Tsunade lifted her head and looked over Konoha, more than half of which had been destroyed, and for a moment she fell silent.
In this battle, she had no idea how many civilians and shinobi of the Leaf had died.
This was the village her grandpa had left behind. No matter what, she would protect it.
After a long while, Tsunade raised her head and glanced at Jiraiya beside her, who was also silent. Her voice gradually returned to its usual hearty tone:
"So, are you worrying about that kid now?"
Jiraiya froze for a moment, then gave a small nod. Of course he knew exactly who Tsunade meant by "that kid."
"Who is that child, really? It can't be as simple as just being a jinchūriki," Tsunade murmured, a thoughtful light flashing through her eyes.
A complicated look crossed Jiraiya's face, his tone tinged with guilt as he said,
"He's Minato and Kushina's child."
Tsunade's expression first turned to stunned disbelief, then a cold smile curled her lips.
"So it's just another one of those boring decisions made by the old upper brass, huh."
She turned, her gaze locking onto Jiraiya.
"Since the old man handed the burden of Hokage to you before he died, I expect you to sit in that Hokage seat properly."
With that, before Jiraiya could answer, Tsunade turned and started walking toward the village. At the same time, her calm voice drifted back to his ears:
"I'll stay and help you."
Jiraiya's spirit jolted, but then a wry smile spread across his face as he muttered helplessly to himself,
"I actually wanted you to be Hokage instead…"
——
Land of Lightning, Cloud Village.
Raikage's office.
Boom!
The Fourth Raikage A, face twisted with rage, smashed his fist down and turned the desk in front of him into splinters.
The entire Raikage building trembled from the blow.
It was like a small earthquake had just hit this part of the village.
Standing not far away, Mabui couldn't help the pained flicker that passed through her eyes as she looked at the ruined desk, but she didn't dare say a word right now.
"Damn Mist-nin, they actually dared to scheme against this old man!"
The Fourth Raikage roared again, raising his fist and swinging it out.
Unfortunately, the only desk left in the office had already been destroyed, so his punch only slammed into empty air, producing a sharp sonic boom.
Only after a long time did the furious Fourth Raikage finally manage to calm himself a little.
"How is Darui doing now?"
He turned toward Mabui as he asked, a note of concern in his voice.
Mabui had just opened her mouth to answer when the door to the office was pushed open.
Darui stepped inside, most of his body wrapped in bandages.
His face was twisted with pain as he dropped to one knee with a dull thump, his voice hoarse as he said,
"I'm sorry, Raikage-sama… I failed to bring them back."
"This isn't your fault. If anyone is to blame, it's me, for being negligent as Raikage. Whether it's the Leaf or the Mist, this old man will definitely settle this score!"
Murderous intent radiated from the Fourth Raikage as he spoke in an icy tone.
Then he reached out and pulled Darui up.
"Raikage-sama, Killer B-sama has been trapped by the Leaf. No matter what, we have to rescue him first," Darui said urgently.
Even setting aside Killer B's relationship with the Fourth Raikage, the Tailed Beast alone could never be allowed to fall under another village's control.
The Fourth Raikage's gaze flickered. Compared to his hatred for the Mist, rescuing Killer B was indeed the top priority right now.
Land of Earth, Rock Village.
Tsuchikage's office.
Compared to the Raikage's office, which had been roaring with fury, the Tsuchikage's office was strangely quiet—so quiet it felt almost suffocating.
Onoki sat silently in his chair, outwardly calm, but his face had gone a shade of green.
Standing beside him, Kurotsuchi looked just as grim.
After a long silence, Onoki suddenly let out a few chuckles, but there was nothing warm in them—only a biting cold.
"Good… very good. This old man has lived to such an age, and I actually got outplayed by a little girl."
"And the Leaf as well. After all these years, they still had a trump card like that hidden away. I truly underestimated them."
Onoki's tone was even, but his expression was heavy.
Of the entire Rock-nin army, aside from Kitsuchi, Akatsuchi, and two bodyguards, every other Rock-nin had been wiped out.
If he hadn't already weathered countless storms in his life, he probably would have spat blood on the spot.
"Kitsuchi, Akatsuchi, and those two guards—they're all right, aren't they?" Onoki turned to Kurotsuchi and asked calmly.
Kurotsuchi shook her head. "They're fine, old man. Aside from severe over-exhaustion, Akatsuchi-uncle and the others don't have any serious injuries."
Then she glanced at Onoki with worry and asked carefully,
"And you? Are you sure your body's okay?"
Onoki froze for a moment, then suddenly sprang up from his seat and shouted,
"This old man's body is strong as ever! I don't need a little brat like you worrying about me!"
Crack! Crack!
No sooner had he spoken than Onoki clutched his lower back with both hands, a cry of pain ripping from his mouth.
"Ah—my back! My back!"
Kurotsuchi could only give a helpless look as she hurried forward to support him.
Only after quite a while did Onoki finally recover, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead as he said in a grave tone,
"More than the Mist, it's the Leaf that has trapped Han. Looks like they're planning to use him as a bargaining chip with us."
"But this time, I don't intend to let the Leaf off lightly. Hiding a technique like that… the Leaf is far more dangerous than the Mist is right now."
"And there's also that powerhouse suspected to be from the Uzumaki clan. Kurotsuchi, personally send people to investigate the Uzumaki who survived back then. We should be able to uncover some clues."
Onoki's face was calm as he coolly analyzed the situation.
Kurotsuchi nodded, then turned and quickly left the office.
This war, in which the Four Great Villages had joined forces to attack the Leaf, had come to an end.
It had begun quickly and ended just as quickly.
Many small countries and minor villages had only just received word of the war when it was already over.
Never before in the history of the shinobi world had the four great villages united to crush a single village.
And yet under those circumstances, Konoha had not been destroyed.
Instead, with the Mokuton (Wood Release) ninjutsu that had once made the First Hokage famous, the Leaf shattered the combined forces of all four villages.
Worse still, the Mist contingent among the allied armies—despite suffering the lightest losses—had suddenly turned on their allies at the end, and nearly annihilated the remaining troops of the Cloud, Rock, and Sand.
By the time the dust settled, the only true beneficiary was the Mist, whose presence had always seemed the weakest among the Five Great Villages.
When most of the powers in the shinobi world received this news, they were all left stunned.
Both the Cloud and the Rock had suffered heavy losses—not only had their forces been devastated, but their own Tailed Beast jinchūriki had been left behind in the Leaf.
As for the Sand, their jinchūriki had been stolen away by the Mist. At least the Cloud and Rock still had one jinchūriki left.
But the Sand had only ever had one, and that lone jinchūriki had been snatched by the Mist. The shock this dealt to the entire Sand Village was easy to imagine.
For a village, a Tailed Beast did not only represent overwhelming combat power; it was also a symbol of that village's strength.
Facing the four great villages, each reeling from terrible losses, the shinobi world was like a tranquil lake into which a massive boulder had suddenly been dropped—dark currents surged everywhere at once.
Countless shinobi forces, large and small, began to stir.
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