The Third Raikage was dead — a result that surprised absolutely no one.
When he found himself surrounded by ten thousand Iwagakure shinobi under Ōnoki's command, he already knew his journey had reached its end. The overwhelming numerical advantage was not something even he, the strongest Raikage in history, could overturn by brute strength alone — especially now, when he had lost an arm and his power had greatly declined.
He no longer had the chance to return home and see his son again.
The only thing left he could do was buy time with his life, holding the line to secure a future for his wounded, possibly dying son — or perhaps for the new Fourth Raikage who would rise in his stead.
With a single Hell Stab (One-Finger Nukite), the Third Raikage pierced through the Iwagakure army's massive Earth Release barrier — but instead of escaping, he chose to stay behind at the exit and fight to the bitter end, preventing a single Iwa shinobi from getting through.
For an entire day and night, the one-armed Raikage fought like a raging god of war, covered head to toe in blood.
By the time his strength finally gave out, he had personally slain over a thousand Iwagakure shinobi.
Even in death, the Third Raikage died standing, his indomitable spirit unbroken.
Facing ten thousand enemies, not one could force him to his knees.
In this one-man war, he traded his life for the survival of five thousand Kumo shinobi, ensuring that Kumogakure would still have the power to defend itself after the Third Great Ninja War.
...
When the news spread, the entire shinobi world was shaken to its core.
No one had expected Ōnoki to ambush the Third Raikage at such a critical moment.
The situation, which had seemed so close to resolution, suddenly became murky again.
Up until now, everyone had believed the war would end with Konoha's final counterattack — whether they could defeat both Iwa and Kumo at once. But now that Ōnoki had stabbed the Raikage in the back, everything had changed.
Would Kumo now join forces with Konoha to take revenge on Iwa?
Or would Iwagakure seize the chaos and strike back harder than ever?
As the rest of the world speculated anxiously about what would happen next — Konoha finally made its move.
At the Land of Fire's border, inside Konoha's forward command tent, Hoshiyomi sat at the head of the great meeting table.
Below him sat a group of familiar faces —
Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Minato, Sakumo Hatake, Shinku, Nawaki, and several of Konoha's veteran elite jōnin.
Without question, the commanders who had previously been divided between the Kumo and Iwa fronts were now all gathered in one place.
Hoshiyomi looked at everyone below, cleared his throat, and got straight to the point:
"Everyone, I'm sure you all know why I've called this meeting."
The words had barely left his mouth before everyone below nodded enthusiastically, eyes burning with anticipation.
They all knew exactly what this meeting was for —
to end, once and for all, this Great Ninja War that had engulfed the entire shinobi world.
Among all the great powers, no one understood the situation better than Konoha.
While others speculated about whether Kumo would side with Konoha or Iwa, Konoha already knew the truth:
Kumogakure wouldn't side with anyone — because they no longer had the strength to fight.
With the Third Raikage dead and his successor lying critically injured, Kumogakure was finished.
That meant only one thing — the path was clear.
There was no need to give Iwagakure time to recover or regroup.
Now was the moment to strike, crush them completely, and end the war in Konoha's favor.
Forget the so-called Kannabi Bridge or the Kirigakure's surprise attacks — Hoshiyomi intended to end the entire war with one decisive campaign.
Seeing that everyone below had grasped his intentions, Hoshiyomi stated his plan directly:
"Since that's the case, there's nothing more to say.
The units that have been fighting Iwagakure will serve as the vanguard.
The forces that were stationed against Kumogakure will form the rear guard and support lines.
From this day forward — we launch our counterattack!"
Everyone stood at once, shouting in unison —
"Yes!"
Hearing the thunderous roar of the crowd's response, Hoshiyomi stood up and declared loudly:
"Tonight, we feast and reward the entire army!
At dawn, we march straight for Iwagakure!"
...
While every other village in the shinobi world was still speculating about how Konoha or Kumogakure might respond, Konoha's forces had already begun their counteroffensive.
Led by Hoshiyomi, Sakumo, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Minato — five Kage-level powerhouses — along with Shinku, Nawaki, and other elite jōnin, a force of five thousand shinobi advanced directly toward Iwagakure's borders.
Looking over the dazzling lineup before him, Hoshiyomi couldn't help clicking his tongue in amusement.
It's a pity Pakura, Kuugetsu, and the Old Man aren't here. If I could also pull in Shisui and Kakashi, who haven't yet emerged due to me solving Kirigakureproblem early...
With an all-star lineup like that, I could take on the full-strength Akatsuki organization! What's an Akatsuki? I'd crush them directly!
However, this luxurious lineup was overkill for just Iwagakure. A lineup like this... meant Ōnoki was fated to lose.
With that, Hoshiyomi clapped his hands sharply.
At once, a large group of field cooks came forward, each carrying massive jars of sake.
They poured out a small bowl of wine for every one of the five thousand Konoha shinobi.
Hoshiyomi raised his bowl first and shouted:
"Gentlemen, let us drink this toast to victory in advance! This battle is certain victory!"
Hearing such an extremely arrogant declaration, the morale of the five thousand Konoha shinobi instantly peaked. Throughout the contentious history of the shinobi world, which army dared to drink a toast to victory before the battle even began?
But this Konoha force dared!
The reason was none other than the group of powerhouses standing before them. Looking at those world-renowned powerhouses ahead of them, they had the confidence to say these words:
"Certain victory!"
As their collective battle cry thundered into the heavens, Hoshiyomi laughed heartily, drank down his wine in a single gulp, and smashed the bowl against the ground.
One by one, the rest followed suit —
Thousands of bowls shattered together, the sound echoing like a war drum.
The battlefield atmosphere ignited before the first blow had even been struck.
Behind him, Orochimaru and the others exchanged subtle glances.
Orochimaru looked at Hoshiyomi's radiant smile and thought, "This man… I wasn't wrong about him after all."
Beside him, Jiraiya shook his head and muttered,
"Honestly, Hoshiyomi — pushing forty and still showing off like a teenager."
Shinku laughed and said,
"You can tease him all you want, but you can't deny it — he really makes your blood boil!"
Nawaki chimed in cheerfully,
"Who can argue with that?"
Minato gazed up at Hoshiyomi soaring above them, his eyes full of admiration.
"As expected of sensei," he thought. "Even if I do become the Fifth Hokage someday… I doubt I'll ever reach his level."
Hoshiyomi, oblivious to everyone's thoughts, was lost in his own heroic fervor.
With dramatic flair, he formed a hand seal, and with a flash —
Grass Long Sword, Kusanagi Blade, slid from its sheath on its own.
Stepping onto the floating sword, Hoshiyomi shot into the sky, wind swirling around him.
Drawing his Mikazuki Munechika from his waist, he pointed it toward the direction of Iwagakure and shouted:
"Move out! Follow me, and let's end this war together!"