As the words faded,
Before anyone could react, the crack of the Garganta instantly closed, merging into one, and finally shut completely.
The air returned to its original state.
That white figure of the Kitsune Ogre also vanished from before everyone's eyes.
A cold wind blew, kicking up dust.
It seemed as if everything had returned to calm.
However...
After hearing those last words, not a single person present had a calm heart!!
Everyone's breath caught, blood surging within them!
Kyo's words seemed to still echo in their minds!
The Sharingan!
The ancient secret technique scrolls!
He had placed all these treasures within Las Noches!
And anyone, as long as they found Las Noches... could control all of this!!!
Such incredibly alluring words.
In an instant,
Immediately caused all the bounty hunters in Kikyo Castle to erupt completely!
"Great!! We still have a chance!"
"Oh!! Did I hear that right!? The Kitsune Ogre actually said we should go find his treasures?!"
"Hahahaha! It seems it's time for us all to compete in speed, then!"
"From now on, whoever finds the location of Las Noches will practically possess half the wealth of the Shinobi World, right!?"
"I, Fuma Akago, will definitely be the first to find all of this!!"
"Nonsense!! I, Sasaki Rohachi, am the man who will possess all these treasures!!"
"Las Noches! I, Miyamoto Fusei, am coming for you, aaaaaah!!!"
The previously silent Kikyo Castle,
At this moment, it was as if ignited, buzzing with voices!
Countless bounty hunters, all at once, shifted their goals to a single one - finding Las Noches!!
And at this moment, seeing this scene,
The Raikage, Kakashi, and others within the battlefield were instantly frozen, their expressions becoming complicated.
'It was obvious...'
'The reason the Kitsune Ogre spoke those words was to actively provoke our desire to explore and search for Las Noches...'
'But what benefit was there in doing so?'
'This mysterious Kitsune Ogre, after appearing so suddenly and then disappearing just as suddenly, what was his purpose...?!'
No one could know.
However,
One thing was now certain: that is... everyone present had become a loser!
Neither Konoha nor Kumogakure had successfully seized the Sharingan!
"..."
With this thought in mind, Raikage gritted his teeth, then looked at the few intelligence Shinobi beside him, grinding his teeth heavily as he said:
"Tch, let's go! Return to Kumogakure!"
"Ah... yes!!"
The intelligence Shinobi beside him were first startled, then hurriedly replied.
Immediately, they supported the gloomy-faced Raikage on either side, slowly beginning to walk out of the area...
And at this moment,
No one dared to step forward and stop them.
On the battlefield,
Kakashi and Guy exchanged glances, both looking somewhat helpless.
'This entire incident had been strange from beginning to end.'
'Even the way the Kitsune Ogre finally left was bizarre to the extreme.'
'It was as if...'
'He was deliberately proclaiming something...'
After a moment of silence,
Kakashi shook his head helplessly, putting aside these stray thoughts.
Although he suspected many things,
He knew now was clearly not the time to think about this.
Regardless of the fact that both he and Guy were injured, and Danzo had been sent flying, the most important thing now was that the Sharingan had disappeared.
After all, if these Sharingan were actually found by Kumogakure or Iwagakure, then... the consequences would be unthinkable!
He had to return to Konoha immediately and properly discuss the current situation with Hiruzen.
With this in mind,
Kakashi raised his head, looked at Guy beside him, and said:
"...Let's go"
"Let's first go see how Danzo-sama is doing."
Saying this, Kakashi lifted his foot and walked towards the ruined building where Danzo was.
However, before he could take two steps,
He saw Danzo suddenly walk out from it directly, completely unharmed.
At this moment, his entire body was clean and tidy, without any scars or dust, just like when he first left Konoha.
Seeing this scene, Kakashi's gaze paused, dumbfounded.
'Huh???'
'What's going on...'
'Even I and Guy couldn't withstand the aftermath of Kitsune Ogre's Getsuga Tensho, yet Danzo, who clearly took a direct hit, is actually... completely fine?!'
'And what's with this clean and tidy appearance...'
'It doesn't look like someone who got hit on the battlefield at all!'
'Could this bastard have hidden away during the battle and taken a shower???'
...
Just as Kakashi was utterly perplexed,
Danzo, with a dark expression, had already walked up to them.
Then,
He said almost nothing at all, simply with a dark face and great reluctance:
"Let's go... Return to Konoha!"
These words,
He spoke through gritted teeth, trembling with barely contained anger.
This entire battle for the Sharingan,
Had completely exceeded all his initial expectations.
Not only was he oneshotted at the start, his Mangekyo Sharingan blinded, but even Konoha's elite, Kakashi and Guy, were thoroughly outclassed.
Even more bizarrely, the Raikage, renowned for his immense power, ultimately couldn't defeat the Kitsune Ogre.
Instead, he was sent flying with a single slash... which is unbelievable.
Danzo walked forward, his expression grim, clenching his fists tightly.
He no longer knew how to continue competing.
Would he really have to search for that ethereal existence called Las Noches for the sake of those Sharingan?
He didn't know.
However, he did know one thing:
Upon returning to Konoha this time, Hiruzen would surely use this matter to shift all the blame onto him again!
Thinking this, Danzo's expression grew even darker.
And behind him,
Kakashi, Guy, and the several Anbu all followed silently, finally leaving the battlefield.
Their figures appeared even more defeated than those of the Raikage and his group.
After all,
Kumogakure at most had the Raikage slightly injured, with no actual negative impact.
But Konoha was different.
Anyone who had seen so many Sharingan just now would inevitably begin to connect it to a fact-
That Konoha's Uchiha Clan had been eliminated.
And once they confirmed this,
Life in Konoha would probably become quite difficult from now on.
...
Similarly,
At this moment, on the rooftop of a distant building.
After witnessing the Kitsune Ogre disappear using that strange Space-Time Ninjutsu, the masked man was also stunned for a long time.
All of this felt like a dream to him.
From the very beginning, after hearing the news from Zetsu, until now, with the Kitsune Ogre's disappearance, he had felt no sense of participation in anything in between!
The only slight progress was one thing-
That he had successfully verified that Kyo was not that Kitsune Ogre.
But now, what use was verification?
All the Sharingan were gone!
The plan to seize them was a complete failure!
Thinking this,
The masked man couldn't help but glance at Kyo beside him, his gaze carrying a complex, hard-to-express emotion.
When he first found Kyo, he wanted Kyo to directly engage in a fight with the Kitsune Ogre and snatch the Sharingan.
Unexpectedly, Kyo's deductions and plan instantly led him astray.
So he chose to trust Kyo and observe the battle first.
And the result,
Who the hell would have thought that until the very end, this bragging Kyo still hadn't made a single move!
And he talked about a fifty-fifty fight with the Kitsune Ogre? Being able to solo someone with that level of strength?
Complete bullshit!
'Could this guy really think I'm just an Akatsuki's trainee, so he feels free to brag in front of me...?'
Thinking this, the masked man gritted his teeth, regretting his earlier inaction.
At that time,
If he had been decisive and just snatched them and run, he might have had a certain chance.
But now, there's no chance at all!
Just from what the Kitsune Ogre said before disappearing,
It was clear that this guy had no intention of coming out anytime soon.
Furthermore... even those precious Sharingan were treated by this guy like playthings, turned into rewards for finding Las Noches...
"Tsk..."
The masked man frowned slightly, his expression complex.
'This Las Noches...'
'When did it appear? Who are its members? Where is it located?'
'There's no information whatsoever.'
'It seemed I would have to start slowly investigating from now on.'
'I absolutely could not allow this organization... to interfere with the progress of the Eye of the Moon Plan...!'
The masked man's eye flickered slightly.
...
At this moment,
No one noticed.
Within the crowd of excited and fervent bounty hunters, there was one person, their face hidden by a hood.
Their lips slowly curled upwards, revealing a sinister smile.
The pale skin, the gaunt figure, and the sinister aura.
It was the scientist, Orochimaru!
Right now,
Beneath the hood, his eyes blazed intensely, the corners of his mouth curling wildly, the smile on his face excited to the extreme.
"Perfect!!"
"Such terrifying, majestic power, it's simply perfect!!"
"Single-handedly suppressing both Konoha's younger foundations, cutting down A, the Raikage known as the Blue Lightning... So this is the true power of Las Noches?!!"
"Truly terrifying!!"
Orochimaru's heart surged with excitement.
At this moment, countless questions he had harbored were almost perfectly answered.
A moment later,
Orochimaru slowly turned around and walked out of the crowd, his mood exceptionally pleasant.
Las Noches, this organization seen by the outside world as terrifying and mysterious,
He, Orochimaru, would soon have the honor of becoming one of its members!
A mere fifteen forbidden techniques...
Consider it a done deal!