seisui offered no concealment at all in the night—it was far too conspicuous.
They hadn't gone far before they were spotted by the Sand Ninjas.
"Too arrogant!" A Sand Ninja stared at the golden glow approaching from the distance and angrily said to his companion, "Have Konoha Ninjas started looking down on the Sunagakure this much?!"
"Sneaking in at night, yet being this blatant!"
"Raise the alert!" His companion looked grim and shouted toward the camp behind him, "Enemy attack!"
As soon as those words rang out, the once-quiet Sand Ninja camp erupted into chaos.
Sand Ninjas jolted awake from their sleep.
Hearing the alarm, Chiyo's heart skipped a beat. A bad feeling rose within her.
The words her son, Chinzu, had spoken before sneaking into the Konoha to poison them felt as fresh as if they had just been said.
"Let's hope everything goes smoothly…" Chiyo murmured under her breath, then stepped outside. She wanted to see for herself how many ninjas Konoha had sent to attack.
At that thought, a smile appeared on her face.
"Konoha's ninjas don't seem all that impressive after all."
"They were discovered before they even made a move."
As Chiyo spoke quietly, she happened to run into Pakura, who was walking out with a serious expression. She immediately smiled.
"Kazekage-sama, Konoha is nothing to fear."
"Shinobi who get discovered before even launching an attack…" Chiyo snorted coldly. "They're far inferior to us Sand Ninjas!"
Hearing Chiyo's words, the tension on Pakura's face eased slightly.
"Eld—Elder Chiyo is right," Pakura almost called her "teacher," but remembering Chiyo's insistence on using official titles in public, she quickly corrected herself.
Chiyo's expression cooled when she almost heard "teacher," but when Pakura promptly changed her wording, she smiled again.
In Chiyo's eyes, Pakura was still too young.
She needed to be taught through daily affairs and real events.
In the current Sunagakure, it was less that Pakura ruled as Kazekage, and more that Chiyo governed from behind the scenes.
Yet in Pakura's view, there was nothing wrong with this.
She truly lacked experience—whether in diplomacy with other villages or in handling complex affairs, she was far inferior to Elder Chiyo.
Take this joint attack on the Konoha, for example.
If it had been Pakura, she would have swallowed her anger, laid low to recover from the aftermath of the Third Kazekage's death, and waited for a chance to take revenge.
But Elder Chiyo's move had utterly shocked her.
Using information about Yuki Seisui's eyes, she had managed to unite three other great ninja villages to besiege Konoha.
Seeing Pakura's expression, Chiyo spoke up, "Let's go take a look together."
She had no intention of undermining Pakura's authority. The Sunagakure couldn't afford internal turmoil right now.
While the two of them were talking, Yuki Seisui had already arrived at the edge of the Sand Ninja camp, carrying the corpses with Uchiha Haru beside him.
"Is this really okay?" Uchiha Haru looked at the dense crowd of Sand Ninjas ahead and couldn't help glancing at Yuki Seisui.
Behind them, the trailing Jiraiya swallowed nervously.
If he were surrounded by so many people, even if he didn't die, he'd be severely injured.
Thinking this, Jiraiya worriedly looked at Yuki Seisui—but the moment he saw the golden chakra cloak enveloping him, he relaxed.
Not only did he relax, he even wanted to slap himself.
So many stacked states, and they even seemed sustainable. There was no need for him to worry at all.
I'm really just sticking my nose where it doesn't belong.
Hearing Uchiha Haru's question, Yuki Seisui curled his lips into a crooked smile.
"The age of war has arrived—now watch as the Ghost descends!"
Before Uchiha Haru could react, Yuki Seisui stepped forward.
"I am the second God of the Ninja World—now the only one in existence!"
The moment his words fell, Yuki Seisui vanished from where he stood, reappearing above the Sand Ninjas with the two bamboo poles on his shoulders.
A sharp-eyed Sand Ninja recognized the two corpses hanging from the bamboo and spoke in a trembling voice, "Th-those are Chinzu-sama and Baina-sama!"
"They're dead!"
"What?!"
As his words spread, more and more Sand Ninjas noticed the corpses hanging from the bamboo poles.
At that very moment, Yuki Seisui descended.
With a slight movement of his arms, the two bamboo poles swept out like iron staffs, instantly sending the surrounding Sand Ninjas flying.
Some Sand Ninjas reacted quickly, attempting to cut the seemingly slender bamboo with their ninja blades.
They weren't the only ones with that idea.
But the result was the same—they were all sent flying.
When their blades struck the bamboo, the clash rang out like metal striking metal. Not even a single mark was left on the bamboo.
This was bamboo from the depths of the bamboo forest—harder than refined iron, and extraordinarily resilient.
If it weren't for the fact that it couldn't conduct chakra, Yuki Seisui would have kept one as a secondary weapon. Even so, these bamboo poles were still top-tier weapons.
After all, most ninjas only used weapons forged from refined iron.
Compared to those, the quality of this bamboo was far superior.
The only drawback was its inability to change shape.
But who said ninjas couldn't use staffs?
Sarutobi Hiruzen would be the first to object.
The Sarutobi clan had used staffs for generations.
"Come—dance with me!"
"Entertain me to your heart's content!" Yuki Seisui darted through the Sand Ninjas, and with every passing moment, more of them were sent flying through the air.
"Everyone, attack!"
"Avenge Chinzu-sama and Baina-sama!"
"You go on ahead—there's another one over there. I'll capture that one!"
"I'm coming too!"
"Let's go together!"
The Sand Ninjas immediately split into two groups, one of them charging straight toward Uchiha Haru.
Compared to the dazzling golden figure carrying two ten-meter bamboo poles with corpses hanging from them, Uchiha Haru looked far easier to deal with.
Outside the encirclement, Chiyo stood frozen, staring at Yuki Seisui as he rampaged through the battlefield.
Her gaze followed his every movement, never once leaving him.