Chapter 61

The Iwa commander, now free of the barrier, shouted a quick retreat order. "Everyone, RETREAT!!! Han-sama will cover our retreat." The Iwa commander's words made the Iwa Shinobi quickly disengage from combat and start retreating like maniacs, mustering all their remaining energy to run away.

Kazuki quickly flickered next to his sensei as he noticed that the Five Tails was now charging for a second bijudama. "Sensei, here." Kazuki quickly unfurled a scroll and unsealed it, revealing a dozen javelins etched with fuinjutsu. Tsunade noticed her student opening up the scroll. This was something Kazuki had devised to counter bijudama because they didn't have a jinchuriki of their own to deploy. The fuin etched on the javelin was of similar function to the fuin that Minato had used to redirect Nine-Tails' bijudama. However, this modification served as a long-range defense.

Tsunade quickly made a series of handsigns, "[Infūin: Kai]" (Yin Seal: Release). Her chakra flared to a monstrous level. The Konoha Shinobi were practically engrossed in bloodlust, and the enemy's call for retreat only made their bloodlust shoot up, and they started hunting down the retreating Iwa ninja.

The Five Tails released the second-tailed beast bomb aimed at the Leaf Shinobi. The pressure of the incoming attack made the Leaf Shinobi pause, and Tsunade quickly grabbed a javelin from Kazuki and threw it to intercept the bijudama with all her might. When the javelin approached the incoming bomb, a large array formed from the tip of the javelin and quickly absorbed the complete bijudama. The javelin sailed gracefully through the air and landed in the direction in which the Iwa army was retreating.

"Boom!" The moment the javelin made contact with the ground, a huge explosion ripped through the battlefield, killing quite a number of Iwa Shinobi who were desperately fleeing. Han, who watched how the enemy redirected his most fearsome attack, couldn't help but be shocked. Everyone who saw this scene had different emotions. The Iwa Shinobi were shocked and confused. However, the Leaf Shinobi were delighted at the scene and quickly resumed their hunt.

"Did you see what exactly happened?" Han couldn't help but ask the Five Tails about what exactly happened.

"It must be the Leaf Ninja's javelin. I fear our last attack was redirected towards our own troops using fuin seals." The Five Tails transferred its thoughts to Han, and Han wanted to make sure, so he fired another bijudama, but it was not fully powered. However, Tsunade recreated the previous scene with a second javelin.

Hiashi flickered next to Tsunade, who was ready, holding the third javelin in case the bijudama fired another volley. He couldn't help but take a quick glance at the little kid standing next to the Sannin with javelins ready for use. The recent display of combat prowess that the Senju exhibited in the battle had elevated her status within the village's Shinobi one notch higher; her prestige was literally at its peak.

"Tsunade-sama, do we pursue? The Iwa army is on a complete retreat." Hiashi waited for the Senju's decision. If Tsunade ordered them to pursue the enemy, they would gladly carry out the order, regardless of the risk, because that was how much her presence on the battlefield meant for the Leaf Shinobi today. Hiashi understood that, in recent years, the Senju princess, revered for her healing abilities, had not shown much of her combat skills in public. However, recent events have changed that perception drastically.

Tsunade, holding the third javelin, glanced at Hiashi and then surveyed the battlefield. The Leaf Shinobi were in a state of exhilaration, fueled by the recent turn of events.

"No, Hiashi. Let them retreat. We've made our point, and I don't want unnecessary casualties on our side. We've already secured a significant victory today," Tsunade commanded, her eyes scanning the horizon.

Hiashi nodded in acknowledgment. "Understood, Tsunade-sama."

As the Iwa Shinobi continued their hasty retreat, the Leaf Shinobi maintained their positions but didn't pursue them. The battlefield, once a chaotic scene of combat, started to calm down. Tsunade's presence, coupled with her remarkable display of strength and strategy, had turned the tide decisively in favor of Konoha.

Tsunade turned to Kazuki with a faint smile on her face. "Good work, Kazuki. Your preparation with those javelins was instrumental in turning the bijudama against them. Your quick thinking saved many lives today."

Kazuki, though still a child, beamed with pride at the compliment. He had proven himself on this battlefield, not just as a puppeteer but as a strategist capable of devising innovative techniques.

Tsunade's gaze then shifted to the retreating Iwa forces. "Let them go for now. We'll focus on recovery and tending to our wounded. I'm sure they won't forget the lesson we taught them today. This victory will resonate beyond the battlefield."

With that, Tsunade, Hiashi, and Kazuki joined the other Leaf Shinobi in securing the area, tending to the injured, and assessing the overall situation. "Hiashi, secure the Tenchi bridge and build a fortification; we need to hold control of this strategic position completely." Tsunade relayed her command while looking for the next injured leaf Shinobi that she could treat.

Tsunade, her apprentices, and the medic team had to work well into the night, and they managed to save most of the injured ninjas. Although they had the medical scrolls, which could heal wounds to some extent, they couldn't regenerate limbs. Additionally, the medical scrolls were of finite numbers, so they were used as strategic resources. Even though the Leaf achieved an overwhelming victory, they still suffered significant losses in terms of Shinobi.

In the commander's tent, Tsunade had called for a post-battle meeting with the captains.

"What's our casualty like?" Tsunade questioned. Hiashi, who had received the recent reports after the tallies were taken, shared the data with everyone in the tent.

"We have lost a total of five hundred and thirty-eight Shinobi in total: three elite Jonins, eighteen Jonins, forty-three elite Chunins, two hundred and six Chunins, and the rest being Genin," Hiashi shared, with delight evident on his face even though he was reporting the number of deaths. For a Shinobi, dying in battle was considered a glorious thing, especially in a battle that led to an overwhelming victory.

"Tsunade-sama, if not for the medical scrolls, our casualties would have at least tripled, and especially, we would have lost quite a lot of higher-end Shinobi from our side," one of the Elite Jonins representing the Sarutobi clan couldn't help but add, sharing the same sentiment as the Hyuga clan head.

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Raikage's office, Kumogakure

"Haha, this should be a great loss to that Onoki; he should be fuming about it right now." One of the Kumo elders couldn't help laughing at the recent information about the loss of Iwagakure.

"Enough! Is this something we should be laughing at? It was not us who defeated the Iwa army in battle. And haven't you found something peculiar about the battle reports?" Raikage, still bitter from the recent happenings, couldn't help lashing out at the elder who made the comment earlier.

Raikage looked around the meeting to see if someone could help him with the answer, but most were oblivious; only a few noticed the anomaly.

"The numbers of casualties on each side, going by these approximate numbers, show that Iwagakure lost close to six to seven times the Shinobi that Konoha lost. It seems like Konoha is hiding some sort of secret, and it would be wise to investigate it. According to the information we received, Tsunade Senju's threat level needs to be increased. But we don't have to care about her for the time being as she is on the Iwagakure front," Elder Karai, who was going through the reports, stated without raising his head because he was trying to make sense of the numbers.

Because even with Tsunade's drastic strength increase, achieving such a result was impossible, so he understood that there was something they missed.

"Keep an eye on the Konoha army, try to scout for more information, and hold back from engaging in any large-scale conflicts with the Leaf village for now. Just hold the lines. We cannot recklessly dive into battle, being unaware of the cards that Konoha holds." The Raikage made a decision and then started discussing another important matter related to the ongoing war.

"We have received intel that there seems to be a black lightning user among the Konoha side, and he seems to be a young kid," the Kumo ANBU head shared, something that might be of great importance to Kumo.

"What? That's impossible! How can the Leaf village have a black lightning user? This is something specific to our Kumogakure." One elder stood up out of shock when the ANBU shared the news.

"Calm down; it might not be the same as our black lightning. However, the combatant was a kid, about six or seven years old, so it's probable that he was a child from Kumo who was abducted by the Leaf village during the third Shinobi war." The Raikage knew that this was a delicate matter and needed to be addressed with caution, as black lightning was held in high regard within the Cloud village.

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Konohagakure

Within Konoha, the results of the battle had a huge effect. Originally, when entering this new war, Konoha did so with a significant disadvantage in numbers, facing each battlefield with at least a one-to-two disadvantage. However, the Slug Sage's victory in the recent battle had made the whole village cheerful, and the civilians were now hopeful.

Hiruzen, who was in his office working alongside the other elders, couldn't help but clench his fist in emotion as he read through the detailed report sent from the frontline. Unlike the initial estimates, Iwagakure had lost close to eight times their number, and their loss of high-end shinobi was marginally greater than that of Konoha.

"Send a message to the other battlefronts. With this recent battle, the other armies will be cautious, so it's a good time to push the enemy back while they play defense." Hiruzen, with a pipe in his hand, gestured towards an ANBU to carry out the order.

"Hiruzen, don't you think Tsunade is being too hasty? Showing too much strength at the start would only attract the other villages to target us more actively. Are you sure about this? Because Tsunade is only going to build more prestige." Koharu couldn't help but complain because, being an elder for so long, she couldn't help but want to cling on to it for as long as she could.

"Koharu, it seems like spending time with Danzo has muddled all our brains. Do you remember how Nidaime-sama sacrificed himself for us? Compared to back then, do you see our village's condition? If you ask me, we have failed him, and we only wanted to keep ourselves in power rather than trying to develop our village wholeheartedly. And look where that has brought us." Homura, In a rare moment of self reflection, who had a transformation after learning the truth about Kagami's death, had changed by a huge margin. He couldn't help but intervene when he heard Koharu trying to undermine Tsunade. It had somehow unknowingly become second nature to them, which he had realized.

Hearing Homura's words, Koharu couldn't help but hold her silence because she knew what Homura said was true; they had become corrupted by power.

"Koharu, why don't we concentrate on what is really important? We might have to address this matter sooner or later. It's about the seven tails that we are currently holding. According to the fuinmaster's suggestion, it was recommended that we find a Jinchuriki for the bijuu." Hiruzen brought forward a topic that he had wanted to discuss for some time now. According to Kazuki, it was better to find a Jinchuriki for the bijuu than keep it contained within a container.

"Sandaime, why don't we select a few talented children and specially train them, like the other villages are doing? Since they are young, we might be able to find among them a suitable vessel for the tailed beast. Because the Uzumaki clan is no longer around, we might not be able to find suitable vessels unless we resort to this method." Elder Kenji couldn't help but comment at the mention of the Bijuu.