Only I can make Konoha Village great again.

Ninjas are extremely mobile, especially those from the Hidden Cloud Village.

These ninjas, skilled in lightning release, are extremely fast and highly adaptable to the terrain.

Many Cloud Village ninjas, relying on their astonishing speed, successfully broke through the pursuit of Konoha ninjas and escaped Thunder Canyon.

Seeing the fleeing Cloud Village ninjas, Yamanaka Chukyu abandoned his unrealistic fantasies and ordered the Konoha ninjas to split into small teams and launch a limited pursuit.

He knew very well that the Konoha ninjas were exhausted after a long period of maneuvering and a series of battles, and annihilation was no longer possible.

Instead of wasting energy chasing after fleeing enemy troops, it would be better to hunt down as many Cloud Village ninjas and Moon Village ninjas as possible within two hours, then regroup the troops, clean up the battlefield, and consolidate the gains of victory.

As the ninja army dispersed, screams, sounds of fighting, and explosions spread throughout Thunder Canyon and the surrounding mountains.

At this moment, the battle in Thunder Canyon stopped. The battlefield was in a mess, with several layers of corpses piled on the ground, mixed with broken ninja tools and shattered armor.

The Konoha ninjas from the decoy squad did not participate in the pursuit; they collapsed wearily in the canyon, but their faces were beaming with victorious smiles.

With only 4,000 troops, they successfully defeated the combined forces of 4,000 Cloud Village ninjas and 2,000 Moon Village ninjas, killing at least 4,000 enemy ninjas, while suffering only 400 casualties themselves.

Such a victory would be an unprecedented triumph in the history of the ninja world.

Orochimaru walked up to Yamanaka Hatsuyu, his golden vertical pupils sweeping over the corpses on the ground, a satisfied smile playing on his lips: "Hatsuyu, well done."

"Congratulations on creating another miracle and achieving a glorious victory."

Yamanaka Chuuku nodded slightly and said with a smile, "Thank you, Orochimaru-sensei."

"But this is not my personal achievement. It is the result of Orochimaru-sensei's leadership and the joint efforts of the four thousand Konoha ninja who risked their lives."

"And it's still a bit of a shame."

"We have achieved a great victory, but the enemy has also inflicted considerable damage on us, and their main force has not yet been annihilated."

Orochimaru laughed loudly: "Kumakuha is a top-tier ninja village in the ninja world. Their ninjas are extremely skilled and not so easy to annihilate."

"Believe me, there will be no more fighting."

Yamanaka Chuuku was slightly taken aback: "The Fourth Raikage will admit defeat?"

Orochimaru nodded and said, "Yes."

"The Raikage of each generation may seem reckless and brutal, but in reality they are all shrewd and calculating individuals. Their greatest strength lies in assessing the situation, adjusting strategies in a timely manner, and executing them without hesitation."

"The Fourth Raikage will no longer engage in battle."

Yamanaka Chujiu was somewhat persuaded, but he was still worried that the war would not end there.

As it turns out, Shan Zhongchujiu's worries were unnecessary.

After the Cloud Village ninjas fled Thunder Canyon, a little over a thousand escaped the pursuit of the Leaf Village ninjas and brought news of their crushing defeat to the Fourth Raikage.

Instead of continuing the siege, Raikage A ordered all ninja units to retreat and return to Kumogakure to hold their positions.

He himself, along with eight Jinchuriki, Killer Bee, left with only two of them, following the guiding beacon left by Orochimaru, and found the Hidden Leaf Army that was resting in seclusion.

The moment they met, the Fourth Raikage said bluntly, "Kumogakure has surrendered. We need to restore peace with Konoha. Orochimaru, you can name your terms."

"I'll accept it if you think it's okay."

Orochimaru chuckled and turned to Yamanaka Hatsukyu, saying, "Look, the war is over."

Yamanaka Chujiu shook his head helplessly: "I'll go and inform everyone to lift the alert."

Orochimaru's negotiations with Raikage A went smoothly.

It went too smoothly.

Orochimaru made a series of demands for compensation, as well as for the spheres of influence of the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Fields.

To be fair, this condition is not harsh.

Since Yamanaka Chukyu arrived on the northern front, he has caused the deaths of 12,000 ninjas in the Hidden Cloud Village within three months.

This is an unbearable pain for the Hidden Cloud Village.

An even more devastating blow was the fall of Kumogakure, which weakened the Land of Lightning's reserve forces by almost 70%.

Not only is the Hidden Cloud Village currently unable to contend with the Hidden Leaf Village, but it is also unlikely that the Hidden Cloud Village will be able to recover within the next twelve years.

They would have to make a tremendous effort to maintain their existing sphere of influence under the oppression of Iwagakure.

At this time, the Land of Lightning was already beset by internal and external troubles.

The daimyo, nobles, and ninjas in the country were filled with fear and had no will to continue fighting.

Internationally, Iwagakure and Kirigakure are eyeing them covetously, and signs of invasion have already appeared on their borders with the Land of Earth and the Land of Water.

The Fourth Raikage knew that he had no way out.

Continuing the war with the Leaf Village ninjas will inevitably lead to invasions from the other two countries, and the destruction of the Land of Lightning will be imminent.

He had no choice but to surrender, giving up some interests in exchange for peace between Kumogakure and Konoha, so that he could concentrate his efforts on dealing with the provocations of his two neighboring countries.

Fortunately, Orochimaru had no intention of continuing the war and offered relatively undemanding conditions.

The Fourth Raikage accepted the offer without hesitation and held a public signing ceremony in the Hidden Cloud Village square.

A's face was devoid of a smile, his eyes concealing humiliation and indignation. He bowed before Orochimaru and signed the peace treaty.

The news of the battle at Thunder Canyon and the forced surrender of the Fourth Raikage spread like wildfire throughout the ninja world.

All the major and minor powers in the ninja world were shocked.

Who could have imagined that Orochimaru's 4,000 Konoha ninjas would be able to conquer Kumogakure, defeat the combined forces of Kumogakure and Tsukuyomi, who were several times larger than him, and force the powerful Kumogakure to surrender?

Thanks to this battle, Orochimaru's status far surpassed that of other Kage-level ninjas, and his prestige in Konoha Village soared to an unprecedented height.

The biggest impact of this victory was on the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The Third Hokage's "peace" policy, including his advocacy of sacrificing interests for peace and his opposition to initiating wars, has now become a joke.

His previous wariness of Orochimaru and his repeated suppression of him have become clear evidence of his incompetence.

Our Konoha Village is so powerful that Lord Orochimaru, with only 4,000 soldiers and the assistance of Hajime Yamanaka, was able to force the Fourth Raikage to surrender.

Why did we grovel and beg for peace from the Hidden Cloud Ninja?

What?

The Third Hokage said that many Konoha ninja would die if war broke out.

It's ridiculous. Lord Orochimaru has already proven that not many Konoha ninja will die.

Even if they die, Konoha ninjas would feel it is the greatest honor to die in a great victory!

What angered the Konoha ninja even more was that Orochimaru not only achieved a brilliant victory, but also secured huge benefits for the village.

The sphere of influence is unrelated to ordinary ninjas, but the compensation from Kumogakure is all in cash and can be used as bonuses, pensions, and disability allowances for Konoha ninjas.

The benefits of this victory truly reached everyone in Konoha Village.

Now, the villagers and ninjas of Konoha have only one question: When will Lord Orochimaru become the Fifth Hokage?