Hatake Sakumo returned in triumph with Uchiha Arashi, Hizashi Hyuga, and the others!
The streets of Konoha were already packed with people. As groups of prisoners were escorted through, the villagers lining the streets burst into cheers.
The Third had been killed, the Fourth had taken his place, and war had broken out again...
After so much had happened, the villagers were feeling unsettled.
They didn't know that the prisoners included major figures like A, the Third Raikage's son, Killer B, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, and Dodai.
But a glance at their Forehead Protectors and clothing was enough to identify them as shinobi from Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning.
The new Hokage had gone into action and brought back so many prisoners of war from the Land of Lightning. How could they not be excited?
Hatake Sakumo walked at the front, the Fourth's haori fluttering in the wind. He showed no reaction to the cheers along the road.
As he saw it, these villagers were the most opportunistic of all.
Two months ago, they had been the ones bullying and insulting the original owner of this body. Now that he had become Hokage and won a battle, they were the ones cheering and celebrating...
Hatake Sakumo regarded them as nothing more than "farts."
If they hadn't all been ordinary civilians, and if there hadn't been so many of them, Hatake Sakumo would have dealt with them long ago, just as he had Shimura Danzō and Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Now, the sight of them only annoyed him.
Just then, Hatake Sakumo spotted a familiar face in the crowd.
It was Yano Genma, the man the original owner had abandoned his mission to save, only for him to join the others in bullying him afterward.
So many major events had happened lately that, if he hadn't seen the man, Hatake Sakumo would have almost forgotten again that he still hadn't dealt with him.
It had to be said, Yano Genma was very lucky.
After killing Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō, Hatake Sakumo had been busy clearing himself of suspicion and hadn't made a move against this small fry.
After becoming Hokage, Hatake Sakumo had only spent a few days handling village affairs and was considering how to deal with him when the Third Shinobi World War broke out...
Even now, he still hadn't found the time to deal with the man.
Once I've finished with this war, you'll die. Hatake Sakumo made a mental note, withdrew his gaze, and continued walking.
Yano Genma, however, was already scared out of his wits in the crowd.
He had come out to stroll around the village today.
Ever since learning that Hatake Sakumo had become the Fourth Hokage, he had applied to leave the ANBU. He hadn't taken any missions lately and had stayed in the village, "enjoying the last of his life."
But he waited and waited, and Sakumo never came to deal with him.
Only when he heard that war had broken out again and the Hokage had personally led a force into battle did he dare leave his house and stroll around the village.
Who would have thought that, while he was out today, he would run into Hatake Sakumo returning in triumph?
Yano Genma stared at the "white-haired Hokage" and thought how imposing he looked now!
First he had become the Fourth Hokage, and now he had won a war and captured so many prisoners... He swallowed, with only one thought in his mind:
Why didn't you die on the battlefield?
Their eyes met across the crowd.
Yano Genma's heart skipped a beat, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.
He didn't dare hold Sakumo's gaze. He hurriedly lowered his head and disappeared into the crowd in a few quick steps.
The Hokage's office.
Hatake Sakumo brought A, Killer B, and Dodai, the three most important prisoners from this battle, to the office.
Tsunade was sitting behind the desk, working on documents. She wasn't surprised by Hatake Sakumo's return.
As soon as Hatake Sakumo and the others entered the Land of Fire and returned to Konoha, the ANBU had reported it. So Tsunade knew where he was.
Tsunade had just finished sorting the documents in her hands. She looked up at the three prisoners, then rose from the Hokage's seat and said,
"Fourth, you really are impressive! You captured three important figures from Kumogakure as soon as you went into action. The Third Raikage must be worried sick this time."
Hatake Sakumo exchanged pleasantries with Tsunade for a while, and then the two discussed what to do with the prisoners.
As it happened, the underground Root base that had been attacked and destroyed earlier had now been rebuilt. It was still empty and hadn't been put to use.
Hatake Sakumo decided to use it to hold the prisoners.
"Have the Hyuga Clan keep a close eye on them. Especially A and Killer B-we can't let them die. Keeping them alive will give us bargaining chips for future negotiations with Kumogakure."
Tsunade nodded, raising no objection.
Hatake Sakumo instructed the ANBU to summon the Hyuga clan head.
After the ANBU left, Hatake Sakumo chatted with Tsunade in front of the three prisoners of war.
He asked how his dear son Kakashi was doing, as well as about Jiraiya's three disciples, Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko.
Before long, Hyūga Hajime arrived with members of his clan. Hatake Sakumo entrusted him with housing and guarding the prisoners.
When the ANBU had come to summon him, Hyūga Hajime had been sitting at home, listening to his younger son, Hizashi Hyuga, recount the course of the war.
From his son, he had learned just how strong the Fourth was.
He had also learned that the Fourth had actually captured the Third Raikage's son and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki alive...
Once the three prisoners of war were led away, only Hatake Sakumo and Tsunade remained in the Hokage's office.
Tsunade suddenly remembered something else!
She had been so caught up in the good news from Hatake Sakumo's side that she had forgotten about Nara Shikata.
Her expression grew serious, and she said to Hatake Sakumo,
"That's right, Fourth. On the Land of Wind's side, the Third Kazekage has personally led an army of Sand shinobi against us. Nara Shikata took a group of shinobi to resist them and is holding out at the northwestern border. What do you think? Should you go and give them some support?"
Hatake Sakumo immediately agreed.
This time, he planned to go alone. What Nara Shikata needed was top-level combat power, not more shinobi.
Hatake Sakumo raced all the way to the battlefield on the northwestern border, arriving in no time.
From far away, he could see how fierce the fighting had been. Corpses lay strewn across the ground, shinobi from both sides among them.
The battlefield was covered in blasted, scorched earth and broken trees.
Two figures were flying overhead.
Hatake Sakumo recognized them both.
One was the Third Kazekage. Hatake Sakumo found the other even more familiar: he had appeared in the anime. That was Gaara's father, Rasa.
But Rasa was still very young now, looking to be in his early twenties.
Fighting those two were none other than Minato Namikaze and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
Hatake Sakumo rapidly closed in, his eyes fixed on the battle.
Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God was indeed formidable. Even when the Third Kazekage controlled his Iron Sand and unleashed "large-scale AOE skills," Minato could instantly move away, completely unharmed.
The problem was that when Minato dodged, the Sand and Konoha shinobi fighting nearby suffered. Great swaths of Iron Sand rained down indiscriminately on friend and foe, crushing the shinobi below to death in an instant.
Hatake Sakumo watched, his brow deeply furrowed.
On Rasa's side, the Akimichi clan head was bearing the brunt of the fighting.
He had used his clan's secret Super Multi-Size Technique to become a giant, with tremendous strength in both attack and defense.
With Nara Shikata and the Yamanaka clan head supporting him, the three of them had Rasa completely pinned down.
Rasa relied on his ability to fly to stall for time in the air, waiting for the giant to run out of Chakra so he could "feed" all three of them to his Gold Dust in one fell swoop.
As for the two armies of shinobi, their battle was a complete free-for-all.
Without breaking stride, Hatake Sakumo reached behind his back and drew his short blade, White Fang.
He fixed his gaze on the Third Kazekage, who was controlling Iron Sand wings as he flew at high speed through the air, "chasing" Minato Namikaze and constantly unleashing AOE attacks. Sakumo swung his blade fiercely, sending out a Flying Slash!
The slash was coated in Armament Haki. It was incredibly fast and astonishingly powerful.
The Third Kazekage was wholly focused on Minato Namikaze and hadn't noticed the sneak attack at all. Only when the slash drew close did he start violently, suddenly realizing something was wrong!
He had no time to think. He hastily pulled the Iron Sand wings at his sides together to protect himself, forming a wing-shaped shield in front of him.
A great mass of Iron Sand blocked his front.
"Clang...!"
A tremendous crash rang out!
The Flying Slash, coated in Armament Haki, slammed into the Iron Sand shield, its impact sending the Third Kazekage hurtling backward!
The Third Kazekage was knocked straight out of the air and slammed into the ground, landing in a sorry state.
Amid the dust, the Third Kazekage braced himself on his Iron Sand and stood again. He wiped the dust from his face and looked darkly in the direction the slash had come from.
"Who the hell was that? How dare you sneak-attack me?"