To Repay My Debts, I'll Become Hokage!

This time, no one opposed him.

Jonin Midori walked toward the exit: "I will go notify everyone."

Yashamaru nodded: "As quickly as possible. Once we are prepared, notify the patrols, and we will evacuate immediately."

Jonin Midori nodded and left.

"They have indeed retreated."

Listening to the report from the Konoha intelligence unit, Hatake Sakumo smiled gently: "The mission to expel Sunagakure from the Land of Fire is complete."

He issued the order for an all-out attack the day after tomorrow in front of everyone, not just for Konoha to hear, but for Sunagakure as well.

The effect was outstanding; only a day later, Sunagakure had already withdrawn.

As Hatake Sakumo's voice faded, everyone present simultaneously revealed expressions of joy.

"Heh, that just leaves Amegakure, right!"

Nawaki was in high spirits; as long as they dealt with Amegakure, the war could finally end!

Tsunade rapped Nawaki on the head, ignoring his glare, and said: "Amegakure isn't so easy to deal with. Unless we find a way to neutralize Salamander Hanzo's deadly poison, we cannot act rashly."

"We were able to resolve the situation with Sunagakure only because their poison could be countered by your sister here. Without the aid of their toxins, Sunagakure was like a tiger with its teeth pulled, forced to clash with us in raw strength."

And when it came to raw strength, Konoha had nothing to fear.

As the premier ninja village in the shinobi world, they possessed that level of confidence.

"Senior Sakumo, what is our next move?"

Uchiha Chonhua looked toward Hatake Sakumo.

Hatake Sakumo looked at everyone present and said slowly: "Next, we will advance our positions to the border. I will remain here to deal with the fury of Chiyo from Sunagakure."

Having killed her son and daughter-in-law, Chiyo would undoubtedly be enraged and arrive here in person.

Hatake Sakumo staying behind would be the best way to draw Chiyo's hatred.

"Leave the corpses of Rasa and the Akasuna Couple behind. Have the Anbu come here to perform autopsies; I have a great use for them."

Every ninja village had different methods of training their shinobi, which resulted in deep-seated traces of their village's influence on their bodies.

Through these traces, Anbu members skilled in autopsies could extract a significant amount of intelligence about the enemy.

This was especially true for high-profile figures.

Originally, the remains of Rasa and the Akasuna Couple were intended to be transported back to the village for a detailed examination.

But since Hatake Sakumo had a major use for them, the Anbu ninjas responsible for the autopsies would simply have to be inconvenienced by traveling here.

"I will report this matter to the Hokage. Regarding matters beneficial to the war effort, I believe the Hokage will not refuse my request."

Everyone looked at each other and then nodded.

Tsunade and Orochimaru also stepped forward to co-sign the report.

With the three of them backing it, the request to keep the remains of Rasa and the Akasuna Couple would certainly be approved!

Chapter 73: The War Is Not Yet Over

Sunagakure's withdrawal from the Land of Fire did not mean the war was over.

Everyone in Konoha understood this clearly.

Especially since Uchiha Chonhua and Hatake Sakumo had killed three of the enemy's heavyweight figures.

Upon returning to the talks between Sunagakure and the Third Kazekage, Chiyo suddenly received the tragic news that her son and daughter-in-law had died at the hands of Konoha's Hatake Sakumo. Her body swayed instantly, and her head felt as if it had been struck by a hammer, leaving her dazed.

Grief and rage swept through the body of this Sunagakure elder.

She gritted her teeth, and a pain like a drill piercing her heart struck her, nearly causing her to collapse.

"Elder Chiyo!"

The Sunagakure ninja who delivered the news hurriedly stepped forward to support her, but Chiyo waved him away, her eyes cold and sharp.

Chiyo said: "Tell the Kazekage that I will not be attending the subsequent talks."

"I am going to the front lines myself to kill Hatake Sakumo and avenge my son and daughter-in-law!"

As for the death of Rasa, Chiyo ignored it entirely; Rasa was certainly not as important as her son and daughter-in-law!

Having said that, Chiyo turned and walked directly toward her home.

The cold, sharp gaze she had shown the Sunagakure ninja turned into one of agony the moment she turned away.

--How was she supposed to tell Sasori the news of his parents' death?

She couldn't bear to see the look of sorrow and pain on Sasori's face... she would have to hide it for now.

Salamander Hanzo was in a very bad mood.

News had just arrived: the Akasuna Couple had fallen in battle, and Sunagakure, having suffered heavy losses, had withdrawn from the Land of Fire.

Salamander Hanzo was momentarily stunned, especially upon discovering that Hatake Sakumo had appeared on the southern battlefield.

He smashed the table to pieces in a fit of rage.

When did Hatake Sakumo slip away to the southern front? How did he not receive a single report about this?!

"Lord Hanzo, what should we do next?"

An Amegakure jonin looked toward Salamander Hanzo, awaiting his orders.

Salamander Hanzo fell into deep thought.

Having dealt with Sunagakure for years, he was well aware of the background and status of the Akasuna Couple.

Sunagakure's withdrawal from the Land of Fire did not mean the end of the war.

That puppet-master hag was a stubborn figure, and her tenacity was enough to give even Salamander Hanzo a headache. Even if the Third Kazekage wanted to end the war, Chiyo, fueled by overwhelming hatred, would absolutely refuse to cease hostilities.

If anything, because of Chiyo, Sunagakure would likely commit even more ninja to the fray.

The war was not de-escalating; it was intensifying.

So, what was Konoha aiming for?

Salamander Hanzo quickly deduced Konoha's objective.

"They cannot tolerate war within the borders of the Land of Fire."

Salamander Hanzo suddenly wore a mocking smile: "The arrogance of a Great Nation."

With Sunagakure expelled from the Land of Fire, his Amegakure would be next.

Could he retreat?

If there were no war within the Land of Fire, would Konoha simply stop fighting?

Chiyo would never agree to a truce.

The war between Sunagakure and Konoha would only grow more violent because of the Akasuna Couple and Rasa.

Since they could not fight in the Land of Fire, and it certainly wouldn't be in the Land of Wind, where else could they turn into a battlefield for Sunagakure and Konoha?

Salamander Hanzo turned around, his gas mask exhaling puffs of purple vapor.

The direction he faced was his homeland, the place where he had grown up: the Land of Rain.

It could only be the Land of Rain.

He, Salamander Hanzo, held grudges against both Sunagakure and Konoha; it was only natural for those two parties to treat the Land of Rain as their battlefield.

That brought him back to the same question: he was now the only invading force left within the Land of Fire.

Could he retreat?

He could not!

Salamander Hanzo ordered his Amegakure chunin: "Assemble the troops! We are breaking through toward the rear!"

"Yes!"

The Amegakure forces shouted in unison!

"Rasengan!"

With lightning crackling around his body, Uchiha Chonhua flickered and appeared before a Sunagakure ninja.

Before the man's terrified eyes, the Rasengan slammed into his chest.

The intense, tearing force sent the Sunagakure ninja spinning uncontrollably as he flew backward.

Bang!

The Sunagakure ninja slammed violently into a tree trunk; his clothes were shredded, leaving a bloody, swirling mark on his chest.

The ninja's body shuddered, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and then his head slumped to the side, his breath silenced forever.

Having easily dispatched the Sunagakure ninja, Uchiha Chonhua instantly moved to assist his teammates.

Before long, the entire Sunagakure squad entrenched here had been wiped out.

"This should be the last of the Sunagakure squads."

Uchiha Chonhua activated his Mind's Eye of the Kagura; within the range of his perception, there were no other chakra signatures from Sunagakure.

Hearing this, Nawaki let out a sigh of relief: "Finally, they're gone."

Looking at the corpses of the Sunagakure ninja, Nawaki wore an expression of pity.

"Poor souls, they were just abandoned by Sunagakure like that."

The main force of Sunagakure had retreated in such a rush that they hadn't bothered to account for the squads sent out to conduct guerrilla warfare and harassment.

Without the support of the main army, these Sunagakure squads stranded within the Land of Fire had immediately become the primary targets of Konoha's strikes.

By today, they had been almost entirely eradicated.

Nawaki stood with his hands on his hips and shook his head, offering a sharp critique of Sunagakure: "How truly cold and heartless. They could even abandon their own village comrades; if it were us in Konoha, we would absolutely never do such a thing!"

Uchiha Chonhua cast an indescribable look at Nawaki.

--To him, possessing the cheat of knowing the plot, these words held a rather peculiar sense of irony.

Nawaki looked at Uchiha Chonhua with confusion and blinked: "Chonhua, why are you looking at me like that?"

Nawaki checked himself over and then touched his own face.

Everything seemed fine, so why did the look in Chonhua's eyes feel so off?

"Did I say something wrong?"

Uchiha Chonhua patted Nawaki on the shoulder: "No, you said it perfectly."

"Who could possibly say you're wrong? It's correct, absolutely correct!"

Nawaki felt that Chonhua's words sounded a bit sarcastic, but he had no proof.

"Clean this place up, we're heading back to camp."

Uchiha Chonhua issued the order as team leader; these Sunagakure ninja were not important figures, nor were they Jonin, so there was no need to drag them back for intelligence.

They cleared the Sunagakure corpses on the spot and returned to camp just as dusk fell and the night began to rise.

No sooner had Uchiha Chonhua entered the camp than he was notified to report to the commander's tent.

"Senior Jiraiya."

Uchiha Chonhua offered a greeting.

Hearing this, Jiraiya walked over and smiled: "You've finally returned. How did it go? How was the Sunagakure squad handled?"

"It's mostly resolved; there shouldn't be any Sunagakure squads left behind."

Uchiha Chonhua gave a brief report on their cleanup operation.

"Just in case, our squad will continue to patrol the surrounding area for the next few days..."