Both sides' leaders had silently reached an understanding during this chase battle. Their top combatants did not engage, yet the battle turned out far more brutal than expected—far deadlier even than the previous thousand-man skirmish.
After a full day and night of fierce fighting, the conflict finally ceased. The explosion of immense powers completely reshaped the battlefield, leaving cliffs, intersecting rivers, and scattered corpses across the land—an extremely grim picture of war.
Each side had deployed nearly a thousand ninja. In the end, Konoha was reduced to about two hundred survivors, while Iwa suffered even worse, with only slightly over one hundred ninja successfully retreating back to their village.
Finally, White Fang and Tsuchikage appeared simultaneously, halting the war. After exchanging a glance midair, both issued orders to retreat—but each knew deep down that today marked the beginning of a deadly grudge.
Elsewhere, Kitsuchi led his squad into Kumogakure to confront Raikage. The short-tempered Raikage couldn't hold back—he openly admitted involvement, mocked Kitsuchi, detained his team, and with a single slap sent him flying away.
This sequence of actions permanently worsened relations between the two villages. Now on the verge of direct confrontation, Tsuchikage naturally chose not to remain entangled with Konoha.
With his objective met, White Fang decided it was time to withdraw, gathering what remained of the Konoha ninja to return home. This battle had been the fiercest since the Second War—Konoha's victory could barely be called a victory at all.
Anya was finally released from the barrier. At the moment it lifted, Little Pepper sensed a sharp aura surrounding her. It felt terrifyingly piercing, as if merely looking at it too long could blind her eyes.
Anya… has she gotten even stronger again?
Whatever. Never mind her—it's important to find Minato. She wondered whether he'd made it back safely or not.
Soon enough, Little Pepper found herself smiling, because spotting Minato wasn't hard at all with his bright golden hair.
As Little Pepper approached Minato, she noticed his deeply sorrowful expression. Looking around, she realized Dan Kato was missing. Covering her mouth in shock, she murmured, "Could it be… Dan Kato?"
Minato looked gently at Little Pepper and shook his head. "He's fine. He went to help treat the injured."
"Oh, right." Letting out a sigh of relief, she added, "Our team was small and didn't last long, but we got along fine—except for Anya, of course."
"Then why do you look so sad?"
"Because… many comrades died here."
When Minato said that, Little Pepper suddenly realized something—despite being fellow Konoha ninja, she hadn't mourned a single fallen comrade, only worrying about Minato. A sense of guilt washed over her.
At that moment, Anya calmly walked over. "War means people die. You'll get used to it sooner or later. If you don't like it, get strong fast and end this messed-up age yourself."
Seeing her approach, Little Pepper quickly hid behind Minato, tattling, "She tried to bite me yesterday! Minato, beat her up!"
Anya scoffed, "Yeah right, I was just kidding. If you really wanted to run, do you think you could have escaped? Besides, Minato's chakra has been nearly depleted. Let him rest well."
Sure enough, as soon as Anya finished speaking, Minato's body swayed unsteadily — a clear sign of chakra depletion. Little Pepper quickly steadied him and then scooped him up into her arms.
"Don't worry, rest easy — I'll protect you."
"Thank you." With those two words, Minato drifted completely to sleep.
Seeing that Minato was fine, Anya wasted no time staying behind. She went straight to White Fang's side and asked, "Teacher, are we heading back now?"
White Fang nodded. "Major battles are unlikely to occur anymore. We've successfully established several strongholds, though the possibility of harassment still exists. Small-scale conflicts will continue to break out from time to time. If they get a chance, they'll strike with a surprise attack for sure. But the village already anticipated this and dispatched ninja from the Hyuga clan for reinforcement."
These strongholds were like fishbones stuck in Iwagakure's throat — an unbearable nuisance to the Tsuchikage. Although he currently had no spare attention to deal with them, once he recovered, these positions would become the most vulnerable spots. Therefore, having the Hyuga clan guard them was the most suitable choice, since their Byakugan enabled effortless detection of any enemy ambush.
"Well then, we can finally rest properly after returning."
Although she'd already participated in two major battles, Anya dared not relax in the slightest. A single moment of carelessness on the battlefield could mean death. Moreover, there were too many unpredictable factors during war. Even White Fang had come dangerously close to death this time. Compared to getting stronger out there on the battlefield, staying safe in the village and growing stronger there made way more sense.
That sharp pair of eyes belonging to White Fang seemed to peer straight into Anya's thoughts, interrupting her daydreaming swiftly. "Once we return to the village, after resting for a day, I'll have a mission for you."
"Eh? Only one day's rest?" Anya grumbled slightly.
White Fang snorted coldly. "You may have pulled off an S-rank mission this time, but how much of that was luck — we both know the answer."
Anya immediately grinned and replied cheerfully, "One day is plenty! More than enough!"
Seeing his student's shamelessly flippant attitude, White Fang said somewhat disdainfully, "You've already been promoted to chunin and are qualified to complete missions independently. So now, I'm assigning you a chunin-level task — to gather intelligence. Not only about the five great shinobi villages, but also other smaller ones. The more you gather, and the more detailed it is, the better."
In wartime, intelligence played a crucial role. For White Fang to assign such a mission clearly meant recognition of her abilities. Naturally, she wouldn't refuse — but before setting off, she needed clarification first.
"Will I be going alone?"
White Fang nodded firmly. "Yes, just you. This isn't a combat mission — fewer people is better. As for the mission rank, it's temporarily set at B-class; whether it gets upgraded later depends entirely on the amount of intelligence you collect."
"What if I get caught? Can I just give up then?"
White Fang was quiet for a moment after hearing that, then said, "If you get caught, Konoha won't acknowledge your existence. Whether you surrender or not is your choice, but if you reveal the village's secrets or information, I'll come personally to kill you."
Anya smiled slightly and said, "Okay, understood."
"I haven't finished yet."
"Huh?"
"That was the Legend of the White Fang speaking to you just now. What comes next is from me as your teacher." White Fang spoke very seriously, "First, don't be reckless. Second, don't take unnecessary risks. Third, make sure you come back alive."
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