Mist Ninja Maneuvers
The reason why the Sunagakure was able to avoid significant losses during its rout was because the One-Tail Beast was positioned between the two battlefields.
When the One-Tail was about to go berserk, the Sunagakure were the first to realize something was wrong. Knowing that Tailed Beast could not be retrieved on the battlefield, the Sunagakure decisively abandoned the One-Tail and chose to retreat.
Otherwise, how could the Sunagakure not have been pursued by the Konoha when they were defeated? It should be noted that during the retreat of the Konoha Land of Grass, at least 2,000 corpses were left behind.
In fact, Konoha also pursued the Sunagakure, but Shukaku went berserk just as they reached the One-Tail Jinchuriki.
The fully-formed Shukaku blocked the pursuers for the Sunagakure and caused huge casualties to Konoha.
With Three Kage-level fighters present in Konoha, Shukaku was quickly defeated. However, in order to treat the wounded, Konoha did not attempt to capture Shukaku. Shukaku, being sensible, also refrained from causing trouble and retreated early upon realizing it was outmatched.
Fortunately, Shukaku retreated in time; otherwise, Konoha would have suffered a loss in this First Shinobi War. Despite winning the battle, the Konoha troops, having lost hundreds of ninjas, retreated back to Kikyo Castle.
The Sunagakure fled all the way back to the Land of Wind, and suddenly, the once bustling Land of Rivers was left with only Shukaku causing trouble.
The intelligence agents sent out by the Iwa ninja originally thought that either the Konoha or the Sunagakure would come to retrieve Shukaku. However, even after Shukaku returned to the desert of the Land of Wind, neither side came to retrieve the Tailed Beast.
Only then did the intelligence personnel report Shukaku's final whereabouts to the village.
This news wasn't good for the Iwa ninja. The battle between Konoha and Sunagakure had gone too smoothly. Although they lost several hundred ninjas in the end due to Shukaku's rampage, it wasn't a major loss. Defeating a large country by sacrificing a few hundred ninjas was a worthwhile deal for Konoha.
With the loss of the Tailed Beast, the Sunagakure can no longer wage war. Recovering Shukaku and finding a new Jinchuriki are the most pressing matters for the Sunagakure.
Before a new Jinchuriki can join the battle, Rasa wouldn't dare launch another war, no matter what. And Konoha would never cross the desert to pursue the Sunagakure; that would be too dangerous.
Therefore, although no peace treaty was signed, the war between Konoha and Sunagakure has effectively ended.
"Sigh, it seems Konoha has won in the end." Ōnoki with some regret. The Sunagakure too weak; they should have at least inflicted several thousand more casualties on Konoha.
Yichen smiled and said, "Lord Tsuchikage, Konoha is indeed going to win, but this is not the end. Victory for Konoha has only just begun."
Konoha had indeed secured the victory; having already fought four opponents, who could Konoha fear in a two-on-one situation? But no one expected that a fierce battle would erupt just when the entire Ninja World thought Konoha was about to win.
Besides Yichen.
Yichen had read the original novel and knew that the Mist ninja could go insane.
Yichen didn't recognize the Third Mizukage of the Kirigakure, and he didn't understand why Konoha would still go and fight Konoha head-on when Konoha had already defeated the Sunagakure and the Iwa ninja in the original story.
But Yichen believed that since the Mist ninja went mad in the original story, the possibility of them going mad again in this life was still very high. Yichen felt it was time for him to go out and have some fun again.
However, before that, Yichen had to go to the Intelligence Department first.
The Intelligence Department is also an agency under Yichen's jurisdiction, but Yichen has never been there yet.
Yichen visited the other three departments, making quite a stir each time. He didn't come to the Intelligence Department, simply because he didn't have the time.
After becoming an advisor, Yichen handled one task after another.
Medical reform, experiments to absorb Natural Energy, learning the Lightning Release Stimulation Method, and adjustments to the Jinchuriki policy. Now, Yichen also wants to further develop Lightning Release.
Originally, Yichen didn't have time to go to the Intelligence Department. But now that he heard that Konoha had defeated the Yichen Sunagakure, something came to his mind, and he decided to go to the Intelligence Department.
Yichen immediately thought of the Kannabi Bridge Incident.
Because of Yichen's intervention, the Iwa ninja and Konoha stopped fighting early on, so there was naturally no more fighting at the Kannabi Bridge.
Will Obito, who disappeared during the Kannabi Bridge mission in the original story, disappear again?
Judging from the original work, the Three-Tails incident involving Rin Nohara was deliberately arranged by Madara Uchiha, with the aim of awakening Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan and causing him to leave Konoha completely.
However, Yichen was unable to confirm whether the attack on Obito Iwa ninja was the work of Madara Uchiha.
Whether Madara Uchiha orchestrated Obito's disappearance, or whether Obito's disappearance just happened to be near Madara Uchiha's hiding place and Madara simply did it on a whim, Yichen had no way of knowing.
Now that the Kannabi Bridge Incident is over, Yichen wants to know if Obito is still missing.
This is crucial. If Obito and Nagato don't turn to the dark side, Yichen's advantage in the storyline will be completely lost. Yichen will be completely in the dark about how Black Zetsu's plan to save his mother will proceed.
Most importantly, if Obito hadn't turned to the dark side, would someone else have taken Obito place? In that case, Yichen would face a boss whose abilities are completely unknown!
This outcome is terrifying. No one can guarantee that the Mangekyō Sharingan's unpredictable abilities won't lead to unforeseen consequences. Furthermore, if Madara's final proxy isn't Obito, will the new Uchiha possess both eyes, and perhaps even Susanoo?
Susanoo assessing the offense and defense, Yichen felt that his small frame was not suited to a head-on confrontation with his opponent.
The Intelligence Department of the Iwa ninja was located in a very secret location, right next to the Anbu. But Yichen had been in the Anbu for so long, yet he didn't know that the Intelligence Department was right next to the Anbu.
Upon arriving at the Intelligence Department, Yichen directly asked the head of the Intelligence Department for information on Minato Namikaze.
Although Minato Namikaze had just become Kage Level, he had already demonstrated impressive combat skills when he was Elite Jonin, so the Iwa ninja had created a file for him early on.
After Yichen reported to the village that Minato Namikaze had become a quasi-Kage, the village raised his intelligence level by one level.
The village now possesses not only information about Minato Namikaze's battles, but also information about his Minato Namikaze life and the Will of Fire.
For example, when Minato Namikaze Uchiha took on the Uchiha clan as his students, the Iwa ninja Intelligence Department believed that this was Minato Namikaze's way of trying to befriend the Uchiha Clan. They even speculated that Minato Namikaze hoped to use the Uchiha Clan's power to become Hokage.
Yichen glanced at these trivial speculations and found the information he wanted.
Minato Namikaze Yichen about Kakashi and Rin Nohara than anyone else, so he read the information very quickly.
When it was Obito Uchiha's turn, Yichen began to examine it carefully.
Firstly, the intelligence reports did not mention Obito's disappearance or death in battle, nor did they mention that Kakashi had become the Sharingan Kakashi.
However, the description of Obito in the intelligence reports is quite interesting; the Iwa ninja actually used the word "kind."
To be described as kind by an enemy—how Obito must Obito be?
If the Iwa ninja could obtain information about Obito's personality, then Madara, a senior member of the Uchiha, must know even more details. Given Zetsu's intelligence capabilities and his Uchiha Clan identity, Madara definitely knew about Obito.
As the former head of the Uchiha Clan, Yichen believes that Madara knew what kind of personality was suitable for awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan. Therefore, based on this information, Yichen speculates that Obito's fate during the Battle of Kannabi Bridge was likely orchestrated by Madara.
"Keep an eye on this Obito Uchiha, and see if Minato Namikaze and the Uchiha Clan will spark any conflict," Yichen said to the head of the Intelligence Department.
"Yes." The head of the Intelligence Department wasn't surprised. As an advisor, paying attention to an Uchiha who hadn't Awakening Eyes Sharingan meant he must have considered the power struggles within Konoha High-ranking officials.
"It seems we need to gather more intelligence on the movements between Konoha High-ranking officials and the Uchiha," the person in charge thought to himself.
After obtaining the information he wanted, Yichen did not leave immediately. Instead, he spent an entire day reviewing all the information that the Intelligence Department considered important.
During this process, Yichen discovered something amiss. This information was all related to the Mist ninja.
The battlefield between Mist ninja and Konoha was located on the former territory of the Land of Whirlpools, and the war between the two sides remained relatively low-key. Due to the lack of large-scale military operations and the absence of Kage-level experts shinobi, the conflicts were mostly small-team-level skirmishes.
Therefore, the Uchiha and Hyuga of Konoha maintained the initiative due to their superior individual combat strength.
However, this advantage is relatively limited because the Uchiha and Hyuga do not trust each other, and their camps are not even in the same area. This largely results in the Konoha's forces being relatively dispersed.
The main force confronting Konoha from the Mist ninja side was the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
The seven Ninja Blades of Mist ninja are not merely weapons, but also symbols of power. Becoming a Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist naturally grants one a certain level of influence. The army currently facing off between the two powerful clans of Mist ninja and Konoha is a unit belonging to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
However, the other major force in Mist ninja, the numerous Bloodline Limit families that other ninja villages envy, did not participate in the war this time.
Among these Bloodline Limit families, only a few unlucky individuals with poor talent who had been on missions were brought along when the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist gathered Civilian Ninja.
Therefore, the Uchiha and Hyuga were actually fighting against Civilian Ninja from the Mist ninja. If it weren't for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist using their unorthodox methods to intimidate their opponents to some extent, the Mist ninja would have been defeated long ago.
Yichen noticed something amiss from the recent movements of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist; they were frequently attacking the Uchiha and Hyuga Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist groups of two or three.
Because they always acted very conspicuously after their operations, and the characteristics of ninjas who died from using Ninja Blade were very obvious, even the Iwa ninja were able to keep track of the seven's movements.
However, Yichen noticed that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had recently been appearing near the Uchiha Clan much less frequently.
If we take into account Konoha's great victory over Sunagakure, then the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist's actions are not surprising.
The problem is that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist of the Mist's activities near the Hyuga Camp have not decreased; on the contrary, they seem to have become more frequent.
This involuntarily reminded Yichen of the incident during the Third Shinobi War when the Hyuga Main Family lost a Byakugan.
With that thought in mind, Yichen could no longer suppress his urge to go out and have fun.
"Keep a close eye on the movements of the Land of Whirlpools camp on the battlefield in the Hyuga Camp of Whirlpools. Send any news to my office immediately," Yichen said to the head of the Intelligence Department.
"Yes." The head of the Intelligence Department answered readily, though he didn't understand.