Revitalizing the Uchiha clan starts with becoming a Kage.

Jiang Si stood holding his sword, a nonchalant air about him, and said with a light laugh.

On the surface, he appeared very relaxed, but deep down, Shoji's heartstrings were completely taut.

Depending on the situation, he might have to activate his Mangekyou Sharingan right here and fight this hero of Konoha. Retreat was out of the question. The Iwa ninja army had already firmly suppressed the Konoha garrison in Wuyuan Mountain. If he retreated, not only would all his previous efforts be in vain, but it could also trigger a chain reaction, causing the nearly one thousand Iwa ninja to collapse.

Moreover, a unilateral retreat would only make them easy targets. Besides, given Shoji's personality, he wouldn't choose such a cowardly option. Being rational is one thing, but having the right mindset is another. Besides, it's not like he has to activate the Mangekyou Sharingan. Although Jiraiya was very strong at this time, as long as he didn't activate Sage Mode, Shoji could handle him.

"Haha, to receive such praise from the strongest of the younger generation, Shoji-kun, is truly an honor. However, let's stop here for today! Zen-tsubasa-kun, go and organize the retreat of the remaining personnel. The Wuyuan Mountain base is yours for now, Shoji-kun!"

Jiraiya laughed heartily, his every move exuding a bold and unrestrained air. However, his words caused both Shoji and Zenitsu to pause slightly, with Shoji even showing a hint of surprise.

What does it mean?

Are you handing over the Wuyuan Mountain outpost to us? Are you just choosing to give it up outright? Why is that?

Jiang Si was suddenly filled with confusion, and his brows furrowed.

"Why? Lord Jiraiya?"

It was difficult for the commander to guess what Jiraiya meant by those words.

But Gekko Zentsubasa, standing behind Jiraiya, blurted out the question. In terms of the number of ninjas, Konoha still had the advantage. The only reason they were in the lead before was because they were caught off guard by the Iwa ninja support force and because he, as the commander, was not there. Otherwise, the situation would definitely be in their favor. Now that Jiraiya has arrived, even if he can't kill Shoji, Zentsubasa thinks that there shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Then you just need to go back and command the team again.

Defeating the current Iwa ninja army is only a matter of time. Once the reinforcements led by Shikaku arrive, the initiative in this war will fall into the hands of Konoha. Why make such a retreat?

Moonlight Wings expressed their inability to understand.

"Seon-kun, this is an order!"

He is as generous as he is.

However, Jiraiya was still a person in a high position, and he had his own temperament. Especially on the battlefield, Jiraiya, who served as the commander-in-chief of the Konoha Army several times in the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars, naturally possessed his own kind of majesty.

His gaze shifted, and he glanced indifferently at Zen-i beside him, before uttering a few flat words.

This is the meaning that can be grasped immediately.

After a moment of shock, Zenitsu lowered his head and replied without hesitation, "Yes, Lord Jiraiya!"

Then he immediately turned around and left, heading back towards the Wuyuan Mountain stronghold, following Jiraiya's orders to lead his troops to retreat and leave the area in turn.

Because I don't understand it.

Therefore, Jiang Si did not react immediately.

Of course, the most important reason is that Jiraiya is standing in front of Shoji, a Konoha hero whose strength is now definitely above his own. This is enough to make Shoji think twice before making any move.

It's not that Shoji has no hope of defeating Jiraiya.

In battles between ninjas, as long as the difference in strength is not too great, the outcome often depends on a single detail, because everyone is of the type with high attack and low defense. If you are not careful and get hit, it means death!

Jiraiya is stronger than Shoji, so much so that he has a higher probability of winning against him. However, in a deathmatch, Shoji would have a decent chance of defeating Jiraiya, but that would require exhausting his Mangekyou Sharingan power.

Therefore, if Jiraiya really had any plans, Shoji's plan was to activate the Mangekyou Sharingan and hold out against Jiraiya, buying time for his own team to retreat, and then seize the opportunity to slip away. He wouldn't be so foolish as to actually fight this Konoha hero to the death here.

The general will not move.

Jiraiya was just as happy with his leisurely life.

Shoji was unaware that Jiraiya truly had no ulterior motives and was genuinely planning to retreat. The reason was simple: before appearing, Jiraiya had already scouted out the news that the Iwa ninja army led by Huang Tu was about to arrive, at least two or three hours ahead of Shikaku's reinforcements. This fatal time difference was enough for the enemy to easily capture the Wuyuan Mountain stronghold.

And if they don't retreat now, they will definitely not retreat later.

By the time the enemy's main force arrives, it would be considered lucky if a quarter of the Konoha garrison could escape.

Jiraiya didn't have the confidence to fight against thousands of troops on his own. One general was enough to give Jiraiya a headache. As one of the Konoha's high-ranking officials, Jiraiya was well aware of the Mangekyou Sharingan and Susanoo of the Uchiha clan. Not to mention that there was also Huangtu, whose strength was only slightly inferior to his own, and Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki.

He was indeed entangled and found himself surrounded by three people.

Jiraiya's life is definitely in danger.

Retreat is the most rational decision.

Because of a lack of intelligence, Jiang Si was unable to make any accurate judgments. During the standoff between the two, the Konoha ninjas who were fighting ahead and the Konoha ninjas who remained at the Wuyuan Mountain base were also able to withdraw from the battlefield under the command of Gekko Zentsubasa.

The Iwa ninja, who were already outnumbered, found it difficult to pursue the Konoha side when they chose to retreat while taking turns covering their retreat. Akatsuchi also learned that Jiraiya, one of the famous Sannin, had arrived on the battlefield. Like Shoji, Akatsuchi also chose the most conservative tactical option out of concern for Jiraiya.

We will not pursue them, but will simply follow up steadily.

Then he immediately rushed to the location of Jiraiya. Jiraiya's reputation still had a very high deterrent effect throughout the ninja world!

Although Akatsuchi believed in Shoji's abilities, he believed that Akatsuchi's presence could provide significant protection for Shoji.

From the previous fierce battles.

From the current strangely peaceful situation.

This happened in less than ten minutes.

All because of the appearance of a man.

It can be said that during this period, Jiraiya was truly a top-tier fighter in the ninja world!

"General!"

The red soil arrived at breakneck speed.

As he flashed to Shoji's side, he let out a low exclamation and then turned his gaze to Jiraiya, who was not far away on the opposite side.

He just stood there.

One can feel the endless pressure emanating from it.

During this period, before Akatsuchi had fully matured and transformed into his strongest form, he felt a heavy pressure emanating from his chest.

'Is this the legendary Sannin of Konoha—Jiraiya?'

"Ah, Chitu-san!"

The general nodded slightly to his somewhat simple-minded senior, reminding him that there was no room for distraction on the battlefield.

"Haha, no need to be so nervous. Mr. Jiang Si, and this Iwa ninja, as I've already said, Konoha has lost today's battle. The Wuyuan Mountain base is now yours. However, we want to retreat. I think Mr. Jiang Si and the gentry of Iwagakure won't stop us, right?"

Seeing that both Shoji and Akatsuchi looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy, Jiraiya still had a cheerful expression, casually swaying his arm, and the words he spoke were as genuine as could be.

However, neither Jiang Si nor Chi Tu believed a single word of it.

352. Pattern and Situation

Even though Shoji deeply respects and likes Jiraiya based on his memories and emotions from his past life, the character hasn't changed, but Shoji's stance is completely different. It's important to understand that Jiraiya is indeed consistent inside and out and is a very generous person, but that depends on the situation. On the battlefield, any words spoken by the enemy must be viewed with 'colored glasses'.

Any careless action will only lead to your death.

Without knowing the situation or having any other sources of intelligence, Shoji and Akatsuchi naturally chose to suspect Jiraiya's motives as much as possible. At least in Shoji's view, it was very likely that Jiraiya was holding them off by himself, giving the Konoha ninja in the base time to readjust their formation and situation!

In fact, if Jiraiya were to be stationed at the Wuyuan Mountain stronghold, they would have almost no chance of breaking in. Shoji and Akatsuchi were still not enough. If it were Huangtu or Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, present, Shoji might have chosen to take action. Akatsuchi was significantly inferior to his senior brother and the Jinchuriki.

Akatsuchi could only be considered qualified to fight someone of Jiraiya's caliber, and that would only be Jiraiya in his normal mode. Once Jiraiya entered Sage Mode, although it wasn't as perfect as Naruto's Sage Mode in the original story, Jiraiya had the advantage of having the two great toad sages of Mount Myōboku absorb and convert natural energy for him, making his supply of Sage Chakra virtually inexhaustible!

Based on this alone, he could easily overpower Shoji and Akatsuchi. In the original story, if the intelligence gap hadn't been so large, even if Jiraiya still couldn't defeat Pain, he could have easily escaped. (In fact, Jiraiya mainly wanted to further verify his inner conjecture; otherwise, there was still a certain probability that he could have escaped and wouldn't have died at Pain's hands.)

Shoji's overly cautious nature stemmed from his keen awareness of Jiraiya's strength, but it was the best option he could make in the current situation. Unless he was truly willing to use his Mangekyou Sharingan without restraint and engage in a bloody battle with Jiraiya, he could only watch as the Konoha ninjas steadily progressed according to his own pace.

Jiraiya could clearly see that Shoji and Akatsuchi didn't believe him at all, and they were still in a state of complete vigilance and preparedness for battle. Jiraiya just smiled and didn't take it to heart. In terms of mentality and magnanimity, Jiraiya truly deserved the title of a hero.

They stood in a stalemate for a good ten minutes.

Just as Shoji was about to doubt himself further.

"Well then, let's call it a day!"

Having already received the message, Jiraiya smiled slightly at Shoji and Akatsuchi, who were sitting opposite him.

"Whoosh!"

Immediately afterwards.

He leaped forward.

It flashed straight to the rear.

Only Shoji and Akatsuchi remained, each with a different degree of bewilderment, watching Jiraiya's figure gradually disappear into the distance.

Huh? Is it really over just like that?

Let's leave aside the red soil for now.

The commander was completely dumbfounded. Could it be that what this hero of Konoha said was true? Was the Wuyuan Mountain stronghold just handed over like that?

Even after Jiraiya's figure had disappeared into the distance, and the news that a large number of Konoha ninjas had also gradually disappeared into the distance came, Shoji still seemed a little dazed. Although according to the character description of Jiraiya in the original work, this hero was a man of his word, with some minor flaws, but he was righteous and without shame. As for the mess with Naruto, since the original work did not describe it in detail, it was more likely that it could be attributed to Jiraiya's excessive trust in his Hokage teacher, and the fact that he only returned to the village a handful of times in those eleven or twelve years, which made Naruto's childhood so painful.

Otherwise, based on the characterization of Jiraiya in the original work, it's impossible for him to be the kind of person who would let Naruto have such a lonely childhood even knowing the truth. Minato regarded Jiraiya as a father, and Naruto's name is taken from Jiraiya. If Jiraiya could completely ignore Naruto's childhood, then Jiraiya would be a truly terrifying person!

Judging from Jiraiya's many actions in the original work.

Jiraiya was clearly not such a wicked and cold-hearted person.

This is a heroic figure who combines righteousness and warmth.

This is also why Shoji liked the character Jiraiya when he read the original Naruto manga in his previous life. Just now, it was precisely because of his quick thinking on the battlefield that Shoji took the highest level of vigilance and preparedness.

Now we see that this hero truly did keep his word.

"It seems something unexpected must have happened to Konoha, otherwise they wouldn't have given up the Wuyuan Mountain stronghold so easily. But that's fine too. We can take advantage of the situation and occupy the Wuyuan Mountain stronghold first. The initiative in the war can be said to have initially fallen into our hands! Just keep an eye on the movements of the retreating Konoha ninjas!"

Jiang Si turned to look at Chi Tu beside him and said.

It doesn't matter if you don't understand the situation for a while. In any case, the fact that the Konoha garrison has retreated is already clear. Although the Wuyuan Mountain stronghold was almost completely destroyed by the Konoha ninjas as they retreated.

While it's impossible to take over the northern fortress completely like in last year's Rock-Sand War, driving out Konoha's defenses and bringing the war into the Land of Fire is already a great victory.

In the ensuing developments, Iwagakure had already gained a certain degree of dominance and held the advantage in the game.

"Ah."

Akatsuchi nodded with a composed expression.

The two immediately joined forces and temporarily occupied the remaining Wuyuan Mountain stronghold, using it as a base to rebuild their Rock Ninja's defensive line.

It was also just after we entered the Wuyuan Mountain outpost.

Not long after he directed the Iwa ninja below to begin rebuilding some infrastructure, the scouts sent out brought back news that the main force of the Yellow Earth army had arrived in an area less than twenty miles from the Wuyuan Mountain stronghold.

The moment I learned of this news.