"Retreat! Retreat!"
Hiruzen's voice echoed across the battlefield, filled with despair.
He fought while retreating, constantly forming hand seals and using various ninjutsu to block the Raikage's pursuit.
Dragon Flame Bombs, Mud Walls, Shuriken Shadow Clones…
Fortunately, his own strength was still solid enough to delay the Raikage's advance.
"Lord Hokage, hurry and go!"
Several Anbu desperately stayed behind to cover the retreat, using their own bodies to block the Raikage's path.
"Earth Release: Earth Dome Prison!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
Their ninjutsu struck the Raikage without even breaking through the layer of golden armor.
With a casual wave of his hand, the Raikage sent several of them flying into trees, coughing up blood.
Hiruzen clenched his teeth and turned to run.
He ran for a long time, until the sounds of battle gradually faded behind him, until the banners of Hidden Cloud could no longer be seen. Only then did he stop and brace himself against a tree, gasping heavily for breath.
Less than half of the original force had managed to follow him.
Homura and Koharu were among them as well. Both were covered in dirt, their faces filled with terror, no longer carrying even the slightest trace of an advisor's dignity.
Hiruzen looked at them, then toward the distance, unable to say a single word.
...
On the battlefield, the Raikage stood amidst the devastation, watching the direction in which Hidden Leaf's defeated remnants had fled, his brows slightly furrowed.
"B, what do you think happened to Hidden Leaf's Jinchuriki?"
He asked.
Killer B had already withdrawn from his Tailed Beast transformation and scratched his head.
"No idea, big bro."
"Didn't see them from start to finish. If the Nine-Tails came out, things definitely would've gotten wild, yeah!"
The Raikage pondered for a moment, a trace of doubt flashing through his eyes.
Hidden Leaf did have a Jinchuriki, and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had supposedly always been heavily protected by Hidden Leaf.
So why had they never appeared from beginning to end?
Had something happened, or was Hidden Leaf hiding its strength?
He did not recklessly continue the pursuit.
Hidden Leaf might be weakened, but it was still one of the Five Great Nations. Who knew what trump cards they still possessed?
What if this display of weakness was a trap?
"Withdraw the troops."
He waved his hand.
"No matter what, continue pillaging the border towns first. We'll secure the profits before anything else."
A smile curled onto his lips as he looked toward the prosperous plains in the distance.
"The Land of Fire really is wealthy."
"At this rate, we'll gather enough for Darui's ransom in just a few more days."
...
Meanwhile, the news rapidly spread throughout the entire shinobi world.
"The Uchiha repelled Hidden Cloud! They even captured the Two-Tails Jinchuriki and extorted two hundred million ryo from the Raikage!"
"Hidden Cloud turned around and attacked the Land of Fire! Hidden Leaf suffered a crushing defeat, and Hiruzen fled in disgrace!"
"Several border towns of the Land of Fire have already been looted by Hidden Cloud!"
Tea houses, taverns, ninja outposts, discussions about these events were everywhere.
Land of Earth, Hidden Stone Village.
Onoki floated in midair while looking through the thick stack of intelligence reports in his hands, his expression shifting unpredictably.
"Hidden Cloud… Hidden Leaf… the Uchiha…"
He muttered to himself as calculations rapidly ran through his mind.
During the previous Great Shinobi War, Hidden Stone had launched a surprise assault and killed the Third Raikage.
Although they achieved tremendous results, their own losses had also been devastating.
Several thousand ninja had been buried in foreign lands, the national treasury had been drained dry, and the village still had not recovered even now.
If they rashly joined the war this time, could they truly profit from it?
"Father."
Kitsuchi's voice came from behind him.
"You're still hesitating?"
Onoki did not turn around. He merely stared at the map hanging on the wall.
Across the wealthy plains of the Land of Fire, countless towns and trade routes were marked densely upon it.
Every town represented food, gold, silver, supplies…
These were all things Hidden Stone desperately needed.
"The Land of Fire truly is wealthy."
He muttered.
"But the risks are also great…"
Kitsuchi stepped forward and stood beside him, looking at the map together.
"Father, Hidden Cloud has already opened the way, and Hidden Leaf no longer has the strength to resist."
"We don't need to confront Hidden Leaf head-on. We only need to follow behind Hidden Cloud and pick up some scraps."
Onoki fell silent.
Staying silent for a while, he finally spoke.
"Assemble three thousand ninja. You will lead them to the border of the Land of Fire."
...
Land of Wind, Hidden Sand Village.
Within the endless yellow sands, Rasa stood in a mine pit covered in dust, his hands forming seals.
Gold dust was separated from the sand through Magnet Release, gathering into a thin golden thread in midair before slowly falling into a container beside him.
His face was filled with exhaustion, and his lips were cracked and dry.
Unlike the spirited Kage of the other ninja villages.
Right now, the Kazekage looked more like a worn-out miner.
After the Third Great Shinobi War ended, Hidden Sand had been forced to pay enormous reparations to Hidden Leaf, making the already impoverished village even worse off.
The Land of Wind's Feudal Lord was also greatly dissatisfied with Hidden Sand's defeat and drastically reduced the funding allocated to the village.
Now, in order to maintain the village's operations, Rasa could only personally use Magnet Release to mine ore, acting as a "gold miner" to support the village's economy.
"Lord Kazekage! Lord Kazekage!"
Maki's voice came from the distance, unable to conceal her excitement.
She sprinted across the yellow sands, clutching an intelligence scroll in her hand.
Rasa stopped his ninjutsu and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"What is it?"
"Something huge has happened in the shinobi world!"
Maki panted heavily.
"Hidden Cloud attacked Hidden Gento Village and was repelled by the Uchiha!"
"Then the Raikage turned around and attacked the Land of Fire, and Hidden Leaf suffered a crushing defeat!"
"Hiruzen escaped with the remnants of his forces, and several border towns of the Land of Fire have already been looted!"
Rasa's eyes suddenly lit up, but quickly dimmed again.
He remained silent for a while before glancing once more toward the endless desert in the distance.
Maki carefully asked:
"Lord Kazekage, should we also… join the war?"
"The Land of Fire is very weak right now. If we…"
"No!"
Rasa interrupted her.
"Hidden Sand no longer has the strength to wage war. If we lose one more time, we'll truly be finished."
Maki opened her mouth.
She knew Rasa was speaking the truth.
"But… the powerful Uchiha have already left Hidden Leaf!"
"And Hidden Leaf is currently at its weakest…"
Rasa's eyes flickered upon hearing this.
He fell silent again but ultimately could not swallow that frustration.
He gritted his teeth, a trace of resolve flashing through his eyes.
"Assemble the troops!"
Maki froze.
Rasa took a deep breath.
"We march on the Land of Fire!"
...
While every nation prepared for war against Hidden Leaf and tension spread throughout the shinobi world.
Hidden Gento Village was immersed in a quite a different atmosphere.
Because of their victory in the war, cheerful laughter filled every corner of Cerulean Harbor.
…
Inside the clan head's office in the Mission Hall.
Gento sat upright in his chair.
His gaze rested on Pakura, who stood beside the desk organizing documents.
Today, Pakura wore a dark business outfit tailored perfectly to her figure.
It was the same style as Mabui's, but she wore it with an entirely different charm.
The fitted jacket outlined her slender waist and the full curves of her chest.
The skirt reached her knees, exposing a section of her fair calves.
At that moment, she was bending over while looking through documents, completely unaware that because of her posture, she was revealing quite a bit.
Gento's fingers moved away from the armrest and reached over.
"You… don't…"
Pakura's voice was very low, two blushes appearing on her cheeks.
"This is the office!"
Gento remained unmoved. His fingers caressed her waist, feeling the delicate skin beneath the thin layer of fabric.
He leaned in closer, warm breath brushing against her earlobe.
"Hehe, doesn't that make it even more exciting?"
Pakura's ears instantly turned bright red, and she nearly lost her grip on the documents in her hands.
Biting her lip, she tried to move away, yet her body softened against her will.
"Mmh…"
A soft moan escaped from her throat.
Gento's hand began wandering higher from her waist…
Knock knock knock.
Suddenly, knocking sounded from outside the door.
Pakura sprang away as though electrocuted, hurriedly straightening her clothes and brushing the loose strands of hair behind her ear.
She glared fiercely at Gento, though the blush on her face had yet to fade.
Somewhat displeased, Gento withdrew his hand, sat up straight, and cleared his throat.
"Come in."
The door opened and two Anbu ninja walked in.
The two knelt on one knee. One of them respectfully held out a Sealing Scroll with both hands.
"Clan Head, Rin Nohara's body has been retrieved!"
---
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