Seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen being blasted out of the purple mist, Kyūsei's expression changed instantly. He rushed forward and caught the old man in midair.
"Old man, are you alright?!"
"I'm fine. Just some poison gas," Sarutobi replied, shaking his head as his gaze swept over the now-ruined Sunagakure.
"The objective has been achieved. It's about time we withdrew."
Sarutobi cast a regretful glance at Shukaku. Unfortunately, there was no suitable candidate on site to become a jinchūriki.
Otherwise, he truly would have liked to take Shukaku with them.
Killing Shukaku outright was technically an option—but Shukaku was a tailed beast that controlled sand. Trying to kill him in the middle of a desert would take far too long.
Just as Sarutobi was about to instruct kaoru to extract everyone, his body suddenly staggered.
A metallic sweetness surged up his throat.
Instinctively wiping his mouth, he saw a smear of crimson on his hand.
…Poisoned?
Dizziness immediately washed over him.
"Old man!"
"Teacher!"
"Third Hokage-sama!"
The last thing Sarutobi saw before losing consciousness was the shock etched across Kyūsei's face.
Sarutobi didn't know how much time had passed.
When he finally opened his eyes again, he found himself lying inside a tent.
"Cough… cough…"
His throat felt dry and hoarse, forcing a few coughs out of him.
"Oh? You're awake, old man?"
Sarutobi turned his head.
Tsunade—his only female disciple.
"Where… am I?"
Seeing that Sarutobi still hadn't fully processed things, Tsunade snorted, poured him a cup of water, stuck a straw in it, and held it to his mouth.
"At your age, you're still running around fighting to the death with a bunch of kids."
"Do you even know how old you are?"
"Konoha's burden is still on your shoulders. If something happened to you, what would we do?"
"Next time you make a plan, can you first check how old you are?!"
Listening to Tsunade's nonstop scolding, Sarutobi simply smiled and said nothing. After taking a few sips of water, he waved his hand and asked,
"How long was I unconscious?"
"Three days."
As Tsunade checked his physical condition, her mouth never stopped moving.
"In these three days, Kyūsei and kaoru teamed up and defeated the Sand's frontline forces."
"Orochimaru was also sent back to the Grass Country battlefield by kaoru ."
"According to intelligence from Konoha, Hatake Sakumo has managed to suppress Dodai from Kumogakure."
"Ōnoki has already gathered seven thousand shinobi and is preparing to return to the battlefield."
"And the Rain Country?" Sarutobi suddenly asked.
"The Rain Country…"
"No news."
Sarutobi abruptly sat up.
"Bring me the map."
"Oh—wait a moment."
Tsunade hurriedly retrieved a map and handed it to him.
Staring at it, Sarutobi's expression darkened.
"Transmit my order immediately."
"All forces in the River Country, Grass Country, and Frost Country—"
"Withdraw back into the borders of the Land of Fire!"
Tsunade stared at him in shock, hesitating for a moment.
From her perspective, although Konoha was surrounded on all sides, the situation—aside from the Rain Country—was favorable. As long as they held against Iwagakure, victory was still possible.
Why order a full retreat now?
"Move quickly!"
"And notify Kyūsei and kaoru —report to the main command tent immediately!"
Seeing how serious Sarutobi looked, Tsunade no longer hesitated and went to carry out the orders.
The old man wouldn't make a move like this without reason.
When Sarutobi, fully dressed, arrived at the main command tent, Tsunade, kaoru , and Kyūsei were already there.
Though pale from the poison, Sarutobi's eyes burned with a sharp light that made them hard to look at directly.
"Old man, are you really okay?" Kyūsei asked, clearly conflicted—half-considering whether he should just sacrifice himself and let the old man bite him.
"I'm fine. Just poison," Sarutobi waved him off.
He then sat down at the head seat without ceremony. Tsunade naturally took the seat to his left.
"Three days have passed."
"Ōnoki has certainly received news of our attack on Sunagakure."
"And yet, he still gathered seven thousand shinobi to advance on the Grass Country."
"Why?"
"Ōnoki is not a fool."
"Kyūsei, your combat analysis has surely landed on his desk by now."
"Numbers mean nothing to you."
"So what are those seven thousand people for?"
Sarutobi suddenly slammed his hand against the map behind him, pointing at a specific country.
Kyūsei's expression turned grim.
The Rain Country.
"The Rain Country is the only allied nation that directly borders the Land of Fire."
"If my guess is correct—"
"The missing Third Kazekage is currently in the Rain Country!"
"And even Ōnoki himself may be there!"
"Those seven thousand troops are nothing more than bait—cover for Ōnoki's movements!"
Sarutobi's words sent a chill through everyone present.
If he was right, then within the Rain Country stood Hanzō of the Salamander, the Kazekage, and the Tsuchikage—three Kage-level combatants.
"And as part of the alliance, Kumogakure would never stay out of it."
"Their situation in the Frost Country is dire, yet they've launched no real counteroffensive."
"Those hot-blooded brutes enduring this long is unthinkable."
"If my guess is right… Danzō—"
Sarutobi's eyes dimmed slightly.
Danzō had entered the Rain Country long ago. No news had come back since.
Perhaps not just Danzō—perhaps not a single Konoha shinobi had survived.
If Sarutobi's deductions were correct, Shimura Danzō had no chance of living.
Facing the combined might of the Ninja Demigod, the Third Kazekage, the Third Tsuchikage, and the Fourth Raikage—survival would be impossible.
And none of them would have gone to the Rain Country alone.
If they had personally arrived there, it meant they were preparing to break through the Land of Fire's defenses in one decisive push.
Explosion corps, the A–B duo, the remaining Sand puppet forces—these elite units were certainly present.
Aside from the puppet forces, none of these groups had appeared on any battlefield yet.
And even worse—
…the jinchūriki.
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