One event by itself might have been a coincidence.
Two events happening at the exact same time? No way Yagura could ignore it.
The second the Hidden Sand launched their full-scale assault on the Mist army, every single Leaf ninja stationed with them vanished without a trace.
There was no way in hell that was random.
"Every last one of them?" Yagura's voice was ice-cold. "Even Minato Namikaze is gone?"
The Mist ninja below him nodded grimly.
Yagura's face turned darker than the bottom of the sea. He glared in the direction of the Leaf forces, eyes practically dripping with murderous rage.
"Konoha!"
"Backstabbing traitors!"
"You sold out the Hidden Mist! You'll pay for this!"
"Shameless bastards!"
But he didn't have time to dwell on his hatred.
The Sand army was already crashing down on them. Without the Leaf's support, how long could the Mist possibly hold?
Even with reinforcements from the village on the way, Yagura felt zero confidence.
No one in the entire Mist army could pin down Rasa.
Yagura could stall him for a little while with Water Mirror, sure… but what about Pakura?
Once his chakra ran dry, who the hell was left to stop her?
"We don't have enough top-tier fighters!"
"Of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, only Jinpachi Munashi is still alive… and he's no match for Pakura."
Yagura's expression twisted with bitterness.
"Half a year ago we had an overwhelming advantage in high-level strength. How the hell did it come to this? Where did it all go wrong?"
"Lord Yagura… what are your orders?" a Mist ninja asked, voice shaky.
Yagura took a deep breath, steeling himself.
"Pass this down: We fight!
This is a life-or-death battle for the Hidden Mist. We have nowhere left to run. Our only chance is to fight to the bitter end!"
"Retreat along the river—fight as we fall back!"
It wasn't a great plan. It was the only plan they had left.
Standing and dying to the last man would just get them all killed.
A full rout would be even bloodier.
A fighting retreat along the river gave them the best shot at saving as many lives as possible, falling back to the Land of Water where they could use the terrain to defend.
Even if the Sand was stronger right now, they wouldn't be able to take the Mist Village quickly once the battle moved back home—just like the Mist had failed to crush the Sand earlier despite their advantage.
As for actually winning… Yagura had already given up on that hope.
"Konoha is too damn shameless."
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, you don't deserve to be called a hero of the ninja world."
"You took our gifts and then stabbed us in the back."
"I never should have made a deal with you."
"If we'd just pulled back to the Land of Water from the start, things would be so much better than this."
The Leaf had screwed the Hidden Mist worse than anyone.
Under the Sand army's relentless pursuit, the Mist forces fell into total chaos.
Even with Yagura's order to fight while retreating, this was still a battlefield.
Wanting to live didn't mean you got to.
The Sand shinobi had waited years for this moment.
For years their village had been humiliated—by the Mist, the Leaf, the Rock, even the minor villages.
Everyone had taken their turn kicking Sunagakure while it was down.
"Kill them! Kill them all!"
"Don't let a single one escape!"
"Revenge for our fallen comrades!"
Screams, cries, roars of rage, and the clash of steel filled the air. The thick stench of blood rose into the sky, forming a faint pink mist that hung over the battlefield.
Back in Konoha, Minato Namikaze found the village's order strange.
Pulling him and the Leaf forces out of the Sand-Mist front right now… wasn't that basically selling out the Hidden Mist?
The Mist army couldn't stand against the Sand on their own. Without Leaf support they'd collapse.
But Minato was a shinobi. Shinobi followed orders.
"Has the alliance between the Leaf and the Mist already broken?"
"Did something happen?"
A bad feeling settled in his gut.
He had been sent to support the Mist before, leaving his three students isolated on the Rock front.
One had lost an eye.
One had lost his life—and they hadn't even brought the body back.
Even though the Uchiha had rebelled, Obito was still his student.
Once a teacher, always a teacher.
"Lord Minato, please follow me," an Anbu operative said the moment Minato entered the village.
"This is the way to the medical ward?" Minato frowned.
They arrived quickly.
Inside the room, a young boy lay unconscious on the bed.
Kakashi.
Koharu Utatane stood beside him.
"Elder Koharu," Minato greeted her.
Koharu turned and gave a small nod. "Minato… Kakashi's condition is serious. It'll take time, but we've done everything we can. His life isn't in danger."
Minato nodded, fists clenched tight. "Elder Koharu… have you seen Rin?"
Koharu fell silent.
Minato's heart sank even further.
She let out a long sigh.
"Not long ago, a Hidden Mist Anbu squad ambushed our forces. They captured Rin and forcibly implanted the Three-Tails inside her, turning her into a jinchuriki. Then they tried to sneak her into the village to trigger a Tailed Beast rampage."
"Rin… to protect the village, she threw herself onto Kakashi's kunai and ended her own life. She was a hero. She sacrificed herself for Konoha."
"Kakashi told us everything while he was conscious."
In that instant, Minato's eyes turned blood-red.
His three students.
One had already died on the battlefield while he was away.
One had chosen to die to save the village.
The last one had been forced to watch his teammate impale herself on the kunai in his hand.
If he moved the blade, he betrayed Rin's sacrifice and let a Tailed Beast loose on the village.
If he didn't move it, his teammate died right in front of him.
An impossible choice.
Cruel beyond words.
And it was all because he hadn't been there.
If he had been, none of this would have happened.
"Hidden Mist!"
"Are those people even human?! We were helping them—and they turned around and did this to us?!"
Koharu sighed again.
"This is exactly why we called you back."