Sunagakure's main forces were away, leaving its internal defenses hollow. Forget about launching a counterattack—even finding capable ninja to defend against an aerial strike was impossible.
After bombing an office building into collapse and destroying countless documents, Hagoromo picked another target that was very likely something like a Ninja Hospital.
Then came the next one...
Sunagakure was engulfed in the flames of war.
His primary objective had been to destroy important enemy facilities; casualties had only been secondary.
But completely destroying Sunagakure was impossible. The Yata Crow had already been attacking on the battlefield for a long time and had expended a great deal of Chakra. After another round of indiscriminate bombing over Sunagakure, it was beginning to run out of steam.
Its Chakra was limited. Hagoromo had to reserve enough for the Yata Crow to fly back to Konoha's main camp. Otherwise, if the Yata Crow exhausted its Chakra and the summoning was released, he would definitely fall into the heart of the Land of Wind. Considering all the unfriendly things he had just done, the enemy would surely swarm him and give him a warm welcome...
So, after destroying several of the largest buildings, Hagoromo did not linger. He left Sunagakure without hesitation and began flying back.
Ten hours round trip, ten minutes of bombing. By the time Hagoromo flew back, the sky was already beginning to darken, and the battle on the battlefield had ended as well.
If he had lowered his altitude, he would have been able to spot the small, scattered units of Sunagakure troops retreating. Such was the fate of the defeated.
Hagoromo truly counted as an unexpected variable on the battlefield, one even he himself had not anticipated. He had played a considerable role in the battle, but what truly decided its course