At the end of Konoha's 52nd year.
Konoha's troops on the Land of the Moon front underwent another rotation, but as a main combat force, Kushina remained on the battlefield alongside the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio.
A thousand fresh ninja troops brought large quantities of supplies, while a thousand ninja troops, along with the wounded, withdrew from the front lines.
What Kushina found most unbearable was that among the thousand ninja returning, there were twenty jonin, while the incoming force had only ten jonin.
Their high-end combat strength had been reduced far too severely.
Just because the battlefield between Konoha and Kumogakure had settled down without any large-scale war breaking out, could they simply disregard the Kumogakure Ninja?
Meanwhile, in Kumogakure.
Raikage A was feeling rather irritable as well.
He had recently gone to the battlefield against Iwagakure several times.
But every time he made a move, Iwagakure jonin joined forces with Kitsuchi to launch large-scale ninjutsu attacks against him.
This sometimes forced Raikage A to endure Iwagakure's ninjutsu head-on.
For A, who possessed Lightning Release Armor, the damage was practically negligible, but defending against large-scale ninjutsu caused his Chakra to drain at an accelerated rate.
Moreover, the layer of Rock Armor covering Kitsuchi was quite durable.
Even after taking two of his Lightning Release: Lightning Plow Hot Knives, it only cracked somewhat, then recovered again with the help of several Iwagakure jonin.
Kitsuchi was also incredibly strong, having blocked his Heavy Flow Burst head-on.
Then he withdrew before Iwagakure's Sealing Team arrived.
Because of the earlier incident involving the Masked Man, every ninja clan had formed battlefield Sealing Teams.
Although they were primarily meant to counter Space-Time Ninjutsu, they also had the effect of limiting speed.
If he had not pulled back, he might have been caught, allowing Iwagakure to surround a fixed point and strike the reinforcements. That would have been even worse.
The only good news was that Konoha had not launched a major offensive. Otherwise, with the situation already so bad, his troubles would have been even greater.
A fair-skinned female ninja entered the office. "Lord Raikage, Lady Yugito's injuries have fully healed. Should we send Lady Yugito to join the war against Iwagakure?"
"No. If Yugito has recovered, send her to the Konoha battlefield and bring Bee back."
"Lord Raikage, the Konoha battlefield has the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki..."
"No need to worry. That old fox Sarutobi is content to sit back and watch us fight Iwagakure right now. He will not take the initiative to attack. Even if they do attack, Yugito can hold them off."
Raikage A spoke calmly.
"Then what do you mean?"
"I need Bee to help me drive back Iwagakure's main force. Otherwise, the daimyo will cut our funding."
After saying that, Raikage A draped the Raikage Cloak over himself.
"Inform the advisors that I'm heading to the front lines."
"Yes!"
The fair-skinned female ninja watched Lord A depart, feeling as though even Raikage A's figure appeared somewhat weary.
"An illusion! How could I have such an illusion!"
The female ninja slapped her cheeks with both hands, then ran off to find the Advisory Council.
Kumogakure's Advisory Council actually had very little presence. There were only five members, and two of them were already so old that they barely participated in political affairs.
Moreover, Kumogakure was a ninja village where power was relatively centralized. Usually, Raikage A had the final say.
Even in war, Raikage A alone made the decisions.
Only after Raikage A left the village would the Advisory Council come forward to organize the village's affairs.
They had been the ones to spread the news that Shisui defeated the A-B Combination.
If it had been Raikage A, he definitely would not have done something so embarrassing.
And now, the intelligence that Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan had been ruined had returned to Kumogakure, allowing the advisors to put on quite an air before Raikage A.
Several old men in their sixties and seventies proudly declared how well they had done, having removed a hidden threat for Kumogakure.
Raikage A, however, was deeply displeased.
Then Yugito was severely injured and Dodai died in battle, making Raikage A wary enough that he had no choice but to personally go to the battlefield against Iwagakure and stabilize the situation.
As Iwagakure's reinforcements continuously joined the fight, the scale of the war grew larger and larger, and Raikage A spent more and more time on the battlefield.
Those old fossils with one foot already in the grave also felt that their authority had been wonderfully displayed.
After gaining power, they immediately contacted Konoha. They were not seeking a ceasefire, merely looking to make a deal.
The terms were simple: Kumogakure and Konoha would sign an alliance agreement, Kumogakure would admit its mistake and compensate Konoha.
Then they stated that Kumogakure had tied down Iwagakure's main force. Konoha would launch an attack on Iwagakure, and Kumogakure would provide Konoha with material compensation during the campaign.
Once Iwagakure was conquered, the benefits gained would be split forty-sixty between Kumogakure and Konoha, with Konoha receiving sixty!
At the same time, the Raikage's Advisory Council also contacted Sunagakure.
The terms were very straightforward.
If Sunagakure did not participate in the Ninja World's war, Kumogakure would divide its postwar gains with Sunagakure in a seventy-thirty split, with Sunagakure receiving thirty.
Upon receiving the news, Sunagakure immediately chose neutrality. They could gain benefits without joining the war—this was truly a windfall.
Konoha, on the other hand, was very hesitant.
Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally wanted to agree to the Raikage Advisory Council's proposal.
But the only problem was that Konoha would be responsible for taking the lead in attacking Iwagakure.
For the Third Hokage, such a righteous and virtuous Hokage, this seemed somewhat out of place.
"Third Hokage, these Kumogakure Ninja simply want a ceasefire. Should we accept their proposal?"
Mitokado Homura easily understood what Kumogakure's advisors meant.
They merely wanted to buy time so they could devote their full strength to dealing with Iwagakure.
Everyone knew just how difficult it was to invade Iwagakure, a region easy to defend and hard to attack.
Now Kumogakure was trying to persuade the Third Hokage with nothing more than an alliance treaty and a share of the gains after defeating Iwagakure. Did that not seem utterly insincere?
And Konoha would have to be the one to attack Iwagakure first! Although Kumogakure would provide the supplies, it would still be Konoha's personnel suffering the losses!
"Third Hokage, Sunagakure has increased its troops along the border with the Land of Rain. They may have received Kumogakure's support as well."
Utatane Koharu spoke up, noting that Sunagakure was also making moves.
"Hiruzen! The Uchiha Clan cannot continue gaining achievements! Recall them and keep them in the village."
The gleam in Danzo's eyes made Sarutobi Hiruzen deeply dislike him.
Clearly, Danzo was once again planning to bring the Uchiha back to the village and ambush them.
But Danzo could not be allowed to do that again this time. Otherwise, how could peace talks proceed? They had just begun discussing peace, and then Kumogakure Ninja stabbed them in the back!?
Or would Konoha, having just ended one war, immediately be provoked by another ninja village and erupt into another war?
If Danzo attacked this time, no matter which ninja village he disguised himself as, it would be detrimental to Konoha.
"First, spread word of the peace talks and see how the other ninja clans react."
"Third Hokage, aside from the Uchiha, no ninja clan would reject peace talks. This war began because Kumogakure Ninja attacked us first, and only the Uchiha Clan lost many clansmen. The other ninja clans did not lose many members."
Mitokado Homura understood the mindset of Konoha's other ninja clans very well. If they could end a war while their own clans had suffered little loss and still gain wartime benefits, why would they not agree?
"Homura, Konoha is not ruled by our word alone. Spread the news first, then notify everyone tomorrow to come to a meeting and discuss it."
Before you continue