The war between Konoha and the Hidden Stone seemed to have ended in a rather absurd way.
However, the Hidden Stone did not declare its withdrawal from the Great Ninja War. Like the Cloud Village, they announced a temporary strategic retreat.
This immediately displeased the Cloud Village.
What right did they have to issue the same announcement?
What had the Cloud Village paid in exchange for their retreat?
The sacrifice of the Eight-Tails jinchūriki.
The loss of several elite jonin.
Three thousand Cloud shinobi casualties.
And the ticking time bomb still hidden within the Land of Lightning.
And what about the Hidden Stone?
A luxurious seven-day tour of the Land of Fire, was it?
Comparing the two was infuriating. Why did Konoha hit the Cloud Village so hard, yet go easy on them?
And that damn Hatake Sakumo—where exactly was he hiding? Why couldn't they find him?
"Ah-choo! Who's thinking about me? Sigh… such a hard-working life."
At this moment, Hatake Sakumo was on his way to the battlefield between Konoha and the Sand Village.
After the Hidden Stone withdrew its forces, Aburame Shiken informed Nara Shikaku that the Cloud Village would not send troops.
The Stone had restrained Konoha—and at the same time, it would restrain the Cloud Village as well.
Moreover, after losing three thousand shinobi, the Cloud Village would never dare make any moves before the Stone army mobilized.
Compared to Konoha, which lacked high-end combat power, the Hidden Stone—having suffered minimal losses—and Ōnoki, who had inherited Dust Release, were far more dangerous.
Back during the First Great War, when the Second Raikage and Second Hokage signed their agreement, they must have considered how to deal with the Hidden Stone. Even though they failed later, it was impossible to guess what Ōnoki truly thought.
And as everyone knew, a ninja war was essentially a story of everyone ganging up on Konoha. If they couldn't beat Konoha, they'd grab benefits elsewhere, then turn on each other.
So there was no point in Hatake Sakumo staying in the Cloud Village any longer.
If the Hidden Stone didn't move, the Cloud Village wouldn't move either. And with the Third Raikage stationed there, Sakumo couldn't cause any trouble anyway.
He might as well go fight the Sand Village instead.
The war had already dragged on for quite some time—perhaps the Second Kazekage would make a move soon.
Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Ryoha's side might not be able to hold on much longer.
After understanding Aburame Shiken's reasoning, Nara Shikaku quickly sent word to Hatake Sakumo, who was at the border of the Land of Lightning.
Why the border? Because he'd been forced out.
The Cloud Village had practically turned the Land of Lightning upside down trying to find him.
After receiving Nara Shikaku's message, Hatake Sakumo immediately set off toward the Land of Wind.
Finally, no more hiding. He couldn't be happier.
...
Meanwhile, in the Land of Rivers—
The Sand shinobi, who had already pushed into the Land of Fire battlefield, were holding a major war council.
The Third Kazekage sat at the head.
"Rasa, are you confident you can take down that Inuzuka?"
Rasa glanced at the deep claw mark on his arm, now scabbed over, and gritted his teeth.
"No confidence. He's too fast. My gold dust can't catch him."
"And Karura? Even with her support? Her sand techniques surpass instinct itself when it comes to defense."
"No. And that Inuzuka boy also has an Inuzuka girl assisting him. They even have a combination technique."
Rasa thought back to that massive four-headed wolf. If they couldn't win, they just merged—what kind of nonsense was that?
"A combination technique?"
The Third Kazekage frowned. Weren't the Inuzuka just dog-raisers? What kind of combination technique could they have?
"A gigantic four-headed wolf. Two of the heads can even spit out ninjutsu. Its claws can release incredibly powerful wind blades. It's like those giant summoned beasts."
"Gigantic? How big exactly?"
"About the size of Shukaku."
Rasa had seen the Third Kazekage suppress the rampaging Shukaku before.
"What? The size of a tailed beast, capable of using ninjutsu, and possessing human intelligence? Isn't that just another kind of tailed beast? No wonder Konoha doesn't treat tailed beasts as anything special. Konoha is truly unfathomable…"
The Third Kazekage sighed.
"There's another issue," Chiyo added.
"We've been fighting Konoha for nearly half a month, yet we haven't obtained a single corpse of an Inuzuka shinobi—not even a ninja dog."
"What? The Inuzuka secret techniques aren't that strong. That white-haired kid must be a rare genius among them!"
Rasa was shocked. Could it be that the one he fought was just an ordinary Inuzuka? Impossible—absolutely impossible.
"It's not that their techniques are strong—it's that their tactics are disgusting."
Chiyo's son spoke up and explained the puppet corps' encounters with the Inuzuka.
"Our puppets can't even get close to them.
Their sense of smell lets them distinguish puppets from real people.
The moment our puppets charge in, we're met with a barrage of kunai and Explosive Tags.
When we try to fight them head-on, they retreat immediately.
When we withdraw, they chase us.
They never engage in close combat—just endless kunai and Explosive Tags.
These past few days, our puppet forces have been tormented terribly."
After hearing this, the Sand Village's upper ranks all felt just how revolting that tactic was.
"Third Kazekage, it's time we start considering how to withdraw from this war. The Cloud and Stone Villages are already showing signs of pulling out. I've heard the Mist Village isn't doing well either. If we continue advancing, Konoha's next target will likely be us."
Ebizo said.
"What are you talking about? We hold absolute superiority on the battlefield right now. Konoha should be the one begging for mercy!"
One of the Sand's higher-ups retorted.
"Superiority? What superiority do we have?
Our sand techniques have already been greatly weakened in the Land of Rivers. In the Land of Fire, where water and vegetation are even more abundant, it's worse.
Our wind techniques have to tear through over a dozen trees before even reaching Konoha's shinobi. What effect can such wind and sand techniques possibly have?"
"And…"
Ebizo glanced at his sister, then gritted his teeth.
"Even Chiyo's poisons have been mostly countered by Tsunade."
Hearing this, the Third Kazekage immediately looked at Chiyo.
She nodded weakly.
"The sixty-four poisons I prepared in the Sand Village have nearly all been broken. As for poisons made from local materials here… Tsunade is even more familiar with them than I am."
With Chiyo's confirmation, the Third Kazekage finally abandoned some of his previous thoughts.
At that moment, he recalled something his teacher once told him:
"Magnet Release is the Sand Village's only way out of this desert. It must be passed down."
So, teacher… you had already seen the Sand Village's weakness back then?
Wind and sand techniques that were invincible in the desert became so heavily restricted upon arriving in the Land of Fire.
And yet, aside from the Land of Fire, what other direction did the Sand Village even have?
To the south lay the vast ocean.
To the north—the rain-soaked Land of Rain, and the Land of Demons, said to harbor supernatural entities.
To the west—an even more barren desert than the Land of Wind itself.
Only to the east—the Land of Fire—was there any viable path.
"This war cannot continue. But the Sand Village needs a dignified exit… and my teacher needs a great victory to bring things to a close."