Chapter 223: The Aftermath and Countermeasures
Wind Country, Sunagakure Border Camp.
Compared to the relaxed atmosphere within Konoha's camp, the mood in Suna's encampment could only be described as bleak and oppressive.
Even after three full days had passed, the atmosphere showed little improvement.
Every so often, muffled sobbing could still be heard from inside passing tents—family members or close comrades mourning those who had died in the recent battle.
The medical camp remained overflowing with wounded.
Sunagakure's medical system had never matched Konoha's to begin with, and after suffering such catastrophic casualties, even three straight days of nonstop work from every medical ninja still barely made a dent.
At this point, they could only prioritize the critically injured.
Those with lighter wounds were left to recover naturally through ordinary treatment and the resilience of a ninja's physique.
Fortunately, patrol duties around the border camp were still being handled by the original border troops.
Otherwise, judging by the current mental state of the retreating frontline survivors, even if Konoha launched a surprise attack right now, many of them probably wouldn't react in time.
Inside the central command tent, four people sat in silence.
Rasa.
Chiyo.
Ebizō.
And the border force commander, Kazama.
The atmosphere inside the tent was suffocatingly heavy.
After a long silence, Kazama finally spoke first.
"Lord Kazekage… Elders…"
"We've completed the latest casualty report."
"Only 185 shinobi successfully retreated from the Land of Rivers."
"Compared to our pre-war numbers, total losses currently stand at 854."
"Among them are 32 confirmed jōnin casualties."
"Of course… some may simply have been captured alive by Konoha, but for now they're still counted as losses."
Even though the three had already mentally prepared themselves—
Actually hearing the number aloud still made all of them tremble slightly.
Rasa's expression darkened even further.
The defeat had simply been too devastating.
After this battle, Sunagakure effectively no longer possessed the strength to wage another major war against Konoha in the short term.
If Konoha chose to launch a full invasion now, then with the pitiful forces remaining at the border, losing territory would be inevitable.
"What movements has Konoha made?" Rasa asked immediately.
That was the issue he cared about most right now.
Kazama answered quickly.
"According to our scouts, they're currently focused on cleaning the battlefield."
"There haven't been any large troop movements."
"Their frontline camp remains in its original position."
"They haven't advanced deeper into Wind Country… but they also haven't withdrawn."
His tone unconsciously relaxed slightly as he spoke.
"Cleaning the battlefield…" Rasa sneered.
"They're being cautious."
Truthfully, he had almost hoped Jiraiya would get reckless and push directly into Wind Country.
If Konoha invaded the desert, then with terrain and environmental advantage on Suna's side, they might still have had a chance to turn the situation around.
But Jiraiya clearly had no intention of doing that.
He hadn't even advanced the frontline camp.
The message was obvious—
Konoha had no intention of fighting Suna inside the desert itself.
That both relieved and frustrated Rasa.
Relief, because Wind Country was safe for now.
Frustration, because it meant there was no opportunity left for a comeback.
Kazama spoke again.
"Lord Kazekage, our top priority now should be reinforcing the border."
"We simply don't have enough personnel left."
"And more than half of them are wounded."
"At our current numbers, we can't even maintain the most basic defensive coverage."
Rasa's expression immediately became troubled.
Sunagakure simply had no spare manpower anymore.
What were they supposed to do?
Reduce the number of active mission teams within the village?
That would only be draining the village dry for temporary survival.
At that moment, Chiyo finally spoke.
"Transfer troops from the eastern coastline."
"Kiri has been unusually quiet recently."
"The pressure there has decreased significantly."
"We can pull some personnel back."
"Also, order the village clans to provide additional manpower."
"If we combine everything, gathering another five hundred shinobi shouldn't be difficult."
"Once the wounded in camp recover, our defenses should stabilize."
The moment she spoke, everyone in the tent understood the implications.
Making a proposal like this meant taking responsibility for it.
If problems emerged later because of this redistribution of forces, then Chiyo herself would become the primary person blamed.
But she still chose to speak.
Because she was trying to reduce the pressure currently crushing Rasa.
After the catastrophic defeat at the frontline, the Fourth Kazekage's prestige had clearly suffered a massive blow.
The opposition factions within the village would inevitably begin stirring again.
The last thing Chiyo wanted was for Sunagakure to descend into internal political chaos on top of military disaster.
Rasa naturally understood her intentions.
First had been Ebizō, who had already sacrificed his position among the elders in order to support and protect Rasa's authority.
And now Chiyo was doing the same.
That realization made the weight of the Kazekage title feel even heavier.
No matter what—
He absolutely could not lose his position as Kazekage.
Not only because of his responsibility to the village…
But because the price the two elders had already paid for him was simply too great.
…
While Sunagakure was still scrambling to deal with its severe frontline manpower shortage, deep within the Land of Fire, Konoha had also received the battle report from the southern front.
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat together with the three advisors.
The atmosphere in the room was unusually lively.
Even Danzo Shimura—who normally wore a permanently gloomy expression—had a rare hint of satisfaction on his face.
The reason for it all lay in the report resting atop the desk.
A victory report from Jiraiya on the southern battlefield.
Hiruzen puffed steadily on his pipe, though the pace of his smoking was noticeably faster than usual.
His eyes narrowed into slits with obvious satisfaction.
For once, even Danzo no longer found the smoke irritating.
He casually waved a hand, stirring a breeze that pushed open the office window, while quietly considering how much benefit this report could bring him.
Tomorrow, he would officially assume command of the western front.
Now that the southern front had achieved a massive victory, perhaps additional personnel and resources could be redirected westward.
Those were the things he truly cared about.
As for Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, neither even bothered hiding their delight.
Especially Koharu.
She had only just returned from visiting the Daimyō's court, where she successfully secured two hundred million ryō in war funding for the village.
And now another enormous piece of good news had arrived immediately afterward.
A true double blessing.
"This is excellent," Koharu said with a smile.
"Jiraiya's victory severely weakened Sunagakure. The village's pressure has eased considerably."
This battle had truly allowed Konoha to catch its breath.
Not only had they crippled Suna, but they had also thoroughly intimidated the surrounding opportunists.
Especially with the death of the tailed beast jinchūriki.
Once that news spread, the smaller neighboring countries that had been wavering would undoubtedly become far more obedient.
Homura, however, focused on the next issue immediately.
"The battle may have been won, but what exactly is our policy toward Sunagakure moving forward?"
"Do we press the advantage and invade Wind Country?"
"Or maintain the current situation?"
"Jiraiya hasn't moved the frontline camp at all, which means he's likely waiting for further instructions from the village."
As the person responsible for wartime resource distribution, this question directly affected Konoha's future strategic allocations.
Naturally, he couldn't afford to be careless.
Danzo immediately spoke up.
"Of course we attack."
"When the enemy is weak, you crush them completely."
"If we don't destroy Sunagakure now, once they recover, they'll become a threat again."
"Have you all forgotten what happened last time?"
As expected of Konoha's foremost war hawk, Danzo jumped straight to calls for total destruction.
And honestly—
His words were tempting.
Especially after Suna's earlier betrayal, Koharu and Homura's influence regarding Suna policy had already weakened considerably.
Neither of them argued back immediately.
Instead, both quietly looked toward Hiruzen.
The Third Hokage noticed their gazes.
Unhurriedly, he tapped his pipe twice before calmly speaking.
"Tell Jiraiya to withdraw the frontline camp thirty kilometers."
"What?!"
This time, it wasn't just Danzo who was shocked.
Even Koharu and Homura looked completely confused.
Not advancing was one thing—
But retreating?
Was this another one of Hiruzen's "show weakness to lure the enemy" strategies?
"Don't tell me you've become this soft, Hiruzen," Danzo sneered coldly.
"We've already beaten them to this point."
"If you don't finish Sunagakure off now, are you planning to reconcile with them instead?"
His tone was openly aggressive, practically stopping just short of calling Hiruzen weak to his face.
Yet Hiruzen remained completely calm.
Everything appeared entirely within his expectations.
He gently tapped the ash from his pipe onto the table before setting it aside and finally explaining.
"First—"
"Choosing not to invade does not mean abandoning the war."
"Second, Konoha has no particular interest in occupying Wind Country's land or resources."
"Once we enter the desert, we lose both terrain and environmental advantages."
"The casualties would become enormous."
"And lastly…"
"We recently received some very interesting intelligence."
As he spoke, Hiruzen retrieved a scroll from the drawer and handed it to the three advisors.
Danzo snatched it first without hesitation.
He truly wanted to see what kind of intelligence could make Hiruzen choose such a seemingly passive strategy.
Koharu and Homura leaned over from both sides to read alongside him.
The contents of the intelligence report were surprisingly simple.
About a month earlier, Kumogakure had dispatched a force of roughly one hundred ninja.
Initially, Konoha's intelligence division suspected the force was targeting the northern front, so they closely monitored its movements.
However—
After departing from a coastal city in the Land of Lightning, the unit boarded ships and vanished overseas.
Then, half a month later, another intelligence team spotted traces of the same force near the outer waters surrounding the Land of Waves.
And they were still moving southward.
Toward Wind Country.
Koharu and Homura exchanged bewildered looks.
What exactly was the Raikage trying to do?
Invade Sunagakure?
With only a hundred men?
It barely made sense.
Had the Raikage trained his muscles so much he'd stopped using his brain entirely?
Only Danzo reacted differently.
"I remember earlier battlefield reports mentioning sightings of Kumo ninja inside Wind Country itself," he said slowly.
As expected of Danzo.
ROOT's intelligence network made him exceptionally sensitive to information.
He instantly connected the dots.
Hiruzen nodded.
"That's right."
"Based on our analysis, Kumogakure's target is almost certainly Sunagakure."
"Judging by the timeline, they should already be arriving around now."
"So there's absolutely no need for us to continue escalating the conflict with Suna ourselves."
"That would only benefit Kumo."
"Instead, we pull back slightly and make it clear we have no intention of invading Wind Country."
"That way, when Kumo attacks, Sunagakure can focus entirely on dealing with them."
It was a classic open strategy.
No tricks.
No deception.
Konoha would simply stand back and watch Suna and Kumo bleed each other dry.
Danzo quietly glanced toward Hiruzen.
He truly hadn't expected the old man to have prepared something like this in advance.
More importantly—
ROOT hadn't uncovered any of this intelligence beforehand.
That alone annoyed him.
"Fine," Danzo finally said.
"I have no objections."
If Suna and Kumo were going to fight each other, then naturally Konoha should sit comfortably on the sidelines and watch.
Afterward, depending on the outcome, they could decide whether to crush the weakened survivor.
Hiruzen then shifted topics.
"As for Jiraiya's request for additional supplies and personnel…"
"Homura, do you see any issues?"
Before Homura could even respond, Danzo immediately cut in.
"Impossible."
"I've already reviewed that supply request."
"They're asking for far too much."
"If every battlefield demanded resources like that, even Konoha would be drained dry."
"As frontline commander, Jiraiya should consider the village's overall situation—not just his own battlefield."
His speech sounded righteous and reasonable.
At least…
Until he revealed his real objective.
"Besides, our strategy toward the southern front has now changed."
"That front no longer requires such a large force."
"We should withdraw part of their manpower for rotation leave and redirect additional personnel and resources toward the western battlefield."
"That front is far more desperate."
Koharu and Homura both looked at Danzo with subtle disbelief.
This man truly could turn anything into an opportunity to benefit himself.
Still—
His timing really was excellent.
And objectively speaking, his logic wasn't wrong either.
Compared to the stabilized southern front, the western battlefield truly was in much worse condition.
Even Hiruzen looked mildly exasperated.
But as commander of the western front, Danzo's request wasn't unreasonable.
So instead, he looked toward Homura.
"What do you think?"
Homura considered briefly before replying.
"Konoha's overall reserves are still sufficient."
"However, Danzo does have a point."
"With the southern situation stabilized, their manpower and supply demands should indeed be reduced."
"I suggest approving half of their requested supplies."
Notably—
He completely avoided commenting on the western front reinforcement issue.
Hiruzen nodded in agreement before looking toward Danzo.
"Your supplies will be approved."
"But don't expect additional personnel."
"You may select more operatives from ROOT yourself."
Danzo lowered his head obediently.
Yet hidden deep within his eyes was a trace of dissatisfaction.
Hiruzen's guard against him had clearly grown increasingly strict.
Even now, the old man still tightly controlled manpower distribution.
Fortunately, Danzo hadn't expected much anyway.
As long as he secured the resources, his goal had already been achieved.
"Koharu," Hiruzen continued calmly.
"Prepare a list of the personnel who've served longest on the southern front."
"Set the number at one hundred."
"They'll escort the severely wounded back to Konoha and receive rotation leave."
Then, as if remembering something casually, he added:
"Oh, and include Matsushita Taichi as well."
"This boy rendered tremendous service yet again."
"He actually managed to kill a tailed beast by himself."
"Even considering elemental compatibility, that level of combat ability already places him among Konoha's top-tier ninja."
"At this point, I can't keep suppressing his promotion any longer."
"Have him return this time and officially promote him to jōnin."
Hiruzen's seemingly casual words caused Koharu and Homura to exchange puzzled glances.
Only Danzo's lips curled ever so slightly.
Suppressing his promotion?
Wasn't the previous excuse supposedly "insufficient mission count"?
And now that the boy had become too powerful, Hiruzen suddenly found a reason to pull him away from the frontline.
What a wonderfully shameless excuse.