The proposal to sacrifice Kaede alone to end the war was never seriously considered, actually, it wasn't even truly discussed.
The reason was simple.
Kaede was the hero who killed the Third Raikage, and he was a student of Tsunade and Orochimaru. While Orochimaru's stance was uncertain, Tsunade was definitely opposed. More importantly, Kaede himself was unlikely to willingly sacrifice his life just to end the war.
After all, not everyone wants to be a hero who trades their life for peace. If Kaede refused, anyone who proposed or supported the idea would surely earn his resentment.
No one wanted to be on bad terms with Kaede.
He was a powerful shinobi who had slain the Third Raikage, not just an inexperienced eleven-year-old boy.
In the end, no new strategies came out of the talks. Since the Kumogakure had chosen to scatter and avoid large-scale direct conflict with Konoha, Konoha could hardly do much about them.
Kaede's strength was indeed overwhelming, able to kill the Third Raikage and possibly fight off a thousand opponents alone, but he was only one man. Kumo forces, meanwhile, hadn't suffered major losses, still numbering nearly ten thousand, and the land between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire was vast.
It wasn't just ten thousand ninja.
Even if it were ten thousand pigs scattered across a few mountain ranges, it wouldn't be a matter of days to catch them all.
This was why in the previous two Great Ninja Wars, none of the five defeated great ninja villages suffered catastrophic consequences, because they all knew that once the enemy gave up large-scale battles and chose guerrilla warfare instead, the conflict would become a bottomless pit, endlessly consuming resources without payoff.
…
News of Kaede's killing of the Third Raikage spread throughout the shinobi world after a few days of turmoil.
If Kaede's previous feat of killing Chiyo had merely caused a stir and made him famous, this one truly shocked countless shinobi from every village.
That was the Raikage of the Kumogakure!
Chiyo was indeed a famous and powerful figure, but her status was entirely different from that of a current Kage. In the whole shinobi world, there were only five shinobi bearing the title of Kage.
In the eyes of countless shinobi, these five were the absolute top, strongest among the strong.
And now,
The Third Raikage had been slain by the Silver Flash.
The news sent shivers through the villages of Iwa and Kiri alike. The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki of Iwagakure, was especially shocked.
He was the first to learn about Kaede and never imagined that Kaede could grow to such a level in such a short time.
He had already surpassed the White Fang of Konoha from years ago!
Onoki felt immense pressure from the rise of this Konoha shinobi. Fortunately, the Kumogakure hadn't given up the war despite their Raikage's death, otherwise, all would have been lost.
In the end,
Almost all the great ninja villages, including Iwagakure and Sunagakure, issued a unanimous order:
No matter what mission they were on, if they encountered Konoha's Silver Flash, they were to abandon their mission and flee immediately!
With this command, the name "Silver Flash" sent countless shinobi into terror, firmly establishing a terrifying reputation across the ninja world.
…
Somewhere deep underground in the shadows,
A gaunt old man sat on a chair. His hair was silver-white, his face deeply wrinkled. He rested one hand under his chin, staring out at the land ahead, lost in thought.
Behind him, a strange tube was inserted into his body, the other end disappearing into darkness, connected to a huge and terrifying giant statue.
He was,
Uchiha Madara!
One of the masterminds behind the scenes of the shinobi world, also called the "Dancing King of Uchiha" for his iconic line: "Do you want to dance, too?"
Maybe he wasn't the strongest man in the ninja world, nor the ultimate puppet master controlling everything, but to Kaede, the title of "First Dancing King of the Shinobi World" was well deserved.
Classic lines like "I, Uchiha Madara, recognize you as the strongest" perfectly embodied his grand presence in the ninja world.
Gurgle gurgle.
Accompanied by a strange sound, the figure of White Zetsu emerged from beneath Madara.
"Madara-sama, I have a report for you."
"That brat, Hatake Kaede, killed the Third Raikage of the Kumogakure on the battlefield a few days ago…"
Hearing this, Madara looked up, his eyes flickering with a hint of unusual color.
"That kid again? Killing one of the Five Kage at just ten years old?"
"No, he should be eleven."
White Zetsu shrugged.
Madara was silent for a few seconds before asking, "Any specific discoveries?"
For someone that young to kill a Kage, and not even a Jinchuriki, was beyond belief, even to him. Neither he nor Senju Hashirama had managed such feats at that age.
"Well… it seems that kid has an ability to accelerate his growth. His body doesn't look like that of an eleven-year-old; more like someone fourteen or fifteen."
"Although he's not good at sensing others, I didn't dare get too close to observe. Based on current information, it seems he can manipulate his own time flow."
White Zetsu reported what he'd learned during that time.
Madara narrowed his eyes. "Manipulating the flow of time? That's a rare ability."
White Zetsu shrugged again. "Just my guess, nothing confirmed yet, but it should be something like that."
"That explains a lot."
Madara's frown slowly eased. "The ability to manipulate time flow could accelerate growth. Even so, that kid is still extraordinary. Looks like this era truly belongs to him."
White Zetsu asked, "Should we do anything?"
"No need to bother with him."
Madara leaned back in his chair, speaking calmly, "Since such a figure has appeared, let him have the stage."
From time to time, special shinobi would be born in the ninja world, like he and Hashirama in the previous era, or figures recorded from the Warring States period and before.
This Hatake Kaede was probably one such shinobi. But since he wasn't from the Uchiha clan, and couldn't decode the stone monument left by the Sage of Six Paths, he'd never know the truth behind this world, he was ultimately just a mortal.
So there was no need to pay him any mind.
Even if he unified the shinobi world, it didn't matter.
As long as Madara's own plan proceeded smoothly, when he returned in the future, he would reclaim the world.
"What about that Uchiha boy?"
After a pause, Madara stopped thinking about Kaede and asked instead.
White Zetsu sneered, shrugged, "Still the same, full of naïve innocence, not a bit wiser… Madara-sama, maybe it's time to shift your focus."
"No."
Madara replied calmly, "That's exactly right. The more love you have for the world, the greater the hatred when that love is painfully inverted, and all that hate turns into power."
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