"Are those Konoha ninjas? They're so powerful."
On a cliffside, a boy with orange hair peered out at the battlefield in the distance, his face filled with astonishment. Beside him, a girl with purple hair nodded gently and said, "It seems like they're even stronger than Hanzo-sama."
Watching Hanzo-sama, who was surrounded by just three people and unable to break free, and then seeing the Konoha ninjas who had just swept through the battlefield with a single ninjutsu, the girl's face was also full of astonishment.
"But... they're Konoha ninjas."
Behind them, a boy with dark red hair, his bangs completely covering his eyes, spoke somewhat discontentedly, his tone mixed with anger and sadness.
The boy with orange hair didn't turn around but said, "We just want to learn how to become ninjas. After we become ninjas, we can also help make the Land of Rain better. It doesn't matter who we learn from, right?"
"But..."
The boy with dark red hair wanted to argue further, but before he could speak, footsteps came from behind, and he quickly curled up into a ball. The other two also hastily covered themselves with raincoats, but the footsteps around them stopped.
"There are three kids, Squad Captain, what should we do?"
"Perhaps they're Konoha spies? Let's take care of them first."
As the words fell, the footsteps resumed, getting closer and closer to them.
"Rustle, rustle..."
Several shuriken flew towards them, as if probing, because they weren't aimed directly at the three, but they still frightened them enough to scramble up from the ground. Seeing the three get up, the Rain Ninja quickly threw kunai with explosive tags hanging from them towards them.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
Explosions rang out. Originally at the back of the group, the red-haired boy now found himself at the front, but when the explosive tags detonated, an invisible chakra shield appeared.
But nobody paid it any mind, because although the explosive tags didn't directly hit them, the rocks beneath their feet were still destroyed by the explosions, causing the three to fall, fortunately into a river below the cliff.
The river swollen from the late rains was still abundant, so although they fell from the sky, they didn't sink to the bottom but were swept away by the current.
The Rain Ninja who had resolved this minor incident quickly rushed to join the main force for reinforcements. However, squads of Konoha Ninja appeared, blocking their path and engaging them in fierce combat.
After a long while, Konoha achieved victory on the battlefield. There were hardly any Rain Ninja left standing, and even those few who still had fighting capability abandoned their weapons, their faces filled with despair.
The reinforcements from the Rain Village were much fewer than expected, and at this point, they had all become part of the defeated army.
In the center of the battlefield, Hanzo looked at the three young Ninja before him, panting heavily and needing to support each other to stand steadily. He glanced around at the devastation and couldn't help but feel sorrow.
He had fought for half a lifetime to achieve something, and in this battle, it was almost entirely lost.
Tatsuma also stood in the distance, looking over here. With his intervention, Hanzo appeared much more weary than in the original story. Unlike in the original story where his clothes remained intact until the end, the current Hanzo looked somewhat disheveled.
His upper garment had been torn to shreds, and his pants had numerous holes. There were bandages all over his body, covering wounds that had not yet healed. Even Ibuse had withdrawn due to injuries, but unfortunately, none of this could inflict serious harm on Hanzo.
Perhaps, as Sarutobi Hiruzen said, Hanzo's strength was already comparable to that of the Five Kage. In a situation where the Five Kage were not involved, there was almost no one who could defeat Hanzo. Even the tactic used to kill the Third Raikage might not work against Hanzo, considering how potent his poison was. That's why Konoha had to isolate him for battle.
Hanzo's gaze also fell on Tatsuma, who was looking over here. Unlike before, there was no longer any killing intent in Hanzo's heart at this moment because killing Tatsuma would be futile.
It will even anger the ninjas of Konoha. Ten kilometers behind is the Amegakure Village, and Hanzo cannot accept that price.
Withdrawing his gaze, Hanzo looked at the three individuals who were supporting each other and the Summoning beasts that had been repelled back to their sanctuaries. He spoke again, "It seems that you Konoha have won this war."
Though he said "seems," the situation on the battlefield was already clear. Although some still possessed fighting capabilities, those who had lost their will to fight could no longer be considered combatants.
Even Hanzo himself had lost the drive to continue fighting. Despite the circumstances, Hanzo maintained his air of superiority as he addressed the three, "I will spare your lives."
Upon hearing Hanzo's continued arrogance, Jiraiya, who was supporting Tsunade, angrily retorted, "We don't need your pity! I can still fight on!"
"Enough, Jiraiya!" Sensing Jiraiya's injuries, Tsunade quickly intervened, but Hanzo remained indifferent.
He was long past the age of being provoked into hot-bloodedness by a few taunts. Now, he typically played the role of the elder, speaking in a paternal tone, "All three of you are formidable. Even in our battle, you managed to survive. From now on, I will dub you the Konoha Sannin. Wear this title earned through your lives and live on."
With that said, he turned his gaze to Tatsuma in the distance. The pain from his injuries began to sting again. There was a hint of imperceptible resentment in his tone as he continued, "And you, Konoha's Dragon from this day forth, you have soared."
"This feels like not valuing the nickname I've earned, doesn't it?" Tatsuma thought to himself. He had long since stopped caring about nicknames. After all, with a moniker like "Jewel Crusher" already attached to him, any other nickname felt pretty good. Tatsuma had given up worrying about nicknames because that one had already become well-known.
Even in Konoha, there were plenty of people calling him by that name, and even many elderly folks who didn't know the meaning of the nickname called him that too. Being called that so often naturally made him feel indifferent.
Besides, he had already been restraining himself. In today's battle, he had hardly used his Jewel Crushing technique at all. There were just a few instances where he couldn't avoid it. But he couldn't just give up attacking, could he?
"Ding~ [Wisdom+9731], [Ninjutsu+8765], [Spirit+7956], [Strength+5431], [Speed+5369], [Stamina+4972], [Seals+4738], [Illusions+213]. Would you like to claim?"
At this moment, the system completed its assessment. Looking at the incredibly rich array of talents he could acquire, Tatsuma felt no excitement at all. He simply habitually chose to claim them.
Although Hanzo declared Konoha's victory, the mood among the Konoha ninjas present wasn't jubilant. Not only had the casualties been severe in this battle, but also because of the "good" and "evil" revealed by both sides during the conflict.
Originally, before they set out, they thought that after this battle, they would become heroes who would end the war. But as they fought, they realized that they were actually the villains, the oppressors who harmed the civilians of other nations.
Therefore, this victory was the most bitter victory they had ever experienced. In fact, if they could, they wished they weren't even part of the war.
Tsunade and Orochimaru remained sober. Although his emotions were not high, he quickly commanded the battlefield, facilitated body exchanges, tended to the wounded, and even summoned Katsuyu again, providing healing to some Rain Ninja.
However, no matter how everyone performed during the war, now that the war had ended, rebuilding the relationship between the two countries had become the most important thing.
Orochimaru also discussed deeper compensation issues with Hanzo. It wasn't about the defeated Land of Rain compensating Konoha, but rather Konoha voluntarily assisting the war-torn Land of Rain.
However, at the moment, it was only preliminary negotiations. Specific details of compensation and whether it would be provided were to be discussed in dedicated meetings later.
Both sides took longer than during the battle to complete post-war affairs. After the body exchanges were done, Hanzo led the remnants of the Rain Ninja back to the nearby village, while the remnants of Konoha also began to gather and withdraw voluntarily.
Despite the great victory, as the Konoha ninjas walked along, they all kept their heads low, no one spoke, even more silent than when they marched into battle, as if they were now executing a top-secret mission.
Although Tatsuma was also silent, he wasn't pondering these questions because he knew that thinking about them was meaningless and would only lead to endless self-blame. Instead, he was contemplating how the ninja world's situation might change as a result of this battle. Interactions between nations were far more complex than between individuals.
Firstly, the Hidden Rock Village had lost its "proxy," but with the war ending in Konoha's complete victory, it was clearly not the outcome the Hidden Rock Village desired. They might take their own actions in the aftermath.
Or perhaps they might target Konoha, or the Land of Rain, which is riddled with wounds, or even the few unrestful smaller nations. There are just too many options for them to choose from and too much to consider.
Next is the Hidden Sand Village. The Hidden Sand Village has never officially declared its withdrawal from the war, perhaps waiting and watching. If Konoha suffers continuous losses during this period, they might do their utmost to persuade the Daimyo to deploy troops again.
However, now that Konoha has achieved a decisive victory, it's highly unlikely that the Daimyo of the Land of Wind would allocate funds for further warfare. The focus of the Hidden Sand Village's efforts should now shift to liaising with various small nations and organizations from before, to prevent them from withdrawing from their contracts.
Then there's the Land of Lightning. The Land of Lightning can be said to have gained nothing from this war, but they also didn't suffer much. Although they lost some people in small-scale battles with Konoha, it wasn't significant for either side.
Moreover, the Land of Lightning is far from the main battlefield. If they want to get involved, the journey is long and easily discovered. However, the Hidden Cloud Village is a group of rash individuals who might come up with some "bright ideas" on a whim, so defenses cannot be relaxed immediately.
Next is the internal situation of Konoha. This war has consumed too much of Konoha's resources. Among the Senju descendants, almost all of the living combatants have been lost. This is bound to cause turmoil, especially since the Uchiha clan has also suffered significant casualties in the north.
These two clans will likely be unable to act for a short period of time, especially since Senju Tsunade may consider the Senju to have vanished completely.
In addition to this, the actions of Root, led by Danzo, will also be restricted in the coming period. After all, the only major defeat Konoha suffered was under Danzo's leadership.
The Shimura Clan, affiliated with Shimura Danzo, also dare not emerge to vie for power at this time.
The real beneficiaries are the Hyuga and Sarutobi clans. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio, as well as the Inuzuka and Aburame clans, will also reap significant rewards from this.
Especially for the Sarutobi Clan, they truly exemplify the truth of "as long as I don't make mistakes, the family will deliver opportunities to my doorstep." They don't need to do anything themselves, just wait for others to make mistakes.
It is likely that Konoha will undergo significant changes in the next few years, but ultimately, it will develop towards a positive direction.
Just as Tatsuma was pondering, the Konoha team also stopped temporarily to rest. While they were resting by the riverbank, something seemed to be constantly floating and sinking on the surface of the water in the distance.
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