Seeing Rin's bewildered and lost expression, the Kirigakure's Genin was also a bit confused. He gave Rin a strange look but still lowered his head slightly, speaking respectfully, "Esteemed member of the Yuki Clan, the Sora-sama I speak of is naturally the commander of Kirigakure's expeditionary force, Yuki Sora-sama..."
"Reports from the front line say Sora-sama single-handedly slaughtered over two thousand Konoha's Ninjas. Even Konoha's Sannin Jiraiya, the Yellow Flash Namikaze Minato, and the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki Uzumaki Kushina were defeated by Sora-sama. Now, he is a hugely prominent figure in the village!"
"Oh, and there are even rumors in the village that Sora-sama is the undisputed candidate for the Fourth Mizukage..."
As he said this, the Kirigakure's Genin's face was full of excited, fanatical expression.
'Yuki Sora...'
'Even Sensei lost!???'
Hearing the Genin's words, Rin stumbled back two steps. She stopped her steps in a panic, her pretty face wearing a stunned, dumbfounded expression.
'Sensei...'
'Lost!!!'
'That demon-like man actually crushed the village's Ninjas on the battlefield, and even slaughtered over two thousand people...'
'Jiraiya-sensei, Sensei, Kushina-nee...'
'They all lost!??'
'He is actually that powerful!!!'
At this moment, Rin felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar. The unrealistic fantasy in her heart shattered completely.
'If even Sensei lost, was there really anyone in this world who could defeat that demon-like man!???'
…
Land of Water, Countryside.
An inconspicuous village.
A little child, Haku, playing in the fields, looked up and saw a familiar figure appearing not far away. He immediately ran over joyfully.
"Mom!"
"You're here!"
Haku smiled and threw himself into Haruko's arms. Haruko picked up Haku, stroking the child's soft hair gently, "Haku, Mom has news about your Sora-nii. Do you want to hear it?"
"Yes!"
Haku nodded without hesitation.
Haruko kissed Haku's tender cheek, then relayed the news she had heard in the clan, telling him everything in detail.
"Sora-nii is such a powerful Ninja?"
Haku widened his cute eyes, really finding it hard to believe that there could be a Ninja in this world who could single-handedly suppress an army!??
"What?"
"Does Haku not believe it?"
Haruko smiled and held Haku tighter in her arms.
"Not at all!"
"I believe it!"
Haku said very seriously, "If it's Sora-nii, he can definitely do such things. He is originally the strongest person in this world!"
"Yes... Sora is not only strong, but he is also a very gentle man..."
Haruko looked towards the village not far away, a reminiscent look involuntarily appearing on her face.
Back then, if Sora hadn't arrived in time, she and Haku would probably have died in this village because of the fearsome Kekkei Genkai of Ice Release, right?
…
Kirigakure.
Mizukage Building.
At this moment, teams of Kirigakure's Ninjas were rapidly assembling. On the high points around the building, over twenty Kirigakure's Anbu were on alert, all the most elite Anbu directly under the Mizukage's command.
A few minutes later, in front of the building, over two hundred Ninjas had assembled. The vast majority were Chunin, with over fifty Jonin. There were no Genin at all.
These over two hundred elite Ninjas were almost Kirigakure's last remaining fighting force.
And the leader of this force was undoubtedly Kirigakure's highest authority, the Third Mizukage!!!
"Mizukage-sama..."
"The troops have finished assembling!"
At that moment, an Anbu wearing a blue fox mask body-flickered to the Third Mizukage's side. It was the Kirigakure's Anbu Commander.
For the past six months or more, this Anbu Commander's tasks had been quite heavy. Besides dealing with the Anbu Commanders from Konoha and Kumogakure, he also had to accompany the Third Mizukage in capturing the Three-Tails. Each mission was S-Rank, and each opponent was extremely troublesome.
After prolonged high-intensity combat, his condition was quite fatigued.
However, even so, this Kirigakure's Anbu Commander could only force himself to push on, following the Third Mizukage to the Land of Fire's battlefield.
Because news had come from the expeditionary force: Konoha had dispatched a Ninja force of over four thousand. And it wasn't just Jiraiya, even the Yellow Flash and the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki had joined the battle.
Meanwhile, the number of Kirigakure's expeditionary force was only a little over a thousand.
Not only were they outnumbered, but the number of top-tier Ninjas also fell far short of Konoha's side.
With this double disadvantage in both quantity and quality, Kirigakure's expeditionary force was in danger of collapsing at any moment. The entire village was at a critical juncture of life and death.
Therefore, facing such a crisis, even the Third Mizukage, responsible for guarding the village and stabilizing morale, had no choice but to personally enter the fray.
At this time, the Third Mizukage stood with his hands behind his back on a high platform.
He looked down at the Kirigakure's Ninjas below, but a trace of worry flashed in his eyes.
'Facing Konoha's Kage-level combatants, Sora...'
'Can he hold on?'
The Third Mizukage frowned in thought, unable to suppress a sigh in his heart. He still remembered the bitter battle with Jiraiya months ago.
The two had fought for an entire day, clashing over a thousand times, but in the end, he was the one pushed back by Jiraiya's Fire Release, despite the elemental disadvantage.
This time, besides Jiraiya, Sora's enemies included Konoha's Yellow Flash and the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki. Dealing with such a lineup, even with Yagura assisting him, the pressure was immense.
However,
Even though his heart was full of doubts, the Third Mizukage's expression remained unchanged on the surface. He led this last elite force of Kirigakure, preparing to leave the village for the Land of Fire battlefield.
However, before the troops could even set out, an Anbu suddenly body-flickered in front of the Third Mizukage, kneeling on one knee, panting heavily, his voice trembling:
"Mizukage-sama! Urgent report from the Land of Fire front line!"
"Speak!"
The Third Mizukage took a deep breath. His gaze grew even darker. In that breath, he had prepared himself for the worst possible news.
"Expeditionary Force's Commander, Yuki Sora, on the battlefield of Konoha's second defensive line, killed one thousand six hundred and eighty-two Konoha's Ninjas in a single battle, severely wounded Namikaze Minato, Jiraiya, and the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki Uzumaki Kushina. Konoha suffered a great defeat, countless Ninjas are in rout!!!"
That simple sentence instantly plunged the area within a thousand meters into an eerie silence.
Petrified.
Stupefied.
Stunned.
Dumbfounded.
The elite Kirigakure's Ninjas present, even the Anbu, involuntarily held their breath. Each one widened their eyes, feeling their ears ringing incessantly, their entire bodies even becoming stiff.
"What!??"
The Third Mizukage was also utterly astonished. His emotions surged, his cold, proud expression instantly cracking. The corner of his mouth twitched madly. He felt as if he were hearing things.
'One thousand six hundred and eighty-two people!???'
'Sora...'
'Just what did he do in the Land of Fire!!!!!!'
…
Konoha Village.
Hokage Building.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had recently returned from the Iwagakure front line, was not rushing to the battlefield. Instead, he chose to rest in the village, conserving his energy.
After all, from Hiruzen Sarutobi's perspective, the Kirigakure front line now not only had Kage-level Ninjas like Jiraiya, Minato, and Kushina stationed there, but also housed Konoha's great clans like the Uchiha, Ino-Shika-Cho, Hyuga, and Aburame. One could say over fifty percent of Konoha's top combat power was invested on the Kirigakure front.
Such a force was enough to crush Kirigakure's troops like destroying dead wood, even with that little monster Yuki Sora present. It shouldn't be a problem.
Moreover, according to the news Minato sent, after Kushina was injured, she had reconciled with the Nine-Tails, gaining even greater Tailed Beast's power.
With this secret weapon, Hiruzen was even less worried about that Yuki Sora.
'However, with Kushina as this variable, Minato has become harder to control. After this war ends, we still need to find a way to keep both of them firmly in hand.'
'We absolutely cannot let a second Orochimaru appear...'
'Otherwise, Konoha's succession will definitely face unpredictable dangers!'
In his office, Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe, then closed his eyes, sinking into deep thought.
The current Konoha had quite complex internal factions. There was the orthodox faction aligned with the Hokage, the Orochimaru faction led by Danzo, the clan faction supporting the Uchiha, plus Jiraiya who maintained a rather ambiguous stance, the Konoha's princess Tsunade who was abroad, and the neutral faction represented by Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.
The intensity of Konoha's internal power struggles was no less fierce than the ongoing Third Great Ninja War.
Just like this Great Ninja War, on the surface it was Konoha vs Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure in a chaotic war.
In reality, it was a contest for military merits: the Hokage faction represented by Hiruzen vs Iwagakure, the Orochimaru faction vs Kumogakure, and the clan faction represented by the Uchiha vs Kirigakure.
All three sides had put forward their respective representatives: the Hokage faction's Minato, the independent Sannin Orochimaru, and the clan faction's Fugaku.
The ultimate goal of this three-way struggle was to seize enough political resources to push their faction's representative onto the vacant position of the Fourth Hokage!!!
War is an extension of politics.
And the core of Konoha's political struggle is the position of Hokage!
The source of all contradictions lies here!
For Hiruzen personally, he naturally hoped his confidant, Minato would succeed. Having someone from his own faction become Hokage would allow him to gain more benefits from behind the scenes.
If Orochimaru or Fugaku were to take the position, it would definitely cause great losses to his, and even the entire Sarutobi Clan's, interests.
Because of this, he had taken the opportunity presented by the appearance of that little monster Yuki Sora from Kirigakure to send Minato to the Kirigakure front line.
The goal was to have him seize the military merits from Fugaku, using this to weaken the political influence of the clans, thereby more securely installing Minato into power.
If all went smoothly, Hiruzen also planned to send Minato to the Kumogakure front line after the Kirigakure war ended, to share some of Orochimaru's merits. That would make the succession plan even more certain.
However, just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was lost in thought with his eyes closed, the door to the Hokage's office was pushed open by an Elder, Mitokado Homura, his face full of panic.
"Hiruzen!"
"Something terrible has happened!"
Homura's tone was very agitated.
"What happened?"
Hiruzen's eyes snapped open.
"Kirigakure's expeditionary force commander, Yuki Sora, in the second defensive zone area, killed one thousand six hundred and eighty-two of the village's Ninjas. He also defeated Jiraiya, Minato, and the Nine-Tails-transformed Uzumaki Kushina. The village's forces suffered a great rout..."
The more he spoke, the more his voice trembled. By the end, Homura's eyes were red with anxiety.
Crack!
A crisp sound rang out.
It was the sound of a horrified Hiruzen crushing his pipe.
The next moment, the burning tobacco fell onto his palm, scorching it and producing white smoke. But Hiruzen seemed completely unaware of the pain in his palm. He just stared blankly at the air in front of him, his entire body stiff as if struck by lightning.