White Fang's Current Situation

The battle lasted an entire day, and Minato Namikaze's green Jōnin vest was already stained with large patches of blood.

All of it belonged to the enemy; he himself had taken little damage.

Orochimaru was also somewhat fatigued. Fighting two Kage-level opponents simultaneously was taxing even for his Chakra reserves.

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

This was Orochimaru's red line.

The reasoning behind this red line was simple.

If someone could reduce him to fifty percent Chakra, they might very well be able to take out the remaining fifty percent.

Without enough Chakra to execute an escape technique, death would be certain in that scenario.

So in such situations, Orochimaru would typically unleash a burst of power to try and quickly eliminate the enemy before him. If that failed, he'd consider retreat.

Just as Orochimaru was preparing for a final all-out push, Rasa and Chiyo stopped.

At that moment, Rasa and Chiyo had also reached the end of their rope, but it wasn't yet time for a desperate struggle.

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

After the truce, Orochimaru sent a small snake to notify Mito Uzumaki, then returned to camp.

This battle hadn't been a victory, and the gains were minimal, but it wasn't a loss either—a draw, essentially.

Moreover, Orochimaru had achieved his strategic objective.

For now, Sunagakure's forces had halted their advance, clearly feeling the pressure from Orochimaru. Unless there was a significant shift in combat power on either side, the battlefield situation was temporarily locked in.

What followed would be a series of attacks and defenses between the two sides. When high-end combat power couldn't break the deadlock, the fight would devolve into skirmishes among lower-ranked ninjas.

Disrupting supply lines, stealing intelligence on troop movements, maneuvering their own forces to eliminate the enemy with localized superiority—these were the next steps for both sides.

The brutality of this was no less than a large-scale melee.

Only when reinforcements arrived, or one side's forces were clearly and significantly depleted compared to the other, would another large-scale battle erupt.

This depended entirely on the skill of the command layer.

One tiny oversight exploited by the enemy could lead to increased losses and eventually a full-scale rout.

Orochimaru had already served as Deputy Commander on the Land of Rain battlefield. By the late stages of that war, Hiruzen Sarutobi had essentially handed over all daily command duties to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru had a high talent for this as well.

Thus, he was experienced in command.

At least on the battlefield, even with Rasa's numerical advantage and greater strength, Orochimaru held his own, his command watertight.

Orochimaru had fleeced the village quite a bit in the Land of Rain, but for now, he didn't plan to continue.

In the Land of Rain, he'd only started lining his pockets after Konoha's victory was all but certain.

Now the situation was different. To fleece the village, he'd have to wait until his side had the advantage.

He was the Commander, and Mito Uzumaki was the Deputy Commander. Many of his trusted subordinates were placed in key positions. If he wanted to do it, no one would notice.

If no one noticed, it wasn't corruption. This Humble One was loyal to the core—how could he possibly be corrupt?

The battle between Konoha and Sunagakure entered a stalemate.

The village was currently recalling ninjas on missions outside.

Some of these ninjas would be selected to reinforce Orochimaru, but not too many.

Kumogakure and Iwagakure were watching hungrily, waiting to swoop in as the fisherman after Konoha and Sunagakure had exhausted each other.

The village had to retain enough combat power to guard against them.

As for Kirigakure, word was that internal strife was severe. The conflict between the village and the bloodline clans was deepening, so they couldn't spare any forces for now. At least until the conflict eased.

For the moment, they had no possibility of deploying troops.

Currently, Kirigakure's ninjas pinned their hopes for resolving this internal conflict on Genji.

Only Genji could dissuade the Mizukage, and only he had the prestige to suppress the bloodline clans' discontent.

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

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

Barring surprises, Konoha and Sunagakure would remain deadlocked for a considerable time.

And if Kumogakure and Iwagakure chose to act during this period, Jiraiya would certainly take command. But Sakumo was uncertain.

The Third Hokage was soft-hearted. Danzo wished for Sakumo to never have another chance to act. The other two advisors also had their selfish motives.

If Sakumo achieved tremendous military merit, would they give him the position of Hokage or not?

If they did, what would become of their own positions? Would they retain their current status?

Regardless, Jiraiya and Orochimaru were Disciples of the Third Hokage. They wouldn't disrespect him.

Were their abilities perhaps even inferior to Danzo's?

Hard to say. Danzo's ability isn't all that impressive, but he did learn quite a bit from the Second Hokage, and over the years he's built up a fair amount of resources—it's just that his selfish motives are too heavy, and he's prone to making things worse.

"All of this is for the sake of Konoha!" Tap of the cane as a reminder.

The two advisors are really only capable of helping the Third Hokage handle administrative affairs and offering some advice on major matters.

They lack ability in other areas.

Though they are all disciples of the Second Hokage, they clearly don't have the independent capability that the other disciples possess.

But it's precisely because they help the Third Hokage shoulder a large portion of administrative duties that he can occasionally stroll through the streets to show his approachable side.

And that's also how he finds time to slack off at work, using the Crystal Ball Jutsu to peek at the bathhouse.

If all three of Hiruzen Sarutobi's old classmates disagreed with Sakumo taking the role of commander, Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't refuse them.

In the early days after he first took office as the Third Hokage, the stability of his position as Hokage depended heavily on the support of these old advisors.

With the prestige he gained from leading Konoha to victory in two ninja world wars, even without these advisors, he would still be fully capable of holding onto the Hokage seat—but his power would inevitably shrink.

Thus, the Third Hokage continues to make every effort to win over the two elders.

Because since they are elders, they can bear power, and if he gains the support of both elders, it effectively expands his own authority.

White Fang is more likely to be assigned missions of extreme difficulty and secrecy—even those considered impossible.

If the mission is secretive enough, it won't be publicized, and his prestige won't keep rising; if it's difficult enough, it won't waste such a powerful combat asset.

If it were up to Danzo's thinking, the best outcome would be to have him assassinate the Kage of an enemy village, with both sides dying together—eliminating a threat while rendering a service to Konoha. If that happened, Danzo might even go to White Fang's funeral to lay a flower.

Then he'd take his son into Root and raise him into a second-generation White Fang to serve his purposes.