Kawakita's Shortcomings

Yichen lowered the altitude and carefully sensed Pakura's condition several times with his using Mind's Eye. He breathed a sigh of relief; it was finally over.

Yichen said to Ōnoki, "Third Hokage, I need to rest. I'll leave the post-battle handling to you. Oh, and collect Pakura's body; I still have a use for it. This is my payment for having someone restrain Orochimaru."

Ōnoki nodded and landed on the ground with Yichen.

Soon, Medical Ninja received orders and came to treat Yichen.

"Lord Tsuchikage, your internal injuries are severe. You need to rest and recuperate. It's best not to move your body for a while," the Medical Ninja said.

Yichen nodded without saying a word and followed the Medical Ninja into a newly erected tent.

After the Medical Ninja finished treating Yichen lay alone on the hospital bed for a long time before Ōnoki and Kawakita came in.

Ōnoki first inquired about Yichen's injuries, then said, "The battle casualties and results have been tallied. The losses in this First Shinobi War were not significant; we lost fewer than a hundred ninjas."

"Not counting the two thousand Sunagakure you killed at the beginning, we killed about 1,300 in total afterwards."

"Kazekage had prepared a lot of strategic supplies for this battlefield beforehand, and they were mostly stored underground where they were hiding."

"We've received almost all of these supplies, so this First Shinobi War should satisfy Ming. However, the items are buried quite deep, and it will take some time to dig them all out."

"The Sunagakure over half its losses this time, including the death of a Kage Level. It's safe to say that the Sunagakure is out of the game in this war."

"Such heavy losses mean that even if the Sunagakure wins a victory on the Kirigakure side, it will still be considered a defeat. I think we should refrain from attacking the Sunagakure and focus on consolidating our current advantage."

Yichen nodded and said, "I agree, but there's no rush to withdraw the troops. Let's contact the village first and check on the situation at the other battlefields."

"If things go smoothly on the other battlefields, send someone directly to Sunagakure to have the Kazekage sign a treaty of reparations for the defeat."

Ōnoki nodded and said, "Then you rest first, I'll go and find out about the situation on the other battlefields."

After Ōnoki left, Yichen asked Kawakita, "Kawakita, how's your injury?"

Kawakita laughed, "The Scorch Release is very powerful. If it were a one-on-one fight, I probably wouldn't be a match for Pakura. Fortunately, you, Master, and the Third Lord are providing support from the air."

"I suffered burns in a few places, but it's nothing serious. It didn't affect my fighting ability too much."

Yichen nodded and said, "Let's sit down and rest for a while, and see what the Third Generation has to say."

"Okay." Kawakita waited by Yichen's bedside.

Before Ōnoki arrived, Yichen asked, "Kawakita, you haven't mastered your S-rank Ninjutsu yet?"

Kawakita nodded and said, "Yes. I still don't understand that move. Moreover, although it looks like swordsmanship, its essence doesn't seem to be swordsmanship at all, but rather a very refined use of Chakra."

Yichen thought for a moment and said, "Kawakita, you're currently lacking a powerful long-range attack method. Your previous Sword Qi is clearly ineffective in combat at this level."

"I'm not asking you to copy it verbatim, but rather I hope that through this S-rank Ninjutsu, you can see a possible direction for improving your swordsmanship. You don't necessarily have to practice this move; the choice is up to you."

"Before, when your strength was weak, I could take you to learn from those masters of swordsmanship. But from now on, there will be no more masters who can crush you, give you guidance, and know when to stop. You have to walk your own path from now on and figure things out on your own."

"The village's weakness lies in swordsmanship, and this one S-rank Ninjutsu is the only possible direction you're given. If this ninjutsu isn't suitable, you'll have to study it yourself. You'll also have to figure out the solution yourself."

"For example, visit the elderly in the village and ask them how the Ninja World masters fought over the past few decades. I believe they may have encountered the same problems you have."

Kawakita fell into deep thought.

This was something Yichen hadn't realized before. Kawakita's talent wasn't actually that outstanding; his success was largely due to chance. He just happened to have a good aptitude for understanding other people's swordsmanship, which allowed him to successfully enter the Kage Level ranks.

However, Kawakita's self-learning ability is not strong. This silly boy loved swordsmanship since he was a child, but he always practiced Yichen when he was alone. As for the path he would take, it was all arranged by Yichen, including finding masters like Hanzo and Mifune to guide him.

Kawakita himself doesn't think about how to find a proper way out; he's just a stubborn, headstrong fool who only knows how to act recklessly.

If someone plans the right path for him, he can Earth Flow steadily. But when no one plans the path for him and he has to plan for himself, he becomes blind.

Therefore, Yichen could only help Kawakita by thinking of more solutions for him and telling him where to look for answers.

After telling him, Yichen wouldn't have to worry too much. This simple-minded boy would motivate himself to complete the task.

Soon, Ōnoki Earth Flow into Yichen's temporary ward with a happy expression.

"The battles in the other locations have all ended. Except for the area in Land of the Falls, where they were besieged by Konoha's superior forces and suffered the loss of 1,300 men, all other areas have good news."

"Even in the First Shinobi War at Land of the Falls, we didn't suffer any losses. We had 1,500 men against Konoha's 2,000, and both sides lost around 1,300 men."

Yichen raised an eyebrow and asked uncertainly, "Really?"

If the enemy were one of the other Three Great Ninja Villages, Yichen Yichen felt that this possibility still existed, but he was surprised that they had such a record against Konoha.

Ōnoki nodded and said, "The information from Purple Lightning says it was all thanks to that girl, Uzumaki Riori. She kept using hundreds of Shadow Clones to unleash Area of Effect Ninjutsu, causing heavy casualties in Konoha."

"Uh..." Yichen suddenly remembered the scene of Uzumaki Riori attacking the Cloud ninja's temporary camp in the Land of the Moon while ago, and suddenly it didn't seem strange anymore.

Ōnoki continued, "Obito Uchiha did invade the village, but he was scared away by Atsumi Akino and Kitsuchi."

"Atsumi Akino's Space-Time Barrier, combined with her normal Sensory Barrier, made Obito Uchiha's whereabouts no longer a secret."

"Having lost his cover, Obito Uchiha didn't dare stay in our village any longer, nor did he fight Kitsuchi; he left immediately."

Yichen sneered. Obito Uchiha never learns his lesson. It seems he'll have to go and have another chat with him once he's healed.

Ōnoki, oblivious to Yichen's expression, continued, "Our battle with the Cloud ninja will be decided first. The Cloud ninja haven't changed their assessment of our strength in time; they're still viewing us with outdated perspectives."

"And so, on the coast of the Land of Earth, Saka commanded a brilliant battle. Five thousand against five thousand, the battle ended in less than ten minutes."

"Sakashita defeated the Cloud ninja. With only 500 casualties, we wiped out more than 3,200 Cloud ninja."

"Now, the entire Cloud ninja army has crossed the sea and retreated into the Land of Land of Lightning. The eastern front is now completely over."

"It's said that this First Shinobi War was incredibly fast; the fight was over before even the Kage-level fighters had a chance to properly engage."

"It's a real shame I didn't get to see the Raikage's expression when he heard about the disappearance; it must have been quite a sight."

Yichen nodded. Although the result was significant, he had certain expectations. Yichen was well aware of the current situation of the Iwa ninja, and he had participated in every step of their progress.

However, I can't help but feel happy; this victory proves that my efforts over the years have not been in vain.

The First Shinobi War against the Cloud ninja resulted in minimal losses, and their own losses were also relatively small. With no major losses on either of the two main battlefields and no casualties among the thousands of ninjas the village had assembled, this First Shinobi War did not significantly impact the strength of the Iwagakure.

In this decisive battle, the Iwa ninja village survived relatively well, while the other Great Ninja Village suffered considerable losses. Therefore, the Iwa ninja will have sufficient manpower to establish order after the war.

Ōnoki continued, "The battle on the Mist ninja's side is over too. Both sides suffered losses, but neither was seriously damaged."

"Konoha lost 800 men, Sunagakure lost 300 men, Cloud ninja lost 400 men, Mist ninja lost a total of about 2,300 men."

"Of the men we sent, five squads were lost. Himezuki Kazekaze were both seriously injured. Shinya likely seriously injured; he and his Ninja Cat returned to the village first."

Yichen was taken aback and asked, "He didn't come back with Wada Akio and the others? Instead, he came back on his own first?"

Ōnoki nodded.

Yichen said, "Although Shinya is lazy, he's not someone who disregards the bigger picture. He was the person we sent to the Mist ninja area, so there must be a reason why he left all his men behind and returned alone."

Ōnoki thought for a moment and nodded. He had also paid a lot of attention to Matsutani Shinya. When he first started traveling in the Ninja World, Matsutani Shinya was one of his bodyguards.

Upon seeing this, Kawakita said, "I'll contact the village right now and have them send someone to meet Shinya."

"Hmm." Yichen nodded somewhat absentmindedly.

After Kawakita left, Ōnoki said, "Alright, let's think about what to do next."

Yichen nodded, pulling himself out of his thoughts, and said, "I didn't expect Konoha to suffer such minor losses this time; the combined losses from Two Battlefields were only around two thousand."

Ōnoki said, "Konoha wasn't deeply involved in this war; it felt like they were forced onto the battlefield by the Cloud ninja and Sunagakure. By the way, isn't Konoha still facing off against Nagato of Akatsuki Organization? Do you think Konoha will suffer significant losses there?"

Yichen shook his head and said, "Nagato is only there to hold off the two Kage of Konoha; there's a high chance a fight won't break out there."

"Fortunately, the Sunagakure was defeated. By now, the Kazekage should have received the news. Although the Sunagakure Kirigakure, a defeat is a defeat. Send someone to the Sunagakure immediately."

"List all our demands and force Kazekage to sign."