"Biological contact transmission... Yang Release specialized virus... also possesses some of Wood Release's Chakra-draining properties..."
At the hospital on the front lines of the Land of Frost's battlefield, Sakura and her medical team had used rudimentary equipment to analyze a large portion of the virus's characteristics. They were now compiling the results, preparing to send them back to the Land of Fire in the rear.
Just then, Jiraiya walked into the tent, bringing with him Kurotsuchi, whose face was ashen and whose body was trembling.
"Sakura, something's happened!" Jiraiya dropped a heavy piece of news as soon as he entered. "The Land of Earth has fallen!"
The Land of Earth was vast and populous, and the great nations had been monitoring each other's situations closely.
In the end, the residents and Ninjas who had converged on Iwagakure, facing shortages of water and food, broke out in civil unrest. The village was directly breached by the mutated creatures, forcing everyone to flee.
Combined with the spread of intelligence about the Chimera Virus within Konoha Village, these two factors set off alarm bells for the other great nations. They each strengthened their own internal security and the monitoring of their biological environments.
The nations immediately conducted disinfection and elimination at the first sign of a potential outbreak, avoiding a large-scale outbreak as hopeless as what happened in the Land of Earth.
The front line where Jiraiya and the others were stationed also received orders from Konoha, requiring them to be sure to prevent the remnants of Iwagakure from acting desperately in a cornered fury.
"They moved so quickly?" The pink-haired girl tiredly raised her hand and rubbed her brow.
Then she turned her gaze to Kurotsuchi beside her and asked, "And what's her situation?"
"The remnants of Iwagakure brought Onoki to the front lines. Their commander, Kitsuchi, submitted a letter of surrender to us. The other two great nations have also temporarily ceased hostilities. Now this girl's status has been elevated from prisoner of war to envoy for peace negotiations."
Jiraiya's expression twitched, clearly this series of changes had also caught him off guard.
"But the Land of Earth is already gone, isn't it? What else do we need to negotiate with them about?" Sakura sighed lightly.
According to her research on the Chimera Virus, its iteration speed was very fast. With the boost of Ninja genes, the next generation of mutants would likely already be able to use Ninjutsu.
If her predictions were correct, the Land of Earth had most likely already become a forbidden zone for life, completely unable to function as a habitat for humans.
Hearing the girl's words, Kurotsuchi's face paled, and the chains of her manacles trembled and scraped, making noise.
No one knew how long passed… it felt like an eternity. Dragging her weak, fearful, trembling body, she slowly shuffled to where the two stood, and with tears and a runny nose, apologized.
"I'm sorry, we were wrong. We, the sinners who initiated the invasion, can all atone with our deaths. But I beg you, at least take in the civilian women and children..."
Large teardrops smashed onto the cold rocky ground, dampening and spreading a patch of dust. Thinking of the scenes described by the survivors, she felt as if she could hear the wails of her friends and family beneath the disaster.
"Please..."
"Haruno Sakura..."
"I'm sorry, I am so sorry..."
"It's all our fault! Please, have mercy!"
Powerlessly kneeling on the ground, her lowered head pressing into the dirt, Kurotsuchi collapsed and wailed loudly.
Jiraiya, who had little resistance to such things, pursed his lips and looked at Sakura beside him.
"No. The virus can be transmitted through biological carriers. The enemy even has the ability to control its outbreak. So this matter is beyond our power!"
The pink-haired girl refused without hesitation, then glared at Jiraiya beside her and said, "We are responsible for the thousands of homes behind us!"
Having said that, she turned and walked out without looking back, carrying the report. Outside the camp, she summoned Katsuyu and had her send the latest research results directly back to Konoha.
Having been rejected by Sakura, Jiraiya helplessly shrugged at Kurotsuchi, helped her up, and sent someone to escort her back to Iwagakure's encampment.
Also in the northern part of the Land of Frost, the Iwagakure refugees had established a new stronghold. When Kurotsuchi returned here, joyful expressions appeared on the faces of the surrounding Ninjas.
"Kurotsuchi-sama is back!" Faces full of expectation looked at her.
But the more her Iwagakure comrades acted like this, the more Kurotsuchi felt ashamed. In the end, she could only make a bitter face and walk toward the command post.
"Kurotsuchi!"
Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi, who had been sitting at the table with worried, grim expressions, saw her return and quickly stood up to greet her.
"Dad, I'm sorry... Waaah..." Kurotsuchi cried out, crawling and rolling, constantly falling and getting up again, throwing herself toward her family.
"It's okay. This isn't your fault. We made this sin ourselves, and in the end, we have to bear it ourselves." Akatsuchi patted her back to comfort her.
Just then, an Iwagakure's Ninja in red battle gear rushed in from outside, bringing the three good news.
"Three esteemed ones, Tsuchikage-sama has awakened!"
Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi, and Kitsuchi's eyes lit up upon hearing this. They all rushed out of the command post and ran toward the tent where Onoki was.
Inside the medical tent, which had the pungent smell of medicine, the small, thin old man had just sat up from the bed and was now putting his Ninja gear back on.
"Old man..."
Kurotsuchi's nose stung, and she rushed toward Onoki with red-rimmed eyes.
"I've heard the report from the others. How many people do we still have available?"
Having experienced three entire Great Ninja Wars, Onoki had faced ruins too many times. Someone like him understood that rather than immersing oneself in the sorrow of loss, the more important thing was to forge a new future for the living!
"The ten thousand Ninjas previously stationed at the front lines, plus sixty thousand who fled from the Land of Earth, of which the old, weak, women, and children account for about seventy percent." Kitsuchi, whose face was weathered and whose hair had turned white from worry, reported to Onoki.
"We sent Kurotsuchi to request that Konoha open its borders to accept refugees, but..."
Looking at Kitsuchi's hesitant expression, Onoki snorted, "They refused, didn't they."
"I'm sorry, old man. I also bear responsibility for this." Akatsuchi stepped forward. As one of the approvers of the invasion plan, they had failed to consider things thoroughly back then.
"Enough. Can't we live without Konoha?"
Onoki raised his hand to stop the self-reflection meeting of his children and disciple, and issued an order: "Here's what we'll do. I have some acquaintance with the Kirigakure's Elder, Genji. You go and contact Kirigakure for me."
With the promulgation of the Tsuchikage's order, the last of the Land of Earth gathered in the Land of Frost began to mobilize. Intelligence and communications were sent out simultaneously, and they began to frequently contact the Ninjas of Kirigakure.
…
On the other side, within the Land of Water.
Inside a pitch-black underground research institute, space folds spiraled and spit out a man wearing a mask.
The white-haired youth in the lab felt his arrival and frowned. "Didn't I tell you not to bother me if it's not important?"
"The Land of Earth has been destroyed. The four great nations are already on guard against our virus. How is the improvement of your virus coming along?" Obito, completely at ease, wandered casually around the research institute and found a place to sit.
"No good. The Wood Release cells you provided me are from terrestrial plants. To adapt to an aquatic environment, I need aquatic plant cell samples." Hiruko refused Obito's request coldly, his expression unpleasant.
Behind his mask, Obito's face was full of question marks, 'Shouldn't you rely on your own research for something like this? Where am I supposed to find aquatic Hashirama's cells for you?'
'What, should I dig up the First Hokage's corpse and throw it in the water to see if it can spontaneously evolve into algae?'
Shaking his head to clear away the distracting thoughts, Obito spoke: "Fine, forget it. Prepare three thousand doses of the virus test tubes for me. The next target is the Land of Wind."
"Why not deal with Konoha first? The environment of the Land of Fire is obviously the most suitable target." Hiruko looked up and glanced at him, and when he saw the three tomoes beneath Obito's mask, a glint of greed flashed in his eyes.
"Hmph, Tsunade and Haruno Sakura are in Konoha. Aren't you afraid your virus will be jointly cracked by them?"
Obito stood up from the chair, looking down at Hiruko. "Besides, shouldn't the most hated enemy be given a deeper despair?"
He wanted to make Konoha watch as the surrounding countries gradually fell, ultimately collapsing miserably in a situation of isolation!
Only by experiencing that kind of pain would everyone cherish the beauty of the new world created by his Eye of the Moon Plan.
Everything was for a more perfect future.