After the third batch of ninja was captured, Sasori and Kakuzu prepared to return.
Before parting ways, Sasori pulled Anya aside. "Big Brother Kurotsuchi," he whispered, "among these prisoners, I'll select some special ones to send back to their respective villages."
Anya understood the implication behind Sasori's words. "You're planning to plant spies in each village?"
"Yes," Sasori nodded. "Once these ninja are properly embedded, I'll send their information to you through puppets, making future communication convenient."
"Fine." Anya agreed. As Zero Organization expanded, it was time to take intelligence work seriously.
When Anya returned with Haku to Konoha's stronghold, Tsunade, who had been anxiously waiting, finally felt relieved and showed a long-absent smile.
This battle had drawn attention from nearly the entire Ninja World. Konoha's major defeat surprised everyone. The alliance between Iwagakure and Kirigakure had also been announced by Konoha, causing various countries in the ninja world to speculate endlessly.
Although both sides of the alliance seemed victorious on the surface, only the parties involved knew how devastating this victory truly was.
Half the Mist Village's Anbu who came for reinforcement were killed or injured. The Six-Tails went missing. The Three-Tails Jinchuriki sustained critical injuries, nearly dying. The surviving Mist ninja clearly knew who had sabotaged them. Once they returned to Kirigakure, the alliance would become nothing more than a formality.
Iwagakure suffered even worse. They were pushed back right to their own doorstep by Konoha. Their casualty numbers actually exceeded Konoha's. All established strongholds were completely destroyed. Some Rock ninja mysteriously disappeared without even leaving corpses behind. This blame would naturally fall on Konoha. Therefore, they currently lacked the strength for further battles. The Tsuchikage was furious upon hearing this outcome. Even more troubling, as anger surged, the two sword wounds across his chest began throbbing painfully again, constantly reminding him how dangerous this war had been.
Kumo, which originally benefited from this war, suffered heavy losses against Suna.
Firstly, Kumo couldn't adapt to Suna's harsh climate and environment. Once the conflict dragged into a prolonged war, Sand ninja holding terrain advantages had already begun organizing counterattacks.
Secondly, the extended frontlines resulted in supply shortages. No matter how powerful Kumo's ninja might be, they couldn't fight daily on empty stomachs.
Thirdly, and most importantly, Sunagakure finally chose a new leader – a Kage-level ninja named Rasa emerged. Using Magnet Release passed down by Third Kazekage combined with his own Kekkei Genkai, he developed a new technique: the Kekkei Genkai Magnet Release — Gold Dust.
With just this ninjutsu, he shone brilliantly in battle against Kumogakure forces, forcing Cloud ninja into continuous retreats while firmly defending Sunagakure's last line of defense. Since then, all Five Great Villages entered a period of cautious restraint during the Third Battle.
Considering the whole picture, the village that suffered most severely was undoubtedly Sunagakure. Firstly, their supposedly strongest ninja – the Third Kazekage – never appeared, presumed dead. Secondly, they were attacked right at their doorstep, nearly being wiped out and erased from history. Although they successfully defended themselves eventually, they now barely retained enough power for self-defense alone.
The second most affected was undoubtedly Iwagakure, which had also been invaded at its own gates. Although it seemed to have won the war, its casualties far exceeded those of Konoha, and it ended up falling into conflict with Kiri, turning what seemed like a victory into a complete loss, leaving the village to simply lick its wounds.
Kiri, which was also declared victorious, did not fare much better either. They lost one tailed beast jinchuriki and had another severely injured near death. Their Anbu (special forces) suffered heavy casualties, and worse, they gained absolutely nothing from the war—truly losing both their investment and their men.
Ironically, the least affected were actually Konoha and Kumogakure, who both technically lost the war.
Kumo had long struggled in Sunagakure and, upon learning that Iwa, a longtime rival, had found an ally, proactively withdrew its main forces from the Sunagakure battlefield, preserving their strength. However, while attempting to capture the Nine-Tails on another battlefield, they encountered Konoha's Yellow Flash. They had no idea just how terrifying an enraged Minato could be during their first encounter. Not a single Kumo ninja survived the clash, shocking the entire ninja world. The Yellow Flash's legend spread throughout the Ninja World from that day on, and every hidden village issued the same order as Iwa: if encountered, missions can be abandoned without penalty.
After suffering such a devastating defeat, Konoha's forces on the Iwagakure battlefield lost nearly half their numbers, with many missing and their fates unknown. Survivors were all injured, morale plummeted to rock bottom, and the entire force was rendered unfit for battle. As the overall commander, Tsunade inevitably had to take the blame and would likely never lead again.
Looking at the current situation, the group that benefited the most from this war was undoubtedly the Zero Organization established by Anya. It not only received a huge sum of money from the Tsuchikage but also saw its membership rapidly expand in silence.
Inside the Mizukage's office in Kiri, the ever-mysterious Third Mizukage sat in shadow, his face unseen by anyone, with only a few Kiri ninja having ever laid eyes on him. Standing before him was none other than Master Gen, leaning on a cane shaped like a serpent.
Gen placed an intelligence report on the Mizukage's desk and slowly spoke up: "Third, you've always been obsessed with training and indifferent to village affairs, yet this time you deliberately bypassed the Elder Council to dispatch so many elite forces. Were you trying to prove your leadership? Now that we've gotten this result, do you have anything to say?"
After silently reading the report, the Mizukage—who had rarely spoken for years—finally replied in a hoarse voice: "This was my failure. Elder Fukasaku, what do you believe should be done to remedy the situation?"
Hearing the Mizukage admit fault voluntarily, Gen did not press further and said heavily: "Kirigakure has always suffered from internal strife; with sheer strength alone, we cannot defeat the other great nations. Now that this war has ended, grudges have deepened, and future wars are inevitable. Our time for war will eventually come."
The Mizukage nodded in agreement: "As always, Elder Fukasaku sees far. By the way, how is the Three-Tails jinchuriki doing?"
"Alas, it's no good," Gen sighed, deeply pained by the loss of one of the village's two jinchuriki and the near-death of the other.
The Mizukage replied indifferently, "Then extract the Three-Tails and seal it away. We'll wait until a suitable new jinchuriki is selected before lifting the seal."
"That's the only way."
"Having spoken, Master Gen leaned on his staff and disappeared into the depths of the office.
The Mizukage in the shadows revealed a pale face beneath the dim light filtering through the room. Upon closer inspection, one could see that his pupils lacked any focus whatsoever. His entire presence exuded a deathly stillness, utterly lacking the vibrant energy of the living.
At this moment, a voice suddenly echoed within the office: "Heh, pretending to be a village's Kage is quite amusing indeed. No one's caught on at all~"
"Don't grow careless," a low, stern voice warned. "Don't forget about that last intelligence report. Someone had already begun suspecting that the Third Mizukage was nothing more than a puppet. Fortunately, I ordered the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist to retrieve it. If that intel had fallen into the hands of Konoha, the consequences would've been severe—possibly even exposing *the one behind us*."
As these words settled, a figure clad in contrasting black and white robes—its head crowned by twisting branches—disappeared soundlessly from the Mizukage's office.
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