LRAB Chapter 76 The War Ends
Chapter 76 The War Ends
Watching the Third Mizukage depart, Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head slightly. He couldn't allow Konoha to suffer any more casualties. The battle on the Iwa ninja side was still raging, and he didn't know when it would end. If they continued fighting to the death with Kirigakure, it would damage Konoha's foundation.
In the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi abandoned his plan to keep the Third Mizukage alive. He wanted to end the war with the Mist Ninja as soon as possible so that Konoha could focus all its efforts on dealing with the Iwa Ninja, defeat them sooner, restore peace to the ninja world, and allow Konoha to recuperate.
Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly headed back towards the Konoha command post. He wanted the Konoha ninja to stop fighting the Mist Ninja as soon as possible. After all, he had already defeated the Third Mizukage, and the Mist Ninja did not have the confidence to continue fighting Konoha.
After quickly returning to the command post, Hiruzen Sarutobi patted Yamanaka Ida, the Kirigakure war messenger, on the shoulder, signaling him to prepare to relay information to the front-line troops.
Yamanaka Ida, the head of the Yamanaka clan, nodded to indicate that he understood, then sat down at the communication device and began using ninjutsu to transmit orders to the Konoha forces.
After seeing that the other side was ready, Hiruzen Sarutobi began to give orders.
"I have defeated the Mizukage of Kirigakure. The enemy has admitted defeat and is preparing to withdraw. The Konoha ninja forces fighting the Kirigakure at the front can switch to monitoring the enemy after the Kirigakure stops fighting, and then prepare to return to their camp to rest after the enemy withdraws."
"This war between the Mist Ninja is over. We have won!"
Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's order, Yamanaka Ida happily relayed it, his eyes filled with excitement and joy.
The war with the Mist Village is finally coming to an end, and Konoha has once again won a victory. This will boost Konoha's morale, and when the news reaches the Iwagakure Village, the Iwagakure Village will also consider the possibility of ending the war. At that time, Konoha will be able to end all the wars and become the final victor in this Shinobi World War, and the Shinobi World will be able to truly return to peace.
Because there are still at least 3000 ninja in the Mist Village, and the number of Jonin from the major Mist Village clans has not been much, they can still inflict huge casualties on Konoha if they disregard sacrifices.
However, the Mist Village will also lose most of its ninja forces, which will put the village in a very dangerous situation, and it will be questionable whether it can maintain its status as one of the Five Great Nations.
After thinking everything through, the Third Mizukage knew that the only option was to retreat and return to Kirigakure in the Land of Water. He needed to reorganize the situation within Kirigakure, including the obstruction of orders from the Kirigakure leadership by the powerful clans and the policies for cultivating the strength of Kirigakure ninjas. He needed to formulate a new strategy.
Before long, the high command of the Kirigakure raiding force had all arrived, awaiting the Third Mizukage's orders.
These people were not only elite ninjas of the village, but most of them were also the confidants of the Third Mizukage. The main force of the troops he had previously led consisted of these people.
The Third Mizukage's selection as Mizukage in Kirigakure was largely due to his excellent command and coordination of the more than 5000 Kirigakure ninja on the battlefield.
The battlefield situation has now completely deteriorated. The Third Mizukage summoned these trusted confidants in order to ensure the smooth implementation of his policies after returning to the village.
Without further ado, the Third Mizukage got straight to the point: "My battle with the Third Hokage of Konoha didn't result in a direct victory, but I'm being held back and can't come to help you defeat the Konoha forces. The situation is quite unfavorable for us. The Konoha forces on our flanks are already surrounding us. We no longer have the chance to break through their defenses directly. We can only ensure the future of the Mist Ninja. While the Mist Ninja forces still have strength, we must immediately organize an orderly retreat!"
These people were all elite talents from Kirigakure, and they instantly understood what the Third Mizukage meant.
Without the powerful attacks of the Third Mizukage on the front lines, the Mist Ninja were completely unable to fight against the Konoha forces and were quickly defeated by Konoha.
The unit has not suffered heavy losses, so it's time to consider retreating, since the forces on Konoha's flank are already preparing to surround them.
After the Third Mizukage returned to the Kirigakure front-line command, he convened a meeting with all the high-ranking officers of the Kirigakure force and announced an order for immediate withdrawal, while acknowledging that the Kirigakure had lost the war to Konoha.
After the initial panic, the Mist Ninja had completely calmed down and began to withdraw from the battlefield in an orderly manner, preparing to return at any time. Although the Konoha ninja had gained a complete advantage on the battlefield, it was undeniable that the Mist Ninja still had the strength to fight Konoha again.
With Kirigakure having already admitted defeat, Konoha must now consider the battle on the other side, in Iwagakure, in the Land of Rain.
And just like that, the two ninjas who were fighting to the death a second ago stopped fighting and created distance between them.
After receiving the message from their superiors, both sides began to separate from the battlefield. The Mist Ninja began to retreat quickly, while the Konoha Ninja monitored the Mist Ninja's retreat from the sidelines, and no further fighting broke out.
Under the watchful eyes of Konoha, the Mist Ninja slowly retreated, orderly withdrawing from the battlefield.
After the Konoha troops had finally monitored the complete withdrawal of the Mist Ninja forces, they erupted in cheers of victory.
The Konoha troops then safely returned to their camp, awaiting further orders.
Since the start of the war, the Third Mizukage has been leading this force in a frenzied attack on Konoha, forcing the Konoha defenses to retreat continuously and leaving Konoha exhausted.
Especially today, the Mist Ninja's frenzied attack has caused serious casualties to Konoha.
In order to ensure the final victory of the Mist Ninja, the Third Mizukage disregarded the failure of the flank attack and launched a final offensive to boost morale.
Therefore, it can be inferred that the Mist Ninja were already at their limit and wanted to finish off the Konoha forces in one fell swoop, thus dividing the Konoha forces.
However, now that the Mist Ninja forces are directly blocked here, they have no chance to break through the Konoha forces. As a result, the Konoha forces on the flanks will continue to move closer to the Mist Ninjas, eventually forming an encirclement and directly annihilating them.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was extremely relieved that he had acted decisively and defeated the Third Mizukage, thwarting the Kirigakure's plan. To avoid being surrounded, he had no choice but to admit defeat.
In the headquarters, Hiruzen Sarutobi, with a somewhat grave expression, inquired about the situation of the Konoha forces from Homura Mitokado.
"Menyan, how's the situation with our troops? How many ninja casualties have we suffered?"
Mitokado Homura, seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's somber expression at the head of the table, quickly understood his concerns and said in a slightly heavy tone:
"I just did a rough count, and if we include those who have lost their fighting ability, there are probably close to two thousand people."
"two thousand?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened, and he took a deep breath.
Before the war, Konoha had more than 6,000 ninjas on the battlefield!
In just a few days, the number of casualties had already reached 2000.
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's shocked expression, Homura Mitokado nodded helplessly.
"Yes, the vast majority of these casualties occurred when flanking the attack of the Kirigakure clan ninja. Those Kirigakure clan ninja were extremely powerful, and defeating them naturally came at a great cost. As for the exact figures, we'll have to wait to get them."
At this point, Mitokado Homura let out a long sigh of relief and said with some relief:
"Fortunately, the Mist Ninja forces also suffered heavy casualties, and we also managed to stop the Third Mizukage's raiding force, leaving the Mist Ninja with no means to continue fighting and forcing them to admit defeat."
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head helplessly. This battle, which lasted for months, seemed to have brought nothing to Konoha except for adding thousands of corpses and thousands of seriously wounded.
Although they managed to defend their territory and keep the war at bay in the Land of Whirlpools outside the Land of Fire, it did not have a fundamental impact on the Hidden Mist Village; they merely successfully repelled the enemy.
The Mist Ninja retreated this time, but it also foreshadowed an even more brutal battle to come.
Because if the Mist Ninja have the chance in the future, they will definitely make a comeback.
Thinking of the brutal scene of corpses strewn across the battlefield, Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes in anguish.
What is the meaning of war? When will true peace truly arrive in the ninja world?
Is it really as Hyuga Kanan said, that the ninja profession is solely the trigger for war? There has never been a real war between the Five Great Nations, only constant battles between our ninja villages, so what is the point?
But at least, the existence of Konoha provided its ninjas and villagers with a stable environment to live and grow. Therefore, my purpose in being is simply to protect Konoha and ensure its continued existence.
With the defeat and retreat of Kirigakure to the Land of Water, news of Konoha's renewed victory continues to spread to the battlefields of the Land of Rain, causing some panic in Iwagakure as well.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi leads his army to the Land of Rain in time to provide support, he can directly suppress the Iwagakure forces there. Iwagakure now knows that the situation is hopeless.
In the current battlefield situation, even if the Iwagakure village were to use all its strength to defeat the Konoha forces in front of them, it would still not be able to gain the upper hand.
With Konoha's inexhaustible capacity for talent development, countless ninjas will continuously rush to the front lines, making it highly likely that they will eventually wear down Iwagakure.
The 8,000 ninja troops brought this time comprised most of the elite Iwagakure forces. The remaining troops also had to guard against the lurking wolf from Kumogakure.
In a war of attrition, the Iwa ninja could never be a match for the Konoha ninja.
Konoha has already defeated both Sand Village and Mist Village, yet they still manage to handle the situation with ease, demonstrating their formidable strength.
The battlefield in the Land of Rain has been deadlocked for nearly a year, with both sides suffering losses. However, Konoha has managed to match Iwagakure's strength without even using half of its forces.
The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, was a cunning fox. Seeing the current state of the ninja war, he began to show signs of wanting to retreat.
A full-scale war with Konoha is not the time for the Iwa ninja to want right now.
And so, the Iwa ninja of the Land of Rain retreated, seemingly unwilling to continue fighting with Konoha.
With the retreat of the Iwa ninja forces, the Second Shinobi World War came to an end, seemingly ending rather anticlimactically.
However, this also sowed the seeds for the Third Shinobi World War, since none of the major ninja villages suffered direct damage, and most of their ninja forces were preserved.