Arima swiftly activated Sage Mode.
With the aid of natural energy, his Flying Thunder God: Guiding Lightning technique saw a massive boost in both sensory range and control precision.
At the same moment, on the opposite mountain peak, Kinkaku and Ginkaku had finished compressing the Tailed Beast Bomb, ready to fire at any second.
The valley had already undergone a dramatic transformation, its terrain torn and twisted by the tremendous explosions from the earlier battle among the three.
As the sun rose in the east, the autumn mist within the valley gradually began to dissipate. The animals had long since fled in terror, leaving behind a desolate and deathly silence.
High above, a bird flew by, letting out a sharp cry. Arima glanced at it and recognized it as one of the village's messenger birds.
Before he could dwell on it, the two brothers launched the Tailed Beast Bomb.
The two were now fully enveloped in Tailed Beast Chakra Mode. A red haze surrounded them, and their consciousness had all but vanished, only primal combat instincts remained.
'Here it comes,' Arima thought.
He rapidly formed hand seals and used the Flying Thunder God technique to construct a massive spatial barrier.
The Tailed Beast Bomb shot toward him in a flash, slamming heavily into the barrier.
This specialized space barrier allowed Arima to instantly transfer the Tailed Beast Bomb to any marked Flying Thunder God seal within his sensory range.
Back when the battle began, he had secretly placed a seal on each of their necks. As far as Arima knew, these seals couldn't be removed.
The enormous Tailed Beast Bomb was slowly swallowed by the barrier. In the blink of an eye, it reappeared at the exact location of Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
The ensuing explosion nearly flattened the mountain, unleashing an intense and blinding light that lit up the entire world.
After a long while, the blast subsided.
Arima sensed the faint chakra signatures of the brothers, they had exited Tailed Beast Chakra Mode, and their lives now flickered like candles in the wind, barely hanging on.
Relieved, Arima relaxed slightly. He had been worried they might actually survive their own Tailed Beast Bomb.
It seemed the two had already overdrawn their chakra reserves, especially Kinkaku.
After enduring two successive S-rank-level attacks, his chakra was almost completely depleted.
Even so, for them to endure the direct impact of a Tailed Beast Bomb and still cling to life was a testament to their extraordinary vitality.
By now, more than half a day had passed since their initial clash. The sounds of battle would likely draw other enemies to investigate.
Arima prepared to swiftly clear the battlefield and send the brothers to the Pure Land to meet the Sage of Six Paths, before any surprises occurred.
But the sighting of the messenger bird earlier meant that reinforcements were on their way.
He raced toward the bomb-blasted mountain ridge but, mid-route, sharply sensed two groups speeding toward the valley.
Upon closer inspection, he detected two powerful chakra signatures, evenly matched.
One belonged to his granduncle, and the other, judging by chakra and timing, could only be his greatest opponent this time, the Second Raikage.
Wasting no time, Arima used Flying Thunder God to instantly teleport toward Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
But he didn't dare materialize directly at the seals on their bodies, if they were pinned beneath rubble, he'd end up trapped alongside them.
Within a few heartbeats, he arrived at the nearest marked location, then darted and flipped through the rubble toward their position.
Though critically injured, the brothers were still alive.
Just as Arima reached them, he looked back and saw two forces lining up in formation at the foot of the nearby mountain.
Tobirama also noticed Arima's presence.
Seeing him alive and energetic lifted a weight off his chest. He had rushed here at top speed, deeply concerned for the boy's safety.
Alongside Tobirama were Hiruzen and five other comrades.
They had learned of the situation from the supply unit ninja upon returning to camp and immediately followed their teacher to provide reinforcements.
Arima sensed two familiar Flying Thunder God seals, the ones he had placed on his granduncle's and Hiruzen's kunai.
His heart warmed. He wasn't fighting alone.
Just as he raised his hand to finish off Kinkaku and Ginkaku, a voice rang out.
"Please spare their lives."
The speaker was none other than the Second Raikage, A.
Arima froze. 'When did begging ever work in the shinobi world?'
While he didn't relish killing and had shown mercy in the past, the sins committed by these two had long surpassed the point of forgiveness. They were far worse than simple bandits.
He didn't stop. He knew the Second Raikage had no way of preventing him, and the lives of the brothers rested in his hand.
Seeing Arima unmoved, the Raikage grew desperate and shouted again, "We're willing to exchange them for your captured Konoha ninja."
This made Arima pause. He thought it over, it was actually a worthwhile deal. Trading two damned lives for the safety of his comrades? No question.
Tobirama, standing beside him, regarded the Raikage coldly, saying nothing. He didn't want to influence Arima's choice.
Arima quickly marked the nearby cliff with another seal and vanished in a flash.
The next moment, he appeared at Tobirama's side.
Seeing his young grandnephew for the first time in over three months, Tobirama's usual stern face broke into a rare smile.
Hiruzen and the others relaxed as well. Overjoyed to see Arima safe, they gathered around with greetings and relief.
On the other side, the Raikage watched Arima teleport and realized his plan to stall had failed.
Now, he had no choice but to seriously negotiate the terms of the prisoner exchange.
Tobirama spoke up, "We'll consider your proposal, but every single Jonin on our list must be returned."
The Raikage, ever shrewd, replied, "Fine. But we expect an equal number of Jonin in return."
Tobirama scoffed. "Kinkaku and Ginkaku are worth far more than that. You think we'd trade them for ordinary ninja?
They've slaughtered too many Konoha shinobi to forgive. Frankly, even tearing them apart wouldn't be enough to settle the score."
Seeing Tobirama's firm attitude, the Raikage could only grit his teeth and agree. The situation gave him little leverage.
Tobirama added, "Those ninja tools, they're quite interesting. I've heard they're relics from the Sage of Six Paths' era. I'd like to take a closer look."
He finished with a sly grin.
He knew full well that the Raikage wanted to recover both the brothers and the treasured Six Paths tools.
The Raikage could only curse inwardly, blaming the two reckless idiots for going out without sufficient backup. Now he was stuck negotiating from a losing position.
He vowed to lock the two up in the prison for some serious reflection once they recovered.
And just like that, the battle came to a sudden end. Konoha emerged with a sweeping victory.
The previously stalemated warfront now tipped in their favor, all thanks to Arima's arrival.
Arima then led several ninja to unearth Kinkaku and Ginkaku from the rubble. Incredibly, they were still alive. Any normal ninja would have been dead long ago.
It only proved how miraculous Tailed Beast Chakra was. And these were just pseudo-Jinchuriki, true Jinchuriki likely had even greater endurance.
He then returned to his camp in a flash, carrying the two prisoners and all five of the treasured tools.
The Raikage could only clench his jaw and watch as the Konoha shinobi walked away with pride and swagger.
He longed to scream at Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
'Can you stop humiliating us for once? What are you planning to lose next?'
He had never felt such stifling humiliation in his life. Closing his eyes was the only way to avoid seeing Tobirama's mocking smirk.
With the matter settled, both armies began their withdrawal.
Just before leaving, the Raikage said to Arima, "Life is but a link in the long chain of death. Yet the dead are gone, I only pray the living may find peace."
To the young Arima, it sounded like a thinly veiled threat. But what did he have to fear? With everyone standing behind him, he could hold his head high and say, "I fear nothing now."
Calmly, he replied, "May we both find peace."
Tobirama was in unusually high spirits. For days, he'd been troubled by the grim tide of war.
Now, watching his enemy suffer, he felt nothing short of exhilaration.
Clapping Arima on the shoulder, he said, "Well done, Arima. I'm proud of you."
Arima scratched his head in embarrassment. Tobirama was not one to hand out praise easily.
As a proud genius himself, there were few people in the entire shinobi world he held in high regard.
Tobirama continued, "Since you're here, I plan to assign you a special mission. It might just turn the tide of this war, and help us reclaim the territory we've lost."
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