Inside the Iwagakure's medical tent, the oppressive atmosphere was almost tangible.
Flickering candlelight cast distorted shadows on the tent cloth, illuminating every person's grave expression.
"Tsuchikage-sama, Kitsuchi-sama... his internal organs are completely ruptured. He's lost over 60% of his blood volume, and his Chakra is almost entirely depleted. The fact that he held on until we arrived is already a miracle." The head Medical-Nin reported with a heavy expression.
Onoki didn't get angry, only asked wearily: "Tell me, is there still any hope?"
"There is still hope, it's just..." The medical head forced a bitter smile. "We would need Konoha's Tsunade or Sunagakure's Chiyo to intervene."
Onoki grumbled: "Does our vast Iwagakure really not have a single Medical-Nin comparable to them?"
In a corner, a young Medical-Nin whispered softly: "Neither Kumogakure nor Kirigakure do."
Onoki fell silent. Bowing his head to the enemy? That was even worse than killing him.
But looking at his son's gradually weakening breath, Onoki's fists clenched and unclenched. Finally, he slumped down in his seat.
The medical head reminded him: "Tsuchikage-sama, Kitsuchi-sama's physical condition might not hold on much longer. It's best if you make a decision as soon as possible."
"I understand." Onoki sighed heavily and said to the advisor beside him, "Send a message to Konoha. Say... Iwagakure is willing to compensate Konoha for its losses, but it must be under the name of peace talks."
...
Konoha Village, the Hokage's office.
"Onoki wants peace talks? Haha, that old stubborn actually bowed his head? Setsuna, you've really accomplished a great deed this time."
When Minato brought Setsuna back to the village briefly with the news of Iwagakure's surrender, Hiruzen immediately burst into hearty laughter.
Although the situation on the other two fronts wasn't optimistic, as soon as Iwagakure joined their side, the overall situation could instantly reverse.
Hiruzen happily took a puff from his pipe, smoke curling within the office: "With Iwagakure joining our side, Kumogakure and Kirigakure are doomed to fail."
Standing nearby, Utatane Koharu frowned. Usually conservative, he was now more radical than anyone: "Hiruzen, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We should strike with full force, completely crush Kumogakure and Kirigakure, leaving them unable to recover for at least twenty years."
Mitokado Homura showed an expression of agreement: "In the future Ninja World, only Konoha's voice will be needed."
But Hiruzen didn't respond immediately. Instead, he looked at Setsuna: "Before that, Setsuna, first give us a detailed account of that monster."
Setsuna's gaze swept over everyone in the office, and he said gravely: "Satori, an ancient demonic beast sealed by the Sage of Six Paths inside the Box of Ultimate Bliss. It feeds on human fear, can predict attacks through fear. Even Iwagakure's Five-Tails' Jinchuriki was devoured alive by it."
Hiruzen pondered for a long time before saying: "Your action of warning Iwagakure was correct. We should immediately cease hostilities and warn Kumogakure and Kirigakure, telling them to be careful of that monster."
Koharu slammed the table and stood up: "Hiruzen, now is the perfect opportunity for us to defeat them in one fell swoop. How can we stop because of a monster? Danzo, you say something to him too."
Koharu stirred up Konoha's greatest hawk.
Danzo had even more bandages than before. The disastrous defeat on the Kirigakure front had made him taciturn.
He remained silent for a moment before saying: "Hiruzen, do you think Kumogakure and Kirigakure will believe what you say? Isn't Onoki the best example? They'll just think it's Konoha's scheme."
Hiruzen rubbed his temples and made a decision: "Then this is it. First, send people to contact Kumogakure and Kirigakure. If they are willing to heed the warning, we'll prioritize dealing with that monster. If they remain stubborn, then we'll join forces with Iwagakure and Sunagakure to end the war with overwhelming force."
...
Ninja Alliance's base camp. Space twisted slightly.
With a flash of golden light, Minato appeared at the camp entrance with Setsuna and Tsunade.
Tsunade immediately covered her nose as she stepped off: "This smell of blood... Setsuna, you promised me!"
"Don't worry." Setsuna snapped his fingers. "Fugaku-san."
Fugaku emerged from the shadows, his eyes already bandaged: "Tsunade-sama, please don't resist."
After awakening the Mangekyo, his Genjutsu mastery could be considered Konoha's number one. Even without using the Mangekyo's Ocular Power, just using conventional Genjutsu could affect most people.
Fugaku completed his hand seals. In Tsunade's eyes, the world instantly turned green.
"Whew." Tsunade let out a long sigh of relief. "Finally, I can breathe."
Rasa hurried forward to report: "Commander, Tsuchikage-sama personally brought Kitsuchi here."
Although an injured person's body wasn't suitable for long journeys, Onoki clearly knew his own credibility was lacking. If the treatment location were chosen in Iwagakure, probably no one would dare to go.
Inside the main tent, Onoki paced anxiously back and forth. On the sickbed beside him lay the deathly pale Kitsuchi.
Seeing Tsunade, a glimmer of hope finally appeared on Onoki's face: "Princess Tsunade, I leave it to you."
Without a word, Tsunade stepped forward to examine him. After a moment, she said regretfully: "It's too late. The internal organs are completely damaged. If I had arrived ten minutes earlier..."
Onoki's body staggered, but he quickly steadied himself, his eyes regaining their firmness: "I will definitely kill that monster to avenge you!"
Setsuna felt quite moved and simultaneously realized something.
'Kitsuchi didn't have any descendants yet, did he? Then wouldn't that mean the future [Leg Kage] wouldn't exist either? This was even more serious than losing Uchiha Itachi.'
"I can save him." A red-haired boy stood at the tent entrance, ripples swirling in his Rinnegan.
"What? It's you..." Onoki felt deeply ashamed and immediately slapped himself.
'What a good child. Even after being betrayed by Iwagakure, he was still willing to save Kitsuchi.'
'Compared to him, I was truly a wretched thing.'
"Wait." Setsuna stepped forward and pulled Nagato back, whispering, "You want to use your own life to exchange for his?"
Nagato asked in surprise: "You know what technique I'm going to use?"
Setsuna maintained a straight face, passing the blame to the Nine-Tails: "I heard it from the Nine-Tails."
"Oh, I see." Nagato nodded, then added, "I won't die. If it's just reviving one person, I'll probably only be weak for a while."
Setsuna frowned slightly. Although the future Konan indeed said that with Nagato's low Chakra at the time, using the Rinne Rebirth would lead to death, judging from Obito's later statement that this technique required the user's life as a price, Konan was likely deceived by Obito.
And from the current perspective, it wasn't just Obito who deceived them… it was Madara or Black Zetsu.
'So they started influencing Nagato from the shadows this early.' Setsuna thought to himself.
Just as Setsuna was about to stop Nagato, the Don Slime suddenly reminded him that it sensed a deeply hidden emotional fluctuation.
'A deeply hidden emotional fluctuation? And even Nagato, a sensor-type Uzumaki with strong perception, didn't notice it?' Setsuna's eyes narrowed slightly, and he swallowed back his words of dissent.