blogombal Chapter 350 The End of the Third Battle
Chapter 350 The End of the Third Battle
Chapter 350 The End of the Third War
The Land of Grass.
The early spring wind swept across the vast plains of the Grass Country, which should have presented a thriving scene, but now it was a completely different story.
The smell of burning and a faint stench of blood wafted straight into one's nostrils, and even the continuous spring breeze couldn't dispel the odor.
Looking around, the once undulating hills have been ravaged by ninjutsu, leaving behind old scars and exposed pale rocks and reddish-brown soil.
Only a few trees that have stubbornly survived, with their twisted branches and just a few new buds, let us know that spring has arrived.
At this time, the outer perimeter of the Iwagakure front-line command post had been reinforced with layers of earth-style techniques, resembling an earthen city that had grown out of the ground, almost blending into the ravaged land.
This is all because of Konoha's relentless offensives recently, which has forced Iwagakure to reinforce its camp repeatedly. It is also the only reason why Iwagakure can still hold on to this place.
When Huang Tu lifted the curtain of the central army tent, a mixture of sweat, blood, and a suffocatingly turbid air rushed out, almost suffocating the senses.
In the vast tent, led by Dong Siren, several high-ranking ninjas and strategists all turned their gazes toward Huang Tu, who was walking into the tent.
All eyes, filled with inquiry, weariness, and a hint of barely perceptible relief, silently focused on the loess.
Without saying anything more, Huang Tu took out a scroll sealed with sealing wax from his bosom.
His steps were heavy as he walked forward, placing the scroll on the map in front of the Eastern Dead.
It was pressing down on the red cross mark that indicated "Kannabi Bridge" had been reduced to ruins.
The calloused fingers of the Eastern Dead Man paused slightly, his gaze shifting downwards and slowly landing on the scroll.
He hesitated for a moment, ran his fingertip across the sealing wax bearing the Rock Hidden mark, and finally untied it.
As his rough fingers unrolled the scroll, his gaze fell upon those clear yet weighty words.
"Ceasefire" and "peace talks".
The face that had been hesitant just a moment ago suddenly began to tremble violently for some reason. It was a mixture of anger, helplessness, and even a hint of defeat.
As the village order was announced, the oppressive silence was broken by a low, guttural roar, like that of a wounded beast.
"Peace talks?!"
A burly ninja with half his face wrapped in blood-soaked bandages slammed his fist on the table, causing the wooden table to groan under its weight.
His single remaining eye burned with the flames of humiliation as he stared intently at the scroll in the hands of the Eastern Dead.
"The war has come to this! So many of our brothers are buried far from home. And now, with just a word from the three generations of officials, we're expected to retreat like stray dogs, wagging our tails in defeat?"
The Kannabi Bridge has collapsed! But the bones of Iwagakure are still intact!
He waved his fist, spitting as he did so, his saliva landing squarely on his face covered in yellow earth.
"If we run out of supplies, I'll still smash it with my fists! I'll still bite it with my teeth! Even if I'm willing to risk my life, I'll still bite off a piece of that blond-haired guy from Konoha."
"That's right! Lord Ōnoki is confused!"
Another voice immediately followed, with an incredibly sharp tone.
"We're just short on supplies, not that everyone's dead!"
No matter how strong Minato Namikaze is, how many people can he kill by himself?
If we negotiate peace now, how can the souls of those fallen heroes rest in peace?
When has our Iwagakure ever been so pathetic?
Before Huang Tu arrived, the camp was still discussing shrinking the defensive line, but when the villagers decided they didn't want to fight anymore, everyone suddenly became united in their hatred of the enemy.
The angry shouts echoed and collided in the small space. Several Jonin stood up at the same time, their eyes fierce, as if they were about to draw their swords at any moment.
The loess stood tall and imposing, like a silent and steadfast giant rock, bearing the onslaught of doubts.
His voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally steady, cutting through the noise: "Shut up. There are plenty of elders in the village who are militant; why would they agree to such a decision?"
He scanned each face contorted with anger and confusion, his gaze finally settling on the scroll clutched tightly in the Eastern Dead Man's hand.
"That's because the third generation of adults saw further ahead."
The camp fell silent, and Huang Tu's voice also lowered, but every word seemed to be squeezed out from the depths of his chest.
"The Kannabi Bridge has been destroyed, our supply line has been cut off, and the supply of more materials is nowhere in sight."
Although Konoha's western front appears exhausted, they have already redeployed manpower from the southern front, and the war potential on their homeland is far from being depleted.
Look at us again—”
He suddenly pointed towards the Land of Earth and roared at the crowd, "You have already retreated there. Beyond that lies the territory of the Land of Earth."
"We're already locked in a bloody battle with Kumogakure domestically. Do you really want Konoha to invade the Land of Earth and wreak havoc as well?"
He took a deep breath, suppressing the dryness in his throat.
"The Third Hokage faced immense pressure to make this decision. This is not cowardice, but the future of Iwagakure, so that the ninjas can go back to see their parents, wives, and children!"
So that—we might have another chance to stand up again!
Those words, like cold awls, pierced the frenzied bubble.
The impassioned denunciations in the command center came to an abrupt halt, leaving only heavy, suppressed breathing.
The enraged Jonin slowly sat back down, their jaws clenched, the muscles in their cheeks bulging violently, clearly still filled with resentment.
Dong Siren closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, the intense emotions surging in his eyes had been replaced by a heavy, resigned weariness.
He slowly rolled up the reel, a movement that seemed to exhaust all his strength.
He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over every somber face in the command post, his voice hoarse and dry.
"Pass down the order—all units of the army, contract your defensive lines."
He paused for a moment, as if trying to swallow the immense humiliation.
"A request for a ceasefire and peace talks has been sent to Konoha."
Several days later, in Konoha Village, at the Hokage Building.
The heavy wooden door was tightly shut, and outside the window was a clear spring sky, but the air inside the office felt like solidified lead.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his large desk, the smoke from his mouth swirling around his furrowed brows.
The two advisors, Mitokado En and Utatane Koharu, sat on either side, their faces equally gloomy.
Before them lay two intelligence scrolls, one from the western front's Minato unit, which briefly reported the battlefield situation after the complete destruction of the Kannabi Bridge.
Another document, from the Anbu, was written in hasty and hurried handwriting, detailing how Orochimaru's troops on the northern front encountered a fierce counterattack from the elite Kumogakure forces.
"————Those lunatics from Kumogakure are still so aggressive even at this point. They're clearly at a disadvantage, yet they still dare to organize a counterattack."
Xiaochun's voice was weary as she turned to the dormitory, her fingertips tapping on the blood-stained numbers on the report.
"On the western front—Iwagakure is showing signs of decline, but it is still holding on desperately, which means we can't spare any manpower to support the north."
Mitokado pushed up his glasses, his eyes behind the lenses filled with anxiety.
"We're like a rope being pulled at both ends —"
He sighed and didn't say anything more.
Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that the war had reached this point and all the major ninja villages were exhausted.
Everyone is holding on, seeing who will give up first.
If Konoha were to concede first, not to mention Kumogakure and Iwagakure, even Sunagakure, which has already signed a peace treaty with Konoha, would want to take another piece of flesh from Konoha.
What's giving him an even bigger headache now is the presence of Uchiha Madara lurking in the shadows and his forces.
This is far more threatening than the other four great ninja villages.
He was unclear about Madara Uchiha's specific purpose, but as a traitor to Konoha, he had absolutely no goodwill towards Konoha.
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was debating whether to send Taichi to the front lines again, an urgent intelligence report from the western front arrived.
After waving away the messenger ninja, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the intelligence report in his hand, which contained less than a hundred words. Finally, he exhaled a long, extremely slow breath, and smoke billowed out.
He gently placed his pipe on the table, leaned forward slightly, and gazed at the blue sky symbolizing peace outside the closed window. His voice was clear, as if a heavy burden had been suddenly lifted from his shoulders.
"Peace negotiations—"
His fingertips tapped the table unconsciously, making a soft tapping sound, and a relieved smile appeared on his face.
"It seems that the collapse of the Kannabi Bridge, along with our western offensive, has finally made that stubborn old man, Onoki, give way—"
We've come to terms with reality.
He handed the information to Koharu Utatane and Homura Mito, noticing the excited smiles on their faces.
"Since Iwagakure is willing to back down, this is a godsend opportunity to breathe! Immediately begin drafting the framework for peace terms."
His voice suddenly became more forceful. This was an opportunity; Konoha had to extricate itself from the quagmire of war as soon as possible.
"A ceasefire agreement must be reached! Konoha—we must free up our resources! Our true enemy is no longer on this visible battlefield!"
The immense shadow cast by the name "Uchiha Madara" instantly overshadowed all the sword fights on the map.
Since news of peace talks arrived on the western front, the intensity of the fighting has decreased by several orders of magnitude.
But this is only the visible attack.
In order to facilitate peace talks and demonstrate Konoha's sincerity in the negotiations, Konoha's direct attacks on Iwagakure have almost come to a standstill.
However, this does not mean that Konoha has not taken any other actions.
To prevent Iwagakure from using the pretext of peace talks to catch their breath, a large number of ninja squads that were originally assigned to frontal attacks were instead used for infiltration behind enemy lines.
The purpose was to completely cut off Iwagakure's supplies, so that even if Iwagakure took a detour, they would not be able to send a single grain of food to the front line.
This covert war continued until—
High above a certain position in Konoha, Minato Namikaze stood silently.
His signature blond hair swayed gently in the spring breeze, and his azure eyes, like a calm, deep sea, reflected the retreating Iwagakure army.
Behind him were Akimichi Choza and Yamanaka Inoichi, who would act as supervisors, watching over the Iwagakure ninja as they gradually withdrew from the Land of Grass.
The same scene also occurred at the Konoha camp, but unlike Iwagakure, Konoha could maintain a certain garrison in the Land of Grass.
This is arguably the only aspect of the ceasefire agreement that allows Konoha to retain a semblance of dignity.
The Konoha ninja in the camp remained silent, offering neither cheers nor celebrations. Only a heavy, post-disaster exhaustion permeated the camp.
This protracted tug-of-war has finally come to a temporary halt.
It's just unknown when the next great war will begin.
With the start of peace talks between Konoha and Iwagakure, although the two villages still had disputes on the front lines, the intensity of the conflict ultimately decreased by several levels.
This finally freed up manpower for other aspects of the war.
For Konoha, that naturally means the northern battlefield against Kumogakure.
Orochimaru lived up to expectations, launching a fierce counterattack against Kumogakure with ample manpower and resources.
While Konoha and Iwagakure signed a peace treaty, they also pushed their battle lines with Kumogakure into the Land of the Moon, essentially reaching the doorstep of the Land of Lightning.
The Land of Earth, the frontline camp of the Hidden Cloud Village.
Since the Third Raikage personally took command at the front lines, the Hidden Cloud Village has been winning victory after victory in its war against the Hidden Stone Village.
The battle lines continued to advance into the heart of the Land of Earth with each victory.
As the battle lines stretched out, various problems arose. Not only did the resistance from Iwagakure become increasingly tenacious, but their own logistical support also became increasingly strained.
But all these disadvantages pale in comparison to the intelligence that has just arrived.
"Is that short, ugly Ōnoki's head filled with dog shit? Is he admitting defeat by making peace with Konoha at this time?"
This was followed by a string of local slang from the Land of Lightning, which generally meant to warmly greet Onoki's ancestors and descendants for eighteen generations.
After the Raikage smashed another table and three chairs, and finally calmed down, Carloy, who was standing to the side, spoke up calmly.
"Lord Raikage, Onoki's ceasefire with Konoha at this time is not only because he is no match for Konoha, but more likely because he wants to deal with us."
The voice was soft, but the tone was very certain, clearly indicating that it had been carefully considered.
The Raikage was no fool, of course. The war between Konoha and Iwagakure was fierce and intense, but ultimately it was a battle fought in the Land of Grass.
The Hidden Cloud Village has already advanced to the heart of the Land of Earth. Compared to the Hidden Leaf Village, the Hidden Cloud Village is the Hidden Stone Village's greatest threat.
Meanwhile, Iwagakure and Konoha reached a ceasefire agreement, so the troops stationed in the Land of Grass—
Thinking of this, the Third Raikage suddenly turned around and walked a few steps to the strategic map hanging in the tent.
The Raikage pointed to the location of his troops on the map, then drew a line from the Land of Grass towards his own side.
Now, even an ordinary person who knows nothing about military affairs, let alone the Raikage and Karoi, can see that Iwagakure is trying to surround the Kumogakure forces.
"Lord Raikage, let's retreat a bit. Our battle lines are too long, and our supplies are running out!"
Carlo was being quite cryptic; they were worried about the supply lines being too long, not about being surrounded by Iwagakure.
But she was not Raikage in the end.
"Withdraw?! Are you kidding me!"
The Third Raikage's roar was like rolling thunder; if it weren't for the soundproof barrier in the tent, half the camp could hear it clearly.
His imposing figure stood before the map, his bronze muscles bulging and gleaming with a cold, metallic sheen in the dim light.
He stared at the situation map showing both sides, constantly calculating in his mind.
"How long have I been chasing those rock rats from Iwagakure? How many of their toughest bones have I gnawed away?"
The Raikage muttered to himself, it was unclear whether he was speaking to himself or to Carlo beside him.
"We're about to reap the final rewards, and now Konoha and those rocky bastards are flirting with each other, thinking they can just make me tuck my tail between my legs and get lost?"
He suddenly crumpled the intelligence report on the peace talks between Konoha and Iwagakure into a ball, and then, in a flash of lightning, the entire report turned into dust amidst thunder.
He stepped out of the tent and looked at the Cloud Hidden Army outside, whose morale was high. This Cloud Hidden Army had fought alongside him until now, and he was filled with ambition.
"Isn't Onoki trying to surround me? I'll defy his wishes."
"Carlo, give the order: assemble all the elite troops! I want to break through the Iwagakure forces before they can surround us!"