Only I can make Konoha Village great again.

The Fourth Raikage, exhausted, shocked, and furious, stared at the earthen platform with bloodshot eyes and asked incredulously:

"You mean to say that our supply center was attacked?"

"Yes."

"Hundreds of ninjas died, the most heavily guarded main warehouse was blown up, and only three Konoha ninjas were killed?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Judging from the trajectory of the attack, the enemy infiltrated right under our noses?"

"Yes, the first battle point is right here in our camp from last night."

"Huff, huff... I, I fucking..."

The Fourth Raikage was speechless, only able to gasp for breath.

Killer Bee pouted and said, "If the enemy is this strong, what's the point of us fighting?"

"I might as well just go back to the Land of Lightning."

Tu Tai nodded: "That's my suggestion too. We can't fight anymore, let's withdraw and go home."

Snapped! !

The Fourth Raikage slammed his fist on the table in fury, shattering the makeshift wooden table into pieces: "How can we retreat?"

"This is the first time we've penetrated a thousand kilometers into the Land of Fire! That's a thousand kilometers! We're only this far from Konoha!"

"Just hang in there a little longer, and we'll be able to see the Hokage Rock of Konoha with our own eyes, together with the Cloud Village army!"

Tsuchida shook his head and said, "Fourth Raikage, please calm down."

The Fourth Raikage, A, roared, "I can't calm down!"

The ninjas all lowered their heads, feeling equally unwilling to accept defeat.

We're really not far from Konoha Village!

But Killer Bee realized that his older brother's attitude had actually changed, and that his current roars and anger were just an act.

Killer Bee waved to all the ninjas, signaling them to leave, leaving only himself and the Fourth Raikage inside the tent.

When Tsuchikage was the last to leave the tent, the Fourth Raikage's anger vanished instantly, leaving only a trace of unwilling disappointment and a deep sense of calculation.

Seeing the change in his older brother, Killer Bee finally gave up.

He said disappointedly, "Brother, so we really can't fight anymore."

Ai nodded and said, "We really can't continue."

Killer Bee muttered indignantly, "Just because of those few supplies, they were destroyed?"

The Fourth Raikage shook his head and said, "It's not because of a lack of supplies. If we don't have enough food, we can plunder; if we don't have enough weapons, we can capture them or forcibly buy them from the Land of Iron. The problem is morale!"

"In the series of battles before reaching Sakurahara, our ninjas sacrificed so many lives, but we didn't kill many Konoha ninjas; we just pushed the battle lines forward."

"At that time, morale was already in serious trouble. We were just barely holding on because of our invincible partnership."

"Today we destroyed the Sakurahara Fortress and killed many Konoha ninjas, but even with our combined efforts, we were unable to defeat Orochimaru, which is tantamount to taking away the last support in the hearts of the Kumogakure ninjas."

"As soon as news of the supply center's destruction spreads, morale will plummet."

"If the details of the Konoha ninja's attack on the supply center were made public, especially the fact that they infiltrated our defenses, it would make our ninjas think that the Konoha ninjas are invincible."

"The morale is absolutely going to collapse completely and can never be rekindled."

Kirabi nodded heavily: "Big brother is right. The thought that they were able to infiltrate us is unbelievable and even sends chills down my spine."

The Fourth Raikage pondered for a moment, then decisively stated, "Orochimaru's command is flawed!"

"Orochimaru's performance in today's battle was all too familiar. It was exactly how I remembered him. It was completely different from the feeling of not being able to touch him or hit him before."

"On the contrary, the attack on the supply center has a strong sense of ghosts on the battlefield."

"Orochimaru is covering for that ghost!"

The Fourth Raikage slammed his fist heavily on the ground: "Activate our spies. I need to know who this ghost is and how he's directing things."

"Then, I'll kill him!"

Killer Bee nodded seriously, a rare occurrence for him: "Big brother is right. We can only feel at ease if this battlefield ghost dies."

"What's the next step? Should we take turns retreating?"

The Fourth Raikage declared, "No, we absolutely cannot retreat!"

"Orochimaru is a master of entanglement. If we retreat, he'll definitely come after us. Plus, with that battlefield ghost's command and the ever-present ambushes..."

Ai and Killer Bee shuddered at the thought: "...we're all finished."

They both gritted their teeth and growled simultaneously, "The battlefield ghosts must die!"

Raikage A took a deep breath and continued, "Therefore, we cannot retreat immediately. We must send someone to Konoha Village to deliver a peace agreement to the Third Hokage in my name as Raikage."

"Hiruzen Sarutobi's nickname has been changed from 'The Oath-Hero' to 'Professor of Ninjutsu,' which shows that his spirit has collapsed and he only wants to maintain peace, even if it means giving up the victory that is about to be won."

Killer Bee wasn't as certain as A, but he trusted his older brother's judgment and supported the Raikage's decision without hesitation: "I'll send someone to Konoha right away."

The Fourth Raikage nodded in satisfaction: "Alright, tell them I'm still very angry when we get out."

Killer Bee waved his hand: "Got it, big brother."

A dozen minutes later, a group of fifteen Cloud Village ninjas, carrying white flags, set off from Sakurahara in a grand manner, heading towards Konoha Village.

They were naturally stopped by the Konoha ninja and brought before Orochimaru.

Jonin Kakashi Hatake, upon hearing that Kumogakure wanted to negotiate peace, flew into a rage and rebuked them, saying, "You killed so many of our comrades during the day, and now you want peace in Kumogakure at night? What gives you the right?"

His words ignited fresh hatred among the Konoha ninja, who all glared murderously at the Cloud Village ninja, ready to rush forward and tear these fifteen enemies to shreds at the slightest glance from Orochimaru.

Under Orochimaru's cold gaze, the Cloud Village ninja trembled with tension.

But Orochimaru ultimately shook his head: "They cannot be killed."

"My teacher, the Third Hokage, will not allow us to kill these Cloud Village ninja."

"Regardless of whether the Fourth Raikage harbors malicious intentions, and regardless of what conspiracies the Hidden Cloud Village may have, as long as they wave the white flag and claim to be bringing peace to the Hidden Leaf Village..."

"Sarutobi-sensei would absolutely never allow them to be hurt!"

"Do you... intend to defy the Third Hokage's will?"

Orochimaru's words left all the Konoha ninja speechless, and they let the Kumogakure ninja go in utter frustration.

They even had to send a squadron of Konoha ninja to escort the group of Kumogakure ninja to Konoha.

The feeling of frustration was like a mountain, pressing down on the hearts of every Konoha ninja, making them feel suffocated and chest-ache, as if they couldn't breathe.

At some point, a thought began to surface in the minds of the Konoha ninjas:

Was the Third Hokage always right?