"Did you see that?"
"Yeah… it's just too unbelievable. How could someone as powerful as the Third Raikage be defeated so easily? It doesn't make sense—it shouldn't have happened like this."
"But this is the reality. In just a few years' time, who would've expected that Haseo's strength would reach such a level? Instantly killing a Raikage—unless I saw it with my own eyes, how could I ever believe something like this?"
"Back at the Amegakure battlefield, he was already capable of going head-to-head against The Third and the Kazekage..."
"But now, first subduing Mist and then killing the Third Raikage? This level of power no longer falls within the realm of ordinary ninja. Can the Third even handle him?"
"..."
"Anyway, let's bring back news of the Raikage's death first. As for what comes next, leave that decision to the Third. Compared to the outcome of this conflict itself, personally, I think intelligence regarding Haseo Yu is even more important."
The war between Konoha and Kumo continued on—or rather, large-scale fighting had only just begun. But to observers, they'd already formed a mistaken belief: that the war actually ended the moment the Raikage fell.
This perception wasn't entirely wrong either—the victor had clearly been decided, and everything else was just a matter of formality.
On the outer edges of the battlefield, two scout ninjas from Iwagakure, having witnessed everything from afar, had already made their decision—not waiting around for the final result of this war, instead carrying the news of the Third Raikage's death back first.
During a war, though rare, the death of a Kage isn't completely unthinkable; the Third Hokage himself demonstrated exactly that. Still, the way the Raikage died remained deeply shocking.
"Yeah, let's deliver our report… Honestly, not another second do I want to stay in this place."
After all, scout ninjas are scouts—even though some are powerful fighters, others focus solely on reconnaissance and lack real combat ability. For them, this battlefield was simply too dangerous.
More accurately, it was dangerous specifically because Haseo existed there.
Of course, the news of the Raikage's death had to be brought back directly by these scout ninjas. In fact, compared to the outcome alone, describing precisely how the Third Raikage was killed was even more critical; otherwise, the value of this intelligence would diminish greatly.
Once this message reached Iwagakure's Camp, what to do next would fall upon the judgment of the Third Tsuchikage.
Haseo currently wasn't aware of the scouts' actions, but in truth, he had anticipated something like this. Iwagakure, always trying to play the "beneficiary" role, couldn't possibly ignore developments in the battle between Konoha and Kumo.
It was perfectly normal for Iwa scouts to infiltrate here; ignoring this battlefield completely would be absurd. The other side had always watched from a distance, waiting patiently for the right moment to benefit from the chaos.
...
Over here at the battlefield, Black Cat had returned to its original size, now held in Kushina's arms while she continued cleaning its fur.
The battle was intense. Haseo's position should have been the heartland of Konoha as the attacking side, yet even in this area, skirmishes kept breaking out from time to time.
Yet Hiyu remained calm. There was no way the surrounding Konoha shinobi would allow Kumo ninja—those scoundrels and troublemakers—to get close enough to harm him.
"Kohei, what do you think we should do about this?"
Ignoring the ongoing battle, Haseo pointed at the Raikage's corpse and asked Kohei Sarutobi.
At this point, Kakashi had already retrieved the Raikage's head. He was delicately attempting to reattach it, but try after try failed... The damage around the neck area was simply too severe. Did he actually expect to just put the head back on like assembling building blocks?
After fiddling with it for a while, Kakashi lost patience and finally stuffed the head into the Raikage's arms, letting him hold his own head.
Honestly, the sight was both childishly whimsical and deeply eerie… What were they doing, practicing keepie-uppie with a severed head?
"Lord Haseo, I don't think it matters much. Even though this is the Third Raikage, it's now nothing more than a corpse. I deeply appreciate what Lord Haseo has done, but a dead body itself holds no significance."
If the village needs it, keep the Third Raikage's remains. If not, returning the corpse wouldn't be a problem either." Kohei Sarutobi said calmly.
What mattered was the outcome—Yusen had killed the Third Raikage. As for the corpse left behind… why bother caring?
Yes, that was merely a dead body. Although from a son's perspective, the Third Raikage was Kohei's enemy, now that the man was dead, there was no reason to indulge in any petty revenge.
He truly didn't care about the corpse. It had absolutely nothing to do with "mercy"—it was simply a matter of judgment, vision, and maturity.
Kumo ninja kept charging toward this location, probably not to kill Hiyama directly but mainly aiming to recover the Third Raikage's body.
"If you can think this way, then that's for the best," Haseo nodded approvingly. He thought to himself that Kohei Sarutobi was indeed a level-headed young man who wouldn't let vengeance cloud his reason... Seems the Third Hokage's guidance had finally taken root this time.
"What research value could the Third Raikage's corpse possibly have? What use is it to Konoha? At the end of the day, he's just a muscular brute. Someone like him definitely doesn't have an open mind..."
The battle ahead raged on, locked in a tense stalemate with no end in sight. Since you're fine with it, let's move forward next and continue pressuring Kumo."
Yuki didn't care much for the Third Raikage's corpse. If Kohei shared this same opinion, there was certainly no need to fuss over it—at least not according to this logic, which was flawed. A Kage's corpse held immense value; however, Yuki genuinely had no interest in conducting any research on a dead body.
Therefore, he and the Konoha ninja guarding him moved forward together, advancing toward the frontline battlefield.
Characters like Sakumo Hatake were leading the charge at the front line, while Kumo's Battleground still held steady despite suddenly losing support from the Third Raikage. This proved the enemy had some serious staying power.
That deserved praise, but under such circumstances, Haseo believed it necessary to add a bit more pressure.
Haseo scooped the Black Cat from Kushina's arms and muttered as he walked ahead, "Shift back, then let out a few good roars. Be natural... I mean fierce—like you're trying to win Best in Show."
Haseo must've misunderstood—pet shows and cat fighting tournaments weren't the same thing.
The Black Cat didn't want to do this—not with the blood-soaked air still making it uneasy—but it had no choice but to follow Haseo's command.
With a growl, the Black Cat reverted to its massive form and slowly marched forward, letting out an angry roar with each step.
"Miaw...
Roar!"
Oops, almost messed up the roar.
That cat wasn't all that important anyway; in terms of size and strength, Kumo's cats were far superior to Haseo's. However, on one hand, Kumo's cats couldn't appear on the battlefield because they'd easily be killed; on the other hand, the Black Cat's advance signified Haseo himself advancing.
Every step that four-legged beast took toward them sent waves of dread through the enemy ranks.
Meanwhile, Konoha's morale continued to soar.
Yet the tension in Kumo continued to receive additional stress little by little…
Not broken yet.
But it was getting dangerously close to snapping.
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