The Turning Point of the Ninja World War

When the Iwagakure ninjas saw Minato and Shintaro approaching, they initially scoffed at their small numbers.

But upon closer inspection, they realized something was amiss.

"This…"

"The Yellow Flash and the White-Haired Demon's Eyes!"

"Run! We can't handle these two!"

"If you encounter these two, you won't be punished for running away!"

After recognizing Minato and Shintaro, the Iwagakure ninjas immediately scattered and fled in a panic.

But it was too late.

Once Minato and Shintaro took action, the Iwagakure ninjas understood why there was a rule about no punishment for retreating.

Not only could they not be defeated, but they couldn't escape even if they wanted to.

"[Rasen Senkō Chō Rinbukō Sanshiki]."

"[Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue]."

Minato threw a dozen kunai, which flew among the fleeing Iwagakure ninjas, and then his figure kept flashing between them.

Each flash would kill an enemy with a kunai or [Rasengan].

Shintaro raised his hand, a blue light suddenly appeared, and he used [Blue] to capture all the ninjas running towards the edge of the area.

The Iwagakure ninjas were tightly sucked in by the strong suction, their bones pressing against each other, making a crunching sound.

Shintaro increased the output effect of [Blue], and with just a few clicks, all the bones of these Iwagakure ninjas were crushed, and they naturally lost their lives.

The two quickly wiped out all the Iwagakure ninjas.

Kakashi knelt on the ground and watched the two figures in front of him. Although he was grateful to be saved, he couldn't help but feel disappointed: "Shintaro is already on par with Minato-sensei… but I couldn't even protect my friend…"

Minato and Shintaro approached after dealing with the enemies.

Minato asked, "Kakashi, is the mission complete? Why isn't Obito here?"

Kakashi shook his head.

"The mission isn't complete… Rin was initially captured by Iwagakure Ninjas. Obito and I went to rescue her, and Rin was saved… But Obito died in the cave to save me…"

He punched the ground hard, feeling guilty about Obito's death.

Minato looked at Kakashi's left eye, his face darkened, and he said emotionally, "This eye… it's Obito's gift to you, isn't it?"

Kakashi nodded.

"Cherish it. It's Obito's intention." Minato patted Kakashi's shoulder and said.

Shintaro asked from the side, "How did Obito die?"

Kakashi raised his head and said, "When he saved me, he was crushed by a huge rock on the right side of his body. After transplanting his left eye to me, the cave completely collapsed and Obito was buried under it…"

Shintaro understood. No wonder Kakashi only brought back one of Obito's eyes and didn't see his body.

Half of his body was crushed by a huge rock and buried under the cave. It seemed Obito was indeed dead.

This time, Minato comforted Kakashi and said, "Obito is a hero of Konoha. Let's complete the mission first, then retrieve Obito's body."

"Obito will be placed in Konoha's Martyr's Cemetery and will be honored by future generations."

Kakashi nodded heavily.

Minato, Kakashi, Rin, and Shintaro then headed to Kannabi Bridge.

Kannabi Bridge spanned a deep and wide gorge and was magnificent.

It was precisely because of this bridge that Obito died in battle.

Kakashi took out the remaining explosive tags from his ninja pouch.

Shintaro waved his hand and said, "No need for explosive tags, leave it to me."

Kakashi stepped back and watched him fly into the air and raise his hand to release the blue light again.

"[Cursed Technique Lapse —Maximum Output: Blue]."

The bridge was instantly destroyed by the powerful suction that suddenly appeared in the air.

The deck of the bridge continued to crack, and a large number of cement beams and steel bars flew into the air and were lifted into a large ball.

In an instant, the entire bridge collapsed, leaving nothing in its place, all sucked into the sky.

Shintaro then threw all the debris of the bridge into the distance, scattering the large pieces across the ground.

Kannabi Bridge was completely erased from the map.

The main transportation artery of Iwagakure was severed.

Even if the bridge wasn't destroyed, Iwagakure was defeated.

However, the significance of Kannabi Bridge was still great.

Without this bridge, Iwagakure couldn't launch a large-scale attack.

Therefore, Konoha's military losses were mitigated. The time needed to repair the bridge was enough for Konoha to redeploy troops to consolidate the defense line.

As a result, Iwagakure didn't need to continue fighting Konoha.

After the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, Konoha no longer considered Iwagakure a primary concern.

It's no exaggeration to say that the Battle of Kannabi Bridge was a turning point in the Shinobi World War that saved Konoha from attacks on three sides.

News of Kannabi Bridge's destruction quickly spread to Iwagakure and Konoha.

In the Tsuchikage building in Iwagakure, sitting in the Tsuchikage's office was a short old man.

This unimpressive small old man was the Third Tsuchikage Onoki.

Onoki didn't feel too angry or shocked after reading the front-line battle report.

He rubbed his chin and thought for a long time, calmly recalling the current situation in the ninja world.

He had the nickname "Ōnoki of Both Scales." meaning his mind was as accurate as scales.

This Third Tsuchikage was good at communication and could always secure the most favorable conditions for the village.

"Since we can't gain anything from Konoha on the battlefield, let's gain it through negotiations. After all… Konoha needs peace more than we do."

He thought about his next steps.

The war between Iwagakure and Konoha could be postponed for now.

Onoki planned to let Iwagakure withdraw from the ninja war, which was now in its final stages of life and death.

He had no intention of taking this risk with Iwagakure Village.

Iwagakure had seized a lot of wealth from the Land of Thunder and the Land of Rain and had gained enough benefits. There was no need to fight Konoha to the death.

Moreover, Onoki was still afraid of Konoha's Yellow Flash Namikaze Minato and the White-Haired Devil's Eyes Uchiha Shintaro, so he didn't plan to continue fighting Konoha.

But Onoki didn't intend to withdraw his troops unconditionally.

He wanted to seek peace while securing more benefits for Iwagakure.

Now the plan to send a large force from the Land of Grass to attack Konoha alone had fallen apart, and the forces from the Land of Rain didn't dare to act without permission. Iwagakure had only one army left overseas.

That was the Iwagakure ninja force fiercely fighting Kumogakure.

The commander of this force was his son.

He immediately wrote a letter to his son, asking him to send a small force to harass the Fire Nation's border while fighting Kumogakure as usual.

After that, Onoki wrote another letter to Konoha, persuading Konoha to negotiate peace with Iwagakure.

In this way, Onoki could prove that Iwagakure could threaten Konoha and gain enough bargaining power to strive for benefits in peace talks.

This was a very clever move.

But Konoha wouldn't give in immediately.

A few days later, Konoha sent troops to strengthen the defense.

The team leader was Uchiha Fugaku, indicating that Konoha's senior management couldn't find a ninja in the village who could lead the team.

Konoha's senior management appointed Fugaku as the deputy commander and sent him to the Defense Line to help lead the Hyuga Clan and its forces.

It's also worth mentioning that Fugaku brought along his three-year-old son, Uchiha Itachi, to sharpen his son's will.

This was also the first time Itachi's name was collectively noticed by Konoha's top management.