Chiyo's face contorted with rage, her eyes burning as if flames were about to erupt from them.
She had just lost Kouhi and Liufei, her son and daughter-in-law, and with Konoha pressing the battle so intensely, anyone else might have collapsed and spat out blood on the spot—only her years of hardened experience across the Ninja World kept her standing.
Sakumo had struck down Liufei again and again, then slain Kouhi, and even before fighting the latter, he still felt a flicker of mercy.
But facing Chiyo, those feelings transformed into an icy glare.
Because he knew that if their positions were reversed, Chiyo would show no mercy at all.
At that moment, five figures stood facing off in deadly silence, the rest of the battlefield frozen, all conflict ceasing.
Both sides understood that the outcome of the war had already been sealed the moment Kouhi and Liufei fell.
Yet Konoha's forces dared not relax. After all, Kouhi and Liufei weren't just elite figures in Sunagakure—they were Chiyo's own son and daughter-in-law. With Sakumo and Minato joining forces to kill them, who could say what vengeance Chiyo, leader of Suna's ninja, might seek at any cost?
Even if Konoha won in the end, the cost might be too great to bear.
Everyone held their breath. Tsunade, Orochimaru, Hiashi Hyuga, and Sakumo stood face to face with Chiyo.
Her aged face twisted violently, but finally, that fury was suppressed.
The four let out a breath of relief but kept their eyes locked on Chiyo.
Chiyo lifted her gaze; in an instant, she seemed ten years older, white strands clearly visible at her temples.
She bit down so hard her lip split, blood dripping down.
"The purpose of Konoha has been achieved. Sunagakure… concedes defeat." Her voice was weak, as though the once-fearsome peak expert of the ninja world had been nothing but an illusion.
When her words faded, most Suna ninja had expected this, yet disbelief remained etched on their faces. Some hot-headed ones refused to accept it, shouting for continued resistance.
But their voices were quickly silenced by their Jonin superiors.
Chiyo had no will to speak further. Her expression was one of utter desolation.
"Now, can Konoha's forces withdraw from the Land of Wind?" she murmured.
"Of course," Tsunade replied calmly and firmly. She showed no sympathy over Chiyo's loss, nor did she add insult to injury.
She was simply reiterating Konoha's original principles. In truth, if Sunagakure hadn't gone too far, the normally mild-mannered leader known as the Third Hokage would never have flown into a rage or sent troops into the Land of Wind.
But in war, positions are relative—who can truly say what's excessive or not?
Following this, both Chiyo and Tsunade issued orders. Each side gathered their fallen comrades' bodies—the war was over.
Sunagakure had lost; Konoha had won. The hostility between them temporarily ended.
Under the supervision of both leaders, the two factions parted peacefully.
On the war-scarred snowy battlefield, snowflakes continued to fall, quickly erasing all traces of battle.
Both sides had finished their preparations and now stood facing each other from a distance. Chiyo crouched before the corpses of Kouhi and Liufei, her expression darkened with grief.
"Hatake Sakumo, sooner or later, I'll make you pay for Kouhi and Liufei's lives!" Suddenly lifting her eyes, Chiyo shot a murderous gaze at Sakumo.
The atmosphere between heaven and earth, which had just begun to ease, froze instantly. Tsunade and several others' bodies tensed abruptly.
Yet, facing Chiyo's killing intent, Sakumo remained calm as he replied coolly, "Then I shall also patiently wait for the day to seek justice for those Konoha ninja mercilessly killed by you."
Casualties in war carry no personal grudges; Sakumo was simply firing back with that statement.
Facing Sakumo's reply, Chiyo turned a deaf ear, shifting her gaze again toward Minato. "You brat! And you too!"
Chiyo's eyes burned with fierce killing intent, yet Minato met her gaze just like the first time—his eyes completely still, unshaken.
"I loathe war, but above all, I want to protect those close to me. If Elder Chiyo wants revenge, let her come try."
At present, there still existed an unbridgeable distance between him and Chiyo. However, considering that Minato's body was younger than eleven years old, it should be noted.
When they met again, he would no longer be the helpless lamb Chiyo once saw.
Minato, Konoha's Yellow Flash—although calling him unbeatable throughout the Ninja World during that era might have been an exaggeration, he indeed no longer feared anyone.
After delivering her words, Chiyo fell silent, unwilling to waste further breath arguing pointlessly with Hatake Sakumo and Minato.
In the future, given another chance, she definitely would eliminate these two people—even though... such opportunity appeared quite slim.
"Let's go."
Tsunade cast one last glance at Chiyo, then leisurely turned around, leading the Konoha group gradually disappearing into the distance.
...
In the final battle, Konoha's losses weren't significant—yet still dozens of ninja perished. Compared with what Sand ninjas paid, this loss undoubtedly seemed extremely minor. Some leaders might even choose to ignore it altogether.
However, clearly, Tsunade wasn't one of them. These dozens of Konoha ninjas who perished in the final war would return home together with the victorious news, carried by their comrades.
At that moment, the sky filled with thickly falling snow, which finally began to thin out gradually, replaced instead by a soft and comforting warmth—not bright or harsh.
This light bathed the Konoha group, relaxing their tense bodies completely.
Some ninjas were beaming with joy.
Tsunade and others also wore relaxed expressions, walking slowly forward—they simply searched for a suitable place to spend the night.
At this moment, allowing everyone a good rest had become permissible.
Yet compared with most having eased off, a small portion felt anxious to return to Konoha immediately.
Minato belonged to this group too.
Actually, using the Flying Thunder God Technique he had mastered, he could teleport back to Konoha instantly. But due to secrecy reasons regarding himself, he temporarily refrained from doing so.
As they continued forward, the sluggish expression on Minato's face gradually melted away, like the chill in the air dissipating, replaced by a growing smile.
"Heh, finally heading home, huh."
Mikoto gave a soft laugh, clearly relieved. She stretched her arms forward and linked her hands together, giving her whole body a good stretch. Then she turned her bright black eyes to the smiling Minato and grinned, "Minato, right?"
Unnoticed by anyone, more ninjas gathered around Minato, and everyone strolled slowly forward beneath the warm sunlight.
Minato gave her a firm nod.
"Kushina, I'm on my way back soon. I'm sorry to make you wait!"
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