Chapter 112: Chapter 112: Triumphant Return, Skyrocketing Fame

Sunagakure’s main camp.

Chiyo was waiting for news in the main tent.

Although she was confident her poison would work, she couldn’t rest assured until she received confirmation.

After an unknown amount of time, hurried footsteps sounded.

Chiyo subconsciously looked up.

An Anbu ninja wearing a mask entered the main tent.

"Lady... Lady Chiyo."

The Anbu ninja stopped and bowed slightly.

As soon as he spoke, Chiyo’s expression changed, realizing something was wrong.

As an Anbu ninja, he shouldn’t show such emotional fluctuations.

After all, they were trained to remain calm no matter what happened.

"What happened?"

Chiyo suppressed the terrifying thought in her mind and asked.

"Sunagakure suffered a crushing defeat. Lord Rasa and Lady Pakura have been captured."

The Anbu ninja took a deep breath and said.

"Are... are you telling the truth?"

Chiyo subconsciously took a half step back and asked.

"It’s true."

The Anbu ninja remained silent for two seconds and said. "Eight Anbu squads went, but only three people returned."

"How could this happen?"

Chiyo asked in disbelief. "Weren’t most of the Konoha ninjas poisoned?"

"They were poisoned."

The Anbu ninja replied. "But they developed an antidote. Before we attacked, they had already detoxified themselves and set up traps."

Chiyo was instantly stunned.

She doubted her own ears. Her poison was actually deciphered and an antidote was developed?

The problem was, how long had it been?

She had given Tsunade a week, thinking that was already a high estimation of her abilities.

But in the end, Tsunade deciphered her poison in less than half that time?

How is this possible?

Under this double blow, Chiyo felt dizzy.

In a sense, she was the main culprit for Sunagakure’s crushing defeat this time.

Because both she and the other Sunagakure ninjas had overly trusted her poison.

"Tell me the detailed process."

Chiyo closed her eyes and said.

"Yes."

The Anbu ninja recounted the events of tonight’s battle from beginning to end.

After listening, Chiyo subconsciously pressed her forehead.

From the moment the explosive tag trap caused Sunagakure to lose over a thousand people, this sneak attack had already been declared a failure.

Although the outcome was decided, the process greatly exceeded her expectations.

Rasa was actually defeated by Natsuki?

Something Chiyo couldn’t figure out also had an answer.

She felt that even if they started with a thousand fewer people, Sunagakure still had at least three thousand people. Even if they couldn’t win, they shouldn’t have been completely wiped out.

Especially with Rasa and Pakura’s strength, they should have been able to escape at least.

Magnet Release even possessed the ability to fly.

If they really wanted to escape, who could stop them?

In Chiyo’s view, the only powerhouses in Konoha were Tsunade and Natsuki.

Although Tsunade was strong, she mainly relied on taijutsu, making it difficult for her to deal with Rasa and Pakura.

And the impression Natsuki left on Chiyo was that of a Jonin with ultra-long-range attack methods.

Rasa’s Magnet Release was excellent in both offense and defense, so there was absolutely no need to worry about his archery.

But Chiyo didn’t expect Natsuki to defeat Rasa without using archery and even assist Tsunade in capturing Pakura alive.

It was no exaggeration to say that Natsuki was the most crucial ninja in Sunagakure’s total annihilation this time.

Chiyo couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

Sunagakure’s younger generation had produced Sareki, Rasa, and Pakura all at once.

Coupled with the strongest Kazekage, the Third Kazekage, many ninjas felt that Sunagakure would be able to achieve great things in the future.

But now, they died before their ambition could be realized.

All three of Sunagakure’s future prospects had been captured by Konoha.

What face did Sunagakure have left?

But now wasn’t the time to care about face.

"Pass down the order. Everyone is to take only essential supplies and depart immediately for the other Sunagakure main camp."

Chiyo steadied her mind and said.

She was worried that Konoha would press their advantage and pursue them.

If they couldn’t even protect these remaining thousand-plus ninjas, Sunagakure’s losses would be too tragic.

"Yes, Lady Chiyo."

The Anbu ninja turned and left.

Chiyo stood in place in a daze for a few minutes before walking out of the main tent.

Sunagakure’s main camp was already bustling.

Under her orders, the ninjas gathered quickly.

Although Chiyo didn’t explicitly state it, the vast majority of ninjas had already guessed what happened.

After all, if Rasa, Pakura, and the others hadn’t suffered a crushing defeat, there would be no need for them to go to the other main camp and meet up with Ebizou and the others.

Once the remaining ninjas had assembled, Chiyo led them away in silence.

It wasn’t until the sky began to lighten that they finally arrived at the other Sunagakure main camp.

Ebizou had already received the news in advance and led many Jonin to welcome them at the entrance.

Seeing Chiyo, he wanted to say something but ultimately remained silent.

At this point, saying anything was useless.

"Ebizou, prepare to evacuate the Land of Rain."

Chiyo got straight to the point.

"This..."

Ebizou was stunned.

"Sunagakure no longer has enough strength to deal with both Amegakure and Konoha."

Chiyo said very calmly. "Now we can only withdraw from the Land of Rain and let Amegakure deal with Konoha."

Ebizou was instantly speechless.

What Chiyo said undoubtedly made a lot of sense.

If they didn’t retreat, they would face a pincer attack from both Amegakure and Konoha.

Although Amegakure and Konoha wouldn’t cooperate, they would be more than happy to eliminate Sunagakure first.

It’s just... were they really giving up on this war?

Once this war ended, Chiyo would become the target of public criticism.

He actually hoped to continue fighting, allowing her to atone for her mistakes.

But if they continued fighting, Sunagakure would most likely suffer even greater losses.

Meeting Chiyo’s calm yet faintly sorrowful gaze, Ebizou remained silent for a moment and nodded.

Meanwhile, in Amegakure.

"This puppet hag actually lost so miserably?"

Hanzo looked at the intel before him, an expression of surprise appearing on his face.

His previous poison battles with Chiyo were, overall, a fifty-fifty split.

Fighting to the end, both sides had a headache. Hanzo called Chiyo a "puppet hag," and Chiyo called him an "old man wearing a snorkel."

In a sense, there was a bit of mutual respect between heroes.

"Natsuki, is it?"

Hanzo chuckled and said. "Orochimaru is already considered the cream of the crop among the younger generation, but I didn’t expect his student to be even better."

He was currently in his prime, powerful and very confident, even feeling that he stood at the pinnacle of the ninja world.

Because of this, he mostly cherished talent when encountering young ninjas with good strength.

In the original work, he spared the young Mifune, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru out of a desire to cherish talent.

But when it came to Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato, he could no longer tolerate them.

Of course, Konoha’s Pot-Shadow, Shimura Danzo, played an important role in this.

It was his sowing of discord that led Hanzo to act against Yahiko and his group.

"It seems I’ll be able to meet this Konoha genius soon."

Hanzo casually put down the intel in his hand.

He estimated that Chiyo and her forces would withdraw from the Land of Rain before long.

After all, they had lost nearly half of their ninjas.

If they continued fighting, Sunagakure would be bled dry, and it would be difficult to even maintain the title of one of the Five Great Villages.

Hanzo actually hoped to see this happen.

He felt Amegakure should be ranked alongside the Five Great Villages.

However, he knew very well that the puppet hag Chiyo wouldn’t be that irrational.

A moment later, a knock sounded on the door.

"Come in."

Hanzo said casually.

"Lord Hanzo."

An Amegakure ninja walked in and said. "We just received intel that Chiyo and Ebizou have met up and are evacuating."

"As expected."

Hanzo nodded and added. "Once they retreat, mobilize everyone to deal with Konoha."

"Yes, Lord Hanzo!"

The Amegakure ninja immediately responded.

"Iwagakure retreated, Sunagakure retreated, next it’s Konoha’s turn."

Hanzo stood up, looked at the rainy scene outside the window, and said with immense heroic spirit. "From now on, the Five Great Villages will never again lay a finger on the Land of Rain!"

On the other side, at Konoha’s main camp.

"Orochimaru!"

Jiraiya walked into the main tent and asked with a loud laugh. "Guess what good news I received?"

"Is it news from Tsunade?"

Orochimaru guessed.

Namikaze Minato, who was organizing documents on the side, subconsciously looked up at Jiraiya.

"Right!"

Jiraiya said happily. "Sunagakure was completely annihilated, and Rasa and Pakura were captured!"

"...?"

Orochimaru was slightly taken aback.

Namikaze Minato also felt it was absurd.

How could Sunagakure be this incompetent?

It sounded unreal.

One had to know that Sunagakure was not weak during this time period.

"Does it sound exaggerated?"

Jiraiya said understandingly. "When I first heard it, my expression was about the same as yours."

"What are the specific details?"

Orochimaru snapped back to reality and asked.

Jiraiya took out a scroll and handed it to him.

Orochimaru immediately opened the scroll and read it.

Seeing that Tsunade and Natsuki had deciphered Chiyo’s poison, he understood why Konoha won.

When he saw that Natsuki had defeated Rasa, he instantly felt a bit dazed.

His student improved this fast?

After reading it, Orochimaru casually handed the scroll to Namikaze Minato.

His curious expression was already written all over his face.

Namikaze Minato said thank you and opened the scroll.

After reading it, he fell into a stupor.

What’s going on?

Is this still Natsuki?

They hadn’t seen each other for just a few months, and he had already done something this earth-shattering?

Compared to him, he had accomplished absolutely nothing.

"I also received news that Chiyo has led her forces to meet up with Ebizou."

Jiraiya added. "Judging from their movements, they are preparing to withdraw from the Land of Rain."

"In that case, the pressure on our Konoha will be significantly reduced."

Orochimaru nodded slightly and said.

Previously, Konoha was fighting two against one, simultaneously at war with Sunagakure and Amegakure.

And they also had to guard against Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and Iwagakure.

Now that Sunagakure had retreated, Konoha could concentrate its forces on dealing with Amegakure.

"Does that mean Natsuki and the others will join us soon?"

Namikaze Minato suddenly thought of something and asked.

"Not necessarily."

Jiraiya shook his head and said. "They will definitely return to Konoha first because they captured too many Sunagakure ninjas."

"I see."

Namikaze Minato paused and said with a firm tone. "Teacher, I want to apply for more combat missions."

Jiraiya looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

He could guess what Namikaze Minato was thinking.

After all, he had always considered Natsuki his biggest rival.

"Alright."

Jiraiya chuckled and agreed.

Namikaze Minato and Natsuki reminded him of his competition with Orochimaru back in the day.

How should he put it?

Currently, Namikaze Minato was definitely far inferior to Natsuki.

Only after he learned the Flying Thunder God Technique could he put up a fight.

At 10 AM.

Natsuki woke up from a dream and stretched.

He rarely slept in.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t sleeping in.

Because their fierce battle with Sunagakure yesterday lasted until very late.

In terms of actual sleep time, it was less than usual.

But because the harvest was huge, Natsuki had no complaints.

With the end of last night’s battle, he not only unlocked multiple abilities but also awakened the Misaka Mikoto template.

The Misaka Mikoto template was his second S-Rank character template.

According to the system’s standards, S-Rank was roughly comparable to Kage-level.

Of course, S-Rank was the highest rank, which also meant there was a gap even between S-Ranks.

There were many templates stronger than the Misaka Mikoto template.

It could only be said that the rank was just a reference.

Natsuki looked at Yakushi Nonou and Nawaki.

Their sleeping bags were still closed, indicating they hadn’t woken up.

This was normal.

After all, their stamina couldn’t compare to Natsuki’s.

Natsuki got out of his sleeping bag and left the tent.

Many people in Konoha’s main camp had already woken up and were currently busy with post-war processing.

Especially the earth-shattering explosion of the explosive tags last night, which destroyed nearly half of Konoha’s main camp.

But Natsuki felt there was no need to repair it.

They would most likely return to Konoha.

As long as Sunagakure’s next movements were confirmed.

Natsuki thought for a moment and went to Tsunade’s tent.

But upon arriving, he found two Anbu ninjas waiting outside the tent.

"What’s wrong?"

Natsuki walked up and asked.

"We have important intel, but Lady Tsunade hasn’t woken up yet, and we don’t dare disturb her."

One of the Anbu ninjas, seeing it was Natsuki, didn’t hide it and said directly.

After last night’s battle, Natsuki’s fame had truly skyrocketed.

Although he was famous before, others didn’t have a deep impression of his strength, only considering him a genius.

Now it was different. Having defeated Rasa, Natsuki could no longer be called a genius. He should be called a powerhouse who had cashed in his talent.

Many people believed his strength was no longer inferior to his teacher, Orochimaru.

"Then give it to me."

Natsuki roughly guessed what the intel was.

The two Anbu ninjas exchanged a glance and handed him a scroll.

Logically speaking, giving it to Natsuki was against the rules, but with his status, giving it to him was not much different from giving it to Tsunade.

This was the benefit brought by a rise in status and fame.

Natsuki took the scroll and glanced at it.

As expected, it was related to Sunagakure.

Just before dawn, Chiyo and Ebizou led the remaining Sunagakure ninjas on the path to leave the Land of Rain.

"Teacher Tsunade."

Natsuki called out.

"Come in."

Tsunade sat up and said with sleepy eyes.

Natsuki walked in.

Tsunade hadn’t used a sleeping bag, nor had she changed clothes, just sleeping in the Jonin flak jacket from last night.

After all, the war wasn’t completely over yet, and she still couldn’t relax.

"Teacher Tsunade."

Natsuki said directly. "Sunagakure has withdrawn from the Land of Rain."

"So they retreated after all."

Tsunade’s spirit jolted, becoming much more awake.

"The battlefield in the Land of Rain now only has Amegakure and our Konoha left."

Natsuki said with a smile. "I believe it won’t be long before the Second Shinobi World War ends."

"Go notify the Anbu now and have them pass down my order. We will set off for Konoha tomorrow."

Tsunade paused and said. "Also, have them send another squad to notify Orochimaru."

After they left, everything in the Land of Rain would have to be handled entirely by Orochimaru.

This included the possibility of Sunagakure returning.

Although this possibility was small, with Orochimaru and the others watching, even if they did return, Konoha would be able to react in time.

"Alright."

Natsuki turned and left the tent.

He quickly found the Anbu ninjas and relayed Tsunade’s orders.

As the orders were passed down, laughter and cheers filled Konoha’s main camp.

Going back after winning was completely different from going back after losing.

Not only would they gain fame, but they would also receive rewards from Konoha.

Five days later, in the morning.

Under the bright sunshine, a dense crowd of ninjas marched orderly toward the entrance of Konoha.

Under normal circumstances, the journey from the Land of Rain to Konoha only took two or three days.

The reason it took so long this time was, first, because of the wounded, and second, because of the large number of captured Sunagakure ninjas.

During these five days, the news of Sunagakure withdrawing from the Land of Rain had already spread throughout the ninja world.

At the same time, Tsunade and Natsuki also gained considerable fame in the ninja world.

"Konoha! We’re back!"

As soon as Nawaki saw the gates of Konoha, he shouted excitedly.

Tsunade, walking at the very front, glanced at him. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Compared to Nawaki, Natsuki and Yakushi Nonou were much calmer.

Tsunade shook her head.

It was hard to say whether Nawaki’s careless personality was good or bad.

In the middle of the procession were the Sunagakure ninjas.

They had silent expressions and didn’t say a word, like walking corpses.

Rasa and Pakura, in particular, felt terrible, wishing they could commit suicide on the spot.

But they also knew that if they died, it would exacerbate Sunagakure’s losses.

All they could do now was wait for the negotiations between Sunagakure and Konoha.

After Sunagakure paid a sufficient price, they would be able to return.

Moreover, they were still young and the ninjas closest to becoming the next Kazekage. Naturally, they were unwilling to die like this.

Suddenly, deafening cheers rang out.

At the gates of Konoha, a large number of villagers and ninjas had gathered.

Upon seeing Tsunade and the others, they immediately cheered.

The Second Shinobi World War had been fought intermittently for a long time, but this victory was the greatest since Konoha joined the war.

Both villagers and ninjas felt a sense of shared honor.

"Hello, everyone!"

Nawaki greeted the cheering crowd with a face full of smiles.

Not just him, many Konoha ninjas were waving and shouting to acquaintances.

"Natsuki!"

Uzumaki Kushina was jumping and waving in the crowd.

Natsuki quickly spotted her and gave her a smile.

Soon, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and other higher-ups walked out from the crowd.

Except for Shimura Danzo, everyone had unconcealable smiles on their faces.

After all, this victory was simply too great.

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