The Third Unit immediately headed toward the remaining battlefields.
On the way, Senju Touka received a letter brought by a ninja hawk; she took a quick look and said to the others: "The battle of the First and Second Units has ended. The assault of the main Kumogakure Ninja force has been blocked, and they have been forced to retreat."
Everyone was very happy to hear this; in this way, the surprise attack plan of Kumogakure could be considered a complete failure.
However, they hadn't been happy for long before Senju Touka poured cold water on them.
"Don't be happy too soon; the Kumogakure Ninjas haven't returned to the Land of Lightning."
Senju Touka frowned and said: "Most of the towns along the way that were breached by the Land of Lightning have been occupied by the Land of Lightning's Samurai Corps. Now they are using these as strongholds to build defensive lines. The Second Hokage intended to launch a surprise attack, but unfortunately, the First and Second Units suffered significant losses, and coupled with the arrival of the Land of Lightning's Samurai, they had no choice but to rest and regroup."
"So, does this mean we are entering a long-term war?" Danzo asked.
"That is exactly what it means," Senju Touka said. "Although there is no need to rush now, as neither the Kumogakure side nor our side has any intention of attacking immediately, it is still better to reach the main force early."
The Third Unit set off again; if they only took the main roads, it would definitely take a lot of time to arrive, but Ninjas are different from samurai; their organizational form ensures they can run through terrain that large troops cannot pass.
Thus, after taking some difficult shortcuts, the Third Unit arrived at the location where the other units were stationed.
"See that? That's the place," Hyūga Kei pointed out the location of the main force to Senju Touka.
After Senju Touka led the Third Unit closer, she saw that a camp had already been established there; this would be the pre-war command post for Konohagakure.
Subsequently, a squad came out from the camp and headed toward the Third Unit.
Leading them was a member of the Senju Clan; upon seeing Senju Touka, he said respectfully: "Lady Momoka, welcome back."
He then added: "I presume you know the rules."
Senju Touka nodded; Ninja impersonation techniques are diverse, and although there were no obvious suspicious points, it still needed to be verified.
Senju Touka and the Senju Clan member first exchanged a code; after people from the Hyuga Clan used their Byakugan to observe the Chakra and other clans used their unique Secret Techniques to confirm that the Third Unit had no issues, the Senju Clan member led the Third Unit into the camp.
After arriving in the camp, they saw that the Konoha Ninja inside were orderly and diligently performing their duties, fully displaying the appearance that a Ninja Village should have as a military organization.
Senju Touka ordered the people in the Third Unit to follow the people in the camp to rest, while she herself went to meet the Hokage to report on the mission.
At this time, Tobirama was in his tent, his eyes fixed on the map hanging on the wall, occasionally drawing on it with a pen.
Having fought alongside Hashirama for many years, he was no stranger to such national campaigns—although previous national campaigns were not on such a large scale—and he was not panicked at all, considering how to cooperate with the Samurai Corps to recover all the lost territory.
At this moment, Tobirama learned that Senju Touka requested an audience, so he ordered her to be let in.
After Senju Touka performed a salute, she began to report the mission situation.
Upon learning that more than forty Ninjas were lost, he couldn't help but secretly frown, but fortunately, Senju Touka, Fūmori Masaki, and Danzo were unharmed.
Senju Touka was an excellent Ninja in the clan; if something happened to her, it would be a great loss.
He also cared for his disciples very much; seeing them return safely, in addition to feeling relieved, he was gratified that they had survived the war, and in the future, they would surely be able to exert their strength on the battlefield.
"Let me tell you about the current situation first," Tobirama said, showing Senju Touka some statistical data on the table.
"Although we repelled the Kumogakure Ninja Squad this time, our losses are very large. In the upcoming war, we cannot use this fighting method again, otherwise, no one will be able to bear it."
Senju Touka looked at the contents of the data and was shocked; the First and Second Units had a total of six hundred people.
After the battle ended, more than two hundred people were killed in action, and more than one hundred were injured.
Among them, the Senju Clan, who had been at the forefront, accounted for more than half of the casualties; calculating it this way, her Third Unit had suffered only minor losses.
Moreover, according to the report, if it weren't for Tobirama wounding the First Raikage who was leading the Kumogakure Ninja Squad, forcing the opponent to retreat immediately, the losses of the units might have been even greater.
If future wars were fought like this, even if the Kumogakure Ninja Squad had equal or even higher combat losses—which was indeed the case—Konohagakure would not be willing to bear such a price.
These clan Ninjas were all elites; it would take a lot of time to train one if they were missing, and no one was willing to waste them like this.
"And besides fighting, we must also seek other methods to end this war as much as possible," Tobirama said.
"What do you mean?" Senju Touka asked.
"We have captured a batch of Kumogakure Ninjas; on one hand, we can interrogate them about the situation of the Kumogakure Ninjas, and on the other hand, I intend to use them as bargaining chips, which will be useful when we seek peace with Kumogakure," Tobirama said.
In the past, battles between Ninjas usually involved completely annihilating the other side, but this was in small-scale battles.
Later, when clan disputes became increasingly intense and the entire clan was invested in the situation, things like prisoners also naturally appeared; just as Tobirama said, they could be used to interrogate for intelligence, and they could also be used for trading.
In the final battle between the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Madara was defeated by Hashirama, and the remaining clan members also surrendered; at that time, the Uchiha Clan were prisoners of the Senju Clan.
If it hadn't been for Hashirama's kindness, Tobirama would have planned to kill all the members of the Uchiha Clan long ago.
This matter might also be a pain in the heart of the Uchiha Clan; although they were one of the two major clans that founded Konohagakure, compared to the voluntary joining of other clans, in a sense, they belonged to those who were defeated and had a treaty concluded upon them.
"Peace talks?" Senju Touka nodded.
Indeed, the current losses were already significant; it seemed that even if they could completely annihilate the Kumogakure Ninjas, Konohagakure would still be severely weakened, and by then, they would be unable to cope with other countries.
She did not believe that only the Land of Lightning was a tiger or wolf, and that other countries were harmless sheep; such things as only caring about the fight between two families and letting others benefit were things that neither Senju Touka nor Tobirama would do.
"However, the fighting spirit of the Kumogakure Ninjas is very strong; it can be felt not only in the war but also when interrogating these Kumogakure Ninjas," Tobirama shook his head and said.
"I finally understand why the Land of Lightning launched the war; to make them back down, these people as bargaining chips are simply not enough."
"In other words, do we need to try our best to capture high-ranking Ninjas alive during the war?" Senju Touka asked.
"Exactly," Tobirama said. "But act according to your ability; if you really can't capture them alive, don't hesitate to kill the opponent directly. Protecting yourself is the most important thing; you must tell this to your subordinates."
"I understand," Senju Touka said.
"Since you are back, we will hold a war meeting tonight to discuss the next combat operations; you go back and rest first," Tobirama said.
"Yes." After saluting, Senju Touka exited the tent.
At this time, Fūmori Masaki and Satomi, under arrangement, arrived at their tent.
After putting some things away, they went out and ran into Hiruzen Sarutobi and others; they had come to see Fūmori Masaki.
As fellow students, seeing that he and Danzo could return safely, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others were also happy.
"During the battle, I could only charge forward and couldn't even check on the situation of my companions; if I got distracted for a moment, I could have died on the spot," Hiruzen Sarutobi said to Fūmori Masaki.
Unlike the maneuvering of the Third Unit, the First and Second Units had direct conflicts with the main Kumogakure Ninja force; it was precisely because of the fierce battle that there were such staggering losses.
"Masaki, I'm really happy to see you," Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Fūmori Masaki a firm hug.
"Me too." Fūmori Masaki felt Hiruzen Sarutobi's warmth and answered sincerely; this is the camaraderie of fellow students.