Konoha, Hokage's Office.
Recent battle reports piled up on the desk like snowflakes. The Third Hokage looked them over, the worry on his face deepening. His hair had turned much grayer, not to mention the wrinkles that had long since etched themselves onto his face.
Sakumo Hatake's death had dealt him a heavy blow, equivalent to losing an arm for the current Konoha.
Fortunately, with the arrival of a large number of Konoha reinforcements, the front line against the Land of Water had gradually stabilized, once again entering a state of stalemate.
The battlefield with the Land of Lightning, needless to say, had long since become a meat grinder, with countless shinobi dying every day.
However, the Third Hokage understood that if they retreated, Konoha would face an even more tragic fate.
They were in a bind.
"Sigh, when will this war ever end? Or rather, where is the opportunity to end it? Do we really have to fight the Land of Lightning until both sides are crippled?"
The Third Hokage let out a long sigh, picked up another intelligence report, and glanced at it. His eyes immediately widened.
"This is..."
He read the report several times, muttering to himself, "The Land of Earth surrendered to the Land of Rain? How is that possible?"
The Third Hokage had long expected a war between the Land of Earth and the Land of Rain, but he never thought a victor would be decided so quickly, and that the victor would be the Land of Rain, whom he had not favored.
Even if Kaito is powerful, how could he alone defeat the tens of thousands of shinobi in Iwagakure? The Land of Rain's foundation was nearly exhausted in the Second War. How much could they have grown in just a few years?
After much thought, the Third Hokage could only come to one conclusion: Kaito's strength was truly transcendent, perhaps even on par with the First Hokage of old, capable of subjugating Iwagakure by himself.
How long has it been? He doesn't seem to be even twenty years old yet, does he?
It was utterly terrifying.
The Third Hokage took a sharp breath and quickly took a few puffs from his pipe to calm his nerves.
However, on second thought, this didn't seem to be a bad thing.
His spirits lifted, and he immediately began to write furiously. A personal letter was completed in the blink of an eye.
The Third Hokage summoned a squad of Anbu, handed the letter to the captain, and said sternly, "You are to deliver this letter to Jiraiya personally. There must be no mistakes, do you understand?"
"Yes, sir!"
Land of Rice Paddies Front Line, Konoha Camp.
Due to the overwhelming number of wounded, Tsunade had no time to rest even after leaving the battlefield. She transformed into an ordinary medical-nin, treating the injured Konoha shinobi.
After bandaging the last soldier's wounds, she let out a long sigh of relief and stood up.
Just then, her vision suddenly went black, and her body swayed.
As she was about to fall, an arm reached out from her side and steadied her.
"Hey, Tsunade, are you alright?"
Tsunade composed herself and opened her eyes again. "It's you, Jiraiya. I'm fine."
She leaned on Jiraiya's arm to straighten up, pressing her temples, looking utterly exhausted.
"Tsunade, you're pushing yourself too hard," Jiraiya said with concern. "Don't you know we still have to save our strength to deal with the Third Raikage? Without you, I can't handle him alone."
"I can't help it. I can't just watch them die. These are shinobi who could live if they just get treatment. If they die because they didn't receive timely medical care, I'll never be able to forgive myself."
Tsunade sighed. "There are still too few medical-nin. Once a large-scale war like this breaks out, we're stretched too thin."
"But your body..."
"I'm fine," Tsunade said with a yawn. "I'll be okay after some sleep."
"Alright, then. I'll help you over."
"No, no, I'm fine!"
Declining Jiraiya's help, she walked slowly towards her tent.
After watching her go inside, Jiraiya surveyed the entire camp and couldn't help but sigh.
How long is a war like this going to last?
He shook his head and returned to his own tent, only to find an Anbu operative waiting for him inside.
"Lord Jiraiya, the Hokage has an important letter for you." The Anbu handed him the envelope and immediately vanished.
"A letter from the old man?" Jiraiya took it, opened it, and was instantly stunned.
The Sand Village surrendered to the Rain Village?
This was the first time a major nation had been annexed by a smaller one. At first, Jiraiya thought the Third Hokage was joking, but as he read the rest of the letter, he fell into deep thought.
I see. The old man wants to make Kaito a common enemy of the Five Great Nations, forcing the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water to stop this war.
Logically, Jiraiya agreed with the Third Hokage's move, but it was essentially just shifting the war from here to the Land of Rain.
The war itself wouldn't disappear.
Jiraiya gripped the letter tightly, frowning in silence.
After a long while, he finally let out a breath. "Forget it. Let's just stop this battle first. Even if the Land of Lightning intends to make a move on the Land of Rain, it will take them a long time to prepare."
Having made his decision, Jiraiya's expression relaxed considerably.
On the battlefield the next day, Jiraiya and Tsunade met with the Third Raikage once again.
This time, it was Jiraiya who had actively invited the Third Raikage.
The Third Raikage feared nothing and no one, so of course, he wasn't afraid of Jiraiya pulling any tricks. He went directly to the buffer zone to meet them.
"Jiraiya, you two called me here. Have you thought of a strategy to defeat me?" The Third Raikage, who looked like a golden-haired lion king, crossed his arms, exuding the air of a true powerhouse.
"No. We greatly admire Lord Raikage's 'Strongest Spear' and 'Strongest Shield.' We still haven't figured out a way to break through them."
Jiraiya said seriously, "We invited you here today to discuss a truce."
"A truce? You're dreaming. I will not make peace with Konoha. Not unless Konoha admits defeat and obediently sends a large sum of compensation and land!" the Third Raikage immediately refused.
"Take a look at this intelligence report before you say that." Jiraiya tossed a scroll to the Third Raikage.
The Raikage caught it, slowly unrolled it, and his brow immediately furrowed.
"Such an absurd story. Are you sincerely trying to fool me?"
"If Lord Raikage wishes to verify it, it should be quite easy. In fact, your country's intelligence personnel are probably on their way right now to deliver the same report."
"Hmph. Fine, I'll assume it's true for now. So, what is Konoha's meaning?"
"It's simple," Tsunade said. "For the Land of Rain to be able to annex the Land of Earth so quickly, they could probably deal with either of our nations with ease. Therefore, we must unite to fight against the Land of Rain."
"Otherwise, Lord Raikage can just wait to be conquered by the Land of Rain one by one."
Jiraiya continued, "Let's have a truce. There's no point in fighting anymore. You know as well as I do that the Land of Lightning can't take down Konoha quickly, right?"
The Third Raikage narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice, "I need to go back and confirm the authenticity of this intelligence."
"Be my guest."
After the Third Raikage left, Jiraiya and Tsunade looked at each other and both breathed a sigh of relief. "The war should be over soon."