Counting from the moment Iwagakure forces crossed into the Land of Lightning, the war between Iwagakure and Kumogakure lasted a total of fifteen days.
Fifteen brutal days.
In the end, the war concluded with Kumogakure—fighting on home terrain—holding out through sheer desperation, while Iwagakure was forced to withdraw from Lightning Country.
In terms of losses, both sides were devastated.
Iwa lost more than half of its combat strength.
Kumo killed a thousand enemies and lost nine hundred and ninety of its own.
A result that made both sides weep—
But caused the remaining three great villages to laugh out loud.
Among them, Konoha was the happiest of all.
Not only happy—proud.
Because throughout this war, Konoha had personally demonstrated what it truly meant to be a
first-class troublemaker.
A large part of this outcome existed solely because Konoha kept "helpfully interfering."
Strategic Aftermath
After the war, Konoha's next strategic move was not to launch a large-scale offensive against either Kumo or Iwa.
In fact, it was the exact opposite.
The Hokage feared triggering the classic scenario of "the desperate army fights the hardest."
If Konoha attacked Kumogakure at this moment, Kumo would inevitably retreat fully into Lightning Country, tighten its defenses, and fight with the resolve of burning the bridges behind them.
Konoha had no intention of paying that price in lives.
A prolonged war favored the Land of Fire far more.
Peace mattered—but shinobi preservation mattered more.
As long as Konoha maintained its current strength, eventual victory was inevitable.
Thus, rather than exploiting enemy weakness, Konoha began rotating long-deployed shinobi back to the village in batches for rest and recovery—while maintaining overall balance with enemy forces.
Large numbers of shinobi returned home.
The war entered a relatively calm stalemate—
Likely the last calm.
When fighting resumed, it would probably be the final decisive clash.
Konoha — Underground Intelligence Facility
This was a place civilians and ordinary ninja never entered.
A place for things that couldn't be shown to daylight.
Konoha's improving outlook could be seen directly from who had been recalled from the front lines.
For example—
One of the primary pillars of the front, Orochimaru, had returned to the village.
As for why—
Because he'd heard Konoha had acquired excellent research material.
The material currently lying on the dissection table.
"Hehehe…"
That familiar hoarse laughter echoed intermittently.
"Ha…go…ro…"
Orochimaru paused slightly before completing the name.
"My apologies. Your name always triggers… associations, Hagoromo."
Snake-sensei had, once again, mocked his name.
Hagoromo had no idea how to respond.
Apologize for being named Hagoromo?
Inside the room were only three "people":
Orochimaru
Hagoromo
And the Third Raikage
Two alive. One dead.
Attempts to extract intelligence from the Raikage's brain had failed completely.
Even with Uzumaki-class sealing specialists and Yamanaka clan mental techniques working together, the seals in the Raikage's mind proved impossible to break.
That wasn't surprising.
A live knot could be untied.
A dead knot could not.
With mental extraction ruled out, Konoha shifted focus from spiritual intelligence to physical research.
And as Konoha's foremost Lightning Release specialist, Hagoromo was naturally summoned—
Though he strongly suspected Orochimaru wanted him on the table just as much.
"So, Hagoromo," Orochimaru asked softly,
"What do you think is the first step in researching a shinobi corpse?"
"…Sectioning?" Hagoromo answered hesitantly.
He couldn't be blamed—human dissection had never appeared in either of his lifetimes' curricula.
"Sectioning? Why do you think that?"
"Well… slice first, then apply electricity and observe reactions. Or reverse the order. That's how experiments usually go, right?"
He had just solemnly recited a middle-school biology experiment.
The subject back then had been frogs.
…Though frogs, humans, and Salted fish (Sentient weapon) weren't that different, right?
He still hadn't realized that dissecting frogs was something he should probably keep secret from Jiraiya.
"No need to cut," Orochimaru said.
"Apply Lightning Release directly to the body."
Naturally, Orochimaru had no intention of cutting the Raikage until he was done playing.
Hagoromo took a breath and complied.
Lightning flickered in his palm as he pressed his hand against the Raikage's corpse.
Before Orochimaru could comment—
Hagoromo felt it.
"…This is different."
"Oh?" Orochimaru noticed immediately.
"What do you sense?"
"Normally, direct Lightning Release causes paralysis and erosion in others," Hagoromo said slowly.
"But this corpse…"
He paused.
"The cells are activating. Just like mine."
That shocked him.
This wasn't medical stimulation.
This was offensive Lightning Release.
"Fascinating…" Orochimaru murmured.
"Increase the output."
Hagoromo complied.
"More."
"More."
Eventually, Hagoromo's palm was practically emitting Chidori-level output.
And where his hand made contact—
The Raikage's body actually manifested something resembling a Lightning Chakra Mode.
At that point, even Hagoromo briefly wondered whether the man was truly dead.
"The stronger the Lightning Release," Orochimaru said while circling the corpse,
"the greater the burden on the body. Whether due to talent or conditioning, the Raikage's physique is fundamentally different from ordinary humans."
"His adaptability to Lightning Release is astonishing."
"It even retains a form of cellular memory—this state likely mirrors the condition he was in at the moment of death."
Orochimaru paced around the massive corpse, alternating between fascination, explanation, and confusion.
It was deeply unsettling.
At this point, Hagoromo wouldn't have been surprised if Orochimaru leaned down and took a bite.
This, he realized, is the true scientific mindset.
The Raikage had suffered more in death than in life.
Hagoromo observed a full second of silence for him.
"Can you increase the output further?" Orochimaru asked.
Only now did Hagoromo realize—
Orochimaru wasn't just observing the corpse.
He was measuring Hagoromo.
Deciding that attracting further attention from Snake-sensei was a terrible idea, Hagoromo shook his head decisively.
"Any stronger and it stops being Lightning Release—it's just raw electricity."
Orochimaru didn't press the issue, though he had seen Hagoromo's true highest "Lightning" state before.
Then he asked casually:
"Hagoromo, what do you think is the most important thing for a shinobi?"
"Chakra, perception, learning ability, cognition… many things," Hagoromo answered.
"But if I had to choose one—it's the techniques you can actually use."
He didn't know why Orochimaru asked, but he answered honestly.
He didn't mention his more universal answer—
That the most important thing for anyone was their brain.
"Hehehe…"
Orochimaru seemed pleased.
"Yes. Techniques are the answer. But there's a paradox."
"The risk and burden of a technique scale with its power. Strong techniques demand strong costs."
"So tell me—"
"Your cells are no stronger than an ordinary shinobi's."
"Why, then, can you withstand Lightning Release that powerful?"
That sentence contained a terrifying amount of information.
Including the fact that—
Orochimaru had already studied Hagoromo.
Hagoromo was internally screaming.
Quietly. With dignity.
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