บท 123: Destined

"Kumogakure seems to have retreated."

"Oh? Those guys finally stopped making fools of themselves?" Chen asked curiously.

"Yes, Konoha gave them some supplies as compensation, and they withdrew." Tsunade nodded, her voice carrying a hint of disdain.

"It's unbelievable that the victorious side has to give supplies to the defeated side." Chen shook his head with contempt.

"Kumogakure must have received significant benefits to accept something so shameful. It wouldn't be possible for them to agree to a retreat without gaining something in the process," he said, rubbing his chin, his mind processing the situation.

Chen wasn't wrong. Kumogakure had indeed received something in return. Iwagakure and Sunagakure had offered them large amounts of money and supplies to continue fighting against Konoha.

That's why Kumogakure began fighting against Sakumo. The war dragged on for three years. In the end, Konoha no longer wanted to keep fighting Kumogakure, so they offered certain benefits and allowed them to retreat.

Kumogakure, always shameless, accepted Konoha's benefits and then, without further ado, abandoned Iwagakure and Sunagakure.

Ōnoki and the Kazekage, upon hearing the news, erupted in fury, clamoring for the head of the Third Raikage.

But what Ōnoki didn't expect was that, as soon as the Cloud ninjas returned to their village, they regrouped and launched a surprise raid from the sea towards the Land of Earth.

Ōnoki's face turned red with rage. Without further concern for the war with Konoha, he bid farewell to the Kazekage with a few furious words and marched away with his troops.

In that moment, the Kazekage was left dumbfounded. Ōnoki had left, abandoning his ninjas. What could they do against Konoha without Iwagakure's help?

"Ōnoki, damn you!" roared the Kazekage, his fury resonating throughout the camp.

"Chiyo, what should we do now? Do we surrender to Konoha or fight to the end?" asked the Kazekage, visibly indecisive. The only person he could turn to for advice at that moment was Chiyo.

"We fight! We will never surrender. And now that White Fang is here, I want to see him buried alongside my son and daughter-in-law." Chiyo's eyes were bloodshot.

"Alright," muttered the Kazekage, sighing. He knew his words were in vain.

After a long hesitation, he decided they wouldn't surrender. They couldn't afford the price of surrender.

Originally, with the alliance with Iwagakure, they would have shared the cost of any compensation. But now, only they remained. If they surrendered, Konoha would demand every last resource they had.

The situation in the ninja world changed so quickly that the Third Hokage laughed with joy.

Hiruzen wasted no time. With Iwagakure's retreat, he led his troops to attack the Sand ninjas. Sunagakure could not regain their footing.

In just one month, the Sand ninjas had already retreated to the territory of the Land of Wind.

With Sunagakure's defeat, the Second Ninja War came to an end. In fact, if it hadn't been for Kumogakure's intervention, the war would have ended long ago.

Hanzo, of the Land of Rain, after a symbolic resistance, also presented a letter of surrender to Konoha, freeing Orochimaru and Jiraiya from their mission.

Meanwhile, Sunagakure was left in the worst situation. They were completely alone, resisting Konoha's onslaught, and the situation was becoming increasingly miserable.

The arid desert of the Land of Wind made it difficult for Konoha's ninjas to operate, allowing the Sand ninjas some breathing room.

However, holding out alone was impossible. After more than half a year of resistance, Sunagakure finally presented a letter of surrender.

When the Konoha ninjas saw Sunagakure's letter of surrender, they sighed with relief. The war was finally over.

Hiruzen looked at Sunagakure's compensation offer and frowned. They only offered one billion ryō, a ridiculous sum. If they accepted that amount, Konoha, the victorious side, would be losing in every sense.

Hiruzen immediately rejected the offer and set a minimum compensation of fifty billion ryō.

Sunagakure erupted in indignation upon receiving the response. Even if they sold the entire village, they couldn't gather such an amount.

The Kazekage, furious, openly declared they would accept the one billion ryō or prepare for a new war.

A war in which they would fight to the last breath, never surrendering.

"What do you think?" asked the Hokage as he smoked his pipe.

They couldn't really destroy Sunagakure; that village wasn't so easy to annihilate. However, the war compensation they offered was too little, a clear mockery.

"What else can we do? Fight and destroy Sunagakure!" roared Danzo with fury.

Hiruzen looked at him with exhaustion, then turned to the others. That proposal was completely absurd. Even if they destroyed the Sand ninjas, the losses they would suffer during the deadly counterattack of Sunagakure's ninjas would outweigh any possible gain.

Chen sat in a corner, silently watching the nonsense they were saying.

After discussing the matter for hours, they reached no solution. The deadlock over what to do with Sunagakure continued without end.

After several more months of deadlock, Konoha had no choice but to accept Sunagakure's offered compensation due to supply issues.

The two countries also established diplomatic relations and became "Allies."

After signing the agreement, Konoha began to withdraw. Iwagakure and Kumogakure also ceased their conflicts. Iwagakure had suffered significant losses at the hands of Kumogakure, and both villages had forged a lasting enmity.

Upon evacuating Amegakure, Jiraiya unexpectedly accepted Yahiko and Nagato as disciples, preparing to teach them for a while.

Seeing this scene, Chen frowned. The trajectory of fate seemed to be returning to its original course.

Initially, he thought the story had changed and that Yahiko and Nagato wouldn't take Jiraiya as their master. But now it seemed that wasn't the case, that even without Konan, Yahiko and Nagato would end up meeting. Could it be said that this encounter was destined?

Seeing the Rinnegan in Nagato's eyes, Chen's eyes gleamed with greed. He knew Madara must have left some kind of alarm on the Rinnegan. If the Rinnegan moved from its place, Madara would be alerted.

But he wasn't worried at all. Madara? Let him come if he wants. Even if he wanted to obtain the Rinnegan, Madara wouldn't be able to stop him.

After considering it, he decided to let it go for now. He was ready to head to the moon. If he had to choose between absorbing ocular powers, he preferred the Tenseigan.

Because he feared that the Rinnegan's ocular power might be repelled by his own Tenseigan.

"Teaching children from other villages... Hiruzen, what a fine disciple you've raised!" Danzo commented with visible disdain.

"Sigh... Jiraiya, remember to return to the village as soon as possible," Hiruzen said resignedly, looking at the determined Jiraiya.

"These war orphans are always a problem. The best option would be to get rid of them. I really don't understand what you're thinking, Jiraiya. You're an idiot!" said Orochimaru with a malicious smile, his words dripping with murderous intent.

Yahiko and Nagato instinctively stepped back, their eyes filled with fear as they looked at Orochimaru.

"OROCHIMARU!" Jiraiya glared at him.

________

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