White Fang's Current Situation

The battle had lasted an entire day, and Minato Namikaze's green Jōnin vest was covered in large patches of blood.

All of it belonged to the enemy; he himself had not suffered many injuries.

Orochimaru was somewhat fatigued as well. Fighting two Kage-level opponents at once was taxing even for someone with his Chakra reserves.

Since consuming the Dragon Yuan, this was the first time Orochimaru's Chakra had fallen below fifty percent.

This was Orochimaru's red line.

The reasoning behind the red line Orochimaru had set was actually very simple.

If someone could beat me until I had only half my Chakra left, then they might well be able to take the other half too.

If I did not have enough Chakra to use an escape technique, I would definitely be dead.

So whenever this happened, Orochimaru would basically unleash a burst of power and try to quickly finish off the enemy in front of him. If that failed, he would consider running.

Just as Orochimaru was preparing to make one final effort, Rasa and Chiyo stopped fighting.

By then, Rasa and Chiyo had also reached the end of their strength. It was not yet time to risk their lives.

Thus, both sides chose to cease hostilities and withdraw their troops.

After the fighting stopped, Orochimaru sent a small snake to notify Shikun Mitarashi, then returned to camp.

They had not won this battle, and their gains had not been great either. Still, they had not lost. It could be considered a draw.

Moreover, Orochimaru had already achieved his strategic objective.

Sunagakure's forces had now stopped advancing. They had clearly felt the pressure Orochimaru posed. If neither side's strength changed significantly, the battlefront would be temporarily locked in place.

From here on, both sides would alternate between offense and defense. Since neither side's top-tier combatants could break the deadlock, it would come down to the lower-ranking shinobi fighting one another.

Sabotaging supply lines, stealing intelligence on enemy troop movements, and deploying their own forces to use local superiority to wipe out enemy units—these were the things both sides would do next.

The brutality of this would be no less than that of a large-scale melee.

Only when reinforcements arrived, or when one side's forces had been worn down until they were clearly weaker than the other—and weak to a certain extent—would another large-scale decisive battle erupt.

This depended entirely on the skill of the command structure.

Once even a minor oversight was seized upon by the enemy, it could increase their own losses and ultimately trigger a collapse later on.

Orochimaru had served as Deputy Commander on the Land of Rain battlefield. By the later stages of the war, Hiruzen Sarutobi had basically handed all of the daily command work over to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru was also highly gifted in this area.

Thus, he was very experienced when it came to command.

At least in terms of the battle situation, although Rasa had more men and held the greater advantage, Orochimaru was not at a disadvantage. His command was even flawless.

Orochimaru had skimmed quite a bit from the village while in the Land of Rain, but for now, he did not intend to continue.

He had only lined his own pockets in the Land of Rain after Konohagakure's victory had been all but assured.

The situation was different now. If he wanted to skim something off the top, he would at least have to wait until his own side held the advantage.

He was the commander, Shikun Mitarashi was the Deputy Commander, and many of the confidants he had brought with him had been placed in relevant positions. If he truly did it, no one would notice.

If no one noticed, then it was not corruption. I, Orochimaru, am utterly loyal—how could I possibly be corrupt?

The battle between Konohagakure and Sunagakure entered a stalemate.

The village was currently gathering shinobi who were out carrying out missions.

Some of these shinobi would be selected to reinforce Orochimaru, though not too many.

Kumogakure and Iwagakure were currently watching like tigers from the mountains, intending to swoop in and profit once Konohagakure and Sunagakure had both suffered heavy losses.

The village had to retain a certain amount of combat strength as a precaution.

As for Kirigakure, it was said that its internal struggles were currently severe. The conflict between the village and the bloodline clans was growing ever deeper, and they could not spare the manpower for now. At the very least, they would have to wait until the conflict eased.

For the time being, they had no possibility of sending troops.

Kirigakure's shinobi had currently placed their hopes of resolving the internal conflict on Genji.

Only Genji could dissuade the Mizukage, and only he possessed the prestige needed to suppress the dissatisfaction of those bloodline clans.

Jiraiya had finished teaching Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato. He believed they now had enough strength to protect themselves.

Because of the war, the Anbu dispatched by Konohagakure had delivered a recall order to Jiraiya. He had now left the Land of Rain and returned to Konohagakure.

Barring any surprises, Konohagakure and Sunagakure would remain locked in a stalemate for quite some time.

And if Kumogakure and Iwagakure chose to move during this period, Jiraiya would certainly become the commander. Sakumo, however, was another matter.

The Third Hokage was soft-hearted. Danzo would love nothing more than for Sakumo to never have another opportunity to take action in his life, and the other two advisors also had selfish motives.

Once Sakumo earned tremendous military merit, should the position of Hokage be given to him or not?

If it was given to him, what would happen to the status of people like them? Would they even retain their current positions?

No matter what, Jiraiya and Orochimaru were the Third Hokage's disciples. They would not refuse to show him respect.

Could their abilities possibly be inferior even to Danzo's?

That was hard to say. Though Danzo was not particularly capable, he had still learned quite a bit from the Second Hokage and had built up considerable resources over the years. It was simply that his selfishness was too heavy, and he was prone to making things worse.

Everything I do is for Konohagakure! Taps his cane in reminder!

The two advisors could only truly help the Third Hokage handle government affairs and offer advice on major matters.

They lacked ability in other areas.

Though they were both disciples of the Second Hokage, they clearly did not possess the ability to stand on their own like several of his other disciples.

It was precisely because they helped the Third Hokage shoulder a large portion of governmental affairs that he could occasionally stroll through the streets and display his approachable side.

And that was also where he found the time to slack off at work and use the Crystal Ball Jutsu to peep on bathhouses.

Once Hiruzen Sarutobi's three old classmates all opposed Sakumo becoming commander, Hiruzen Sarutobi would not refuse them.

When he had first taken office as the Third Hokage, the stability of his position had depended to a great extent on the support of these old advisors.

With the prestige he gained from leading Konohagakure to victory in two Shinobi World wars, he would still be fully capable of firmly holding the position of Hokage even without these advisors. However, his power would inevitably be diminished.

For this reason, the Third Hokage would still do his utmost to win over the two elders.

After all, as elders, they could wield authority. Gaining the support of the two elders was equivalent to indirectly expanding his own authority.

White Fang was more likely to be assigned missions of extreme difficulty and secrecy, even missions that were impossible to complete.

If a mission was secret enough, it would not be publicized, so his prestige would not continue to rise. If it was difficult enough, such a powerful combatant would not go to waste either.

According to Danzo's way of thinking, the ideal outcome would be for White Fang to assassinate the Kage of an enemy village and have both sides perish together. That would eliminate a threat while also earning merit for Konohagakure. If that happened, Danzo might even lay a flower at White Fang's funeral.

Then he would seize his son and bring him into Root, training him into a second White Fang for his own use.