Chapter 170
Jiraiya said in a deep voice, "So that's it. That's why you've been targeting Naruto and Sasuke..."
"You want to use their bodies as vessels for your next reincarnation!"
Orochimaru laughed loudly, "Exactly!"
For a moment, looking at Orochimaru's eerie face, eerie voice, eerie methods, and eerie words... Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glances, both feeling a chill run down their spines, a sense of dread!
Hinata's face turned even paler, and her body trembled slightly.
"Naruto-kun, Sasuke..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi angrily declared, "Orochimaru, your schemes will never succeed!"
"Just like the Konoha Crush Plan you launched today, it will only end in utter defeat!"
Orochimaru laughed heartily, "Success and failure aren't for you to decide, Sarutobi-sensei..."
"In my opinion, the current plan is already quite successful..."
"That being said, there were some things I didn't expect..."
"Uzumaki Naruto, that brat actually defeated Gaara, and even managed to seal the IchibiShukaku. His talent, ability, power, and potential truly far exceed my imagination..."
"Similarly, I didn't expect you, Jiraiya, to arrive so quickly..."
"Since that's the case, the game will temporarily end here..."
"Next time, I will completely destroy Konoha Village."
"Goodbye, Sarutobi-sensei."
"Goodbye, Jiraiya..."
His figure suddenly transformed into an elusive afterimage, gradually disappearing into the air... Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya did not give chase.
Because now, there was something more important to do.
End... this war!!!
Chapter 133: All of Team 7 Promoted to Chunin! An Unprecedented Event! Please give me your monthly votes!!!
With Orochimaru's retreat, the Konoha Crush Planwas declared over.
And although the war still continued, it gradually drew to a close.
Under the notifications of Baki, Temari, and Kankuro, many of the Hidden Sand Village Ninjaarmy chose to cease hostilities.
Even those who stubbornly resisted quickly collapsed under Konoha Village's fierce counterattack.
The remaining Otogakure Village was no match for Konoha's army.
This war, which lasted until dusk, when the setting sun was like blood, finally gradually calmed down... Hiruzen Sarutobi, in the name of the Hokage, commanded the entire field, and the Konoha Ninja army immediately swept the entire battlefield.
The enemies who were still fighting to the death, some died, some were injured, and the remaining few scattered and fled.
The Otogakure Ninja army completely collapsed.
The Hidden Sand Village Ninja army, under the command of their respective captains, gathered in one place, awaiting final judgment... Baki, Yura, Mukade, Onpu, Satetsu... the Hidden Sand Joninresponsible for this Konoha Crush Plan, each leading their remaining teams to converge, looked at the tragic casualties, everyone exchanged glances, their expressions extremely grim.
"Captain Baki, what should we do now?"
Outside Konoha, in a remote area of the Land of Fire.
Baki was utterly distraught at this moment.
The Kazekage was missing, Gaara had fallen into enemy hands, and the Konoha Crush Plan had completely failed... Hidden Sand Village had stabbed its ally in the back, only to be betrayed by Orochimaru, resulting in the most tragic outcome.
Hidden Sand Village was now in dire straits, on the verge of collapse!
A myriad of problems, chaotic and confused, left Baki in despair.
But he knew that he had to hold on now, otherwise Hidden Sand Village would truly be beyond redemption!
"We have three most important things to do now!"
"First, find the Kazekage!"
"That bastard Orochimaru betrayed our Hidden Sand Village, and he probably also laid hands on the Kazekage, otherwise it would be impossible for him to succeed in impersonating the Kazekage!"
"Now, whether the Kazekage is alive or dead, we must confirm it as soon as possible..."
"We must see him alive, or his body if he's dead!"
Mukade, Yura, and the others nodded deeply.
"The second thing is about Gaara..."
"Originally, he was the key to the plan, but I didn't expect him to be defeated by that Uzumaki Naruto!"
"He even fell into the hands of Konoha Village, forcing us to stop fighting..."
"But no matter what, Gaara must be reclaimed!"
Temari and Kankuro also hung their heads, somewhat at a loss.
"The last thing..."
"Although the Kazekage's situation is unclear, we must prepare for the worst."
"When the Third Kazekage went missing back then, Hidden Sand Village fell into turmoil, and Kumogakure immediately took advantage, triggering the Third Shinobi World War. Now, unexpectedly, the Fourth Kazekage also..."
"Therefore, an elder's meeting must be convened immediately to discuss important matters for the future!"
Baki sighed, "These three things are all extremely difficult, but we have no other choice now."
"Yura, the task of finding the Kazekage is entrusted to you."
"Mukade, you are responsible for immediately returning to Hidden Sand Village, informing the elders of what happened, and having them immediately discuss future countermeasures."
"Okay!"
"Then, what about you, Captain Baki?"
Baki looked back at Konoha Village in the distance.
"I'm afraid I have to stay..."
"Captain Baki, this..."
"Not to mention how dangerous it is to stay, Hidden Sand Village, if anything happens to the Kazekage, will still need your judgment!"
"Yes, in this desperate situation, Hidden Sand Village needs you the most..."
Baki said, "That's precisely why I must stay!"
"We may have already lost the Kazekage, and we absolutely cannot lose the Ichibi!"
"So, no matter what, I must negotiate with Konoha Village, make peace, and reclaim the Ichibi..."
Temari quickly said, "Baki-sensei, I'll go with you too!"
Kankuro said, "Me too!"
"Nonsense, what can you two do by coming along?"
Temari firmly said, "Baki-sensei, perhaps you don't remember, but we can't forget..."
"The One-Tail Jinchuriki is not just a strategic weapon for the Village."
"At the same time, Gaara is also our younger brother..."
Baki was stunned, then sighed.
"I understand..."
"Then let it be so. You two will stay in Konoha Village with me."
"Mukade, Yura, you two act immediately as discussed before. We will maintain contact at all times!"
"Yes!"
With that, the Hidden Sand Ninja army split into three groups and quickly began their operations.
Baki, along with Temari and Kankuro, strode back towards Konoha Village... At this moment, Konoha Village, although it had shattered the Konoha Crush Plan's conspiracy.
However, it still suffered significant casualties.
Most importantly, Konoha Village was not at its peak to begin with.
The previous Third Shinobi World War, coupled with the Nine-Tailed upheaval, and the tragedy of the Uchiha clan massacre... Konoha Village could be described as having one misfortune after another.
Adding insult to injury.
But no matter what, they had finally defeated the combined forces of Hidden Sand and Otogakure.
Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered the battlefield to be cleared and homes to be rebuilt, while also immediately summoning Konoha's high-ranking officials for an emergency meeting.
At the meeting, the atmosphere was extremely somber.
Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a deep voice, "This Konoha Crush Plan caught us off guard and severely depleted our strength."
"Although we quickly stabilized the situation and ended the war, it still left a huge mess..."
"Now, where should Konoha Village go from here? What are everyone's thoughts?"
Inoichi Yamanaka sighed, "If Konoha Village had been prepared, it wouldn't have feared the combined forces of Hidden Sand Village and Otogakure Village. But no one expected Hidden Sand Village to tear up the alliance, and even collude with Orochimaru, playing with fire, which is why we were caught off guard."
"Most of the casualties occurred at the beginning of the war..."
Nara Shikaku nodded.
"Indeed, once the war continued, Konoha Village's counterattack quickly gained the upper hand."
"On one hand, this is because Konoha Village's foundation still exists; on the other hand, we did have the advantage of terrain."
"However, being able to end the war so quickly was due to two key factors..."
"One was Hokage-sama and Jiraiya-sama defeating Orochimaru, completely crushing his scheme."
"The other was that while losing the Kazekage, we captured the One-Tail Jinchuriki Gaara, gaining leverage over Hidden Sand Village..."
"This credit goes to Kakashi."
Kakashi quickly shook his head, "I can't take credit for this."
"This is Naruto's credit."
"Of course, also Sasuke and Hinata, who are also in Team 7."
Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a deep voice, "Indeed, Naruto defeating Gaara himself, while quite impressive, wasn't the key. However, he was even able to seal the rampaging Ichibi Shukaku, which was a completely unexpected turn of events for Hidden Sand Village!"
"After that, Naruto also held Gaara hostage, becoming the biggest bargaining chip to force Hidden Sand to cease hostilities."
"This time, Naruto truly made an immense contribution!"
Jiraiya, who had not taken a seat but was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, revealed a slight smile.
At this moment.
From the darkness, a hoarse, cold voice suddenly emerged.
"Alright, enough with the chatter..."
"It's time to talk about serious matters, Hiruzen."
Everyone turned to look and saw the man's figure emerge from the darkness.