A few days passed, and the people of Kumogakure still didn't return to attack.
Then, for reasons unknown, they began to withdraw. The discovery sent Konoha's people into a frenzy of joy. It meant Kumogakure had abandoned its plans to continue fighting, and peace was about to return.
As it happened, Hyuga Lan had a great deal to do with Kumogakure's retreat.
The Fourth Raikage had originally planned to rally his forces again over the next couple of days and try another major assault on Konoha.
But a message arrived saying his village had been attacked, interrupting the plan he had already made.
The report said Kumogakure had been attacked by an unknown Magnet Release user and had suffered heavy losses.
Not only had they lost an elder, but many precious documents and weapons had also gone missing. The normally hot-tempered Fourth Raikage flew into a rage when he read the report.
Magnet Release: Iron Sand?
Could there be any doubt about who was behind this?
Other than the former Third Kazekage of Sunagakure, he had never heard of anyone else possessing such an ability.
This had to be connected to Sunagakure.
The Fourth Raikage wanted nothing more than to rush straight to Sunagakure and raise hell, venting his fury.
Since his base had been attacked, staying here to wear down Konoha's forces would have been utterly irresponsible of him as Raikage.
So, without giving it much thought, the Fourth Raikage abandoned his plans to continue attacking Konoha and returned to Kumogakure to take charge. That was what led to the Kumogakure ninjas' withdrawal today.
Jiraiya, the commander-in-chief overseeing the front against Kumogakure, saw them retreat and assumed his plan to launch a proactive attack had worked. He believed Kumogakure had realized that destroying Konoha was out of the question and had therefore ended the war.
He wasn't entirely wrong, but without Hyuga Lan secretly tipping the scales, the fighting would have dragged on much longer, even if it eventually ended.
Before long, everyone began celebrating. They planned to wait and observe the situation a little longer, then return to the village.
On another front, the Iwagakure Ninja, led by Ōnoki, had failed to gain the slightest advantage against the Konoha Ninja under the Third Hokage. After several inconclusive battles, they had no choice but to halt their advance for the time being.
When word arrived that Kumogakure had withdrawn, Ōnoki first cursed out the Fourth Raikage.
Then, after learning that Kumogakure's home had been attacked while its defenses were depleted, Ōnoki decided to avoid suffering the same fate. He left the front ahead of his men and hurried back to take charge of his village.
Without Ōnoki to lead them, the Iwagakure Ninja had no choice but to withdraw into the Land of Earth and set up camp within their own borders, apparently ready to deal with any possible attack from Konoha.
Konoha had suffered heavy losses, so there was no desire to pursue the retreating Iwagakure forces. Simply repelling the invasion was already a hard-won victory for a village facing one crisis after another.
What Konoha needed most now was to bring the war to a halt and buy time to recover, not start another round of fighting.
So, once it was clear that Iwagakure wouldn't attack again anytime soon, the Third Hokage also chose to withdraw and return to the village.
When the Third Hokage got back and received Jiraiya's report on the fighting, he finally learned what had caused the unexpected turn of events.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand?
"Could it really be the Third Kazekage?
"Did he survive after disappearing?"
The Third Kazekage's mysterious disappearance had been the fuse that ignited the Third Shinobi World War. Now, the very culprit who had sparked that war had brazenly appeared in Kumogakure and attacked them.
The Third Hokage couldn't make sense of it. Was the mysterious figure who had appeared and used Magnet Release: Iron Sand really the former Third Kazekage?
If it was the Third Kazekage, how was Rasa, the current Fourth Kazekage, supposed to deal with his predecessor?
The Third Hokage shook his head. Rasa could worry about that headache himself. He had no time to concern himself with it right now.
The Third Hokage continued reviewing the reports. When he read that Shisui had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and used Susanoo to fend off the Fourth Raikage, he couldn't help clenching his fists.
The Mangekyō Sharingan?
That cursed power had appeared once again within the Uchiha Clan. What a troublesome development.
As a student of the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi had long been influenced by him. Deep down, he too was wary of the Uchiha Clan, the clan that had once produced Madara Uchiha.
Especially since the Nine-Tails Incident had happened not long ago. The sight of the Nine-Tails being controlled by the Sharingan was still fresh in his mind.
Ordinary Sharingan were surely not powerful enough to control the Nine-Tails.
According to the report, Shisui had used Susanoo in a moment of crisis to save Hyuga Lan from the Fourth Raikage.
In other words, Shisui must have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan long ago and simply kept it hidden.
Could Shisui have been the Uchiha who controlled the Nine-Tails with the Sharingan that night?
But as the Third Hokage recalled Shisui's past behavior, he couldn't help feeling that his suspicion was probably misplaced.
Shisui was the descendant of his old comrade, Kagami Uchiha, and the Third Hokage had always placed great hopes in him.
Through the teachings of the Will of Fire, Shisui had come to place great importance on the village. He was such an exemplary heir to the Will of Fire that it was hard to imagine him using the Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails and destroy Konoha.
He'd wait until Shisui returned and ask him about it.
The Third Hokage then began issuing orders, instructing the Konoha Ninja who had been fighting Kumogakure to return to the village in batches.
And so, more than half a month later, Hyuga Lan and the others finally left the front and returned to the village.
As Hyuga Lan walked through Konoha, he noticed that the atmosphere seemed a little strange.
They had held off Kumogakure's attack for the village. Surely the villagers should have welcomed them like heroes. So why were they looking at them so strangely?
After observing more closely, Hyuga Lan realized that the villagers weren't staring at him. They were staring at Shisui beside him.
Shisui had noticed something was wrong too. When one of his clansmen came over and told him why, his eyes widened at whatever he heard. Then he began sweating profusely, looking utterly shaken.
As it turned out, a rumor had spread widely through the village over the past few days.
The identity of the culprit behind the Nine-Tails' rampage six months earlier, who had killed the Fourth Hokage and his wife and caused the deaths of countless villagers, had supposedly been uncovered. It was none other than the Uchiha Clan's genius, Uchiha Shisui.
He had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, which hadn't appeared within the Uchiha Clan for many years.
And since only the Mangekyō Sharingan could control the Nine-Tails, many villagers who didn't know the truth believed the rumor as soon as it surfaced. That was why the village looked the way it did today.
Shisui could hardly sit still after hearing this. He couldn't even stop to have a meal with Hyuga Lan and the others. He rushed off alone toward the Hokage Building...