As soon as Tsunade received the news, she knew Sumao had won. Without hesitation, she immediately ordered the remaining forces to launch a full-scale attack, aiming to crush the Sand-nin and end the war.
At the same time, the Sand-nin commander, seeing their puppet forces destroyed, knew defeat was certain. Though anxious and frustrated, he could do nothing to turn the tide.
In the end, he thought of the Will of the Sand and made a decision. He would lead a group of troops who were not suitable for retreat as a suicide squad to cover the main forces' withdrawal, while destroying all supplies they could not take with them.
Following his command, he ordered his subordinates to activate the temporary trap while ordering the main force to retreat. After the Konoha shinobi broke through the temporary trap, he personally led the charge straight into Konoha's ranks.
In the end, Konoha emerged victorious from the war. However, at that moment, Konoha's forces were also drained. Hatake Sumao could only hastily assemble a group of relatively unscathed ninja and appointed Uchiha Qingyuan as the squad leader to pursue and hunt down the retreating Sand forces, hoping to expand their success further.
As for Hatake Sumao himself, he badly needed Tsunade's medical help. Fortunately, Tsunade's medical skills were exceptional. She first neutralized the poison in Sumao's body, then treated his external wounds. Within just two or three days, Sumao had recovered about seventy to eighty percent, and was once again fit for battle.
Once healed, Hatake Sumao led some Konoha shinobi who had also recovered from minor injuries. In record time, they crossed nearly half the Land of Rivers, finally stopping at the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind.
The defenses here had been built by the Sand-nin over the years. After all, their neighbor was Konoha, the number one village in the ninja world. They had been constructed as early as the era of the First Kazekage and had been continuously reinforced over the years, making their defensive capabilities far superior to temporary fortifications.
Knowing this place could not be breached easily, Uchiha Qingyuan and his group decided not to continue the attack. Additionally, Hatake Sumao had explicitly forbidden chasing the enemy into the Land of Wind, so the Konoha forces set up camp on site, waiting for Sumao's arrival, while continuously eliminating straggling Sand-nin and gaining significant results.
Soon, Konoha and the Sand-nin entered a new standoff, which only changed when the Third Kazekage and Hatake Sumao arrived at the battlefield.
Upon hearing news of the defeat at the River Country front, the Third Kazekage wasted no time. He immediately held a meeting and quickly set off with Chiyo, whose anger had been burning since the deaths of her son and daughter-in-law.
The Third Kazekage and Chiyo coincidentally encountered Hatake Sumao and Tsunade. When enemies met, there were no words exchanged—only immediate combat. Hatake Sumao faced off against the Third Kazekage, while Tsunade clashed with Chiyo.
During the battle, Hatake Sumao's unparalleled sharpness shattered the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release: Iron Sand World Method, and even ultimately broke through the defense of the Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wall.
Although Hatake Sumao paid a heavy price for this, only managing to inflict minor injuries on the Third Kazekage, it still deeply unsettled the latter. He had already sensed Hatake Sumao's unbreakable will.
The Third Kazekage was certain that if the battle continued, this madman wouldn't hesitate to take him down with a suicide attack. With Suna already in the midst of its second great war, the loss of the Kazekage might lead to the total destruction of the village. So in the end, he backed down, perfectly embodying the saying, "The bold fear the reckless."
On the other hand, Hatake Sumao didn't want to kill the Kazekage until the very last moment. Doing so would only cause endless bloodshed between Konoha and Suna. Considering Konoha's current situation, Hatake simply couldn't bear to make such a reckless decision.
Eventually, their battle ended without a clear winner. In reality, the Third Kazekage had the upper hand, but it simply wasn't worth fighting for anymore.
At the same time, Chiyo and Tsunade engaged in combat. Aging Chiyo's chakra reserves were nowhere near their peak anymore. Though her Puppet Technique remained impressive, her overall strength had greatly declined compared to her youth—she was gradually losing the power of a Kage-level ninja.
Fighting Tsunade at her prime, Chiyo gained no early advantage. As the battle dragged on without a chance of victory, she became stuck in a stalemate, destined to lose if the fight continued.
Realizing her situation, Chiyo resorted to various self-developed poisons in hopes of turning the tide. However, Tsunade countered all of her toxins with the help of Katsuyu's clone—a summoned beast of the Sage (Sennin).
Even her pride, the Puppet Technique, was repeatedly disrupted as Tsunade used the Scalpel to sever the chakra threads. Her puppets were then smashed by the Monstrous Strength Punch and Heavenly Defending Foot, preventing any effective combination attacks. As the prolonged fight drained Chiyo beyond her limits, she was finally defeated, losing every last secret she had.
In the end, the overall commander, the Third Kazekage, silently withdrew from the battlefield after reaching an unspoken understanding with Hatake Sumao, taking Chiyo with him. This withdrawal essentially meant Konoha had won this war, and now it was just a matter of negotiation.
Thus, Konoha finally managed to recover from part of its earlier losses in Ame, forcing Kumo, Kiri, and Iwa to reconsider their strategies against the Land of Fire. There were so many sacrifices — all because of Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane's failures.
The Uchiha clan also suffered heavy losses—it was mostly their own doing for rushing in headfirst and going all-out.
After the battle, when Hatake Sumao tallied up the casualties, he sighed and said, "You can always count on your Uchiha comrade—at least when they're alive, you don't have to watch your back."
Even Tsunade, after witnessing the Uchiha's performance, began to change her view of them, starting to doubt whether her great-grandfather had been too extreme.
After cleaning up the battlefield, Tsunade then went to reinforce Ame, taking with her a group of elite ninjas—many of whom were members of Hatake Sumao's elite unit, specially trained to counter Suna's forces in Ame.
Among them were some Uchiha, who formed a special unit led by Uchiha Qingyuan. It wasn't that other Uchiha didn't want to go—it was simply that very few Uchiha had recovered enough from injuries to move freely at that time, including the Uchiha Clan's main leader, Renga Uchiha.
Hatake Sumao was unable to attend because the peace agreement with the Land of Wind had yet to be signed at the time. His presence was needed in the region for deterrence. Moreover, due to the deaths of Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law, she was eager for revenge and insisted on continuing the war. However, her efforts were eventually suppressed and stopped by the Third Kazekage and the Sand-nin for the greater good.
Eventually, Suna had no choice but to begin signing the peace treaty. However, the signing couldn't be finalized immediately due to protracted negotiations. Results wouldn't become clear until after the first decisive outcomes emerged from the battles in Ame. This illustrated the long-term repercussions caused by Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane.
Thereafter, in recognition of Hatake Sumao's merits, Hiruzen Sarutobi generously and ceremoniously awarded him the Hokage's ceremonial half-robe, simultaneously announcing to the Ninja World that this man was his chosen successor.
Even more crucially, there was another unspoken message: "I, Hiruzen Sarutobi, have already chosen my successor. If you dare invade the Land of Fire, I will wage total war until mutual destruction, and then my successor will carry on the fight against you." This bold declaration deterred many who had considered attacking Konoha.
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