Uchiha Ling wanted to experience what it felt like to capture a Kage of a Village; she believed it would significantly increase her bounty. However, did capturing Fourth Raikage A count as capturing a Raikage? This was a question. It should only count once Fourth Raikage A becomes the Fourth Raikage himself, then she could unlock the achievement. Once she captured Rasa, it would be two-fifths of the achievement of capturing four Kage.
The premise was that Uchiha Ling could capture Rasa, and Fourth Raikage A could succeed to the position of Raikage. This still required Ōnoki's effort, with ten thousand Ninja besieging the Third Raikage.
As for the final Fourth Hokage, Fourth Mizukage, and Fourth Tsuchikage, it might be difficult to achieve. She couldn't easily make a move against Minato, the Fourth Mizukage hadn't taken office yet, and the Fourth Tsuchikage would require the new generation to deal with.
Looking at the rapidly assembling Konoha Ninja, Uchiha Ling sighed. Even though Tsunade had said Medical Ninja were protected, she and Rin still went to the front lines.
Uchiha Ling led the three Kage-level captives, walking at the very front with Minato and the others. If Pakura hadn't helped carry Ebizo, it would have been inconvenient for her to carry two old men by herself.
To be so old and still have to go to the front lines, and now even become a captive, the later years of a Ninja truly had no guarantee. Old man Kakuzu, over ninety years old, was still working everywhere.
The three Kage-level Ninja from Hidden Sand Village, who were treated as captives, definitely had complex feelings. Ebizo somewhat wished to die; he had a desire for death.
Pakura was already numb. She didn't know if she would ever see her young disciple, Makura, again in this life. She felt a sense of giving up.
Bunpuku, on the other hand, was chanting Buddhist scriptures while communicating with Shukaku. Bunpuku knew that he would most likely not survive after that battle, but now he had uncharacteristically recovered his health, which must have been due to Uchiha Ling's healing.
Shukaku was somewhat intimidated, feeling like the Nine-Tailed encountering Uchiha Madara—a kind of outwardly fierce but inwardly weak feeling. If she was so strong as a cub, she would probably be unstoppable in the future.
Rasa looked at the traces left by the previous battle and some of the corpses buried in the desert, his expression somewhat grim. Although these were considered dissidents, they were still the strength of Hidden Sand Village, and now they were all buried.
The five thousand Hidden Sand Ninja army was also enraged, clamoring for Konoha to pay a blood debt, to retaliate, and to reclaim the hostages.
Baki and Karura, who were beside Rasa, were somewhat worried. If Rasa insisted on launching a large-scale war, then Ebizo, Pakura, and Bunpuku would most likely die.
The simultaneous death of three Kage-level Ninja, even Konoha couldn't bear it, let alone Hidden Sand Village, which had a weaker foundation. It would probably directly surpass Hidden Mist Village and become the weakest Ninja Village.
Rasa was also making a choice: whether to fight or not. Fighting would inevitably result in heavy losses for Hidden Sand Village. Not fighting, in order to ransom the three Kage-level powerhouses, would definitely mean signing an unequal treaty.
Then he, as the Kazekage, might become a laughing stock. To brazenly launch a war, only to surrender at the fastest speed, he didn't need to think to know how he would be ridiculed.
His prestige might suffer a fatal blow, and whether he could retain his position as Kazekage was still uncertain, although he genuinely wanted Pakura and Ebizo to die.
He didn't want to choose either of the two options, which was why he hadn't directly raided the Konoha camp but waited here. He wanted to see if there was a third option.
In the desert, the two armies confronted each other. Although Konoha's numbers were only half of the opponent's, they did not feel they would lose.
They held three Kage-level captives, and their side also had three Kage-level powerhouses: Rin-sama, Orochimaru-sama, and Minato-sama.
Rasa looked at the three captured individuals and several hundred Hidden Sand Ninja, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. Unfortunately, under the watchful eyes of the public, he could not issue an order that disregarded the lives of his comrades.
Otherwise, his position as Kazekage would come to an end. He was extremely unwilling to surrender, just like General MacArthur, who won the Pacific theater and became the Supreme Commander of the Japanese, was beaten badly by the Chinese in Korea.
Baki saw through Rasa's thoughts. While he was loyal to Rasa, he also knew that a Jinchuriki could not be lost, and he was also thinking of a solution.
Karura looked at her boyfriend. She knew him too well and understood what kind of person he was, but she couldn't deny that Rasa was the most outstanding man in Hidden Sand Village.
Orochimaru looked at Rasa's grim face opposite him, a cold sneer curling at the corner of his mouth. He had already guessed Rasa's thoughts, so from now on, whether to fight or retreat, it would no longer be Rasa's decision.
"Rasa, have you come to present your surrender? Why have you brought a large army? This shows no sincerity at all! An uninformed person might think you intend to wipe us out together."
Orochimaru, with Uchiha Ling and Minato, walked out several hundred steps, and Rasa, with Baki and Karura, also came before Uchiha Ling and the others. The two sides faced each other from a distance of over ten meters.
"Konoha's Cold King Orochimaru, hmph! Hand over the Hidden Sand hostages, or you will face the annihilation of my Hidden Sand army."
Rasa did not give an inch, appearing as if he intended to stand firm, but both sides knew a fight was unlikely; they were merely bickering.
Uchiha Ling observed Karura. This was a great mother no less than Kushina, who left behind the existence of 'Mama Susanoo' for her young son, and her own strength was not bad either.
"Rasa, do you think you have any other options? Surrender is your only way out. This will also allow your Hidden Sand Village to preserve its strength, and in the future, you might even be able to seize sufficient benefits from Iwagakure."
Hidden Sand Village fighting Konoha alone was bound to lose, and Rasa also knew that he had been tricked by Ōnoki and the Third Raikage.
"Iwagakure and Hidden Cloud Village, knowing that Hidden Sand Village is in a disadvantageous position, have already stationed large numbers of troops on the Konoha border and can launch an invasion into the Land of Fire at any time. What choice do you have?"
What Rasa said was not empty talk. Both Iwagakure and Hidden Cloud Village had been extensively mobilizing Ninja to the border, and Ninja from various Villages frequently entered the Land of Fire to gather intelligence.
Konoha was also heavily garrisoned on the border. The garrisoned troops plus the reserve forces amounted to just over six thousand people. Including the two thousand five hundred here, Konoha would not have an advantage in terms of troop strength if the three major Ninja Villages joined forces.
"So what? Iwagakure also has troops stationed in the Land of Wind. Without these three Kage-level powerhouses, and with us both suffering heavy losses here today, what will you use to resist the Iwagakure invasion?"
Orochimaru was forcing Rasa to surrender. Now Iwagakure and Hidden Cloud Village were restless and somewhat impatient, so the Hidden Sand Village front line had to be concluded as quickly as possible.
In the original work, the Hidden Sand Village front line actually dragged on for a long time, at least two years, but the scale was not large, only small-scale skirmishes.
Now, the variable of Uchiha Ling's involvement directly led to Orochimaru's swift push, first collapsing Hidden Sand's front-line forces and capturing three Kage-level individuals, which allowed for the hope of a quick end to the war.
Otherwise, if the Hidden Sand front line were bogged down, and the Iwagakure and Hidden Cloud Ninja also invaded, Konoha would be dragged into a quagmire of war on three fronts, or even four fronts, and would definitely suffer heavy losses.
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