"This should be fine now, right?"
Looking at the scene he had created, Haku blinked, then asked Yagoromo.
But… as a fellow male, why are you acting cute?
"It's fine."
Yagoromo replied. At this point, all the White Zetsu had already faceplanted. What would not be fine?
At this moment, the considerable number of White Zetsu on the battlefield had indeed all been dealt with in one breath. Looking at those White Zetsu frozen in ice, their bizarre postures truly made them look like lumps piled one after another.
Because Yagoromo had fought this pair of alien creatures a long time ago, he had some understanding of White Zetsu's abilities. For example, they liked to attach themselves to other people without anyone noticing. For another, they possessed the trait of absorbing chakra.
Therefore, after these White Zetsu showed an intent to absorb chakra, Yagoromo's side also had corresponding countermeasures.
In the past, Yagoromo had used electric current to directly roast the White Zetsu trying to absorb his chakra into dregs scattered all over the ground. Now, however, there was no need to do that.
Using his Ice Release ability, Haku froze this group of fellows on a large scale… Mm, this move could probably be called Ice Age.
Of course, Haku being able to accomplish this was not because his strength had reached some incredible level. The main reason was that ordinary White Zetsu individuals had very limited combat strength. If they had not received certain enhancements, they were actually unsuited for frontal combat.
Therefore, for Yagoromo's team, even dealing with such a large group of White Zetsu individuals did not actually require much time.
Cruel reality once again explained an even crueler truth: ugly guys who still love showing off also die rather quickly.
"Can you still sense the enemy's chakra?" After making this group of White Zetsu faceplant in the correct way, Yagoromo asked Mirai.
Mirai fully mobilized her perception over the entire area, then decisively shook her head. She could no longer sense anything. This amount of time had already been enough for the enemy to vanish without a trace.
Not only that, the other side had even used White Zetsu to clean away their movement traces and remnant chakra. Trying to find them again through reconnaissance was already almost impossible.
Under these circumstances, if Yagoromo still insisted on pursuing Sasori's two-man team, his only option would be to charge straight toward the enemy's lair. But that kind of thought and possibility could remain just a thought. Actually plunging headfirst into the enemy's encirclement would be far too irrational.
"Let's retreat. Then, for the time being, report this matter to the Hokage."
Yagoromo finally said this, but… what exactly did "for the time being" mean? It made the Hokage sound optional.
As for the gains from Yagoromo's team's trip, the intelligence Uchiha Itachi had provided was already enough.
And if one were to call this a failure, Yagoromo's operation could not be considered a failure. What truly counted as failure was Akatsuki's first attempt to obtain a tailed beast. The strength and complete defensive power displayed by a great shinobi village had still exceeded Akatsuki's expectations.
Although the very act of trying to use two people to obtain a heavily protected jinchūriki from the military force of a great nation was itself extremely dangerous, and failure was within reason, this result was clearly not what Nagato had hoped for.
Perhaps Akatsuki's strategy still needed further adjustment. They had to balance both speed and success rate…
After Yagoromo's team left the area, a White Zetsu's head emerged from within a large tree. He glanced in the direction the four had left, then sank back down again.
White Zetsu's Transformation Technique, possession, infiltration, and concealment abilities could basically be called the strongest in the shinobi world. Where he appeared and where he hid were practically impossible to guard against. If this guy's strength had been even slightly more reliable, who knew? Perhaps White Zetsu and Black Zetsu alone could have completed the tailed beast collection plan and revived Mom.
...
After that, Yagoromo's team's return journey to Konoha was uneventful. Perhaps Sunagakure had also detected that they had been active within the Land of Wind, and had made a proper guess regarding Yagoromo and the others' objective—they were most likely chasing Sasori's two-man team, who had just invaded Sunagakure.
The White Yaksha's reason for acting was unclear, but it still drew Sunagakure's high attention… In any case, there was no way he had specially run all the way to the Land of Wind to do good deeds.
Under the current circumstances, when Yagoromo's team returned to Konoha, they naturally had no reason or need to pass through Sunagakure again. Otherwise, it would only make the other side even more nervous. Therefore, after leaving the battlefield where they had fought Uchiha Itachi and White Zetsu, the four of them directly cut into the Land of Rivers, then returned to Konoha.
Yagoromo was already so familiar with this route that he could not possibly be more familiar with it. The Land of Rivers itself was undefended against Konoha, and for Yagoromo, the Land of Rivers' national gate was practically like his own front door… He entered and exited it a little too frequently.
Yagoromo's team spent roughly three days returning to Konoha. Afterward, the team was declared dismissed. The children could either rest or move about freely. Yagoromo, meanwhile, still had to make a trip to the Hokage and report the actual situation of the mission.
However, on the way to the Hokage's office, Yagoromo unexpectedly discovered that Jiraiya had already returned to Konoha… Hadn't he gone to find Tsunade? Why had he come back so quickly?
Had he not found her? That was unlikely. If he had not found her, Jiraiya would be even less likely to return this early. Instead, the duration of his outside mission would have been longer.
Had he already brought Tsunade back? All right, that was merely a beautiful fantasy.
Looking again at Uncle Jiraiya's expression, Yagoromo could already guess the result.
"Uncle Jiraiya, I didn't expect you to be back so soon. Looks like the result was quite ideal." He walked forward and greeted Jiraiya.
Actually, what he wanted to say even more was that, no matter what, this uncle should not have returned this quickly. Even if the result was not ideal, he could still have stayed at Tsunade's side for a while longer. Maybe pestering her softly and persistently would have had an effect. If he could stay for one year, two months, and twenty days, then there was at least an eighty-percent chance Tsunade would return home with him to get married.
"Yagoromo?" Yagoromo's sudden appearance made Jiraiya pause for a moment. Then he continued, "That's indeed the case. I'm just about to report this matter to the Hokage… Tsunade is a little too stubborn."
Jiraiya was indeed very gloomy. The result of this operation was even worse than last time. At the very least, last time he had still been able to speak properly with Tsunade, and could say what he wanted to say. But this time, although he successfully saw Tsunade, he did not even get the chance to speak.
"This time…" Jiraiya then began explaining what had happened.
Judging by his appearance, he probably had not been beaten up. But that was precisely what demonstrated the seriousness of the problem.
It was somewhat similar to the idea that "hitting is affection and scolding is love." If Lady Tsunade was willing to beat you, that meant she treated you as one of her own. Now that she would not beat him, Jiraiya actually felt rather uncomfortable… This was not because he was asking for abuse, but because it made things feel distant and estranged.
Tsunade's reaction, in truth, carried a bit of rebellious psychology. She maintained a youthful appearance all day long, so who knew? Perhaps without realizing it, she really had started treating herself like a little girl. Therefore, the more people urged her to return to Konoha, the more stubbornly she insisted on staying outside.
After all, why should she listen to you? She had long since grown tired of Konoha.
"…Looks like this matter still has to rely on me taking the field."
After listening to the course of events, Yagoromo reached this conclusion.
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