Sarutobi Hiruzen's appearance on the battlefield instantly lifted the spirits of everyone from Konoha.
Ninja on both sides shouted wildly, and absolute chaos broke out everywhere.
The fighting continued from sunrise to sunset.
As night fell, the Iwa Ninja retreated, leaving many dead behind.
But Konoha had also suffered greatly.
Hatake Sakumo, Sarutobi Ryo, Orochimaru, Namikaze Minato, and others stood together.
Each of them carried wounds, some minor, some serious.
After a full day of fighting, many had collapsed, too tired to even stand.
The ground was covered with dead bodies, and dealing with them was the most important task now.
If the bodies weren't collected, a widespread disease could start.
However, the remaining Konoha forces were too weak to carry all the bodies back to the village.
So, they decided to bury them where they lay.
Late that night, the moon shone brightly.
The great war had, for now, come to a stop.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked around the quiet camp, seeing exhaustion and pain on every face.
Konoha had suffered more losses than ever before in this Great Ninja War.
They had gone from being the strongest ninja village to the weakest of the five great nations.
For a long time, Konoha would need to focus on getting supplies and recovering.
Sunagakure had also suffered terrible losses.
But for them, this tragedy actually helped with their lack of resources.
The desert land couldn't support so many ninja anyway.
The deaths of many ninja would actually ease the burden on the village, which was the opposite of Konoha's situation.
After the war, Sunagakure would grow stronger.
Kirigakure, after sorting out its internal problems, would also have a chance at a better future.
Although Kumogakure had lost the Third Raikage, and Ai had lost an arm, their main fighting force was still strong and hadn't suffered too much damage.
Iwagakure... thanks to the combined efforts of Amegakure, Sunagakure, and Konoha, had lost almost half of its ninja in a single day.
The 5,000 Iwa ninja struggled back to Iwagakure.
Onoki would likely need a long time to change his plans.
So, overall, Konoha was the most damaged.
"Lord Hanzo, thank you for your help..."
In the camp, Sarutobi Hiruzen greeted Hanzo, the Salamander.
With Hanzo was a young man named Yahiko, who was said to have started an organization called the Akatsuki.
"Honorable Hokage, I heard that Sunagakure has also joined forces with your village. It seems to be true..."
Yahiko smiled slightly, pleased with how things were developing in the ninja world.
Sunagakure, Konoha, and Amegakure had formed an alliance.
They had become allies.
He had heard about the problems within Kirigakure. If the new Mizukage could change the Blood Mist system, perhaps another member could join their alliance.
"Former enemies... working together to fight a stronger enemy... While this is a common story, I still think that once the ninja world settles down, new conflicts will arise again..."
Hanzo shook his head, disagreeing with Yahiko's youthful optimism.
Having seen more of the world, Hanzo was starting to become pessimistic.
He didn't have a good feeling about the future of the ninja world.
"Lord Hanzo, at least we're allies now, aren't we?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled.
Danzo, standing beside him, was the one who had arranged the alliance with Amegakure. He had found Hanzo and convinced him through talks.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was very happy about this.
"Each generation has its own tasks. We are old... but excellent young people are growing quickly and will eventually take our place."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes sparkled, hinting at his meaning.
Sarutobi Ryo, Namikaze Minato, and Yahiko were all promising and trustworthy successors.
With such excellent successors, the future of the ninja world would surely be bright.
----
After a night of rest, the sky began to lighten.
Early in the morning, the scouting team reported the latest news.
The Iwa Ninja had completely retreated. They didn't seem to be planning to return anytime soon.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
With many of the Iwa Ninja Jonin in charge of leading killed, they couldn't launch a well-organized attack.
Faced with Konoha, Sunagakure, and Amegakure working together, Iwagakure had ultimately lost.
After the late-night meeting, Hanzo had already left.
Sarutobi Hiruzen walked out of his tent, looking at the important leaders standing before him.
Hatake Sakumo, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Sarutobi Ryo, Namikaze Minato... these reliable successors were a strong group.
And after yesterday's battle, some things had become clear.
Sarutobi Ryo, who had defeated the Five-Tails Jinchuriki in a one-on-one fight, was clearly better than Jonin like Nara Shikaku, showing his strength.
He had become the strongest of the younger generation in Konoha.
The fact that he had captured the Five-Tails Jinchuriki alive made Namikaze Minato's achievements seem less impressive.
Therefore...
No one questioned who should fill the empty Jonin Commander position anymore.
"Sarutobi Ryo, from today onwards, you are the Jonin Commander."
Shimura Danzo announced Sarutobi Ryo's new role in front of everyone.
This was the result of a unanimous decision among the leaders.
Hearing this, Nara Shikaku's expression changed slightly.
He had been working hard to get this position, but in the end, Sarutobi Ryo was chosen.
"Nara Shikaku."
But then, Danzo looked at him again.
"You are the Deputy Squad Captain, responsible for helping Sarutobi Ryo."
"..."
Nara Shikaku was surprised, and then a flash of joy appeared in his eyes.
Clearly, Young Master Ryo was chosen because of his outstanding achievements and abilities in the war.
So, he had to have a suitable position.
But in reality, Young Master Ryo probably didn't like paperwork.
So...
Nara Shikaku immediately understood.
Young Master Ryo would have the title, but wouldn't do the actual work.
He wouldn't be in the position, but he would perform its duties.
"Lord Danzo, Honorable Hokage, please rest assured, I will assist Young Master Ryo well..."
Nara Shikaku understood very well.
The Ino-Shika-Cho Formation had always served the Sarutobi clan.
So, it was natural for him to help Young Master Ryo.
Plus, Inoichi was Yamanaka Hui's cousin. They were all family... his own people...
Thinking of this, Nara Shikaku felt much happier.
But then again.
Based on yesterday's battle, Minato's strength was still less than Sakumo Sensei's.
This was because of the difference in experience due to age.
There was no way around it. Minato was still too young.
Nara Shikaku thought to himself that Konoha White Fang alone had killed more than a hundred Iwa Ninja Jonin yesterday.
This was like destroying Iwagakure's officer corps.
It was easy to train ordinary ninja, but Jonin were valuable to every village.
Based on this achievement alone, Konoha White Fang was the undisputed number one.
So, the Fourth Hokage position would probably go to Hatake Sakumo.
Nara Shikaku had many thoughts running through his mind.
The others present could naturally think of some of them.
Everyone looked at each other, waiting for the future changes in Konoha.
And Sarutobi Ryo, who had just been appointed, looked at the system message in front of him.
The reward had been received.
[True Power...]
"What could it be?"
Sarutobi Ryo couldn't help but look forward to this reward.
Also, the system didn't seem to have given him the next main quest yet.
But according to the original story, the Nine-Tails attack shouldn't happen, right?
After all, Obito...
No, not necessarily.
After all, Nohara Rin... hmm...
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[T/N:
Final Total Power Stone Collection : 174 PS
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]