In the Land of Fire, Konoha, the entire village now appeared sparsely populated. Perhaps, only occasionally could villagers be seen within it.
The numerous ninjas who once swiftly moved about the Hokage Building were now rarely seen.
This was because most of Konoha's ninjas had been dispatched to the Four Major Battlefields, with many Konoha ninjas stationed at each.
Konoha itself did not retain much power within its own village; this was a precaution.
"War," Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. The ongoing war between Konoha and the Four Great Ninja Villages was in full swing, and every day of fighting was a torment for Konoha and for Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was afraid of hearing bad news, such as a Konoha ninja corps collapsing on a certain battlefield, or the enemy invading the Land of Fire.
If that truly happened, Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't know what to do.
It was truly a case of one wrong step leading to many wrong steps, and Hiruzen Sarutobi currently felt this way. If a Konoha battlefield were to collapse, it would truly be like Tarot cards, constantly falling.
By then, saving the situation would be impossible.
"I hope you all can hold on," Hiruzen Sarutobi thought of the commanders on the Four Major Battlefields; they, too, were under immense pressure.
"Lord Hokage," a ninja's knock sounded from outside the door.
"Come in," Hiruzen Sarutobi said indifferently.
"Lord Hokage, an urgent report has come from the battlefield with the Mist Ninja," the Anbu ninja quickly reported.
"What? An urgent report?" Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his hand on the desk, his expression somewhat disbelieving.
An urgent report was only used for extremely critical matters; regular battlefield reports wouldn't be like this.
Could it be?
It shouldn't be!
The battlefield against the Hidden Mist Village had Minato Namikaze and Fang Lin; they were more than enough to hold that front.
If the four battlefields were to be graded, the one with Tianyuan was, in Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind, the safest.
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughts raced. He didn't know what had happened.
"Give me the letter," Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath.
"Yes, Lord Hokage," the Anbu ninja placed the letter on the Hokage's desk and then slowly left the office.
This Anbu ninja also knew that perhaps something bad was about to happen on that battlefield.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have come in the form of an urgent report.
"Hmph," Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled, looking at the letter on the desk with a complicated gaze. However, he knew that whether good or bad, he had to face this matter; he couldn't ignore it.
Even if the Konoha forces there had truly been defeated, he would need to send new Konoha ninjas as reinforcements.
Picking up the letter, Hiruzen Sarutobi opened it using a special method, took out the contents, and unfolded it.
The title read: Konoha Triumphs, Mist Ninja Routed, Withdrawing from the Land of Fire.
"What?" Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his eyes, utterly disbelieving, thinking he had misread it.
Rubbing his eyes again, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the letter, and the title remained the same.
"Isn't it Konoha?" Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath, calming his emotions. His mood just now was like a rollercoaster.
Now he hoped that his understanding wasn't wrong. Then, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly read the letter from beginning to end.
As time passed, the smile on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face grew brighter and brighter.
Finally, Hiruzen Sarutobi burst into laughter, his voice echoing through the Hokage's office.
Since the outbreak of the Ninja World War, Hiruzen Sarutobi had never been so happy, never.
It was as if all the anxiety and worries that had accumulated over this period had exploded forth.
He hadn't expected to receive such good news, exceptionally good news: Konoha had truly defeated the Mist Ninja.
The Mist Ninja had already withdrawn from the Land of Fire and were heading back to their Land of Water.
If the Hidden Mist Village were to send an emissary for peace talks later, then this battlefield could be considered concluded. The release of pressure from one battlefield was a very pleasant surprise for Konoha.
This meant Konoha had more strength to deal with the other three great ninja villages.
As long as one ninja village was defeated, there was hope of defeating others. If another village could truly be defeated, then the other two villages, seeing the unfavorable trend, might also seek peace talks with Konoha.
"All of this was done by Tianyuan," Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled. "Tianyuan, you truly did not disappoint my expectations. To think you single-handedly destroyed the Hidden Mist Village."
"And such powerful Fire Release Ninjutsu, as well as Kenjutsu," Hiruzen Sarutobi recalled everything mentioned in the intelligence report.
Tianyuan used the power of Fire Release to destroy the Hidden Mist Village, then used Kenjutsu to blast apart the Tailed Beast, and later even possessed the ability to revive the dead.
"However, should this news be revealed now?" Hiruzen Sarutobi mused.
"Perhaps we can wait a bit longer and have Tianyuan lead a portion of ninjas to assist other battlefields; they might act as a surprise force," Hiruzen Sarutobi thought.
As for letting Tianyuan destroy another ninja village alone again, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not consider it.
Such an action would likely be very dangerous for Tianyuan.
It might also lead to a scenario where all other ninja villages united.
Such a nuclear deterrent was fine as a deterrent, but if other ninja villages were destroyed from time to time, the remaining villages would not be at ease with Tianyuan alive in the ninja world.
"Alright, let them wait for the Hidden Mist Village's response. If confirmed, then Tianyuan will lead a group of ninjas to the Land of Hot Water battlefield," Hiruzen Sarutobi made this decision.
Ultimately, it still depended on whether the Hidden Mist Village would pursue peace talks.
Without this certainty, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not easily reallocate Konoha's ninjas; otherwise, if the Hidden Mist Village continued its attack, it would be disastrous.
Of course, in Hiruzen Sarutobi's estimation, the Hidden Mist Village should not want to continue fighting, if the situation was as described in the letter.
Subsequently, Hiruzen Sarutobi wrote a letter and had an Anbu ninja send it directly to the battlefield with the Mist Ninja.
On the other side.
Several days later, after traveling by water, the retreating Mist Ninja arrived in the Land of Water.
Thousands of Mist Ninja landed in the Land of Water, their destination being the Hidden Mist Village.
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