The title of "Demi-God" might have been a bit of an overstatement, but at his peak, Hanzō was undeniably powerful.
From a personal standpoint, he had won this battle; after all, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru were no match for him. They had lost.
But from the perspective of his village, Hanzō had lost. The Hidden Rain simply couldn't match the resources and strength of a village like Konoha.
He had defeated Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru and slain many Konoha shinobi, yet the result remained unchanged.
The Hidden Rain had lost.
And it had lost badly.
After the fierce battle, most of his shinobi lay dead, and those who remained were severely wounded.
In contrast, Konoha still had a substantial number of ninjas capable of fighting. However, they were too wary of Hanzō's poison to approach and could only watch from a distance.
"I have won… and yet, I have also lost. Hiruzen has trained three exceptional students," Hanzō mused aloud from atop his salamander. His gaze shifted to Orochimaru as he asked, "Orochimaru, why didn't you summon Manda for this battle? If Manda had been here, you might have stood a chance at victory."
Orochimaru had refrained from summoning Manda throughout the battle, even when his life was in grave danger.
Tsunade had summoned Katsuyu, and Jiraiya had called forth Gamabunta, but against Hanzō, neither summon had made much of a difference.
Katsuyu was useful for healing, but Gamabunta struggled against Hanzō's salamander. The creature's poison even made the toads from Mount Myōboku hesitate.
"Hehehe…" Orochimaru let out a nervous laugh. "Manda has chosen a new master. I wouldn't summon him to fight on my behalf anymore. Besides, even with Manda, the outcome would remain the same."
Hanzō was too powerful, his presence suffocating. This defeat weighed heavily on Orochimaru, filling him with a sense of helplessness.
Whether in taijutsu or kenjutsu, none of them could match Hanzō. Combined with his near-legendary speed, the three of them had been utterly overwhelmed.
Should he kill them? If Hanzō wished, it would be easy to finish off Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade. They were out of strength, and while there were still plenty of Konoha ninjas around, Hanzō didn't see them as a threat.
One breath of his salamander's poison would turn them all into corpses.
After a moment of consideration, Hanzō lowered his scythe and dismissed his summoning jutsu, sending the salamander away.
"You three are impressive, but you still need time to grow. Today, I, Hanzō the Demi-God, grant you the title of the 'Legendary Sannin.'"
"What?" Orochimaru's smile froze, Jiraiya rolled his eyes, and Tsunade was left speechless.
"Legendary Sannin?"
"Granted?"
Is he serious? That's not an honor; it's an insult.
"Tell Danzo that I will be waiting in the Hidden Rain Village for him to send someone to negotiate," Hanzō said, flicking his scythe before leading the surviving Rain ninjas away from the battlefield, signaling the end of the war.
But for the so-called "victors," Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, there was no joy to be found. The title of "Legendary Sannin" felt more like a mark of humiliation than an accolade.
Tap, tap, tap...
Raindrops pattered against the oilcloth, splashing in tiny droplets. Sitting on a tree branch while keeping watch, Takuya lifted his gaze toward the front lines.
"I wonder if the battle's over. I wonder if the title of 'Sannin' will still stick with Tsunade and the others."
With no enemies in sight and no orders to retreat, those who remained could only rest and recover. This left Takuya feeling a bit idle.
The Hidden Sand's movements were somewhat suspicious, but whatever schemes they had weren't Takuya's concern. That was for the village leaders to worry about.
"Takuya-sama, there's news from the camp!"
A ninja with an injured left arm excitedly jumped up to the branch, carrying a messenger hawk, completely ignoring the rain soaking his wounded arm.
"Let's head back first," Takuya replied, taking the small scroll from the hawk's leg before releasing it.
"News from the camp."
Back inside the makeshift shelter, Takuya sat by the fire and relayed the message to the other ninjas who, like him, were idle and waiting. All eyes turned to him as he unrolled the scroll.
"Huh..."
He had expected orders to either retreat or hold their position, perhaps with reinforcements and the wounded sent back to safety.
But as he read the contents, Takuya was stunned.
Could it be that they lost?
Seeing Takuya's reaction, the others felt a sinking feeling in their chests.
"You've got to be kidding me..." Takuya muttered, rubbing his face, a strange urge to laugh bubbling up.
Danzo, that old schemer, had finally messed up.
He had been taken down by Chiyo, losing an eye and an arm in the process.
But the worst part was the severe damage to the camp—the medical unit had been nearly wiped out.
This kind of loss would have the Third Hokage and others seething.
Seeing Takuya's reaction, no one dared to speak. After a tense silence, Nawaki forced a shaky smile and asked, "Takuya, please don't tell me we lost the battle. What happened to my sister?"
"Whew..."
Taking a deep breath, Takuya looked at the scroll again and announced, "Your sister is fine. The front line secured a victory, and the Hidden Rain has been defeated. Hanzō is requesting peace talks. But..."
"But what?"
Nawaki asked, clearly relieved but still on edge.
"Did something happen to our sensei?"
Now it was Minato's turn to worry, fearing the worst for Jiraiya.
"It's just that..."
Takuya paused, carefully choosing his words. "The Hidden Sand pulled a surprise attack, hitting our camp from behind. The camp was breached, and the medical unit was decimated. Most of our medical ninjas were killed, and Danzo was severely injured, losing an eye and an arm."
Has karma finally caught up to him?
Chiyo played this move brilliantly!
Why couldn't she have just finished the job and taken Danzo out entirely?
What a shame.
Takuya silently gave Chiyo a nod of approval in his mind.
The only downside was the loss of the medical unit; losing so many medics would hurt Konoha deeply. Training medical ninjas wasn't easy.
Everyone else was left in stunned silence.
They now understood why Takuya had reacted the way he did earlier.
The camp was breached by the Hidden Sand? The medical unit was wiped out? Danzo's now a one-eyed, one-armed man?
Holy crap, the Hidden Sand is really pushing their luck.
"Alright, everyone, pack up. We're heading back to the camp immediately."
With the Hidden Sand's sneak attack, the camp had suffered greatly, and now they needed to regroup.
Since the Hidden Rain had been defeated, the next step would be negotiations. To prevent any further sneak attacks, they needed to bolster the camp's defenses.
Poor Danzo probably thought he had everything under control, just waiting for the war to end and for negotiations to conclude so he could return to the village as a hero, a celebrated figure.
But now, that's all gone.
Chiyo's sneak attack had shattered all his plans.
At this point, Danzo would be lucky if he wasn't held accountable. If anyone had to take the blame for this disaster, it would be Danzo, the "Shadow Hokage."
No one else could bear the weight of this failure.
Thinking of how Danzo had been so eager to gain glory and become a hero of the village, possibly even aiming to become the Fourth Hokage, Takuya couldn't help but click his tongue in disbelief.
He had to admit, Chiyo's move was incredibly cunning.
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