Kanabi Bridge had been successfully blown up.
And the entire vanguard unit of Iwagakure had been taken out by Minato single-handedly.
When the frontline battle report was delivered to Ōnoki, the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, he slammed his fist onto the stone table after reading it.
Unlike the fragile wooden tables of Kumogakure, the marble stone tables of Iwagakure were clearly much more durable.
He discreetly pulled his still-trembling right hand back into his sleeve. Looking at the smooth, unblemished tabletop, the anger in Ōnoki's heart only grew stronger.
"Yellow Flash, White Reaper, Konoha's White Fang... As expected, Konoha's foundation is still solid. Even when surrounded, they can still hold their ground."
Seeing Ōnoki silent with his hand withdrawn, a senior Iwagakure official was the first to speak, his words laced with envy toward Konoha.
"If only our village had such advantageous terrain."
Another official chimed in in agreement.
"Enough. No matter how you spin it, failing despite superior numbers isn't something that can be explained away with geography."
Feeling the pain in his hand subside, Ōnoki waved off their remarks bluntly.
"Damn it. Even without Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, Konoha is still this strong...?"
Ōnoki gritted his teeth, instinctively recalling the time he and his master once teamed up to challenge Uchiha Madara.
"It couldn't be helped. We used a lot of our elite forces to try to keep the Third Raikage pinned down. Many of them died in the process. Even though we've since reached an understanding with Kumogakure, we still had to station troops at the border to guard against their retaliation."
"After all, treaties are the least trustworthy things."
As the two previous officials fell silent, an elder sitting in the corner—about the same age as Ōnoki—spoke up.
"So what do we do now? Should we use the Tailed Beasts?"
Some officials had already set their sights on the Tailed Beasts.
"But Konoha also has the Nine-Tails..."
Due to Konoha's strict information control, the Iwagakure leadership didn't even know who the Jinchūriki was or how well Konoha could control the beast.
Just as Konoha's spies had all been wiped out before reaching Iwagakure, the spies Iwa sent to Konoha had all perished under Danzō's methods or failed to deliver any intel.
While Iwagakure was at a loss on what to do next, the Konoha leadership was undergoing an even fiercer internal clash.
"Hiruzen, how can you justify this to the fallen shinobi!"
Seeing Hiruzen actually planning to agree to an unconditional peace with Iwagakure, Danzō furiously slammed his fist on the table.
"Because of your weakness, all our previous sacrifices were for nothing!"
Hiruzen, facing his old friend's fury, didn't say much. He turned to Koharu Utatane and calmly said:
"Koharu, please have someone deliver this treaty to Iwagakure."
"Hiruzen!"
Seeing Hiruzen ignore him entirely, Danzō shot to his feet in anger.
"Danzō, Hiruzen is still the Hokage!"
Koharu scolded him sharply, reminding Danzō to mind his place.
"You're too weak, Hiruzen!"
Seeing Koharu wasn't on his side either, Danzō didn't bother arguing. He stormed out of the room.
"Bam!"
The sound of the door slamming echoed loudly as Koharu furrowed her brow.
She didn't particularly object to the peace talks, but Danzō's attitude was definitely too rude.
"It's fine. Let's proceed as planned."
Hiruzen glanced at the spot where Danzō had been sitting. His expression unchanged, he motioned for Koharu to follow his original instructions.
...
"I actually entrusted my son to someone this weak... Doesn't he understand how much we've sacrificed for this war?"
Fuming and stomping through the base, Danzō was filled with frustration. His son was out fighting on the front lines, and now the top brass were preparing to make peace with the enemy—he couldn't suppress the fury in his heart.
The pride he'd felt earlier from Takeshi's great accomplishments was now completely doused.
"Damn it, where's Asuma?"
With nowhere to vent his anger, Danzō decided to find Asuma for some Wind Style sparring.
...
Elsewhere, after sending Koharu off, Hiruzen gently rubbed his pipe, his gaze occasionally drifting to the photo of Tobirama hanging on the wall.
Yes, Tobirama's photo.
His teacher, in the most critical moment, had passed the hope of survival to the younger generation, sacrificing himself without hesitation to open an escape route for them.
And now, what was he doing?
As Hokage, all he could do was stand by and watch as leaf after green leaf was cut down on the battlefield...
"Sensei, I truly am unworthy of being Hokage..."
With a bitter smile, Hiruzen took out a scroll and began writing something on it. Then, he called for an ANBU.
"Hm?"
Seeing the mask, Hiruzen paused for a second before realizing that today, it was his own son on duty.
"Hokage-sama."
A true ANBU maintains professionalism during duty—even if the Hokage is his father.
"Deliver this scroll to Sakumo. He's been out there long enough. It's time to bring him back."
As if having made a firm decision, Hiruzen solemnly handed the scroll to his son, his eyes filled with a resolute light.
...
"Calling me back now?"
Sakumo looked at the scroll in his hand with confusion.
Although Sunagakure hadn't shown any signs of attacking Konoha, Sakumo still held his post diligently, patrolling the Kikyo Pass outpost every day.
...
When he heard that ANBU had come to find him, Sakumo quickly briefed his subordinates, telling them to double-check for any security holes and remain vigilant against any surprise attacks from Sunagakure. Then, he rushed back to camp.
After hearing the ANBU's explanation, Sakumo still couldn't figure out why the Third Hokage was calling him back at this moment.
But an order from the Hokage was not to be questioned. Sakumo stored the scroll, nodded to the ANBU in affirmation, and only then did the ANBU turn to leave.
...
"Yo, Jiraiya-sama."
After blowing up Kanabi Bridge, Takeshi and his group didn't return to the village right away. Instead, they came to Jiraiya's camp—for resupply and to exchange training insights.
Though known for his eccentricity, Jiraiya could still be considered a competent ninja in critical moments.
His command style wasn't as agile as Orochimaru's, but it was steadier. With Minato and Fugaku helping out, the atmosphere in his meetings was noticeably better than Orochimaru's.
"You again? What do you want this time?"
Jiraiya gave a glance to Obito behind Takeshi and dug in his nose as he turned away to ask what Takeshi wanted.
"Can we talk in private?"
Motioning for Obito to wait, Takeshi tugged on Jiraiya's sleeve and pulled him behind the tent.
"Jiraiya-sama, interested in taking on a new disciple?"
Once they were in a secluded spot, Takeshi got straight to the point.
Surprised by the request, Jiraiya looked at his junior with a complicated expression. Then, as if realizing something, he quickly shook his head and refused.
"You mean that brat Obito, don't you? No way. Absolutely not."
He might consider it for someone else, but Obito? This brat never shut up about being a peeping maniac, always interfering with Jiraiya's "research." He'd rather starve to death in a ditch than take Obito as a disciple!
"Wow, didn't expect you to be like this. Don't think I don't know—you were helping Obito with his training every day for a while."
Takeshi folded his arms and gave Jiraiya a knowing look, which only made Jiraiya even more annoyed.
"Training is one thing. Taking him as a disciple is something else—absolutely not!"
Jiraiya slapped his thigh, clearly done with this conversation.
"Jiraiya-sama, Obito has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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