Before anyone knew it, the war between Konoha and Sunagakure had already been raging for over a month!
During that time, the ninjas of the two great hidden villages had fought more than a dozen large-scale battles along the border of the Land of Fire, suffering heavy casualties!
Afterward, the fighting gradually shifted from direct clashes to assassinations and ambushes. Once the scale of the battles had diminished, the Konoha front immediately sent the bodies of fallen ninjas, those too badly wounded to fight again, and captured enemy ninjas back to the village.
The morgue at Konoha Hospital was already packed with bodies. Grieving relatives had come from all corners of the village, and their sorrow spread outward like a plague.
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and Elder Advisor Utatane Koharu had arrived early. They spoke softly to comfort the bereaved, but with little effect.
"Lord Hokage."
The hospital director, Nara Lukai, approached from a distance, his expression grave. "The count is accurate. The front lines have sent back 132 bodies and 74 ninjas so badly wounded they can no longer fight."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened.
Just over two thousand ninjas had been sent to the front. In barely a month, a tenth of them had already been killed or wounded!
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt both grief and anger. After a long silence, he turned to Utatane Koharu. "Koharu, the heroes who sacrificed themselves for the village will all be buried in Martyr Cemetery tomorrow morning. Lukai, I'll leave our seriously wounded comrades in the hospital's care!"
"Understood." Utatane Koharu and Nara Lukai nodded at the same time.
Hiruzen Sarutobi then left Konoha and headed straight for Anbu Headquarters.
Besides the bodies and wounded ninjas, Konoha had also brought back three Sunagakure prisoners. Two had killed themselves on the way, leaving only