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"What?!"
"Everyone?!"
The Kumogakure sensory Ninja covered his earphone, trying to hear the message from the other side more clearly amidst the chaotic battlefield.
However, even though his ears had received the information, his brain, as if struck by a heavy hammer, instinctively failed to comprehend the news.
He paused in astonishment for a few seconds, then raised his voice again, asking in disbelief, "Everyone?? "
"Including Third Raikage."
"Yes."
The voice from the other side was incredibly heavy, trembling faintly as if in despair, and quickly repeated loudly, "Including Third Raikage and the Eight-Tails."
"All one hundred and seventy-six Cloud Ninja responsible for the mission to intercept Sawara Kiri have been killed."
"Based on the comparison of the surrounding terrain, we have already found the bodies of others in the center of the battlefield, as well as…"
The Cloud Ninja who was relaying the information stood in the center of the battlefield, looking at the headless body lying in the very center, and the surrounding yellow earth that had transformed from its original forest surface into a sunken wasteland.
He gritted his teeth and continued, "…Raikage's headless body."
"…"
He stated the conclusion reached by the Ninja responsible for the examination in a sorrowful tone: "Raikage's head has been taken away."
The Cloud Ninja on the other side, who was carrying out the offensive mission, couldn't help but sway the moment he heard this, seemingly finding it difficult to accept such a fact for a while.
He looked at the Ninja in front of him.
Konoha's important logistics transfer center on the Land of Hot Water front was right before their eyes, and hundreds of Cloud Ninja were charging at the camp at all costs.
There were only a hundred or so Konoha Ninja defending inside.
The reason for the stalemate was entirely because Tsunade Hime of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo the Konoha White Fang, Namikaze Minato, and an Uchiha Ninja who seemed to possess powerful Fire Release and a Crimson Blade, and who was as unapproachable as Sawara Kiri, were all defending here.
The strength of just four people had held back their hundreds.
However, no matter how powerful their strength was, it was still measurable; under the continuous charges and fierce fighting of hundreds of Ninja, they should be able to take this position by the end of tonight.
But.
Raikage…
What kind of terrifying power was that?
Could the combination of Raikage and a Tailed Beast not defeat that terrifying monster?
Not to mention, he was followed by a sealing team and that Black Lightning unit, like a net cast from heaven and earth.
However, upon realizing this, his brain suddenly felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over it, and he immediately sobered up from his dazed state, quickly shouting back to the other side, "Where is Sawara Kiri?!"
"Has the reconnaissance team found any traces of Sawara Kiri's movement?!"
"Not yet."
The Cloud Ninja on the other side swallowed with difficulty and quickly said, "However, there's a high probability he's supporting the stronghold you're attacking!"
It's over.
Upon realizing this, the Cloud Ninja Commander in charge of the troops immediately felt all the hairs on his body stand on end.
What kind of consequences would Sawara Kiri cause if he arrived here, given that even the combination of Third Raikage and a Tailed Beast, along with hundreds of Ninja, couldn't resist him?
There was no need for anyone else to remind him; this Cloud Ninja Commander immediately understood.
Thinking of this, he didn't even have time to take off his earphone, suddenly straightened up from behind the trench, and shouted to the other Cloud Ninja messengers, "Everyone! Issue a retreat order!"
"Huh?"
The surrounding Cloud Ninja hadn't reacted yet, looking at him in astonishment, completely unable to understand why they should retreat at such a critical moment.
Only that Commander's belief was incredibly firm.
No matter what, he had to preserve the precious blood of these Cloud Ninja from that monster!
It wasn't just this one location.
After Third Raikage's body was found, almost all Cloud Ninja forces on the entire front line received corresponding orders to withdraw and retreat.
The entire front line, which had been under immense pressure, suddenly noticed large-scale withdrawal signs from different Cloud Ninja units on the same day, but because they hadn't yet received orders from their superiors, they temporarily dared not pursue.
However, all Konoha Ninja realized at this moment.
Things seemed to have changed.
"Bang—!"
Tsunade stood on the city wall, punching a Cloud Ninja who was forming hand signs into a bloody mess.
Blood splattered on her, but she merely shook herself slightly, showing no signs of her previous weakness at the sight of blood.
After overcoming that mental hurdle, the symptoms of hemophobia always receded very quickly.
Only that dark pair of glasses still hung firmly on her clothes on her chest.
However, the moment she saw the Cloud Ninja forces retreating further in the distance, her previously furrowed brows finally slowly relaxed, as if she immediately realized something.
"Indeed."
A relieved smile appeared on Tsunade's beautiful face as she murmured, "That brat! He really doesn't disappoint."
Immediately after, she spoke to the Konoha forces behind her, who had been struggling to defend, "Everyone, begin the pursuit!"
"Don't let them escape so easily!"
In just two days, the war between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning saw an extremely significant reversal.
Shocking news spread throughout the Ninja World at an incredibly fast pace.
Third Raikage, along with nearly two hundred Cloud Ninja, set a trap for Konoha Jonin Sawara Kiri, only to be completely annihilated in one fell swoop.
Even that most important head, containing countless Cloud Ninja secrets, now appeared on the Hokage Office's desk.
It should be known that after Third Raikage voluntarily sealed the Eight-Tails Tailed Beast within his body, he had subtly gained the title of 'Strongest in the Ninja World,' and even Konoha Ninja themselves held this belief.
Because of this, in recent times, especially after Third Hokage was defeated and disappeared, while Third Raikage still had the energy to continuously charge through Konoha's military formations, many Konoha Ninja had the thought that this war was destined to be lost.
In the context of such a supernatural worldview, the strength of top-tier individuals possessed such incredible power.
However, this situation was now reversed by Sawara Kiri alone.
At the same time, all countries, including Konoha itself, began to research information about Sawara Kiri, the sixteen-year-old boy, and large quantities of intelligence and assassination bounties were continuously issued from various places.
Among them, the most tense was undoubtedly Kumogakure, which was still at war with Konoha.
After that headless corpse was sent back to Kumogakure, the morale of the entire Cloud Ninja high command plummeted from its high before the war to rock bottom.
Kumogakure, Raikage Office.
A, who was Third Raikage's son, was only twenty-three years old this year, but he had already become a strong individual qualified to reach the 'Kage' level of strength.
But he knew very well that the gap between himself and his father was like heaven and earth.
At this moment, he stood quietly in this office, looking at the tall corpse with a smooth cut on its neck, which, despite being dead, still maintained a high level of vitality.
It wasn't just him.
Almost half of Kumogakure's high command were gathered in this office at this time, watching as the medical Ninja pushed the corpse in and verbally described the twenty-three fractures, the torn right arm, the neck incision, and other injuries still remaining on the body in as concise terms as possible, using this to deduce the entire battle process between Third Raikage and Sawara Kiri.
"…Based on the fracture and healing of the wounds, Third Raikage, during the battle, had already mastered the recovery ability brought by the Tailed Beast's vitality to an extreme degree, and continuously squeezed the Chakra within his body, yet he still could not defeat Sawara Kiri."
"During the entire battle, the number and severity of injuries sustained were rare for our entire medical department."
"According to normal reasoning, under normal circumstances, an ordinary Ninja would surely die if they sustained about one-third of these injuries."
"Enough."
Listening to the medical Ninja's rational judgment, A suddenly roared hoarsely, shaking the entire office.
When he looked up, he saw that A was now in tears, his dark face wrinkled like an ugly crumpled piece of cardboard, and the clenching of his teeth made the muscles around his cheeks bulge high, his entire body even faintly flickering with intense electricity.
He angrily raised his foot and was about to walk out the door immediately: "I'm going to kill that bastard!"
"A!"
Beside him, Kitsuchi and Hime immediately grabbed him, but he still dragged them forward with his terrifying strength.
Until the very end.
"Stop!"
A tall, thin, pale-skinned man among the crowd looked at him coldly, his expression equally tense, and said bitterly, "The situation is complicated enough already!"
"Your father just sacrificed himself, and we are all very sad, but we have more than just this one thing to face."
"Or are you saying you don't care what difficult situation Kumogakure will face next, and instead want to rush into Konoha Village like a fool to die?"
"A."
The moment his voice fell, A suddenly stopped, his entire body trembling faintly with subtle lightning, fixed in place.
Everyone around looked at him worriedly.
For the current Kumogakure, every remaining 'Kage'-level strong individual was incredibly precious.
If A were to suddenly disappear on them now, they would even find it difficult to find the next strong individual suitable to bear the name of Raikage.
Facing such a scene, only this generation's Eight-Tails could speak to him and have a chance to calm things down.
A stood in place, breathing deeply for a long time, as if finally suppressing all impulses, and with his last bit of rationality, he reluctantly moved his steps back, returning to the center of the crowd, but remained silent.
Unlike the original world line, where 'A' took over the Raikage position during the Third Great Ninja War.
Although A at this time also possessed the formidable physical talent of the Yotsuki clan and had quite excellent strength, his age and temperament had not yet matured to the level they would be a few years later.
However, seeing that he finally didn't rush to his death in a moment of recklessness, the Eight-Tails finally let out a slow breath.
No matter what, in this difficult situation, their internal unity was absolutely essential.
Otherwise, they might not even have the last shred of hope for survival.
"Hime, report the current situation."
"Yes."
Hime immediately straightened up and then quickly said, "In the eleven days since Third Raikage's passing, the Konoha army has pushed back from the Land of Hot Water front into our Land of Lightning territory, with the foremost troops having advanced over six hundred kilometers, and are expected to reach the central logistics point within a week."
"Due to Third Raikage's sacrifice, the Eight-Tails also died with him, and its traces have not yet been found."
"After the front line was suddenly breached, a large amount of military supplies were lost, and the Village is currently re-collecting relevant supplies, which is expected to take five to ten days."
"To prevent Konoha Ninja from infiltrating the Village, the Chakra Cannon, which is currently under development, has been transported to the high point of Mount Raikage as per Commander Kitsuchi's request—according to the research personnel's information, this unfinished product can probably only fire two to three shots before being scrapped, and it consumes an enormous amount of Chakra, but its power should reach the estimated level."
"Finally, Konoha Jonin Sawara Kiri… is nowhere to be found."
Hearing the last part, everyone present couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
All the preceding information combined was not as unsettling as the last item.
However, the Eight-Tails was very calm, taking over the Raikage's duties in an orderly manner and quickly arranging: "First, immediately arrange for all Cloud Ninja high command to disperse into designated underground shelters for decentralized command, to prevent being wiped out by Sawara Kiri and left leaderless."
"Secondly, request the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning to provide the Village with corresponding military and civilian supplies as quickly as possible… Tell him that if he doesn't want Kumogakure to be finished just like that, he'd better not play any tricks this time."
"Thirdly, all remaining personnel, including myself, will begin accumulating energy for the Chakra Cannon starting today, and at the same time, set up a large warning barrier around it to guard against and deter the advancing Konoha Ninja forces…" He paused mid-sentence, then suddenly turned to Hime, "What is the range of the Chakra Cannon now?"
"One thousand four hundred kilometers," Hime immediately replied with a determined expression.
Originally, during its design, it was actually developed with the standard of being able to hit all Villages in the Ninja World from Kumogakure, which is why there was the complete version of the Chakra Cannon after the Fourth Great Ninja War, capable of firing out of the atmosphere and simultaneously detonating hundreds of giant meteorites.
However, it had only just begun development not long ago, and the financial investment was not too high, so reaching this level was already very difficult.
"Then we will set up defenses based on a baseline of one thousand four hundred kilometers."
The Eight-Tails took a deep breath, sweeping a resolute gaze across everyone present: "Finally…"
"I need two people to go with me to Konoha to submit the surrender terms."
Although everyone present had anticipated this outcome, when they heard the Eight-Tails personally state that he would go to Konoha to surrender, they still couldn't help but gasp, instinctively trying to stop him: "Eight-Tails?!"
"Shut up!"
The Eight-Tails snapped, then took a deep breath to calm his emotions, speaking in as calm a tone as possible: "At the same time, we cannot let down our guard."
"Only by being able to fight do we have a chance to surrender—a cornered beast will still fight, and a desperate foe should not be pursued."
"We must make Konoha feel our sincerity and determination; only then is there a greater possibility of preserving Kumogakure's strength to the greatest extent and waiting for the next opportunity."
"Even if he is as strong as Senju Hashirama, he will have his day of dying of old age."
"What's more, even if Sawara Kiri can still fight, aren't the ordinary people of Konoha Village afraid of Hidden Cloud Ninja launching scattered sneak attacks?"
He quietly looked at everyone, his tone so heavy that it seemed to make everyone present unable to breathe: "Everything is for Kumogakure."
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