The female shinobi who had been abruptly pushed forward by Jiraiya was momentarily stunned, but fortunately, she still remembered her duty.
After bowing awkwardly to Hoshiyomi, she reached to her waist, pulled out the compiled battle statistics, and began reporting the data from the war:
"In this battle, both sides deployed around 2,000 shinobi. The death toll on the Iwagakure side is approximately 1,000, while our side lost only 350."
The moment those words were spoken, bright smiles spread across everyone's faces. Up until now, they only knew the battle had been a major victory—but hadn't realized just how easily it had been won.
Now, hearing the actual casualty ratio, they had a clearer picture: nearly 3 to 1. This was undoubtedly an overwhelming triumph.
Jiraiya grinned and said:
"Come on, keep going, don't dawdle."
Urged by Jiraiya, the female shinobi quickened her pace:
"The number of wounded and the battlefield spoils are still being tallied. We'll likely need until tomorrow or the day after for concrete numbers.
For now, we've only finished compiling the confirmed list of Iwa casualties ranked Special Jōnin and above. As of now, 50 enemy shinobi of that level have been confirmed dead.
According to the submitted kill reports, Hoshiyomi-sama alone is estimated to have killed around 20 jōnin."
At that point, the female shinobi couldn't help but sneak a glance at Hoshiyomi, seated in the command position—her eyes filled with a mixture of awe and disbelief. He looked so gentle and handsome, yet possessed such frightening strength.
The others in the tent fell silent at that figure. Jōnin weren't just random fodder—they were the pinnacle of a village's power.
In small villages like Kusagakure or Yugakure, a jōnin would be enough to serve as a village leader.
Even among the Five Great Nations, excluding Konoha, the total number of active jōnin rarely exceeded a hundred. If you included Special Jōnin, maybe two hundred at most.
Hoshiyomi had personally eliminated nearly one-fifth of that force.
And these weren't nameless enemies either—they were named elite jōnin from Iwagakure. How could that not be shocking?
Hoshiyomi already had a good idea of the numbers, so he showed no particular reaction. He simply asked:
"And what about the results of the others?"
"Shinku-sama and Jiraiya-sama together eliminated seven jōnin.
Jōnin Hokushin and Jōnin Seisho each killed two jōnin…"
Following that were the stats of many other Konoha jōnin—most had one confirmed kill, or had taken down one or two Special Jōnin.
When she got to the last part, the female shinobi suddenly paused, glanced uncertainly at Minato and Kuugetsu, and said with a hint of disbelief:
"Genin Namikaze Minato killed one jōnin. Genin Uchiha Kuugetsu killed one Special Jōnin.
Oh my gosh, are you two really Genin?"
Even Hoshiyomi was caught off guard by that. He turned to look at Minato and Kuugetsu:
"Is that true?"
He was already aware of their talent and combat potential—but even so, he hadn't expected that on their very first battlefield deployment, they would achieve such astonishing results.
As genin, to kill a jōnin and a Special Jōnin respectively—this was beyond exceptional. They were worthy of being called prodigies, no less brilliant than Sakumo or Orochimaru in their youth.
Minato scratched his head shyly and replied:
"I just got lucky and ran into an already-injured jōnin… caught him off guard."
Kuugetsu also spoke up bashfully:
"I, um… from the start I… I didn't…"
Halfway through, her voice trailed off, and she lowered her head in embarrassment. As a shinobi, to be so mentally shaken after killing someone that her inner personality took over—it was something even she felt ashamed of.
Jiraiya, unaware of Kuugetsu's inner personality, looked confused:
"But earlier when you were slicing people up, you looked pretty fierce! Why are you suddenly acting all meek in front of your sensei?"
Kuugetsu's face flushed bright red with embarrassment, and Jiraiya, chuckling, added with a note of envy:
"I used to think Nagato and the others were incredibly gifted. But looking at your two students now… seems like they're on a whole other level."
...
After the report, Minato and the others left Hoshiyomi's command tent early. While fighting, they'd all been in a heightened state of focus, but now that the adrenaline was gone, they realized they'd barely eaten or rested all day.
Now that the tension had passed, fatigue finally set in, and one by one, they retired to their own tents to sleep.
Once they were gone, Hoshiyomi opened up his Sword Heart System. When he saw the experience points on the panel, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
Current Swordsmanship Level: Master Swordsmanship – 106/500.
After reaching the Master level, experience gained from fighting jōnin had decreased significantly. Where he once earned 8 or 9 points per jōnin at the advanced level, now it was only around 5.
But 5 points per kill was still plenty—because while the quality dropped, the quantity had risen. His elimination of 20 jōnin had directly yielded over a hundred experience points.
At this rate, Hoshiyomi even began to wonder if he should initiate another attack or two. If he could engage in one more large-scale battle like this, he might be very close to unlocking a new ability.
...
Meanwhile, over on the Sunagakure front, the battle had concluded even earlier than on the Iwagakure side.
After realizing that their dispatched reinforcements had been surrounded by Sakumo, Sunagakure sent a full army and clashed with Konoha head-on.
However, this battle wasn't as intense as Iwagakure's. Chiyo and Ebizō were still relatively young at the time, and Chiyo had also recently inherited the legacy of Monzaemon: the blueprints for the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets.
With the strong backing of the Third Kazekage, Ryūnosuke, Chiyo successfully recreated Monzaemon's famed puppet corps. With the Chikamatsu Ten on the field, Konoha's shinobi gained little advantage.
After both sides suffered a few hundred casualties, they wisely chose to withdraw, unlike the frenzied battle on Hoshiyomi's side.
However, one major incident still occurred during this fight: Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law, the leaders of the reinforcement unit, were surrounded by Hatake Sakumo and killed in battle, dying as a pair.
When Chiyo arrived and witnessed the scene, she was so enraged that she vomited blood on the spot, and from that moment on, she vowed to never rest until Sakumo was dead.
...
The two major battles that happened on the same day quickly spread across the shinobi world in the following days. News that Konoha had won both fronts simultaneously shocked the entire Shinobi World and solidified its standing as the number one Hidden Village.
In these battles, Hatake Sakumo became a household name with his blade, White Fang. What had once been a title known only in small circles—"Konoha's White Fang"—was now spoken across the entire ninja world.
Sakumo and Hoshiyomi, commanders of the twin battlefields and both renowned for their swordsmanship, were affectionately given titles by admirers like:
"Konoha's Twin Stars"
"The Silver Fangs"
In fact, the fame they gained from these battles even overshadowed the earlier renown of the so-called "Legendary Sannin," chosen by Hanzo of the Salamander.