"If Hiruzen Sarutobi could see the situation clearly, he would probably be prepared to surrender."
Ziyun's gaze turned towards the Land of Fire.
Even with a desperate struggle, Konoha cannot win this war; continuing the fight will only increase casualties and serve no purpose.
However, if Konoha were to surrender, Ziyun would not let them off easily.
Ceding at least half of the Land of Land of Fire is necessary; the Hidden Konoha Kumogakure tasted the benefits of the land Konoha ceded last time.
This time, Kumogakure must secure the greatest benefit from their victory.
In truth, the destruction of Konoha was merely a matter of Ziyun's decision. However, Konoha's talent pool hadn't been completely depleted yet, so let's keep Konoha alive for a while longer.
News of the clash between Kumogakure and Konoha spread quickly. In just a few days, Konoha suffered heavy losses and was forced into retreat.
The power of Kumogakure is too great. This result is only due to the actions of Uchiha Mikoto and Kushina Uzumaki. The real big boss, the Fourth Raikage Yeyue Ziyun, hasn't even made a move yet.
This made the other ninja villages feel uneasy.
Today, the Kumogakure can easily defeat the Konoha Village, but tomorrow they might turn their swords against them. This is a reality that every village leader must consider.
"Father, should we go and support Konoha? Kumogakure is too powerful."
Kitsuchi asked Ōnoki for instructions.
"Stop talking. Do you think supporting Konoha will guarantee victory? Have you forgotten that we did join forces Second Shinobi World War? And what was the result?"
"Ten years have passed now. Neither you nor I know how much Yeyue Ziyun has grown. By then, he might not just be launching a sneak attack on Iwagakure anymore; he could very well come and wipe out the Iwagakure..."
"At this point, we have no way to support Konoha anymore. We can only hope that Konoha can hold on. It's not a good thing for one side to be dominant."
Ōnoki sighed, saying that he was traumatized by Ziyun Second Shinobi World War.
Just like the psychological trauma he suffered from being beaten by Madara Uchiha, he had no intention of helping Konoha.
As for other villages, there's even less possibility of them supporting Konoha. Kirigakure has already been hollowed out by Ziyun, and now Madara Uchiha is taking control of Kirigakure, preparing to find his successor.
The Sunagakure was too busy fighting the Iwagakure to care about this matter.
" Teacher Sarutobi has finally woken up."
Meanwhile, within the Land of Fire, at the Konoha temporary camp, Hiruzen Sarutobi awoke with the help of medical-nin.
Jiraiya stepped forward and asked with concern.
"How is the battle going?" The first thing Hiruzen Sarutobi was about the battle situation.
"What else could happen? Of course, we lost. More than 700 people died, nearly a thousand were injured, and the losses were devastating."
Danzo to the side, said irritably.
"Damn it, I didn't expect Kushina and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to be this strong. Their destructive power is no less than that of Uchiha Mikoto!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was speechless.
Kushina Jiraiya from Konoha, and he had even planned to train her to be the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
As a result, she was lured away by Yeyue Ziyun again, and has grown to this extent.
If Uchiha Mikoto and Kushina Uzumaki were both from Konoha, how could Konoha have fallen to such a state?
After Hiruzen Sarutobi speaking, everyone fell silent.
Everyone knows what happened with Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto's defection; they brought it on themselves.
What's the use of regretting it now? There's no medicine for regret in this world.
"If things really come to a standstill, we'll have to prepare to surrender; there's no point in continuing the fight."
" The Kumogakure is too powerful. This is the only way to preserve the Konoha."
Then Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and said something he was extremely unwilling to admit, but had to face as reality.
" Sarutobi, are you serious? You're surrendering so easily?"
Shimura Danzō looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with his one eye, his tone unfriendly.
"So what else do you want? To keep fighting?"
"Don't forget, we were already defeated like this after only encountering Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto, and now Tsunade has arrived."
"You've witnessed Tsunade's strength; I don't need to elaborate on how much she's grown in the past seven years."
"Also, and most importantly, Yeyue Ziyun Konoha will be wiped out."
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. If he could, he wouldn't want to surrender either.
What else could we do but surrender?
Should we continue fighting? We might wipe out the entire Konoha and still not win.
Rather than doing that, it's better to surrender and cut your losses in time.
"You'd better think this through. The Kumogakure took our supplies and still attacked us."
"If you announce your surrender, he won't attack us anymore?"
What if he makes a move then?
Danzo sneered, pouring cold water on Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Yes, you're right. So tell me how to do it? You, 02, will tell me!"
Chakra Hiruzen Sarutobi his voice, unleashing the chakra of Kage Level expert.
If he weren't so badly injured, he would definitely Danzo the face.
It's fine until the crucial moment, but when the crucial moment comes, Danzo only knows how to argue, stubbornly arguing without offering a solution.
Moreover, in the battle just now, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't see Danzo make Danzo move from beginning to end; that old schemer must have been watching from the sidelines again.
"Snort."
Danzo coldly and didn't reply.
Because he didn't know what to do either, he only knew that he absolutely couldn't surrender so easily, but unfortunately the decision was in Hiruzen Sarutobi, and he had no say in the matter.
"Alright, I've decided to surrender to Kumogakure. Anyone with objections can speak up; otherwise, it's settled."
Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced around at the Konoha High Command present and spoke.
Seeing that no one responded, Hiruzen Sarutobi continued, "Then surrender. Next, we need to choose one person to negotiate."
"I'll go, Teacher Sarutobi. I've been there before, I have experience in this area."
Orochimaru stepped forward voluntarily.
"Forget it, Orochimaru, I think we should let Minato Namikaze go instead. He has the Flying Thunder God Technique; if the opponent tries to kill him, he can escape easily."
Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Orochimaru a deep look before handing the task over to Minato Namikaze.
In fact, after Orochimaru's last visit to Hidden Village for negotiations, Hiruzen Sarutobi somewhat distrustful of Orochimaru.
I always felt there was something strange about him, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
It was wartime, and Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't want to investigate Orochimaru to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.
Therefore, he decided to entrust this crucial task to Minato Namikaze, who had saved him twice.
" Minato, this negotiation is in your hands. You must do your best to secure a favorable outcome for Konoha, understand?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi patted Minato Namikaze's shoulder heavily, his eyes full of admiration.
"Yes, I understand, Lord Hokage. I will definitely do my best to achieve it."
Minato Namikaze smiled coolly.
Orochimaru was standing nearby, watched all of this with a hint of displeasure flashing in his snake-like eyes; it was anyone's guess what he was thinking.
Then Minato Namikaze set off, this time alone.
Someone is heading this way.
Not long after, at the Kumogakure camp, Ziyun's Observation Haki detected a Chakra rapidly approaching.
Then, a Kunai imbued with the Flying Thunder God Formula was planted inside the Kumogakure Camp, and a figure flashed in.
" Minato Namikaze? Is he here to launch a sneak attack?"
"Do you think you're invincible just because you have the Flying Thunder God Technique? It seems my lack of action has given Konoha a false sense of security."
Ziyun sneered, then unleashed his full power, preparing to attack Minato Namikaze.
"No, no, no, Fourth Lord Raikage, please don't misunderstand. I'm here to negotiate with Kumogakure on the orders of the Lord Hokage."
Seeing the Chakra pouring out from Ziyun's body, Minato Namikaze quickly waved his hand and explained his purpose.
For some reason, Minato Namikaze sensed an extremely dangerous aura just now.
Despite possessing the Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato Namikaze felt that no one in the Shinobi World could keep up with him.
But just now, he sensed the threat of death emanating from Ziyun.
"Oh? Negotiation or surrender? Make it clear."
Upon hearing Minato Namikaze's purpose, Ziyun withdrew his imposing aura.
Unexpectedly, Hiruzen Sarutobi realized the situation and decided to surrender.
But this is too fast; I don't feel much sense of accomplishment yet.
"This is a negotiation after the surrender. Konoha has decided to surrender to Kumogakure, and I'm here to oversee the negotiations."
Minato Namikaze said that he could tell that the Fourth Raikage was someone who couldn't tolerate any injustice, and it was best not to provoke him.
"They surrendered in less than a week? Does Konoha have no backbone at all?"
Kushina looked at the effeminate man in front of her, her tone extremely displeased.
This bastard saved Hiruzen Sarutobi two or three times. If she hadn't come to negotiate, Kushina's fist would have landed on Minato Namikaze.