Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the Konoha ninja army, once again reduced to a tragic state, and was swallowed by utter rage and despair. Although Konoha's forces had killed a great number of serpents from Ryūchi Cave, those creatures possessed no will of their own. In the end, they were nothing more than animals. Even if they originated from one of the Three Great Sage Regions, the beasts roaming around Ryūchi Cave held no real value at all.
It was no different from the snakes summoned through Orochimaru's forbidden techniques. No matter how many died, the caster wouldn't care-and Ryūchi Cave itself wouldn't care either. The true inhabitants of Ryūchi Cave were the higher beings: creatures with intelligence, self-awareness, and even the ability to communicate and speak. Ordinary snakes, in their eyes, were merely an inferior breed. Exchanging the lives of so many elite Konoha ninja for these expendable creatures was a loss so painful that it nearly tore Hiruzen apart.
Konoha had already been weakened through repeated wars, and Chiba's Night of the Uchiha Rebellion had dealt a devastating blow to Hiruzen's direct forces-the ANBU, Root, the Sarutobi clan, and the Shimura clan. This battle only made things worse.
Seeing Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama both frozen solid, Orochimaru's expression turned grim. It was obvious that the current level of refinement of Edo Tensei was utterly incapable of standing against Chiba's power. Afraid that his two strongest trump cards might be truly sealed away, Orochimaru immediately dispelled the technique, sending their souls back to the Pure Land. The frozen bodies crumbled into dust, revealing the two ninja used as sacrifices-now undeniably dead.
With Hashirama and Tobirama defeated, the ANBU, Root, and the Sarutobi and Shimura clans suffered losses exceeding half their remaining strength. The battlefield had completely tipped to one side. Jiraiya and Mount Myōboku's three main combatants were fully restrained by the elders of Ryūchi Cave and their elite serpents-Manda, Aoda, the second-generation Manda, Xinya, and others-leaving them no room to reinforce elsewhere.
Once Chiba confirmed that the Hyūga Clan had successfully escaped, he had no intention of dragging the fight out any longer. With a single command, the serpents of Ryūchi Cave unleashed their final, all-out assault. The White Snake Sage, Tagitsuhime, Ichikishimahime, Tagorihime, Xinya, Manda, the second-generation Manda, Aoda, along with countless two-headed and three-headed serpents, surged forward like a roaring tide. The Konoha ninja army collapsed across the entire front, fleeing in panic on their own land, formations completely shattered.
Realizing the situation was beyond saving, Hiruzen knew that continuing to resist would only lead to even heavier losses. Suppressing his fury, he ordered a full retreat, remaining behind with Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Hatake Kakashi, Might Guy, and Yamato to cover the withdrawal. The five peak combatants of Konoha struck together, unleashing their ultimate techniques in a desperate rear-guard stand. Their chakra merged into a single cataclysmic surge, like crashing waves and a raging tsunami, roaring toward the serpents of Ryūchi Cave with power enough to split mountains and destroy everything in its path.
Chiba, however, merely smiled. With a single thought, he released the summoning contract. In an instant, every serpent vanished without a trace, leaving only the countless corpses of fallen Konoha ninja scattered across the battlefield. Hiruzen's all-out strike failed to hit a single enemy and instead pulverized the bodies of his own fallen soldiers into dust.
In that moment, Hiruzen and the others all stiffened, their expressions changing dramatically. From beginning to end, they had been completely toyed with. Chiba smiled faintly and spoke with calm mockery, asking whether Hiruzen was truly so ruthless toward his own village-so ruthless that even after suffering such losses, he wouldn't leave their bodies intact. The words drove Hiruzen into uncontrollable fury.
Yet Chiba had no intention of lingering. He still needed to check on the situation with Mei Terumī and Tsunade, and to confirm whether the Hyūga Clan had fully escaped Konoha. With a soft bang, his figure vanished from the battlefield.
Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru stood in stunned silence, staring at the pulverized remains on the ground and at the elite forces behind them, reduced by more than half. Shock, rage, and helplessness weighed heavily on everyone. Jiraiya finally sighed, admitting that they had truly underestimated Chiba. He never imagined Chiba could force all of Ryūchi Cave into submission, even turning the White Snake Sage into a loyal summon. Orochimaru let out a cold chuckle, confessing that even he had never truly tamed a summon like Manda and had no idea how Chiba managed it. Kakashi could only smile bitterly, lamenting that not only had the Hyūga Clan successfully defected, but Konoha itself had paid a humiliating price.
Hiruzen clenched his fist and roared Chiba's name into the air.
Meanwhile, Chiba was already heading toward the other side of Konoha. There, Tsunade, Mei Terumī, and Shizune-responsible for the diversion-were facing off against Shimura Danzō and his Root subordinates. For reasons unclear, Danzō had avoided truly engaging them, likely in an attempt to preserve Root's strength. Tsunade had already defected, and fighting her now would only mean needless casualties. Though he appeared to follow Hiruzen's orders, Danzō had never intended to act in earnest.
When Chiba arrived, Danzō retreated even further. He remarked coolly that it seemed he wouldn't be able to keep Tsunade there today, and that they would meet again on a future battlefield. Tsunade snorted, mocking him as a coward who hid away and telling him not to flatter himself. Danzō fell silent.
Chiba burst into laughter, reminded of the original battle during Pain's invasion-Tsunade fighting fiercely on the surface while Danzō and Root hid underground like turtles. It was clear that Tsunade knew Danzō's true nature all too well. Danzō gave a cold snort and chose not to argue, clearly wary that if Chiba joined the fight, he might not even escape with his life. He immediately led Root in retreat.
Chiba regrouped with Tsunade, Mei Terumī, and Shizune, and they quickly exchanged updates from both battlefields. When Tsunade heard that even Senju Hashirama had been summoned through Edo Tensei, her expression turned complex. After a brief silence, she shook her head calmly.
"I was forced into this," she said. "Even if I were to meet my grandfather face to face, I wouldn't be afraid to speak my mind."
Mei Terumī placed a hand on Tsunade's shoulder, giving her a light pat.
"Alright. We should go check on the Hyūga Clan's situation."
Chiba nodded, and the group mounted the massive ice bird, quickly heading toward the outskirts of Konoha.
Before long, they spotted the enormous serpent convoy in the distance. The snakes had already left the village and were moving steadily toward the coastline. Chiba guided the ice bird downward, descending slowly until they hovered above the colossal serpents.
Hyūga Hiashi looked up at Chiba, shock written all over his face. The sight stirred memories from years ago-the night of the Uchiha rebellion. Back then, the surviving Uchiha had escaped Konoha riding these very same giant ice birds. Now, it was the Hyūga Clan riding the great serpents of Ryūchi Cave as they fled.
The irony of fate was overwhelming, almost surreal.
Standing atop the serpent's head, Hiashi solemnly knelt.
"Thank you, Mizukage-sama, for saving the entire Hyūga Clan!"
Seeing their clan head kneel, every other Hyūga followed suit, bowing deeply in unison to express their gratitude.
Chiba smiled gently. "There's no need for formalities. From this day forward, you are the Hyūga Clan of Kirigakure. We're all on the same side now. Naturally, we'll face our enemies together."
Hiashi let out a long sigh. "To think… we truly managed to break away from Konoha. Even now, it feels like a dream."
Hyūga Neji spoke quietly, his voice filled with emotion. "Meeting the Mizukage that day felt like destiny. Looking back now, it was an incredible stroke of fortune. Otherwise, the Hyūga Clan's fate… who knows how it would have ended."
"Either we'd continue to endure endless humiliation," he continued, "or we'd be wiped out completely, just like the Senju Clan-erased by Hiruzen Sarutobi."
The rest of the Hyūga were already aware of Hiruzen's actions. At this moment, they felt nothing but relief and overwhelming gratitude toward Chiba, the man who had saved them.
Hinata and Hanabi stared at him with wide, shining eyes, their expressions full of admiration. To them, Chiba had always been a hero-an idol-but also the Mizukage of another village, someone impossibly distant. Now, that same figure had become family.
The thought that they would be able to see him often from now on filled both sisters with joy. Though there was some nostalgia for their homeland, what they felt more strongly was excitement and anticipation for the future.
Along the way, neither Konoha nor the Land of Fire attempted another pursuit. It was as if they had completely given up-perhaps because their losses were simply too great to continue chasing.
Soon, Chiba led Tsunade and the Hyūga Clan to the coast, where ships from Kirigakure were waiting. They boarded and set sail for the Mist Village.
…
At the same time, inside Konoha's Hokage Office, the atmosphere was suffocating.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in silence alongside Danzō Shimura and Koharu Utatane. Jiraiya and Orochimaru were there as well.
Even Danzō hadn't expected things to turn out this badly. He had deliberately held back on his end, yet Hiruzen's battlefield had turned into a slaughter. The entirety of Ryūchi Cave had been summoned, Konoha had suffered devastating losses, and they had utterly failed to stop the Hyūga Clan's defection.
The Uchiha had defected. Tsunade had defected. Now even the Hyūga Clan had defected-and all of them had joined Kirigakure, becoming its strength against Konoha.
Enough was enough.
Koharu glanced at Hiruzen. "Hiruzen… how severe were the casualties this time?"
Hiruzen's voice was cold. "Severe. The ANBU, Root, the Sarutobi Clan, the Shimura Clan-forces that hadn't even recovered yet-were all hit hard again. At this point, they can no longer be sent directly onto the battlefield."
The word battlefield made everyone's expressions shift.
Danzō frowned. "Hiruzen… are you saying you want to start a war?"
Hiruzen slammed his fist on the desk. "Do we even have another choice?! The Uchiha joined Kirigakure. Tsunade joined Kirigakure. Now the Hyūga Clan has joined Kirigakure as well! If this continues, who will be next? Which clan will be next?!"
"If we don't fight back now, Konoha will be slowly weakened, carved up, and swallowed whole by that bastard Chiba and Kirigakure. By the time we finally decide to act, we won't even have the strength to go to war!"
Silence fell over the room.
Everyone understood that Hiruzen's fears were justified. This was likely Chiba's goal all along. Still, the question remained-if they went to war now, could they truly defeat Kirigakure?
Doubt filled their hearts.
The only one who seemed genuinely excited was Orochimaru. After all, he didn't truly belong to Konoha anymore. The village's survival meant little to him. What he cared about were his own desires-Uchiha Sasuke and Kimimaro Kaguya.
For that, a war with Kirigakure was inevitable. As for how much Konoha would lose in the process, he couldn't care less.
Orochimaru let out a low, amused chuckle. "Sensei… you've finally made up your mind."
"Don't worry. I'll give you my full support in this war. Even if the entire Sound Village is wiped out, even if all the subordinates I gathered die, it doesn't matter-as long as I get what I want."
Those words were spoken without the slightest hesitation. He felt no attachment to the Sound Village or his followers. If sacrificing them would help him achieve his goals, he would do it without a second thought.
Hiruzen nodded. "Then it's decided. War is unavoidable. As Hokage, I've made my resolve."
"We'll unite every force we can and make Kirigakure pay."
He looked around the room. "Danzō, Koharu-you'll coordinate ANBU, Root, the Sarutobi Clan, the Shimura Clan, and all the forces we've cultivated in secret."
"I'll mobilize everything Konoha can send to the battlefield. The Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi, Aburame, Inuzuka-all of them must respond to my command. Anyone who refuses will be treated as a traitor!"
"I'll also contact Sunagakure and launch a joint assault on Kirigakure."
"Orochimaru, the Sound Village and all your subordinates will also take part."
"Jiraiya, you'll contact Mount Myōboku. Under the banner of countering Ryūchi Cave, they should be willing to deploy more of their forces."
Hiruzen slammed his hand onto the desk and stood up.
"This time… it will be the decisive battle between Konoha and Kirigakure!"
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