Gravity Jutsu, Stone Spike Technique, and Gates' powerful claws and bite strength made dealing with a Tailed Beast whose arms were restrained quite easy.
Especially since the actions of the One-tailed Shukaku were not very fast, and with Gates watching, it was difficult for Shukaku to unleash the Tailed Beast Ball or Ninjutsu. If Shukaku showed signs of using Ninjutsu, Gates' paws would pound on Shukaku's head repeatedly like a relentless Mount Tai.
Upon learning this news, Rasa immediately dispatched reinforcements to assist Chiyo.
However, just as the reinforcements were sent, Jiraiya attacked with his summoned beasts.
Though Jiraiya did not bring many people, with the help of two toads, the battle with the Hidden Sand was fiercely contested.
Rasa quickly realized it was a retaliatory strike with a hidden agenda from Konoha, so he ordered his troops to rally the reinforcements at the rear to counterattack Konoha. During this time, as Konoha dispatched ninja support, the Hidden Sand did not remain idle.
They aimed to fully seize the resources of the Land of Rivers, and even reduced troop numbers in the war against the Hidden Mist Village, sending many ninja reinforcements to the Land of Rivers.
This time, Rasa intended to use the rear ninja reinforcements to counterattack Konoha and completely capture Kikyo Castle.
But despite sending three waves of signaling troops, only one person returned with bad news for Rasa.
The Hidden Rain sent troops into the Land of Rivers, intercepting the reinforcements at the rear from the Hidden Sand.
Now Rasa understood why Konoha dared to counterattack; they had allied with the Hidden Rain Village.
Upon hearing this news, Rasa became worried about the situation on Shukaku's end. Konoha clearly had planned a counterattack, and if something happened to Shukaku, the strength of the Hidden Sand Village would be greatly diminished.
Thinking this, Rasa grew anxious, but even if he was concerned, Jiraiya wouldn't let him pass easily.
The war and slaughter persisted from morning until night.
Many ninjas became tired, and the Konoha ninjas attacking the Hidden Sand could hardly hold on. Even the two large toads had to retreat once, and after switching to new ones, they continued fighting for a while before retreating again.
Only when the timing was right did Jiraiya order a retreat.
Rasa initially wanted to pursue but feared an ambush, so he did not chase after Jiraiya and the Konoha ninjas, instead sending many to gather information.
Soon after Rasa dispatched personnel, Chiyo returned with a group of Hidden Sand ninjas.
Simultaneously, she brought bad news that Bunboku was about to collapse and urgently needed to be returned to the village to reseal Shukaku.
In the absence of a suitable container, Shukaku had to be sealed back into the altar while waiting for a suitable Jinchuriki container to be found for Shukaku to be sealed inside.
Rasa's face became grim at the news, but he had no other choice; otherwise, if Bunboku died, they would have to search for Shukaku's whereabouts again within a few years and capture and seal it once more.
When Bunboku was sent back, Chiyo also had to follow because she was the ninja who presided over the seal transfer, and without her, the process wouldn't work.
This resulted in the Hidden Sand losing two strong figures on the Land of Rivers battlefield, leaving Rasa struggling to handle the powerful Konoha ninjas alone.
"Retreat, tighten the defenses!"
Rasa didn't want to concede quickly; they had achieved significant results upfront, and handing it over was a real pity. So, he gathered the Hidden Sand ninjas and retreated to the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers, tightening their defenses.
However, Konoha and the Hidden Rain did not let the Hidden Sand off because of Rasa's retreating direction. The ninjas from the two villages continued attacking, suppressing the Hidden Sand.
Without the One-tailed and Chiyo, Hidden Sand struggled against the three large Summoned Beasts from Konoha.
Especially the Earth Bear, Gates!
Not only was there the interference of the Gravity Jutsu in its vicinity, but it also had an extremely tough Magic Shield on its body. The Hidden Sand could damage the two toads with Explosive Tags, but it wasn't as easy with the Earth Bear.
The Hidden Sand ninjas risked their lives getting through the Gravity Jutsu area and carefully avoided the Stone Spike Technique's attack. But when they pulled out Explosive Tags, they realized they couldn't break the Earth Bear's Magic Shield, getting slapped to death instead.
In such an attack, the Hidden Sand grew more perilous, persisting for less than two months before Rasa decided to concede.
However, even in conceding, Rasa did not intend to sign a defeat document but instead decided to sign a peace agreement with Konoha.
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"Finally it's over!"
The decision for the Hidden Sand to sign a peace agreement spread through the Konoha camp, causing many Konoha ninjas to celebrate joyfully.
Uzumaki Minami was also quite delighted internally, for she had spent about half a year on the front lines, initially focused on healing the wounded and configuring poisons, but in recent months she had to manage the medical camp and fight in battles.
Now on the Land of Rivers front line, Uzumaki Minami was praised as the strongest Medical Ninja after Lady Tsunade.
Each time Uzumaki Minami heard such a title, she would humbly shake her head in refusal, though other Konoha ninjas truly believed so.
Medical ninjas typically did not engage in combat Ninjutsu and were generally protected by other ninjas in battle. Tsunade was different; the title of the Sannin was earned through fighting, and the conventional rules for medical ninja self-protection were set for other medical ninjas.
Only the final rule for Medical Ninjas was personally set by Tsunade for herself.
But Uzumaki Minami broke that rule too. Although she could not use the Strength of a Hundred Seal, with the unique Bloodline Sealing of the Uzumaki Race, the Vajra Seal, and the aid of the Earth Bear, she was invincible on the Land of Rivers battlefield.
On the seventh day after the Hidden Sand announced the end of the war with intentions to sign a peace agreement, Jiraiya gathered all the Jonin from the front lines, including the head of the medical team, Uzumaki Minami, and said to them,
"The Hidden Sand has confirmed their surrender. Once the negotiations conclude and the peace agreement is signed, ninjas on the front lines will gradually retreat. However, the medical team and injured personnel can leave and return to the village early. Our team has confirmed that the Hidden Sand Village will not resume warfare..."
Jiraiya announced this good news with a smile. He decided to let the medical team depart first because it was confirmed that the Hidden Sand had already sent a troop back and had no strength to resume warfare.
"For the ninjas sacrificed on the battlefield, the village will provide compensation and rewards. The victory over the Hidden Sand will not be forgotten by the village nor the efforts of those ninjas."
After Jiraiya finished speaking, everyone turned to look at Uchiha Seitaro and Uzumaki... In their view, the surname of Uzumaki Minami might as well have been Uchiha, as the Uchiha Race contributed a lot on the Land of Rivers battlefield.
Uzumaki Minami's Medical Ninjutsu and antidote were crucial factors in defeating the Hidden Sand, along with Uchiha Yashiro, who bravely blocked the Hidden Sand's support during the counterattack.
He faced three enemies alone, killing two of the Hidden Sand Jonin.
Afterwards, the Uchiha Race sent thirty more ninjas with remarkable performances; it could be said that their contribution was at least one-fifth in the victory on the Land of Rivers battlefield against the Hidden Sand.
During the distribution of credit, their portion was at least over one-fifth!
Uzumaki Minami inquired, "Lord Jiraiya, when can the medical team and the injured depart?"
Jiraiya pondered and said, "Leave tomorrow morning. Although the war has ended, a group consisting solely of the medical team and injured is still somewhat dangerous. Shikaku, you select four mission teams to accompany the medical team back to Konoha; I'll remain here awaiting the negotiators."
Nara Shikaku nodded upon hearing this and said, "Understood, Lord Jiraiya."
After the meeting concluded, upon returning, Uzumaki Minami was flattered by her fellow medical team members. Upon returning to the village, she was definitely going to become a Medical Jonin and possibly promoted to a high position within Konoha Hospital.
Through the course of the war, Uzumaki Minami's Medical Ninjutsu improved greatly; if Tsunade were absent, she could very well be Konoha's foremost Medical Ninja.
However, Uzumaki Minami didn't care about such status. Upon returning, she rolled over in bed, laughing gleefully, knowing that in two days she would be able to see Lord Yoichi.