Unbelievable!

"He's dead. Finally… he's dead…"

The Iwa-nin were on the verge of breaking down.

The Raikage alone had killed more shinobi than the rest of the Kumo forces combined.

Onoki looked at the battlefield, the corpses scattered everywhere, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

And this was with Kyoichi and Minato having intervened.

If they hadn't asked for Konoha's help… he couldn't even imagine how horrific things would be now.

He stared at the blood-soaked ground, feeling a wave of melancholy.

The major threat was removed—but at the cost of so many Iwa-nin.

Was it worth it?

Onoki sighed quietly.

Whether it was worth it or not, it wasn't like he had a choice. It wasn't Iwagakure that wanted to pick a fight with Kumogakure—Konoha had defeated them, and left him with no real option. Given they were going to suffer losses anyway, why not make them count for something?

Thinking like that made the situation feel slightly easier to accept.

Although the Raikage was dead, no Iwa-nin dared approach the body. Everyone stepped back, forming a path and a small clearing where Onoki slowly descended.

Kyoichi and Minato walked over from behind.

"Tsuchikage-sama, what do you plan to do with the Raikage's corpse?"

"Well…" Onoki hesitated.

Completely destroying the body would be too offensive to Kumogakure. But returning it? Kumo wasn't likely to show gratitude either.

It was a tricky situation.

After a brief pause, he looked at Minato and said, "I intend to return the Raikage's body to Kumogakure. However, it wouldn't be appropriate for Iwagakure to do it. How about the two of you—"

"We're not interested. We were just asking," Kyoichi cut him off.

This guy… he really was shameless when he thought someone was easy to manipulate—just like Kyoichi himself.

Minato was just making an inquiry, but Onoki immediately tried to push the job onto them, acting like they had nothing to do with the Raikage's death.

Onoki choked on his words.

He knew this was a tough ask. If he really sent someone, A—furious and grieving—might just kill them outright.

Unless he went himself.

But going personally might look even more provocative.

After thinking it through, Onoki sighed. "Seems we'll just have to leave the body here and hope no wild animals drag it off before the Kumo-nin arrive."

"That's… not ideal," Minato hesitated.

Leaving a corpse exposed in the wild—it was disrespectful to the dead, especially one of the Five Kage. Plus, a Kage's body held countless secrets. If someone took it—especially someone like Orochimaru—it would spell trouble. And if the body went missing, Kumo would definitely blame Konoha.

"In that case, I must trouble you both again. Besides, your village's Second Hokage died at the hands of Kumo—war always goes both ways," Onoki said, coughing lightly.

Of course, he still wanted Minato to handle it.

With the Flying Thunder God, who could possibly catch him?

If Kyoichi weren't here, he might've pulled it off. But with that guy around…

Kyoichi never lifted a finger unless there was something in it for him.

"This is a separate matter, Tsuchikage-sama. We were hired for this mission—returning the Raikage's body isn't in our contract. If we do it, wouldn't that count as an additional mission?"

"And wouldn't that be S-rank at the very least?"

Kyoichi wasn't about to let Onoki get away with this for free.

Trying to freeload? Not happening.

Onoki smiled faintly. "Iwagakure has already made enemies of Kumo—we don't mind a little more heat. There's no need to return the body. This was your idea."

"Fair enough. So if we do return it, it's got nothing to do with Iwagakure," Kyoichi said, pulling out a sealing scroll.

Onoki frowned.

He knew what Kyoichi was doing—separating the task from Iwagakure so they could get some goodwill out of it.

If Onoki paid up, this guy would probably let him tag along and get some of the credit.

But as Onoki had already said—regardless of money or goodwill—Kumo wouldn't reconcile with Iwa. Whether war broke out now or later, a clash was inevitable.

He spoke firmly. "If the Yondaime Raikage wants a war, Iwagakure will not shy away from it. Return the body if you want—consider it thanks for your assistance."

"Alright then." Kyoichi nodded and sealed the Raikage's body. He exchanged a glance with Minato, and the two began walking toward Kumogakure.

Behind them, Orochimaru frowned.

That kid… was actually returning the body?

Why?

He didn't get it.

At this point, Kumogakure was a boiling pot of oil—any outsider stepping in would cause a splash.

Konoha wasn't an exception.

More importantly, it seemed completely unnecessary.

Did Kumo's attitude even matter?

Even if they returned the body, Kumo would still invade the Land of Fire eventually.

That was just the nature of shinobi villages.

But those two idiots were really going through with it.

After a moment's hesitation, Orochimaru quietly followed them.

…

"Kyoichi, sorry. Let me handle this alone. With Flying Thunder God, I should be able to get out safely if anything goes wrong," Minato said apologetically.

He had suggested returning the body, but now he was dragging Kyoichi along—he felt bad.

Kyoichi shook his head. "Even if you hadn't said anything, I would've returned it myself. No matter what relations we had with the Raikage, when someone's dead, all grudges should end."

"You really think so too?"

"Yeah."

That wasn't entirely true.

Kyoichi wasn't that magnanimous. The real reason he wanted to return the body was simple—he didn't want anyone else to get their hands on it.

Like… that guy, Zetsu.

Or maybe Orochimaru.

The sandaime Raikage's body had value. 

Letting Zetsu get it would only strengthen Madara's forces. As for Orochimaru…

The Raikage's power came from perfecting the Lightning Release Armor and his spearhand technique—both rooted in training and technique, not genetics.

So really, there wasn't much to gain from studying the body.

Orochimaru might only find it useful for Edo Tensei. Otherwise, it was a waste of time.

Returning the body to Kumo at least forged a bit of goodwill.

Minato listened to Kyoichi's explanation and felt relieved.

Still, he hadn't changed his mind.

"One person is enough for this kind of delivery. You should stay back as support, just in case."

"This kind of risky mission definitely can't be done with our real bodies. We'll both use shadow clones…"

Kyoichi shook his head.

Just as he was about to speak again, he sensed a fluctuation of chakra from beneath them.

Then—

A figure burst out of the ground.

"I knew it—Kyoichi-kun is too cautious to do something reckless."

It was Orochimaru!

He really had come…

Kyoichi was speechless.

To be honest, it was uncertain if Zetsu was lurking, but Orochimaru? He was practically guaranteed to show up. And of course, now that Kyoichi and Minato were personally escorting the body, he had followed right along.

Orochimaru licked his lips. "Kyoichi-kun, I have a small request."

"You want the body?"

"No, I just want to take a look."

His voice was raspy.

Minato frowned—clearly not on board—but Orochimaru was his elder.

However…

Orochimaru seemed to be speaking to Kyoichi like an equal.

Hmm…

Minato's mouth twitched slightly and looked over at Kyoichi.

To his surprise, Kyoichi was quick and decisive. He pulled out the sealing scroll and released the Raikage's corpse.

Orochimaru squatted down excitedly.

"Look all you want. Just don't touch."

Kyoichi was straightforward with him—no sugar-coating.

Orochimaru chuckled and retracted his hand.

He examined the body closely, then sighed. "As expected from Kumogakure's strongest Raikage. His body is terrifyingly powerful. But even someone like this still couldn't escape death."

"On land, there really aren't many who could defeat him," Kyoichi said.

Orochimaru caught the implication.

On land, no. But in the sky or the sea? That was a different story.

After thinking for a moment, he nodded.

In the air, Onoki's Weight and Light Techniques gave him overwhelming control—unless someone could fly at similar speeds, they'd be at a huge disadvantage.

As for the sea…

Since Tobirama's death, who could rival Kanda Kyoichi?

"Thank you."

Orochimaru gave a small nod, then lost interest in the corpse.

The Sandaime Raikage was strong, but not beyond human limits. There were plenty of ways to kill someone like him—difficult, yes, but far from impossible.

And if someone can die…

Then what's the point of studying them?

He sighed again, then quickly composed himself and said, "I was originally worried that you two might be reckless. But now I see I was overthinking."

"Orochimaru-sama, since you're here, why not come with us?"

"You go ahead. I'll cover from outside."

Orochimaru shook his head.

After all, he had once released the Eight-Tails. 

He worried Gyūki might recognize his chakra.

Kyoichi and Minato each created a shadow clone.

The clones took the scroll and headed toward Kumogakure, while the real bodies remained with Orochimaru to await their return. Orochimaru sat down, deep in thought. Minato looked like he wanted to say something but didn't. 

Kyoichi…

He glanced between the two and finally broke the silence.

"By the way—have either of you noticed anything strange about Kumo's Eight-Tails jinchūriki?"

"I was too focused on the Raikage to pay attention," Minato said with a frown. "But now that you mention it… didn't he fully release the seal?"

"When I arrived, you two were already fighting the Raikage. The jinchūriki appeared to be in full transformation—he had completely released the tailed beast's power," Orochimaru added.

Not knowing the full situation, he simply gave his judgment and looked toward Kyoichi.

"I once fought the Four-Tails jinchūriki. Roshi had been a jinchūriki for over twenty years—he studied tailed beasts deeply. But once transformed, he lost his mind. Kumo's Eight-Tails jinchūriki, though… didn't seem to have that problem."

Kyoichi nodded in agreement, though he was mainly directing the comment at Minato—Orochimaru was a secondary audience.

"Now that you mention it… yeah."

Minato hadn't noticed before, but now the vague images in his mind were becoming clearer—

The Eight-Tails used its tail to rescue A.

That was definitely not something a rampaging jinchūriki would do.

Could it be…?

"There's only one possibility—the seal was released, and the Eight-Tails willingly helped him. Unbelievable! That kid… he actually got the Eight-Tails to cooperate?"

Orochimaru, who had done considerable research on jinchūriki, immediately understood.

Otherwise, how could he have drugged and released Gyūki without the beast even knowing?

So—

After a moment's thought, he realized the truth.