P.S. There'll be another long chapter tonight as a bonus update.
But the Allied Shinobi Forces had no other choice.
If they kept holding their ground here,
the inevitable result would be the annihilation of the entire army.
As the Allied Forces' chief strategist,
Shikaku Nara couldn't allow that to happen. Even though he had no idea what they should do after retreating, their only option at that moment was to withdraw as a whole. Especially after Inoichi Yamanaka had relayed intelligence from the front lines: their Hokage, Lord Jiraiya, and the Third Tsuchikage had all been effortlessly crushed by Naruto, and the Third Tsuchikage had died on the spot. After hearing that, Shikaku cast aside his last trace of hesitation and decisively ordered a retreat.
It was a retreat made under duress, and with no other choice.
The Rock Ninja and Sand Ninja were forced to withdraw as well.
What followed was a running battle, with Snow Ninja Village's main force pursuing them all the way.
As for Tsunade and Jiraiya, the two Shikaku was most worried about—
As the retreat began,
Shikaku contacted Inoichi
and ordered him to tell Might Guy to do everything he could to assist Tsunade and Jiraiya and cover their retreat. After all, given the current situation, Guy was the only one with the strength and opportunity to do so. The others were in no position to help: Gaara had been gravely wounded and forced out of the battle, while the Fifth Kazekage, Baki, had fallen unconscious. Meanwhile, Kitsuchi, the central region's key fighter, had been ambushed by Yakumo while holding off Utakata in his Complete Tailed Beast Transformation.
If another group of elite Jonin from Iwagakure hadn't arrived to help,
Kitsuchi would have died right there.
Among the remaining Iwagakure leaders,
Akatsuchi, one