The sun rose in the east.
After a busy night, Sarutobi Asuma stopped and discovered he had gained a new achievement.
[Konoha's Purple Flash]
"Not bad!"
A smile appeared on Sarutobi Asuma's tired face, and he immediately allocated his attribute points to Constitution.
Instantly, the fatigue in his body vanished, and even his spirit was slightly invigorated, with no sign of drowsiness.
He returned to his tent and lay down to rest, but purple arcs of electricity still flashed across his body, stimulating his cells and nerves.
Sarutobi Asuma slept until 2 PM before waking up, feeling refreshed.
Looking at his Agility attribute, it had increased by +0.3!
Sarutobi Asuma knew this wasn't just due to Lightning Style, but also the improvement in his Constitution, which allowed his Agility attribute to develop its potential more strongly and easily.
He stretched, washed up, and then went to the severely wounded area to continue the second round of treatment for the gravely injured soldiers.
After finishing the treatments, it was past 6 PM. Sarutobi Asuma went into the commander's tent to meet Orochimaru and understand the results of the recent great battle.
It was undoubtedly a great victory.
First, they had captured the One-Tails Jinchuriki, and then they had captured the Sand Ninja commander, Grandmother Chiyo.
In total, over 1,600 were killed or captured, with over 500 prisoners.
However, from the end of the battle yesterday until now, over a hundred Sand Ninja prisoners had died.
They were all severely wounded and did not receive timely treatment.
It was brutal!
But also unavoidable.
Konoha's medical ninja and medicine were also limited, so they naturally prioritized treating their own people.
However, while the Sand Ninja suffered heavy losses, Konoha's losses were not small either.
Over 800 were killed or injured in the battle, not including the lightly wounded.
From the end of the battle until now, another 33 severely wounded individuals had died due to the inability to save them.
Sarutobi Asuma also felt helpless; his Medical Ninjutsu was ultimately far inferior to Tsunade's.
Even though he had mastered Creation Rebirth, he could only use it on himself.
Human effort has its limits!
Looking at the glaring numbers and recalling the Konoha ninja and Sand Ninja who died in agony yesterday and today, Sarutobi Asuma couldn't help but sigh.
"War is like this, you have to get used to it!"
"No matter how powerful a ninja is, life is fragile!"
Orochimaru spoke, it was unclear if he was comforting Sarutobi Asuma or lamenting the fragility of life.
After a moment's thought, Sarutobi Asuma asked, "Does Lord Orochimaru know about Sage Mode?"
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, a smile appearing on his lips, "It seems you've learned a lot from following Tsunade."
"Although I found Sage Mode, I haven't learned it."
Sarutobi Asuma nodded and said, "I've consulted many documents, and currently, there are three major Sage Mode inheritances in the Ninja World."
"Lord Jiraiya's Mount Myōboku, with the Toad Sage; Tsunade's summoned Slug Sage, and the very mysterious Ryūchi Cave, with the Snake Sage."
"Did Lord Orochimaru find the Snake Sage?"
Orochimaru nodded and smiled, "Sage Mode is indeed very interesting."
Although he hadn't mastered Sage Mode, he wasn't completely ignorant of it and hadn't given up his research.
This was because he had witnessed the power of the Snake Sage and had also heard Jiraiya and Tsunade talk about the Toad Sage and Slug Sage.
In terms of size and Chakra reserves, they were no ordinary summoning beasts.
Not to mention, according to some ancient records, these three Sages had extremely long histories.
Longevity!
The two began discussing Sage Mode, and as they talked, they found themselves becoming more and more congenial.
Especially Sarutobi Asuma, who possessed a wealth of information and frequently proposed ideas that made Orochimaru's eyes light up.
If they hadn't been on the front lines, he probably would have been unable to resist going to his research base to experiment.
An hour passed in the blink of an eye. A voice sounded from outside, and the two ended their conversation, still wanting to talk more. Orochimaru signaled for the person outside to enter.
It was a Jonin from the Nara Clan, named Nara Enichi.
"Lord Orochimaru, the Sand Ninja have responded and agreed to a ceasefire and peace talks, but they want to ransom back the One-Tails Jinchuriki and Chiyo first," Nara Enichi reported.
Orochimaru heard this and asked, "Enichi, what do you think?"
"Your subordinate believes this is a delaying tactic by the Sand Ninja!"
Nara Enichi stated, "If they were truly sincere about negotiating peace to end the war, redeeming the One-Tails Jinchuriki and Chiyo, and even those prisoners, would be bargaining chips for peace. However, they wouldn't propose redeeming them before negotiations are concluded."
"Furthermore, according to intelligence relayed by Senior Sakumo and Jonin Minato, the Sand Ninja have been continuously reinforcing their troops."
Orochimaru nodded and said, "Since the Sand Ninja want to stall for time, let them."
"Enichi, continue talking with them. The One-Tails Jinchuriki and Chiyo cannot be handed over to them yet, but they can redeem their wounded Sand Ninja prisoners first."
"Understood!"
Nara Enichi nodded and left.
Orochimaru continued to issue orders, dispatching even more troops to support Hatake Sakumo and Namikaze Minato.
The first objective was to continue disrupting the Sand Ninja's logistics, and the second was to gather intelligence, especially on the Fourth Kazekage.
Having lost the One-Tails Jinchuriki and with Chiyo, a veteran figure of the Sand Ninja, gone, how could the Fourth Kazekage remain seated?
Konoha and the Sand Ninja began peace talks.
However, while both sides officially ceased hostilities, minor skirmishes continued unabated.
Konoha was severing the Sand Ninja's supply lines, and the Sand Ninja were also organizing elite squads to infiltrate the Land of Fire by any means necessary.
They were either burning, killing, and plundering to disrupt civilian life, or attacking Konoha's supply routes and even medical camps in the rear.
However, the medical camps were always guarded by Sarutobi Asuma's Shadow Clones, causing the Sand Ninja to retreat in defeat and no longer dare to approach.
Starting from late August and early September, the war between Konoha and the Sand Ninja transitioned into a state of front-line confrontation, with smaller-scale clashes occurring in the rear.
Meanwhile, the negotiations between the two sides progressed at a snail's pace.
Early December.
Impatient, Orochimaru deliberately caused the peace talks to collapse. Sarutobi Asuma led an elite force into the Land of Wind, launching a surprise attack on the Sand Ninja's defenses and achieving a great victory!
The truth was, the Sand Ninja's front lines currently lacked any ninja capable of confronting Sarutobi Asuma head-on.
Moreover, his speed was incredible, and he could move through the air, making him impossible to surround.
This surprise attack saw Sarutobi Asuma's assault utterly pierce through the Sand Ninja's defenses. The name "Konoha's Purple Flash" grew even more renowned, beginning to spread among the Sand Ninja.
When Sarutobi Asuma charged, he was like a streak of purple lightning, pressing forward relentlessly without pause. In just five minutes, he single-handedly broke through a defense line manned by thousands of Sand Ninja.
Wherever he went, no one could resist him, leaving behind only bodies split in two.
On the Sand Ninja's front lines, Sarutobi Asuma's reputation and the Sand Ninja's fear of him surpassed even that of the commander Orochimaru, and even Hatake Sakumo, who had long been famous and established a formidable reputation on the Sand Ninja battlefield during the Second Great Ninja War.
After their defenses were broken repeatedly, Sarutobi Asuma became known as a demon, a grim reaper, among the Sand Ninja.
Time marched on amidst the war, bringing us to January 5th of Konoha Year 45.
On this day, the peace talks between Konoha and the Sand Ninja finally saw substantial progress.
The Sand Ninja redeemed a portion of their severely wounded soldiers from Konoha using iron ore.
Although these individuals had their lives saved by Konoha's medical ninja, they were essentially no longer capable of fighting and could not be considered an active force for the Sand Ninja.
In fact, the Sand Ninja were forced to expend some of their war potential to accommodate these severely wounded soldiers.
However, Namikaze Minato relayed news.
The Sand Ninja had a transaction with the Stone Ninja.
January 18th.
Konoha and the Sand Ninja conducted another prisoner exchange.
January 24th, 10 AM.
Sarutobi Asuma, at the medical camp, was urgently summoned by Orochimaru.
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