Chapter 505: The Fall of Sunagakure
While Tsunade and the Fourth Raikage were talking, the battle between Fugaku Uchiha and Orochimaru was also coming to an end.
Orochimaru's summoned Manda had been severely injured by Fugaku's Susanoo and had fled. But Fugaku's own ocular power was depleted, and he could no longer maintain his Susanoo.
The battle devolved from a "mecha" fight back to a mortal duel.
Orochimaru, with his strange snake-style ninjutsu and snake-body replacement technique, slowly gained the upper hand.
The fight gradually turned into a pattern: Fugaku would attack, and Orochimaru would not dodge, taking the hits with his special techniques. Orochimaru would attack, and Fugaku would either dodge sloppily or, unable to dodge, take the hit directly.
The situation was clear. Tsunade did not go to help; after all, Itachi Uchiha was still with her.
While treating Itachi, she began to ask Shikaku Nara, "Shikaku, has the Tsuchikage retreated?"
Shikaku replied, "He has. The Tsuchikage, along with Uchiha Sōkai and Uchiha Izumi, took over twenty Uchiha children with them."
Tsunade frowned. "The Tsuchikage and Sōkai were both in battle. Was it the third person who took the children? Who was the third person? Has his identity been confirmed?"
Shikaku was silent for a few seconds. "It was Kakashi!"
Kakashi had not shown himself at first, and Yamanaka Inoichi's sensory abilities hadn't recognized him. But as he rescued more and more Uchiha children, he inevitably ran into the Anbu.
He did not kill them, but in the process of subduing them, he was recognized.
Tsunade was stunned. Didn't Kakashi leave the village? Then, as if remembering something, she asked quickly, "Did Kakashi kill anyone?"
Shikaku gave a bitter smile. "Kakashi did not kill anyone during tonight's operation. However, the several Anbu who were supposed to be on the mission with him have been found dead in his home."
Hearing this, Tsunade staggered. This was a huge loss!
Kakashi was the village's recognized choice for the Sixth Hokage! And now, such a huge scandal.
Her concern was no longer whether Kakashi was qualified to succeed her, but how to prevent him from becoming a missing-nin.
She immediately said, "Issue a gag order immediately!"
But Shikaku replied, "It's useless. If Kakashi had really killed them, it might still be possible to conceal the information. But that squad was obviously killed by the Tsuchikage to frame him. The Tsuchikage won't help us hide it. Most importantly, those four did die because of him. Kakashi will not be able to forgive himself. Don't forget the choice his father, the White Fang, made!"
Hearing the name "White Fang," Tsunade froze. That's right. The Hatake were also an extreme clan. Kakashi would likely never be able to forgive himself for this.
"Shikaku, contact Kakashi immediately. Tell him to come and see me."
She planned to talk to him in person. No matter what, she had to keep him in the village.
"Understood," Shikaku said.
But before Kakashi could respond, the battle of the night finally had a result.
"Lady Hokage, besides Orochimaru's front, the fighting is over. After Lord Third left, Lord Danzō led Root into the battlefield and killed all the remaining Uchiha. He also took all of their Sharingan. However, Inoichi also sensed that he left a few Uchiha children alive."
"Where is Danzō now?"
"After cleaning up the battlefield, he and Root left the village again."
Tsunade smashed a nearby wall with her fist. "Clean up the battlefield quickly, then have the Anbu withdraw completely from the Uchiha grounds."
She then looked at Itachi. With her treatment, he was in much better shape, but the lost ocular power could not be restored, and his vision had declined.
Itachi had heard their conversation. Seeing her look at him, he said immediately, "Lady Tsunade, I know what to do. After Father's battle with Orochimaru is over, let Sasuke come back."
Tsunade nodded. "Itachi, this has been hard on you. From now on, you will have to live with the crime of slaughtering your entire clan. Don't worry, Shisui will stay in the Anbu. I will announce to the public that he died in battle. I will personally guide Sasuke and will not let him go down the wrong path."
Itachi knelt before her. "Please rest assured, Lady Hokage. I will personally tell Sasuke that I killed the entire clan. I only ask that you do not let him come into contact with Iwagakure."
Tsunade nodded. "I promise you."
At this moment, the battle between Fugaku and Orochimaru finally had a result.
To Tsunade's surprise, the final victor was Fugaku Uchiha.
Seeing a weakened Orochimaru escape from the ruins, Tsunade was stunned.
"Orochimaru, what happened?"
Orochimaru's expression was extremely ugly. He had never been so wretched, not even when he had challenged the Six Paths of Pain.
He coughed as he said, "I was careless. Fugaku Uchiha's Mangekyo dōjutsu is related to time. He can see the future."
He had set a trap for Fugaku, intending to capture him in one move. But who would have thought that Fugaku's special dōjutsu would see through it? Fugaku had turned the tables and dealt him a heavy blow.
With that, Orochimaru turned and left. He no longer had the face to stay and covet Fugaku's Mangekyo.
Coughing up blood as he walked out of Konoha, his trip tonight had been for nothing. Not only had he gained nothing, but he was also covered in injuries.
Tsunade thought for a moment, then said to Itachi, "Itachi, go and say goodbye to your parents."
Itachi nodded, got up, and walked into the ruins.
Tsunade also thought for a moment, then left the Uchiha grounds.
At this time, Shikaku's voice sounded again: "Lady Hokage, the Hyuga clan head has taken thirty jonin to pursue Orochimaru."
Orochimaru's condition could not be hidden from the Byakugan. He had been quickly targeted by Hiashi Hyuga. Normally, Hiashi could do nothing against the man who was researching his clan's Caged Bird Seal. But now, with Orochimaru in this state, he felt his chance for revenge had come.
Tsunade paused, then said, "Ignore it."
"Yes," Shikaku replied.
On the ruins of the Uchiha clan head's home, Fugaku was coughing violently. His wife, Mikoto, was checking his injuries.
Itachi walked up to them, knelt down, and touched his forehead to the ground. Tears streamed from his eyes, but he couldn't say a word.
Fugaku said, "Itachi, since you've made your choice, then walk this path firmly. I leave Sasuke to you."
Mikoto said the same. "Itachi, be careful in the future. Take care of yourself, and take care of Sasuke."
A short time later, Sasuke Uchiha finished a combat exercise at the Ninja Academy and ran quickly toward his home. Although he hadn't seen anything yet, for some reason, he had a persistent feeling of unease.
"Damn you, Naruto! If he hadn't held me back, I would have won the exercise long ago."
As he thought this, he stepped onto the clan grounds and into the grand feast of illusion that his dear brother had prepared for him.
Itachi truly loved Sasuke. Even in his current state, he could still use Tsukuyomi to convey a special kind of brotherly love.
That night, Sasuke Uchiha awakened his Sharingan, a single tomoe in both eyes. But he himself did not know it.
On the other side, Tsunade met with Kakashi.
Seeing that he had not left the village, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"I will handle the matter of the Anbu squad. From now on, you will stay by my side as my guard," she said.
Kakashi hesitated, then nodded.
He had also learned from Shikaku about the four Anbu in his home. He knew he had been framed by Ishiro.
He was already prepared to become a missing-nin. He had thought that even if he defected, he could still contribute to the village from the shadows. It didn't matter if the villagers didn't understand. And he would have time to search for Obito.
But since Tsunade said she would handle it, he would wait and see.
The next day, the news that the Uchiha clan had been annihilated by Itachi Uchiha quickly spread throughout Konoha.
The news was soon confirmed by the clan's sole survivor, Sasuke Uchiha.
Then, the Hokage personally signed an S-rank wanted notice for Itachi.
In an instant, all the civilians of Konoha were cursing Itachi as a traitor. From the way they spoke, you would think the Uchiha had been incredibly popular in the village before.
Land of Wind. First Line Gorge, outside Sunagakure.
The two armies, one attacking and one defending, were engaged in a large-scale ninjutsu exchange.
Iwa had more men, and their five-element combinations gave them an absolute advantage from the start.
Suna could only rely on the various defensive fortifications they had pre-set in the gorge.
At first, they could still launch a counter-attack or two while defending. But as Iwa's Kage-level fighters began to act, their situation immediately became precarious.
Fortunately, Iwa, in order to control their casualties, had adopted a steady, methodical strategy. Their attacks were unhurried, slowly expanding their advantage, with no intention of a quick victory.
Round after round of rhythmic attacks wore the Suna ninja down.
A large group of Iwa ninja cast their jutsu in unison. A sea of fire dragons and fireballs rushed toward the gorge.
Dealing with Fire Release was Suna's weakness. A large number of puppet masters immediately controlled their puppets to form a wall in front of the flames. After the fire passed, some of the puppets fell to the ground, useless. The others were withdrawn.
"Dust Release: Primordial World Stripping Technique!" A white beam of light shot from the sky, directly at the center of the gorge.
Ōnoki, seeing that his side had gained an advantage in the ninjutsu exchange, had seized a gap and attacked.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wall!" Ryosuke, warned by the sensory ninja, immediately defended with his Magnet Release.
It had to be said, Rasa had his reasons for leaving Ryosuke behind. His ability was too suitable for defense. On the battlefield, he could control both his own and the enemy's iron weapons. The iron he used was almost limitless.
From the very beginning, he had given up on attacking and had been continuously using his Magnet Release to plug the gaps in their defense.
"Sage Art: Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!" At almost the same time as Ryosuke defended against Ōnoki, Shinya Matsutani attacked.
BOOM! This blow, Suna did not block. A giant earth dragon smashed through the few hastily cast defensive jutsu and charged into their defensive position. It rampaged through their ranks, taking the lives of at least a hundred Suna ninja, including many jonin.
And similar situations had already occurred several times.
As time went on, more and more holes appeared in the defense, and Iwa's attacks became more and more effective.
Not long after Shinya's attack, an S-rank Earth Release jutsu smashed into the gorge. This time, it was Ikura.
Ryosuke had no time to defend; Ōnoki's second Dust Release was already brewing.
After Ikura's jutsu, Suna lost nearly a hundred more men.
The gap between the two sides gradually widened.
After a while, Suna's defense was no longer a coherent system.
So, Ikura said to Rōshi, "Senior Rōshi, please make your move. We are launching a full-scale assault."
Rōshi nodded, partially transformed, and immediately began to gather a Tailed Beast Ball.
The violent chakra fluctuation immediately caught the attention of Suna's tattered sensory system.
But unfortunately, they could no longer organize an effective defense.
Resisting an attack of this level was incredibly difficult. The initial Suna army could have done it, but now, only Ryosuke had a chance.
He gritted his teeth, about to overdraft his chakra to use his Magnet Release to block it. But at that moment, he felt a chill, and the hair on his body stood on end.
He quickly found the source of the danger: Ōnoki and Shinya Matsutani.
After multiple exchanges, his position had been locked onto by them.
At the beginning, Suna's defensive system was still intact, and he had been constantly changing positions within the army. Ōnoki didn't have Ishiro's panoramic perception and couldn't lock onto him.
But now, he had no time to move; he could only continuously cast his Magnet Release to plug the gaps. So, his position had been exposed.
Ōnoki and Shinya attacked him, one after the other.
He had no choice but to divert a portion of his Magnet Release to protect his own area.
BOOM!
After the massive Tailed Beast Ball explosion, Suna's defensive system in the gorge was almost completely destroyed.
In the end, Ryosuke's Magnet Release failed to block the Tailed Beast Ball. He himself was injured in Shinya's attack.
Ikura waved his hand, and the Iwa army immediately launched a full-scale assault as planned.
On the Suna side, the surviving ninja, without waiting for an order, immediately began to retreat rapidly toward Sunagakure.
But they soon discovered in despair that a portion of the Iwa army was already blocking their escape route. They had even used Earth Release to construct simple temporary fortifications.
The leader of this Iwa force had already charged into the retreating crowd, killing one with each slash of his sword.
The rest of the battle ended quickly. Ryosuke had tried to hold off Iwa at the gorge and wait for Rasa to return, but he had waited in vain.
What he got was Kawakita. He had led a small group of Iwa elites, circled over the mountains, and delivered the final blow to Suna from behind.
At the same time, he also delivered the final blow to Ryosuke.
Kawakita single-handedly charged through the routed Suna army and came before him.
Ryosuke had already over-expended his chakra in the previous battle. Facing the full-powered Kawakita, he didn't even last a few rounds before he was cut down.
Seeing him killed, the remaining Suna ninja lost all will to fight and could only choose to surrender.
In this battle, of the approximately 5,00_0 Suna ninja assembled, over 3,0_00 were killed, and only a little over 1,000 were taken prisoner.
On Iwagakure's side, fewer than 500 were killed.
To control the casualties, Ōnoki and Ikura had wasted at least half a day. If they had not cared about casualties and had chosen to attack from the start, Suna would have been eliminated hours ago.
Ōnoki descended from the sky and began to discuss with Ikura and Kawakita about looting the village.
"Lord Third, Lord Ikura, Lord Kawakita, there is no one left in Sunagakure. They had already evacuated the civilians before the battle," an intelligence ninja reported after scouting the village. "Besides the civilians, we also didn't see any young Suna ninja during the battle. They should have been evacuated with the civilians."
Ikura asked, "Any news of the One-Tails Jinchuriki?"
"No. However, our intelligence personnel embedded in Sunagakure have also disappeared. If there are no surprises, they should have been evacuated with the others. As long as we can get in touch with them, we can confirm the evacuation location."
Ōnoki nodded. "It seems Rasa had a plan. He must have been preparing for the worst after being suppressed by us for so long. Have someone scout the village carefully. Check for any underground traps."
"Yes, sir." The ninja quickly departed.
Ōnoki then said to Ikura and Kawakita, "Quickly sort through the supplies Suna didn't have time to take. We are preparing to withdraw."
Ikura was surprised. "Lord Third, we're not occupying Sunagakure?"
Ōnoki shook his head. "Before we left, Ishiro told me we don't want the village. We can rebuild a branch in the northern part of the Land of Wind. Sunagakure is their territory. No matter how carefully we check, they may have left behind some tricks we don't know about. There's no need to take that risk for a base. And, the branch we build will not be large-scale. The scale of Sunagakure is not suitable. Just empty out their wealth. Take all the supplies that are useful for building the new branch. The rest is not important."
Kawakita asked, "What about the Suna ninja who escaped? Should we pursue them?"
Ōnoki said, "By this time, the matter in Konoha is likely over. We no longer have a chance to expand the war. If our intelligence personnel can bring back information on the One-Tails Jinchuriki, then we will move out. If not, then forget it. Suna's main force has been eliminated. All that's left are some young ninja. It will take a long time for them to grow up. What we need to do now is to digest the northern half of the Land of Wind."
Ikura and Kawakita both nodded.
After arranging matters, Ikura asked, "Lord Third, in this situation, can Suna still hold its position as one of the Six Great Villages?"
Ōnoki smiled. "Theoretically, they are no longer qualified. But I estimate that Ishiro will help them keep the title."
Kawakita and Ikura were curious. Why would Ishiro cripple them and then help them keep their status?
Ōnoki explained, "This is a time of peace, after all. Our grand strategy is to maintain peace and continue to develop. As long as Sunagakure is still one of the Six Great Villages, then this war can still be barely considered a small-scale conflict. We can still maintain the superficial peace of the shinobi world. But if Suna is squeezed out of its position, then the balance we have worked so hard to create may be broken."
Ikura nodded. "I understand. We can't take too big a step."
Ōnoki nodded with deep feeling. "That's right. In the final analysis, we can't take too big a step. All these years, under Ishiro's leadership, we have taken small step after small step to get to where we are today. In the decades before he appeared, we always wanted to destroy Konoha in one fell swoop, and every time we were beaten black and blue. Since he appeared, every time we gain an advantage in a conflict with Konoha and the other villages, we immediately stop. We sign a relatively reasonable peace treaty that both sides can accept. This may seem to give the enemy a chance to breathe, but it is actually buying us time to digest the fruits of our victory. Learn well. If there are no surprises, Ishiro will get some benefits from Konoha this time as well."
Ikura and Kawakita both nodded.
After a while, Ōnoki looked toward the Land of Fire. "On another note, Konoha surely knows about our actions. We can't rule out the possibility that they will attack our other branches. If we make a show of withdrawing now, they will hesitate to continue their attack. We are not afraid of the current Konoha, but there is no need to start a war now. We are not ready."
The Iwa army moved quickly. The entire village of Sunagakure was quickly emptied.
Seeing every ninja carrying large and small bundles, Ōnoki and the other two smiled.
Then Ōnoki waved his hand. "Withdraw!"
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