The battle lasted less than the time it took to burn a stick of incense.
Kumogakure had already lost more than twenty men, and every survivor was wounded.
Saddam himself had been suppressed by the joint efforts of Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two students. Several wounds marked his body, the worst being the blow Tsunade had landed on his chest, breaking at least three ribs.
He panted heavily, staring fixedly at Hiruzen Sarutobi in the distance.
"Hiruzen... Sarutobi..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi remained calm. "Saddam, more than half your men have fallen. Do you still intend to continue?"
Saddam looked around. Of the more than twenty elites he had brought, the dead and wounded lay scattered everywhere, while Konoha's Anbu had already shielded most of the Uzumaki Clan behind them.
He knew that today's operation had failed completely.
What shocked him most was Hiruzen Sarutobi's strength—though they were both Elite Jonin, the gap between them was immense.
Unless the Raikage came in person, no one could keep this man here.
"Retreat!"
He gritted his teeth and spat out the word, then led his battered remnants in a disgraceful retreat into the mountains.
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not pursue them.
He turned toward the Uzumaki Clan and only relaxed after confirming that the main group was unharmed.
"Anbu, count the survivors and prepare to withdraw."
"Yes!"
After the battle ended, the Anbu swiftly organized a headcount.
Elder Mei Chuan gathered the clan members together. Young and old alike, they were still shaken.
The mother holding Kushina sat on the ground, clutching the child tightly as tears streamed endlessly down her face. Yet the child was safe and sound, even reaching out to grab her mother's hair.
"Kushina is fine, she's fine..."
She murmured to herself, as though comforting the child and herself at the