Ch. 541Konoha's Retreat
After Konoha retreated, Hiruko’s forces celebrated but chose to advance cautiously while Konoha’s allied villages splintered and Tsunade struggled to keep her troops together. Uchiha Yū ordered the newly seized territory consolidated and delayed capturing the tailed beasts, leaving Konoha slowly surrounded.
- Hiruko asked whether to pursue Konoha, but Pakura warned that traps and the head start made a chase too risky, so he ordered scouts to clear the abandoned camp and occupy nearby areas.
- Small villages allied with Konoha began fleeing and killing Konoha ninja to win favor with Dawn Hidden Village; Tsunade suppressed the revolt, but one-sixth of her force disappeared.
- Uchiha Yū ordered the war’s scale reduced and directed his forces to consolidate their new territory and eliminate the nobles in the Land of Fire.
- Kakuzu proposed demanding Konoha’s tailed beasts, but Uchiha Yū refused and ordered a gradual encirclement while allowing it to be known they wanted the beasts.