Sunagakure Falls

While Tsunade was talking to the Fourth Raikage and others, the battle between Fugaku Uchiha and Orochimaru was almost over.

Orochimaru's summoned Manda was severely injured by Fugaku Uchiha's Susanoo and escaped.

However, Fugaku Uchiha had exhausted too much of his eye power and Susanoo.

The battle between the two sides has shifted from the level of Gundams back to a fight between ordinary people.

Orochimaru gradually gained the upper hand using his strange Snake Style Ninjutsu and Snake Substitution Jutsu.

The battle gradually evolved into Fugaku Uchiha attacking Orochimaru, Orochimaru neither dodged nor evaded, but instead used special methods to withstand the attacks.

Orochimaru attacked Fugaku Uchiha Fugaku Uchiha either dodged awkwardly or was injured because he couldn't dodge.

The situation was clear, Tsunade didn't go to help, after all, she still had Itachi Uchiha by her side.

While treating Itachi Uchiha, Tsunade asked Shikaku Nara, "Shikaku, has the Tsuchikage retreated?"

Shikaku Nara replied, "They've already retreated. The Tsuchikage, along with Sokai Uchiha and Izumi Uchiha, took about twenty Uchiha Clan children with them."

Tsunade frowned and asked, "Both the Tsuchikage and Sokai Uchiha are fighting. Could it be that those children were taken away by a third person? Who is this third person? Has their identity been confirmed?"

Shikaku Nara paused for a few seconds, then said, "It's Kakashi!"

Kakashi didn't show himself at first, and Inoichi Yamanaka's sensory abilities didn't recognize him. However, as Kakashi saved more and more Uchiha Clan children, the Anbu eventually encountered him.

Kakashi didn't kill the Anbu, but he was still recognized during the process of Anbu.

Tsunade was taken aback. Hadn't Kakashi left the village? Then, as if remembering something, she quickly asked, "Did Kakashi kill someone?"

Shikaku Nara and said, "Kakashi didn't kill anyone in tonight's operation. However, several Anbu who were supposed to be on the mission with Kakashi have been discovered dead in Kakashi's house."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade staggered; this was a huge loss!

Kakashi is the village's undisputed Sixth Hokage! And now he's involved in such a huge scandal.

Tsunade's current concern isn't whether Kakashi is still qualified to succeed her, but rather how to prevent Kakashi from becoming missing-nin.

She immediately said, "Issue a gag order right now!"

Shikaku Nara replied, "It's no use. If Kakashi really did kill him, it might still be possible to conceal the information now."

"But that squad was clearly killed by the Tsuchikage and framed. The Tsuchikage won't help us keep secrets."

"Most importantly, those four people really did die because of Kakashi, and Kakashi himself will never forgive himself."

"Lord Hokage, don't forget the choice his father, White Fang, made!"

Tsunade was stunned when she heard the name White Fang. Indeed, the Hatake Clan was an extreme family, Kakashi would probably find it hard to forgive himself for what he had done.

"Shikaku, contact Kakashi immediately and have him come to see me."

Teuchi it with Kakashi in person, insisting that Kakashi stay in the village no matter what.

Shikaku Nara said, "Understood."

However, Kakashi has not yet responded, and tonight's First Shinobi War has finally come to a conclusion.

"Lord Hokage, the battle is over except for Orochimaru's location."

"After the Third Lord left, Lord Danzō led the Root group to join that battlefield and wiped out all the Uchiha."

"Lord Danzō also took all of the Sharingan."

"However, Inoichi also sensed that Lord Danzō had left behind several Uchiha Clan children."

Tsunade asked, "Where is Danzo now?"

Shikaku Nara replied, "Lord Danzō left the village again after cleaning up the battlefield with the Root."

Tsunade smashed a wall beside her with a single punch. Then she said, "Quickly clean up the battlefield, and then have all the Anbu evacuate the Uchiha Clan's territory."

After speaking, Tsunade looked at Itachi Uchiha. Itachi Uchiha's condition had improved a lot after her treatment, but the damage to his eye power could not be made up for, and his eyesight had deteriorated somewhat.

Itachi Uchiha had just overheard Tsunade and Shikaku Nara's conversation.

Seeing Tsunade looking over, he immediately said, "Lady Tsunade, I know what to do. Once Father's battle with Orochimaru is over, let Sasuke come back."

Tsunade nodded and said, "Itachi, you've had a tough time. From now on, you'll have to live with the guilt of massacring your entire clan."

"Don't worry, Shisui will stay in the Anbu. I'll announce to the outside world that he has died in battle."

"I will personally guide Sasuke and prevent him from going astray."

Itachi Uchiha knelt before Tsunade and said, "Please rest assured, Lord Hokage, I will personally tell Sasuke that I killed his entire clan. Please, Lord Hokage, do not allow Sasuke to come into contact with Iwa ninja."

Tsunade nodded and said, "I promise you."

At this moment, the battle between Fugaku Uchiha and Orochimaru finally came to an end.

To Tsunade's surprise, Fugaku Uchiha was the one who ultimately emerged victorious.

Tsunade paused for a moment as she watched Orochimaru emerge from the ruins, looking utterly dejected.

"Orochimaru, what happened?" Tsunade asked hurriedly.

Orochimaru looked extremely embarrassed; he had never been so disheveled before, not even when he challenged Six Paths of Pain.

He coughed as he said, "We've been caught off guard. Fugaku Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan technique is related to time; he can see the future."

Orochimaru set a trap for Fugaku Uchiha, intending to capture Fugaku Uchiha, but little did he know that Fugaku Uchiha's special Dōjutsu would see through it.

Fugaku Uchiha turned the tables and delivered a brutal blow to Orochimaru.

After saying that, Orochimaru turned and left. He was too ashamed to stay and covet Fugaku Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan.

Coughing up blood, Orochimaru walked out of Konoha. Tonight, he had made a wasted trip. Not only did he gain nothing, but he also ended up with a body full of injuries.

Tsunade thought for a moment, then said to Itachi Uchiha, "Itachi, go and say goodbye to your parents."

Itachi Uchiha was kneeling on the ground, nodded, then got up and walked into the ruins.

After thinking for a moment, Tsunade also left the Uchiha Clan's territory.

At that moment, Shikaku Nara's voice rang out again. "Lord Hokage, the Hyuga clan Jonin has led thirty Hyuga Clan to hunt down Orochimaru."

Orochimaru's condition couldn't be hidden from the Byakugan, and he was quickly spotted by Hyuga Hiashi.

Normally, Hyuga Hiashi couldn't do anything about Caged Bird, but now that Orochimaru was in this state, Hyuga Hiashi felt that his chance for revenge had arrived.

Tsunade paused, then said, "Ignore it."

"Yes," Shikaku Nara replied.

On the ruins of the Uchiha Clan head's house, Fugaku Uchiha was coughing violently, while his wife Mikoto Uchiha checked on his injuries.

Itachi Uchiha walked up to the two of them, knelt down, and touched the ground with his head. Tears streamed down his face, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Fugaku Uchiha said, "Itachi, now that you've made your choice, stick to Earth Flow. Sasuke is in your hands."

Mikoto Uchiha said the same thing, "Itachi, you must be careful in the future, take good care of yourself, and take good care of Sasuke too."

A moment later, Sasuke Uchiha finished a practical exercise arranged by the Ninja Academy and quickly ran towards his clan.

Although he hadn't seen anything yet, for some reason he had a persistent feeling of unease.

"That damn Naruto! If it weren't for him dragging us down, I would have won the exercise long ago."

As Sasuke Uchiha pondered this, he stepped into the clan's territory, entering the Genjutsu feast that his beloved brother had meticulously prepared for him.

Itachi Uchiha's Sasuke Uchiha was absolutely genuine. Even in this state, he was still able to use Tsukuyomi Sasuke Uchiha convey a special older brother's love to Sasuke.

That night, Sasuke Uchiha awakened his Sharingan Single-Tomoe. He himself, however, was unaware of it.

Meanwhile, Tsunade met Kakashi.

Seeing that Kakashi didn't leave the village immediately, Tsunade a sigh of relief.

"I'll handle the Anbu Squad matter. From now on, you'll stay by my side and protect me," Tsunade said.

Kakashi hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

He also learned about the four Anbu in his household from Shikaku Nara, and realized that he had been Yichen.

Kakashi was prepared to become a missing-nin. He thought that even if he defected, he could still contribute to the village in secret.

It doesn't matter if the villagers don't understand. It just gives me time to track down Obito.

However, since Tsunade said she would handle it, let's wait and see.

The next day, news of the Uchiha Clan Itachi Uchiha's massacre of the Uchiha clan spread rapidly throughout Konoha.

This news was quickly confirmed by Sasuke Uchiha, the sole survivor of the Uchiha Clan.

Subsequently, the Hokage personally issued an arrest warrant for Itachi Uchiha, S-rank Rogue Ninja.

Suddenly, all the civilians in Konoha were cursing Itachi Uchiha as a traitor.

Judging from the Konoha's accounts, it seems as if the Uchiha Clan was once incredibly popular in Konoha.

The Land of Wind, located at the First Line of Defense outside the Sunagakure.

The two armies are engaged in Area of Effect Ninjutsu, one attacking and the other defending.

The Iwa ninja were numerous, Five-Attribute Ninjutsu worked in perfect harmony, giving them an absolute advantage from beginning to end.

The Sunagakure could only defend themselves by relying on the various defensive fortifications they had set up in advance at the First Line of Defense.

At first, the Sand Ninja Army was able to launch one or two counterattacks while on the defensive. However, as several Kage Level from the Iwa ninja side intervened, the Sand Ninja Army's situation immediately became precarious.

Fortunately, the Iwa ninja adopted a steady and cautious strategy in order to control casualties.

The Iwa ninja attacked slowly and steadily, gradually expanding their advantage, showing no intention of rushing things.

The Iwa Ninja Army's rhythmic attacks left the Sunagakure exhausted.

A large group of Iwa ninja unleashed their Ninjutsu together: Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet, Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu.

Countless fire dragons and fireballs formed a sea of fire that surged towards the First Line of Defense.

Dealing with Fire Release is a weakness of the Sunagakure. Immediately, a large number of Puppet Master controlled their puppets to form a puppet wall to defend against the sea of fire.

After the Fire Release, some of the puppets fell to the ground and became useless, while the Puppet Master retrieved the others.

"Dust Release - World Splitter Jutsu." A beam of white light shot directly from the sky towards the middle of the First Line of Defense.

Taking advantage of the superiority his army had gained in this clash of Ninjutsu, Ōnoki immediately seized an opening and launched an attack.

"Magnet Release - Magnetic Sand Defense." Reminded by the Sensory Ninja Ryosuke immediately used Magnet Release to defend himself.

It must be said that Rasa's Ryosuke behind was reasonable.

Ryosuke's abilities are perfectly suited for defense. On the battlefield, he can control the iron weapons on his side to fight against the Iwa ninja.

The iron he used in his Magnet Release was virtually inexhaustible.

Ryosuke abandoned the attack from the beginning, and he continuously used Magnet Release to plug the leaks.

"Sage Art - Earth Release - Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet." Almost at the same time that Ryosuke was defending against Ōnoki, Matsutani Shinya launched his attack.

Boom! The Sunagakure couldn't defend against this attack. The massive earth dragon smashed through the scattered Defensive Ninjutsu that the Sunagakure had hastily put up, and rushed into the Sunagakure's defensive position.

The earth dragon moved through the Sunagakure's territory as if it were empty, rampaging wildly.

This attack claimed the lives of at least a hundred Sunagakure, including several Jonin.

Similar situations have occurred several times in previous battles.

As time went on, Ryosuke and the other Sunagakure organizations developed more and more defensive vulnerabilities, and the Iwa ninja's attacks became increasingly effective.

Shortly after Matsutani Shinya's attack ended, an S-rank Earth Release was used to strike First Line of Defense, this time by Ikura.

Ryosuke had no time to defend himself, because Ōnoki was already preparing his second round of Dust Release.

After Ikura's Earth Release, the Sunagakure suffered another loss of nearly a hundred members.

As the gap between the two sides widened, the Iwa ninja had more and more opportunities to succeed.

After a while, the Sunagakure's defenses became disorganized.

Then, Ikura, in the Iwa Ninja Army, said to Roshi beside him, "Roshi- senpai, please make your move. We are about to launch a full-scale attack."

Roshi nodded, immediately undergoing Partial Tailed Beast Transformation, and then began to condense Tailed Beast Bomb.

Roshi's intense Chakra fluctuations immediately caught the attention of the Sunagakure's tattered sensory system.

Unfortunately, the Sunagakure were no longer able to mount an effective defense.

Resisting a defense of the level of Tailed Beast Bomb is incredibly difficult. The Sand Ninja Army could manage it at first, but now, only Ryosuke has a chance of intercepting it.

Ryosuke gritted his teeth, wanting to exhaust his Chakra to use Magnet Release to block it. But at that moment, he felt a chill run through his body, and all the hairs on his body stood on end.

He quickly found the source of the danger he felt: Ōnoki and Matsutani Shinya.

It turns out that after several encounters, his position had already been locked down by Ōnoki and Matsutani Shinya.

At the beginning, the Sunagakure's defensive system was still intact, Ryosuke kept changing positions within the Sand Ninja Army.

Unlike Ōnoki Yichen a full-map view and couldn't pinpoint his location.

But right now, Ryosuke has no time to teleport; he can only continuously use Magnet Release to fill in any gaps.

As a result, his location was unsurprisingly exposed.

Ōnoki and Matsutani Shinya attacked him one after the other.

Ryosuke had no choice but to use a portion of his Porcelain Release to protect the area he was in.

Boom~

After a massive Tailed Beast Bomb explosion, the Sunagakure's defensive system at the First Line of Defense was almost completely destroyed.

Ryosuke's Magnet Release ultimately failed to block the Tailed Beast Bomb, and he himself was injured in Matsutani Shinya's attack.

With a wave of his hand, Ikura 'Iwa Ninja Army launched a general offensive as planned.

On the Sunagakure side, the surviving Sunagakure did not wait for orders from Command Center and immediately began a rapid retreat towards the Sunagakure.

But soon, they discovered with despair that a group of Iwa ninja had blocked their retreat.

The Iwa ninja even constructed simple, temporary defensive fortifications on this side using Earth Release techniques.

The leader of the Iwa ninja had already charged back into the retreating Sunagakure with a single slash, killing them one by one.

The ensuing battle ended quickly. Ryosuke organized the Sunagakure to hold off the Iwa ninja at the First Line of Defense, waiting for Rasa to return, but he never saw Rasa again.

He was met by Kawakita, Kawakita led a small group of elite Iwa ninja. They crossed the mountain at the edge of the First Line of Defense and delivered the final blow to the Sunagakure from behind.

Similarly, Kawakita delivered the final blow to Ryosuke.

Kawakita charged against the retreating army of Sunagakure, fighting his way to Ryosuke.

Ryosuke had already overexploited his Chakra in the previous battle, and when faced with the powerful Kawakita, he couldn't last more than a few rounds before being killed by Kawakita.

With the remaining Sunagakure Ryosuke killed, his fighting spirit completely extinguished, and he had no choice but to surrender.

In this First Shinobi War, of the approximately Five Thousand Army assembled by the Sunagakure, more than 3,000 were killed in action, and only a little over 1,000 were taken prisoner.

On the Iwagakure side, fewer than five hundred people died.

In their efforts to contain the casualties, Ōnoki and Ikura wasted at least half a day.

If the Iwa ninja had disregarded casualties and opted for a direct assault from the start, the Sunagakure should have been wiped out hours ago.

Ōnoki descended from the sky and began discussing with Ikura Kawakita the plan to plunder the entire Sunagakure.

"Third Lord, Lord Ikura, Kawakita- Lord Kawakita, there's no one left in Sunagakure. The Sunagakure evacuated civilians before the battle," a reconnaissance ninja reported after returning from scouting Sunagakure.

"Besides civilians, we didn't see any young Sunagakure during this battle; they must have been evacuated with the civilians."

Ikura asked, "Is there any news about the One-Tail Jinchuriki?"

The intelligence ninja replied, "We haven't received any intelligence. However, our intelligence agents planted in Sunagakure have also disappeared. If nothing unexpected happens, they should have been transferred along with the others."

"Once we make contact with these intelligence agents, we can confirm the location where the Sunagakure have moved."

Ōnoki nodded and said, "It seems that Rasa had made arrangements in advance. He must have been suppressed too much by us recently, so he prepared for the worst."

"Have someone conduct another thorough reconnaissance of Sunagakure to check for any underground traps."

"Yes." The intelligence ninja replied and quickly left.

Ōnoki then said to Ikura and Kawakita, "Quickly organize the supplies that the Sunagakure didn't have time to take; we need to prepare for our retreat."

Ikura was taken aback and asked, "Third Lord, are we not going to occupy Sunagakure?"

Ōnoki shook his head and said, "Before we came, Yichen told me that we don't want the Sunagakure, but we can rebuild a branch in the Northern Land of Wind."

"Sunagakure is Sunagakure territory. No matter how thoroughly we search, Sunagakure may have left behind contingency plans we don't know about. It's not worth taking that risk for a base."

"Furthermore, the scale of our Land of Wind branch will not be too large; the scale of the Sunagakure is not suitable."

"Just empty the Sunagakure of its wealth, take all the supplies needed to establish the new branch, nothing else matters."

Kawakita asked, "Are they still pursuing the Sunagakure who escaped?"

Ōnoki said, "By now, Konoha is probably finished, and we no longer have the opportunity to escalate the war."

"If our intelligence ninjas who stayed in Sunagakure can bring back information about the One-Tail Jinchuriki, then we'll set out. If not, we'll leave it at that."

"The main force of the Sunagakure has been wiped out, leaving only some young ninjas. It will take them a long time to grow up."

"At this point, what we need to do is to digest the northern half of the Land of Wind."

Both Ikura and Kawakita nodded.

After arranging the affairs, Ikura asked, "Third Lord, given the current situation, can Sunagakure still maintain its position as one of the Six Great Ninja Villages?"

Ōnoki laughed, "Theoretically, Sunagakure is no longer qualified, but I reckon Yichen will help Sunagakure retain its title as one of the Six Great Ninja Villages."

Both Kawakita and Ikura were curious: why did Yichen simultaneously order them to cripple the Sunagakure also preserving their status?

Ōnoki explained, "After all, we are in a time of peace now. Our grand strategy is to maintain peace and then continue to develop."

"As long as Sunagakure remains one of the Six Great Ninja Villages, this war can still be considered a small-scale conflict. We can still maintain a semblance of peace in the Ninja World."

"However, if Sunagakure is squeezed out of its position as one of the Six Great Ninja Villages, then the balance of the Ninja World that we have worked so hard to create may be broken."

Ikura nodded and said, "I understand, we can't take too big a step."

Ōnoki nodded in deep agreement and said, "That's right. In short, you can't take too big a step."

"Over the years, under Yichen's leadership, we have Earth Flow this far, step by step."

"For decades before Yichen emerged, we always thought of destroying Konoha in one fell swoop, but we always ended up suffering heavy losses."

"Ever since Yichen started to emerge, we've stopped immediately after gaining the upper hand in our battles against Konoha and other ninja villages."

"We will sign a relatively reasonable peace treaty that is acceptable to both sides."

"This may seem like giving the enemy a chance to breathe, but it actually buys us time to consolidate our gains."

"Study hard. If nothing unexpected happens, Yichen will get some benefits from Konoha this time."

Both Ikura and Kawakita nodded.

After a while, Ōnoki looked towards the Land of Fire and said to the two, "There's another aspect: Konoha must know about our actions. It's hard to guarantee they won't send troops to attack our other branches."

"If we feign a retreat at this point, Konoha will hesitate about whether to continue their attack."

"We are not afraid of Konoha now, but there is no need to start a war at this time. We are not ready yet."

The Iwa Ninja Army moved swiftly, and the entire Sunagakure was quickly emptied by the Iwa ninja.

Seeing that each ninja was carrying large and small bags, Ōnoki and the other two smiled.

Then Ōnoki waved his hand. "Retreat!"