After the Stone Shinobi retreated, the Konoha Ninja erupted in cheers. They had been fighting on the Land of Earth front for a year and had suffered defeat after defeat. This victory even moved some of them to tears of joy.
"Tohru, I'll head back now. Call me anytime if you need anything." After saying goodbye to Yamanaka Tohru, Gamahiro returned to Mount Myōboku.
"Orochimaru, don't forget my two hundred sacrifices." With that, Manda disappeared too.
"Snake Uncle, your Summoning Beast sure is one of a kind." Yamanaka Tohru had disliked Manda's personality ever since reading the original story, so he took the chance to tease Orochimaru.
"Don't mind him. He's always like that." Orochimaru turned and headed onto the battlefield, where he began arranging the Konoha Ninja's withdrawal.
That night, the Konoha Ninja celebrated their victory at Konoha Camp. Konoha had lost four hundred ninja and suffered seven hundred injuries, but had killed nearly a thousand Iwagakure ninja. The number of wounded Stone Shinobi was beyond counting.
The ordinary ninja weren't the only ones delighted by the victory. In Orochimaru's tent, even the representatives of the various clans were thrilled.
Meanwhile, gloom hung over the Stone Shinobi. Ōnoki was meeting with Iwagakure's Elite Jonin.
"Lord Tsuchikage, I can confirm that besides Orochimaru, there's another Kage Level ninja at Konoha Camp." The speaker was Shi, who had narrowly escaped with his life.
"Indeed! I encountered him today as well. He's very powerful—he was able to block my Dust Release." Ōnoki nodded.
"Lord Tsuchikage, was that giant toad summoned by that man?" one Elite Jonin asked.
"Probably. When I arrived, that brat was sitting on the toad's head."
"Lord Tsuchikage, is that toad the Summoning Beast of Jiraiya, one of the Konoha Sannin?" another Elite Jonin asked.
"It's the same kind