Chapter 14

He looked down below-the one-armed Bunpuku was transforming more and more drastically.

Saliva dripped continuously between Bunpuku's teeth, completely beyond his control.

This was the possession form, or, to put it plainly, a partial tailed beast transformation.

"This is bad! Shukaku is attacking the seal inside Bunpuku!"

Ebizo was Sunagakure's strategist. At the sight of Bunpuku's condition, his expression changed in an instant, and he shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Sealing Squad, stop him, quickly! If this keeps up and Shukaku gets out, he'll attack everyone, friend or foe!"

Although the Sunagakure leadership had brought their jinchūriki onto the battlefield as a weapon, they had not come without a backup plan.

They had arranged for a Sealing Squad long ago, ready to deal with any emergency.

It was not just Sunagakure. Villages like Iwagakure and Kirigakure all used the same approach.

"Looks like their tailed beast going out of control has thrown them into a panic."

Orochimaru had been fighting a young Sunagakure ninja who could control sand. The man used Magnet Release.

Glancing at the chaos on Sunagakure's side, Orochimaru leaped backward, landed beside Xuan Zhe, and said:

"Now's our chance to charge in."

"No need. It's unnecessary."

Orochimaru froze. Xuan Zhe's words were like a splash of cold water, completely unexpected.

Xuan Zhe continued:

"If Shukaku really gets out and starts attacking everyone indiscriminately, our side in Konoha will suffer heavy losses too."

Konoha will suffer heavy losses.

Hearing that, Orochimaru nearly laughed aloud.

Had those words come from Xuan Zhe's older brother, Hatake Sakumo, he would have believed them.

But you, Hatake Xuan Zhe? Who are you fooling?

When have you ever cared whether Konoha lives or dies?

Orochimaru knew perfectly well that Xuan Zhe was hiding some other scheme.

Earlier, he had deliberately dragged Bunpuku into the Sarutobi Clan Battlefield precisely to use Bunpuku's wide-ranging attacks to finish off Sarutobi Shinnosuke and the others along the way.

But Xuan Zhe had never known that Sarutobi Shinnosuke could summon Enma.

Now, with Enma protecting him and the other Konoha ninja gradually gathering around, there was no longer any chance of using Sunagakure to kill that ungrateful bastard.

Fighting Shukaku would have been interesting, but Xuan Zhe was not in the mood right now.

Still, this trip had not been a loss. Sarutobi Rie was dead, and Konohamaru would once again never get to be born in this lifetime.

Hmm? Why "once again"?

Because that damned author had denied Konohamaru any chance of survival in his previous book too. Poor kid.

"We're leaving."

With that, Xuan Zhe headed toward the Konoha Camp first, without looking back.

Not far away, Hatake Sakumo saw his younger brother leave. After a moment's thought, he sheathed his blade and signaled his subordinates to retreat.

Two Kage-level fighters had left the battlefield in succession. Their meaning could not have been clearer.

Orochimaru could not work out what Xuan Zhe was plotting, but by now, he had long since become obsessed with researching ninjutsu. Konoha's interests meant nothing to him.

If Xuan Zhe was done fighting, he had no objections either. He directly ordered a full retreat.

Although Shukaku did not dislike Bunpuku, he would not willingly stay obediently inside his jinchūriki the way the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails would later.

At most, he simply felt less aversion toward Bunpuku.

Given a chance to break through the seal and escape, he would absolutely throw Bunpuku's life away without hesitation.

Sunagakure's people fought with everything they had before finally pulling Bunpuku back from the brink of losing control.

The young man who had fought Orochimaru, his short black hair standing upright, let out a sigh.

Had Xuan Zhe been here, he would certainly have recognized him at a glance-

The future Third Kazekage.

He turned toward the Konoha forces, who had long since vanished, disbelief written all over his face. "They... just retreated?"

Seeing Bunpuku on the verge of losing control earlier had frightened him into a cold sweat.

Everyone in Sunagakure had thought Konoha would seize the chance to launch an all-out assault.

Instead, they had turned around and left.

All the Sunagakure ninja were baffled, completely unable to figure out what Konoha was planning.

"Whatever the case, it's a good thing they didn't keep fighting."

Ebizo spoke.

"But Bunpuku can't stay on the battlefield in this condition. He must be sent back to the village."

The future Third Kazekage frowned. "Then... we can't keep fighting this war, can we?"

The Land of Wind had not held the upper hand to begin with.

Now White Fang had returned, along with a "Black Blade" they had never even heard of.

Meanwhile, Sunagakure's trump card, Bunpuku, had been gravely wounded and could only be sent back to the village.

He could no longer see any hope of victory.

Ebizo nodded gravely. "Yes. There's nothing we can do about it..."

"No!"

Chiyo suddenly roared, her voice crashing like thunder into the ears of everyone in Sunagakure.

Everyone turned to look. The old woman's eyes were practically spitting fire:

"We will not withdraw until White Fang is dead!"

Seeing his older sister looking utterly obsessed, Ebizo sighed again. "Sister..."

"Let's report to Lord Kazekage first."

The Third Kazekage, who had not yet taken that position, offered a suggestion.

Both his seniority and his position in Sunagakure were far below Chiyo's. He did not dare openly oppose her.

But anyone could see that Sunagakure could no longer win.

Chiyo was simply using official affairs to pursue her personal revenge.

Inside the Konoha Camp.

"Lord Xuan Zhe, why did we retreat? That was clearly our best chance to end the war in one push!"

Choza Akimichi shouted at the top of his lungs.

Nearby, Hyuga Hiashi, Inoichi Yamanaka, and the other representatives of the major clans gathered around as well, looking at Xuan Zhe in confusion.

Only now, they addressed him as "Lord Xuan Zhe."

In the past, who would have seen Xuan Zhe without sneeringly calling him the "eternal Genin"? That had been the norm.

Reality was that cruel.

"If the One-Tail really went berserk, nine out of ten of you wouldn't survive it. Are you all looking to die?"

Xuan Zhe shot back coldly.

"Well..."

Choza Akimichi and the others exchanged looks, unable to say a word.

In a corner of the tent, Tsunade wore exactly the same expression Orochimaru had worn on the battlefield after hearing those words-as though she had seen a ghost.

It would have made sense for Hatake Sakumo to worry about that.

But when have you, Hatake Xuan Zhe, ever cared whether Konoha ninja lived or died?

"What's that brat scheming this time?"

Tsunade muttered under her breath.

"Heh heh. Just watch."

On the other side, Orochimaru gave a couple of sinister chuckles.

Ever since they were children, Xuan Zhe had always managed to do things no one expected.

"Lord Xuan Zhe... has a point."

Shikaku Nara rubbed the stubble sprouting on his chin and began his analysis:

"You've already cut off one of Bunpuku's arms, so he almost certainly won't remain on the battlefield. Sunagakure's morale has hit rock bottom. The war was already going badly for them, and now they've lost even their jinchūriki trump card. It won't be long before Sunagakure sends a letter requesting peace."

"Bullshit!"

The instant Shikaku finished speaking, a furious roar erupted, and everyone's eyes turned toward it.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke's eyes were red as he waved his arms and bellowed:

"So many of our Sarutobi clan have died! We absolutely cannot let this war end like this! Rie is dead! Those [censored] in Sunagakure must pay in blood!"

Hatake Sakumo's heart lurched.

Shinnosuke was behaving exactly like Chiyo.

Hatred had completely consumed his mind.

"Mr. Shinnosuke, you..."

Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, and the others knotted their brows.

Anyone with eyes could see that continuing this war was simply courting death.

Fighting on would only waste lives.

To them, Sarutobi Shinnosuke simply wanted to drag everyone into [censored] for him because his lover and clansmen had died in this war.

But he was the Hokage's son.

For a moment, none of these major ninja clan heads dared to be the first to speak.

"Young Master Shinnosuke is right!"

Yet an even more jaw-dropping scene unfolded.

Xuan Zhe strode over to Shinnosuke, clenched his fists, and declared with indignation written all over his face:

"How can we spare the murderers who killed Lord Hokage's clansmen and son? We must kill them all to honor the souls of the Sarutobi ninja in heaven!"