The Hidden Mist Blacksmith, forging the glory of the Ninja Sword Style!

"We will not allow Konoha to suffer any more losses."

"I, Jiraiya, hereby swear!"

"As long as I'm here, you won't get an inch forward."

In comparison, Danzo would be under less pressure.

After a major battle, most of the Hidden Mist ninjas were in poor condition.

Pufferfish demon, dried persimmon good turtle, and blue are all like this.

Only Raiga Kurosuki has maintained a relatively good condition.

Moreover, in terms of numbers, Danzo's army only had a slight advantage in this matter.

It can't compare to Kumogakure or Iwagakure.

After all, Kirigakure suffered a large number of ninja casualties in the previous battle.

"Lord Orochimaru, something terrible has happened! The Iwagakure ninjas are closing in again."

Orochimaru's face was gloomy and very ugly.

Previously, when facing Kisame Hoshigaki, Orochimaru felt that he was about to defeat him, but suddenly, the opponents were switched.

Kisame Hoshigaki, whom Jiraiya had almost defeated, became his opponent.

His opponent turned out to be Qing, who had come to his aid.

An unusual fire dragon severely injured him.

Orochimaru considered the injury a minor matter.

Face is a big deal.

As one of the legendary Sannin, he was severely injured by a mere Jonin of the Hidden Mist Village.

The Orochimaru we know now is not the Orochimaru who was completely transformed into a "scientist" in the original story.

Orochimaru, now a "scientist," no longer cares about worldly matters, honor, or face. If he can't win, he simply runs away. "Scientific research" has become Orochimaru's only pursuit.

Orochimaru wanted to inflict a severe blow on Ao and regain the upper hand.

But at that moment, Jiraiya gave the order to retreat.

Orochimaru wanted to buy some time, at least enough time to launch a counterattack against Ao.

But Jiraiya directly brought out Hiruzen Sarutobi.

This forced Orochimaru to retreat as well.

So, the situation could have been that Ao, relying on his ninja sword, severely injured Orochimaru, but Ao couldn't withstand Orochimaru's counterattack, and the battle ended with Orochimaru winning.

However, due to Jiraiya's order to retreat, things turned out this way: Ao severely injured Orochimaru, who was no match for him and fled in defeat.

In the former case, Orochimaru was able to maintain his powerful image.

Orochimaru suspected that countless people in the ninja world were laughing at him.

Those people have no idea about their own strength and Qing's strength; they can only judge based on superficial and short-term results.

Orochimaru realized that he had really suffered a lot of losses in the village.

The position of Hokage can be gone in an instant.

They initially agreed to fair competition, with everyone relying on their own abilities, but in the blink of an eye, Minato Namikaze secretly took a "back door" approach.

In this great battle, they also suffered heavy losses.

He put in a lot of effort, suffered extremely severe beatings, lost face, and became Qing's stepping stone.

"Is this kind of village really worth all that effort from me?"

A thought surfaced in Orochimaru's mind.

"It's all fake, it's all deception."

"Only science does not lie."

"The more you give, the more you receive."

There was no behind-the-scenes manipulation.

"No one forced me."

"Moreover, it's very interesting, and the gains far exceed the fighting and killing between these ninjas."

"Perhaps I should step down from my position as a combat ninja."

"War is so boring."

Hokage Building.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze stood behind the window, looking down at the entire village.

Both of them were in a bad mood.

Both of them looked very unwell.

"Lord Third Generation, let me go to the battlefield! The village is in a terrible state right now, and I want to go to the battlefield to fight for the village."

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head.

"Given the current situation in the village, even if you, Dosui, are on the battlefield alone, you can't change the situation. After all, we are now facing a three-sided attack, and you can't support three battlefields at the same time."

"Moreover, the village needs you as the Hokage to oversee things."

"Our operation this time was indeed too naive."

"The most important part of the information we received about Kirigakure was false; Kirigakure's reinforcements arrived much faster than we anticipated."

Minato Namikaze frowned.

"Third Hokage, this is something I don't understand either. The false information must have been deliberately given by Kirigakure, but by doing so, Kirigakure suffered heavy casualties and losses themselves."

"Is it worth it for them to put Konoha in an even worse situation?"

"Sacrifice yourself and our Konoha to benefit other ninja villages?"

"Are they all crazy?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes flickered.

"The people of Kirigakure are indeed madmen, but this time, there is a high probability that there is a third party hiding in the shadows."

"A third party? The Third Generation Lord, who could it be?"

Chapter 191 The Beginning of Naruto Uzumaki's Tragedy

"do not know."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Minato, there's no need to be so anxious right now. The worst isn't over yet."

“If things really get to the worst point, Minato, you’ll be anxious about the same thing twice.”

"Anxiety makes it easy to lose your mind and make wrong decisions."

"Konoha has faced even worse situations before."

"Back then, the ninja armies of Iwagakure and Kirigakure not only reached the Land of Fire, but even Konoha. They even breached Konoha's barrier and walls."

"The Second Mizukage and the Second Tsuchikage even fought each other to the death over the resources of our Konoha."

"We survived those situations back then."

"The current situation is no worse than it was back then."

"Once they actually reach Konoha, then, Minato, think about it, which ninja village can withstand the combined attacks of me, you, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Danzo?"

"They dare not gamble that they are not the ninja village we have chosen to take revenge on."

Minato Namikaze thought about it for a moment, and it seemed to be true.

Just like Konoha's recent action against Kirigakure, they only wanted to defeat the Kirigakure army, never intending to attack Kirigakure and destroy it.

Conversely, other ninja villages would certainly be wary of targeting Konoha.

With so many Kage-level ninjas, if they aren't killed on the spot, the subsequent retaliation would be extremely terrifying.

Which ninja village could withstand it?

With so many people in a ninja village, it's impossible for everyone to stay hidden inside the village forever.

Should we cease all communication and transactions with the outside world?

Should I not accept the assigned task?

"As long as we few are still alive, Konoha will surely exist."

Sarutobi Hiruzen said.

Namikaze Minato nodded.

"Lord Third Generation, I understand."

"So this time, the goal of those ninja villages is still the same as before: to gain benefits from our Konoha, right?"

"It's more benefits."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Our village's plan went wrong this time, so what they want will definitely be much more. We have to be prepared for huge losses."

After saying that, Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his temples.

"Minato, you need to grow faster to become the Hokage."

I will do my best to help you.

"But as I've gotten older, my energy levels have declined significantly."

The entire ninja world was practically talking about this great battle.

"Konoha's strength is still very strong; their accumulated experience is too deep."

"If they really go all out, Kirigakure is no match for them."

"But Konoha's location is both too good and too bad."