Silence fell — and not just over Ay, the Fourth Raikage.
Even the shinobi who had been urging him to continue fighting found themselves speechless.
Continue opposing that Golden Lion?
Just imagining it was terrifying. It felt like certain death.
"However, being able to rescue Yugito Nii this time is already a great success!"
Noticing the sinking morale, the Third Raikage smiled faintly and waved his hand.
Indeed, no matter what else could be said — this time, they had won.
Yugito Nii, the rescued Two-Tails Jinchūriki, narrowed her eyes slightly, gazing off toward the distant Konoha camp.
It wasn't hatred that filled her eyes, but something softer — a trace of nostalgia.
During her year of captivity, Aoyama Ryuyun had never mistreated her.
They had even spoken several times.
That man — the one who carried within him a boundless ambition to dominate the world.
Perhaps it had been during their first conversation, or perhaps their last…
Yugito Nii realized that, somehow, she had fallen for Aoyama Ryuyun — the man who stood above all others.
"Yugito Nii? What's wrong?"
The sound of a companion's voice brought her back to reality.
"Nothing," she said, shaking her head lightly.
The others didn't notice anything unusual. They assumed she was still shaken after a year of imprisonment.
The Third Raikage, with a grand wave of his massive hand, said loudly,
"Alright! Let's return and celebrate properly! As for the war, we'll discuss our next move later!"
"Yes, sir!"
His words lifted the mood. The gloom faded, replaced by smiles and laughter as the shinobi began their march home.
---
On the other side, the Konoha camp lay in ruins — completely obliterated by the Eight-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb.
Of the more than two thousand shinobi stationed there, barely over a hundred survived.
Nearly a thousand Konoha ninja had died in that single Kumogakure assault.
And with it, Minato Namikaze's dream of becoming Hokage was buried.
Using the Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato had barely escaped the Tailed Beast Bomb himself.
He now stood amid the devastation, staring blankly at what remained of the camp.
His eyes were hollow, his face pale.
He said nothing.
"I told you, didn't I? You're not qualified to be compared to Lord Liu Yun!"
A cold voice cut through the silence.
From the rubble, a battered Nara Shikaku was being supported by Inoichi Yamanaka and Akimichi Choza.
The three of them had barely survived by combining their techniques to shield themselves from the blast.
Shikaku's right arm hung limply, clearly broken — but he paid it no mind.
In the world of ninja, such injuries were trivial.
What couldn't be healed was the bitterness in his heart.
Shikaku looked down at Minato Namikaze, who had fallen to his knees in silence.
Inoichi and Choza stood beside him, their faces grim, their eyes full of contempt.
"I…"
Minato tried to speak, but no words came out.
Around him, the surviving shinobi glared with barely contained rage.
It's because of you.
Because of you, Lord Liu Yun left this front!
And this… this is what we've become.
Shikaku stepped closer, his expression cold and unreadable.
"It was never us who could defeat Kumogakure," he said quietly. "It was always Lord Liu Yun's strength alone."
Kumogakure had never been weak — Aoyama Ryuyun had simply been too strong.
Minato Namikaze hadn't understood that truth before.
Now, it hit him like a blade to the chest.
"Ah…"
A strangled cry escaped Minato's lips.
For a brief moment, he wished he had died beneath the Tailed Beast Bomb instead of surviving to face this shame.
He was a sinner — the man responsible for Konoha's greatest loss.
After fighting the Third Raikage, Ay, and Killer Bee, Minato finally understood.
They were too strong.
He had been utterly helpless. None of his techniques had worked.
Even his famed Flying Thunder God could do nothing but help him flee.
Unable to bear the weight of his failure, Minato Namikaze collapsed unconscious.
No one rushed to him.
Shikaku merely glanced at the fallen man, his eyes cold.
After a moment, he exhaled and gestured to the others.
"Take him for treatment. We can't let him die here."
"Yes, sir!"
Despite their anger, Minato was still the official commander of this battlefield.
---
Thus ended the Kumogakure campaign.
The Konoha camp had been annihilated. Out of two thousand men, just over a hundred survived.
The Two-Tails Jinchūriki was rescued.
Minato Namikaze was defeated.
News of the disaster spread across the entire ninja world like wildfire.
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat frozen, the report clutched tightly in his hands.
His mind went blank.
He could already imagine the fallout — Minato's name in ruins, and his own reputation dragged down with it.
Because it had been his order that sent Minato to replace Aoyama Ryuyun.
In Konoha, wartime tension had already frayed nerves. Almost every villager kept close track of the front-line reports.
This time, the news hit like a thunderclap.
"What? We lost?"
"How is that possible! Wasn't Kumogakure always being crushed by us?"
"Minato Namikaze! It's all his fault! He's a disgrace to Konoha!"
"I used to admire him — he's nothing but a sinner now!"
"He should've died out there instead of bringing this shame home!"
The outrage was relentless.
And it was understandable — many of those who'd perished on that battlefield were their husbands, brothers, sons.
They had been waiting for peace, for a family reunion that would never come.
All of it — gone.
And in their eyes, it was all because of Minato Namikaze.
As for Hiruzen Sarutobi, though some questioned his decision, most of the anger was directed at Minato.
His carefully cultivated image as a benevolent leader still protected him — for now.
---
"I wonder when my little Sun will come home…"
Within the village, Uzumaki Kushina walked the quiet streets, her voice filled with longing.
Because of wartime restrictions, she wasn't allowed to leave Konoha.
Every day felt the same — endless waiting, endless worry.
If not for Uchiha Mikoto, her gentle and steadfast friend, Kushina might have gone mad from the isolation.
Mikoto walked beside her now, calm and composed, her presence a steadying warmth amid the tension that hung over the village.
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