However, Chiyo, being a high-ranking member, was thick-skinned and immediately laughed it off, saying, "Hehe, I was just joking about starting a war. Orochimaru wouldn't be so petty as to mind an old man's joke, would he?"
Orochimaru was quite accommodating to Chiyo's concession, promptly offering her a way out. "What I said earlier about starting a war was just a joke. Besides, Elder Chiyo, you're still so vigorous and energetic. How could you be an old woman?"
He also knew that a fight between the two sides was unlikely, as neither dared to bear the consequences. So, after seeing Chiyo's overtures, he gave Chiyo face.
"As expected of Sannin, one of the legendary Orochimaru, his demeanor is indeed extraordinary. Since that's the case, I'm not one to be ungrateful. I admit that we, the Sunagakure, have lost this time. Now I'm taking my men back, so don't bother seeing me out."
Since things had come to this point, Chiyo didn't hesitate and spoke directly.
The defeat of Sunagakure in this battle is an undeniable fact, and there's no denying it. The most important thing is to prevent Konoha from pursuing them. Another crucial point is that Sunagakure suffered heavy losses in this major battle, with many wounded needing immediate treatment, leaving them with absolutely no energy to continue the fight.
"Alright, since Elder Chiyo has personally acknowledged Konoha's victory, then we will be magnanimous and cease our pursuit."
Orochimaru was also helpless. It wasn't that he didn't want to continue pursuing Sunagakure and expand his gains, but the current situation clearly made it impossible for Konoha to continue the pursuit smoothly.
Chiyo's appearance greatly boosted the morale of the already defeated Sunagakure, and also brought in numerous reinforcements.
If a fight really has to happen, the best outcome would only be mutual destruction, so it's best to stop while you're ahead.
In any case, today's results were excellent; it was a resounding victory.
Thus, the Sunagakure and the Konoha Village temporarily ceased hostilities and returned to their respective camps to recuperate.
After the Konoha frontline troops brought news of their victory over Sunagakure back to camp, the atmosphere inside became extremely excited, filled with laughter and joy.
This time, Konoha dealt a heavy blow to Sunagakure, killing a thousand Sunagakure ninja and injuring countless Sunagakure. Their own losses were minimal, only two or three hundred ninja.
All of this was due to the brilliant planning of Orochimaru and Shikaku Nara. Orochimaru revealed the plan to feign defeat and retreat to everyone at the start of the battle.
This prepared the Konoha ninjas mentally for the battlefield.
They were extremely cautious when facing attacks from Sunagakure, dodging whenever possible and blocking whenever possible. They would only retaliate when there was absolutely no other way, and would never get entangled with Sunagakure for too long.
This allowed them to retain most of their strength.
They only unleashed their full power when the hidden reinforcements appeared.
This is also one of the reasons for the sudden defeat of Sunagakure.
The two or three hundred ninjas who died in the battle were mostly killed in the pursuit of the fleeing Sunagakure. Many Sunagakure, facing a desperate situation, used suicidal tactics to prevent Konoha from getting away with it.
It was precisely this despicable tactic, both powerful and difficult to defend against, that prevented Konoha from achieving its full potential.
Even considering these losses, Konoha still achieved a great victory. Moreover, the results of this battle surpassed those of the previous one.
Unlike the cheerful atmosphere of the Konoha side, the Sunagakure side exuded a range of negative emotions, including pain and frustration, upon returning to their camp.
They were defeated this time, and they couldn't figure out how they lost. Why did Konoha suddenly have a thousand reinforcements? All of this was unbelievable to them.
" Rasa, what happened? How could you lose so badly?"
Chiyo stood next to Rasa and asked Rasa, looking at the pale-faced man wrapped in medical bandages.
After several hours of emergency treatment, Rasa successfully saved Chiyo from the brink of death.
Upon hearing Chiyo's question, he replied weakly, "I'm sorry, Elder Chiyo. Orochimaru is just too cunning. After the people of Konoha engaged us, they pretended to be weak and lured us to a location near Konoha's position."
Then, Konoha reinforcements, appearing out of nowhere, caught us off guard with the help of Konoha Ninja who were feigning defeat.
Because of the sheer number of Konoha Ninja, our forces were overwhelmed before they could even organize an effective defense, leading to our rout.
In fact, Rasa himself was also dumbfounded. He was fighting Orochimaru well when suddenly a thousand-strong army from Konoha appeared below and directly overwhelmed the people of Sunagakure.
Moreover, the Sunagakure's defeat was so rapid that he didn't even have time to come out and command before realizing that it was already too late.
Rasa was unaware that the Sunagakure's rout was orchestrated by Konoha.
When Konoha's reinforcements arrived, they worked together, weaving Ninjutsu and Taijutsu together. They swiftly killed dozens of Sunagakure Sunagakure at the forefront of the battle and injured hundreds more.
The sudden and brutal battle stunned the Sunagakure who were still excitedly chasing Konoha. Then, seeing the vast, dark mass of Konoha Ninja, fear rose in their hearts, and they began to flee involuntarily.
Then, once one person starts running away, the Sunagakure's escape becomes unstoppable.
Finally, a rout occurred that caught Rasa completely off guard.
Rasa's words made Chiyo's brows furrow even deeper. "How could Konoha send reinforcements? And we haven't received a single word from them. Rasa, are you sure you're not mistaken?"
Chiyo didn't understand where Konoha would get reinforcements. Besides fighting Sunagakure, Konoha also had to guard against the other three ninja villages, so they simply couldn't spare any manpower to support the Sunagakure battlefield.
Unless Hiruzen Sarutobi sends out the ninja forces protecting Konoha to provide support.
But that was completely impossible; in her mind, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't have that kind of courage.
Furthermore, if Konoha really did send ninja forces to support the Sunagakure's battlefield, then why didn't their sensory units detect it at all?
It's important to know that their sensory units have been constantly monitoring the movements of the Konoha camp.
" Elder Chiyo, I'm just as confused as you. I couldn't believe Konoha would send reinforcements, but they did."
Rasa was also puzzled. He couldn't understand how Konoha had suddenly gained a thousand reinforcements. It was safe to say that if it weren't for these thousand reinforcements, he definitely wouldn't have lost today's battle.
" Rasa, think back carefully, did you sense anything unusual about this thousand-man unit on the battlefield?"
Chiyo still found it strange and absolutely refused to believe that Konoha would send any more reinforcements.
Faced with Chiyo's question, Rasa tried hard to recall anything unusual about the Konoha forces, but after careful consideration, he couldn't find anything special. He could only helplessly say to Chiyo, " Elder Chiyo, I regret to inform you that I was engaged in battle with Orochimaru at the time and did not pay attention to any changes in the Konoha forces."