The arrival of the Third Hokage caused an immediate stir—everyone present straightened at once.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had already removed his wide Hokage robes, revealing a simple yet battle-ready black combat outfit beneath. The long tails of his headgear fluttered in the wind, lending him an air of quiet authority.
"Sensei…" Orochimaru greeted him.
"Lord Hokage!" All the Konoha shinobi present lowered their heads in respect.
"How many are still buried beneath the sand?" Hiruzen asked, his voice heavy.
"…Around three hundred," one of the shinobi answered.
Earlier, Shimizu and Orochimaru had managed to gather more than four hundred people—but now, fewer than one hundred and twenty had made it out alive.
"Dig," Hiruzen ordered without hesitation. "Dead or alive—we bring them back."
The reinforcements he had brought numbered around five hundred—fully equipped, elite Konoha shinobi at the peak of their condition.
Shimizu didn't object, even though to him, this was a somewhat extravagant use of chakra.
No matter how strong a shinobi was, they were still flesh and blood—not walls of steel.
And this gold dust was far heavier and denser than ordinary sand. If someone had been buried beneath layers reaching a hundred meters deep…
Still—
If even a few lives could be saved, then spending more chakra was worth it.
There were familiar faces down there.
Former subordinates.
Comrades he had fought alongside.
And besides… was the battle truly over?
Or were they simply waiting for the next crisis?
After all, they still had no clear understanding of Sunagakure's movements.
"I've already gathered a general understanding of the situation," Hiruzen continued.
"On the way here, I encountered Shikaku Nara and his group. Tsunade and Maruboshi Kousuke are both with them—they managed to evacuate most of the forces from Kikyo Castle in time."
So Kousuke-sensei made it out…
At last, the final weight in Shimizu's heart lifted.
It turned out that Shikaku had already realized Kikyo Castle was impossible to hold. He chose to retreat while fighting, continuously splitting off small units as decoys to divert Sunagakure's pursuit. In the end, he successfully misled the enemy forces—sacrificing a portion to ensure the survival of the majority.
As for the Konoha shinobi Shimizu and the others had gathered along the way…
Most of them had simply been separated during the chaotic retreat.
After all, withdrawing tens of thousands of troops through a city in the dead of night—while under pursuit—was no easy feat.
No commander, no matter how brilliant, could account for everyone.
Thus, the Battle of Kikyo Castle came to its end.
The city itself had been reduced to nothing but sand. Even Kikyo Mountain had been half vaporized.
On Konoha's side, two jonin Commander—elite jonin Ueno Takumi and Kimura—had fallen in battle.
One of the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade, lay gravely injured and unconscious, while Maruboshi Kousuke had also suffered severe wounds.
So far, nearly two thousand shinobi were still missing.
Meanwhile, the large number of survivors led by Shikaku were still unable to mold chakra.
Of the original ten-thousand-strong Konoha garrison stationed at Kikyo Castle…
Only the hundred or so gathered here—wounded, exhausted, or drained of chakra—still retained any capacity to fight.
The losses were devastating.
But what about Sunagakure, the attacking force?
"ANBU scouts have confirmed not long ago—the Sand forces have fully withdrawn," Hiruzen said, before adding thoughtfully, "This battle… likely dealt them heavy losses as well."
Before the battle, estimates placed Sunagakure's forces at around fifteen thousand.
Yet given Konoha's condition last night, inflicting two to three thousand casualties on the enemy would have been the absolute limit.
And now, Hiruzen had only brought three thousand reinforcements.
Sunagakure should have still had over ten thousand troops remaining.
Perhaps their morale had collapsed.
Perhaps their condition had deteriorated.
Perhaps their campaign had failed to meet expectations—or their supplies had run short.
Or perhaps…
They feared the reputation of the Third Hokage himself.
Under the weight of all these factors, Sunagakure had ultimately chosen to retreat.
"…If they've retreated, then shouldn't we pursue them?" someone asked.
In truth, Shimizu had been thinking the same thing. He cast a sideways glance at Orochimaru, who seemed hesitant to speak yet clearly shared the same unwillingness to let things end here.
The Hiruzen Sarutobi, however, answered with measured patience.
"The war with Iwagakure is still ongoing. Our truce with Kumogakure is only temporary… as for Kirigakure, there hasn't been any movement for now."
He paused slightly before continuing, his tone steady.
"And Sunagakure hasn't actually suffered any truly crippling losses."
"So at this point, caution is our best course. Not to mention… Kikyo Castle is in ruins. The reconstruction and aftermath alone will be a heavy burden."
When one thought about it carefully, it was true—the Sand forces hadn't fled in panic. They had withdrawn in an orderly fashion, preserving their strength.
Meanwhile, Konoha simply didn't have the power to pursue an army of over ten thousand.
A reckless chase might very well backfire.
For all they knew, Sunagakure had already prepared traps, waiting for Konoha's pursuers to walk straight into them.
"But, Sensei…" Orochimaru clenched his teeth, clearly unwilling to accept this. "It was precisely because of our overly conservative strategy that things turned out like this."
"Orochimaru," Hiruzen's voice deepened, "it was our aggression that forced Sunagakure to launch their full assault ahead of time."
Even so, he still left Orochimaru some dignity—he did not point out that this had largely stemmed from Orochimaru's own risky, unilateral decision.
After all… he himself had ultimately approved that plan.
Even if it had been a decision forced upon him after the fact.
"If we had managed to hold on for just one more day—half a day even—until I arrived with reinforcements, the outcome would have been completely different…"
A faint sigh escaped him.
"What a pity…"
The missing Konoha shinobi… were likely buried deep beneath the sands of that devastating technique.
Nearly two thousand lives, lost in the battle of Kikyo Castle.
But there was no such thing as "what if."
"So," Hiruzen concluded firmly, "we cannot afford to make the same mistake twice."
"But I cut off their retreat!" Orochimaru insisted, his voice tightening. "They won't be able to launch another war against Konoha anytime soon!"
He refused to accept it.
By all rights, he should have been a hero.
So how had he become, instead, one of the reasons Kikyo Castle ended in ruin?
"You have merit," Hiruzen said calmly. "But you also bear responsibility."
"I—"
Orochimaru was about to argue further when, one by one, the bodies of Konoha shinobi were unearthed from deep beneath the sand.
He fell silent.
Most of them wore expressions of agony, their deaths gruesome, their blood long since dried… they must have suffered unimaginable pain before dying.
Shimizu suddenly remembered those eyes from the night before—
Eyes that refused to close.
Eyes that died with resentment.
They had not wanted to die like that.
Too many deaths.
Given enough time, perhaps all of this would be reduced to nothing more than names… or numbers.
But right now, beneath their feet, lay nearly two thousand Konoha shinobi.
Comrades they knew.
People they had fought beside.
And beyond that—Konoha, the greatest of the Five Great Ninja Villages, had been toyed with like this, struck down, yet unable to retaliate?
No one could accept that.
"Lord Hokage…" Shimizu finally spoke, his voice steady but resolute. "No one wanted this to happen at Kikyo Castle. No one could have predicted it."
"We've already seen the extent of Sunagakure's preparations for this war… it's clear they put everything on the line."
"And yet—even so, we still repelled them. They retreated."
"Not only Chiyo, but even their Fourth Kazekage—and the One-Tail Jinchūriki—were defeated by us."
He paused, sweeping his gaze across the surroundings. Hundreds of Konoha shinobi were listening in silence.
It wasn't just the Hokage he needed to convince.
He needed all of them.
Because what he was about to propose… could not be carried out by one person alone.
It was, without question, a dangerously radical idea.
"For months now, Konoha has been dragged along by them… what we thought would be a simple war nearly ended in total annihilation."
"If we simply let them withdraw safely now… wouldn't that be letting them off too easily?"
"Is the Land of Fire's territory something they can trample at will?! Is Konoha a village they can knead and shape however they please?!"
His voice rose, cutting through the heavy air.
"If they dared to come—then they must pay a heavy price!"
Sunagakure…
Do you really think this is the end?
You're wrong.
This is only the beginning.
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