Traces of killing intent seeped from everyone present, colliding with one another to form an invisible pressure that spread in all directions.
Hidan's gaze was fixed on Yuhi Kurenai, his eyes burning with fanatical murderous intent.
It was this red-eyed woman who had thwarted his sacrifices time and time again.
Hidan was itching to make his move — he would offer this red-eyed woman to Lord Jashin!
Kakashi kept a cautious watch on Uchiha Obito while using the corner of his eye to observe Sasuke standing beside him.
Sensing the cold indifference in Sasuke's gaze, Kakashi let out a deep, silent sigh from the bottom of his heart.
Just as the tension between the two sides reached its peak and combat seemed imminent, a voice echoed simultaneously in the minds of every Konoha shinobi — Kakashi, Yuhi Kurenai, Asuma, and Mitarashi Anko.
At the sound of the voice in their heads, Kakashi and the others all shifted slightly, their expressions flickering with confusion and disbelief.
"I'll offer every last one of you to Lord Jashin!"
Hidan let out a fanatical roar and charged forward first, racing toward the Konoha group's position.
Seeing this, Asuma and Kakashi exchanged a quick glance. Both wove seals simultaneously and pressed their hands to the ground.
With a massive rumble, the ground between the two sides heaved upward, forming an enormous earth wall that stretched across the battlefield.
Hidan reached the wall and began hacking at it furiously with his scythe.
Peering through the hole he had carved, Hidan froze.
The figures of Kakashi, Mitarashi Anko, and the others had already vanished.
Hidan stood there for a moment, then spoke in confusion.
"Interesting. The Konoha forces are pulling back?"
Uchiha Obito narrowed his eyes, studying the battlefield ahead. He was the first to sense the shift.
Large numbers of Konoha shinobi had begun disengaging from their opponents and retreating.
Naturally, the enemy would not simply let them walk away from the battlefield.
If the withdrawal was not handled properly, it could easily turn into a full-scale rout.
And so, the Konoha forces unleashed their stockpiled explosive tags, kunai, and shuriken in a relentless barrage, throwing them at the enemy without restraint.
The goal was to create a safe corridor for the withdrawing forces.
Even so, in the chaos of the retreat, the number of Konoha shinobi corpses on the battlefield grew.
The Konoha forces engaged with Iwagakure in the northwest and with Kirigakure in the southeast both began pulling back rapidly toward Konoha.
The defense lines established outside the village were quickly abandoned, one after another.
Neither the Iwagakure forces nor the Kirigakure forces were about to let such an opportunity slip. They gave chase relentlessly.
Had anyone been observing from the sky above, they would have seen what looked like a full-scale rout — Konoha shinobi streaming back in disarray.
But the reality was somewhat different.
To be precise, the initial retreat by the two main Konoha armies did bear some resemblance to a rout.
Yet as the two forces converged toward the village, the originally spread-out defense lines naturally began to contract.
The two great armies merged back into a single concentrated force. The rout-like appearance of the situation reversed in an instant.
Both the Iwagakure and Kirigakure forces began to feel the resistance growing steadily stronger.
Even so, the two allied forces still held a significant advantage.
Under this pincer attack, the Konoha forces finally retreated fully into Konoha.
One after another, large-scale barrier jutsu were deployed by Konoha's shinobi, enveloping the entire village within a protective barrier.
The Iwagakure and Kirigakure forces had effectively surrounded all of Konoha.
In the east, brilliant rays of sunlight pierced through the darkness, rising slowly over the horizon.
From the start of the fighting until now, nearly two days and a night had passed. Every shinobi — whether from Konoha, Iwagakure, or Kirigakure — wore an expression of deep exhaustion.
Once all of Konoha's shinobi had retreated inside the village, the Iwagakure and Kirigakure forces, as if by unspoken agreement, halted their advance simultaneously.
To continue fighting would mean entering the village itself.
Inside Konoha was the home turf of its shinobi. By that point, their resistance would only grow fiercer.
In short, both sides intended to rest before continuing. Chakra and stamina were nearly depleted for everyone.
Even though they all knew that during this respite, Konoha would use the time to prepare even more thoroughly.
There was simply no helping it. They could not assault the village with broken, exhausted bodies.
Terumi Mei stood at the highest point of a hill, raising a hand to her forehead to shield her eyes from the slightly piercing light of the newly risen sun. She gazed out toward the distant Konoha.
"Our Kirigakure is probably not even half the size of your Konoha."
Terumi Mei spoke softly, a faint smile on her face.
The morning breeze caught the hem of her blue strapless dress, sending it swaying gently.
Bathed in sunlight, Terumi Mei radiated an alluring, mature elegance from head to toe.
Terumi Mei finished speaking, then turned with a captivating smile to look at Tsunade behind her.
"I said I'd drive your forces back before dawn. It seems I kept my promise."
Terumi Mei let out a clear, amused laugh, casting a slightly triumphant glance at Tsunade.
Tsunade's eyebrows twitched and veins bulged at her temples.
Had she not been restrained and completely immobilized, Tsunade would have long since driven her fist straight into Terumi Mei's smug face.
Tsunade's expression was one of profound irritation as she glared at Terumi Mei, addressing her by name directly.
Terumi Mei arched an eyebrow and strode forward with elegant steps. She leaned down slightly before Tsunade, glaring back with equal annoyance.
"You old hag. You're what — over fifty? And you still dress like you're twenty."
"Those who know about your medical ninjutsu might understand. But anyone else would think you became Hokage through... other means."
Terumi Mei gave Tsunade a once-over and spoke with a tone laced with contempt and mockery.
If one listened carefully, however, a note of unmistakable envy could be heard beneath Terumi Mei's words.
Tsunade was already in her fifties, yet she looked noticeably younger than Terumi Mei.
As a fellow woman, how could Terumi Mei not be jealous?
"Oh, looks like you've got crow's feet forming at the corners of your eyes."
Tsunade arched a brow, her tone carrying a hint of defiance as she threw the barb back.
Terumi Mei's eyes widened, and she fired back with another mocking remark.
Faced with the bickering between Terumi Mei and Tsunade, the surrounding Kirigakure guards twitched at the eyes. They all quietly shuffled a few steps outward.
They were afraid of being caught in the crossfire if they stood too close.
They knew their Mizukage's temper all too well.
Terumi Mei was on the verge of exploding. One wrong move and anyone nearby could get caught up in it.
Terumi Mei and Tsunade glared at each other, neither willing to back down. The air between them seemed ready to spark at any moment.
Terumi Mei's gaze shifted first. The corner of her lips curled back into that enchanting smile.
"Give me your youth-preserving medical ninjutsu, and I'll let you go. How does that trade sound?"
Terumi Mei raised a finger to her lips and spoke to Tsunade in a tempting tone.
At Terumi Mei's words, a smile also appeared on Tsunade's face.
"Don't bother releasing me. Just let me punch you, hard, and I'll give you the jutsu."
Tsunade wore an equally captivating smile as she looked at Terumi Mei.
The tension that had briefly eased froze over once more.
Terumi Mei's face still held that mesmerizing smile, but her fists were clenched so tight they creaked.
Terumi Mei suppressed the urge to strike. She took a deep breath, then exhaled a cloud of white vapor from her mouth.
The moment the vapor appeared, the surrounding temperature jumped by two or three degrees in the blink of an eye.
Terumi Mei clicked her tongue and spoke in a bored tone.
Under Tsunade's watchful gaze, Terumi Mei straightened up and stretched lazily.
The frozen atmosphere vanished in an instant.
The mood between the two women settled back into calm, as though nothing had happened at all.
Tsunade broke the silence, her voice steady as she asked.
"Did you think this was some kind of game?"
Terumi Mei looked toward Konoha, her voice equally calm.
"Have you ever considered that by doing this, you're shattering a balance in the shinobi world that has held for nearly a century?"
"This will only cause more wars and more chaos!"
Tsunade's voice carried a note of passion as she fixed her gaze on Terumi Mei.
Terumi Mei did not answer right away. She simply gazed ahead in silence, lost in thought.
Then Terumi Mei slowly turned to face Tsunade.
"Whether this is right or wrong — I don't honestly know."
"But I know that someone has to do it. Just as your grandfather, Senju Hashirama, was the first to build a shinobi village."
"And all of you are followers and supporters of Senju Hashirama."
Terumi Mei paused here for a moment, her expression softening into a gentle smile, as if recalling something.
"And we are the followers and supporters of Lord Yuto."
"You know that in roughly sixty years, the shinobi world has seen three great wars. It has filled every village with suspicion and hostility toward the others."
"As time passes, that suspicion and hostility will only deepen. Even if we do nothing, one day the next great war will come regardless."
Terumi Mei took a deep breath, her gaze growing ever more resolute as she looked seriously at Tsunade.
"You, of all people, must understand how the future will unfold. And it's not just you — every village knows it too."
"Since everyone knows another war is coming, why has no one tried to change anything? Is this what you call maintaining the shinobi world's order? Or is it the price of peace?"
"Or perhaps — you simply lack the power to change it."
"Because everyone knows that no one trusts shinobi from other villages."
"Since you cannot change this pointless shinobi world order, then let us be the ones to reshape it."
Terumi Mei spoke with a light laugh, but the laugh was thick with mockery and disdain.
At Terumi Mei's words, Tsunade opened her mouth to retort — but the words died on her lips. She found she had nothing to say.
Tsunade fell silent.
Just as Terumi Mei said — even without Kirigakure starting this war, another conflict would likely erupt within three or four years.
This was something every single person could foresee.
No one could stop it. Or rather, no single individual could make any difference against such overwhelming historical momentum.
It involved the grievances among the Five Great Shinobi Villages and the distribution of interests between all parties.
Where there is war, there are winners and losers.
And the previous three great wars all erupted because the losers of the last war, having lost vast interests, amassed resentment until it boiled over into a new conflict.
To make another village relinquish its grudges, one would first have to surrender or abandon one's own hard-won interests.
Unequal distribution of interests, war, the losers becoming the new victims of unequal distribution, and then another war — the cycle would simply repeat.
[
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