The world I hear is completely different from yours.

"Generally speaking, that's true, but what if we add that puppeteer named Tianqing? Such a powerful figure always has one or two trump cards that might be perfect for fortress warfare. If we wait until Konoha breaks through the fortress and arrives at the village, besieging the city, before requesting a ceasefire, we'll be in a very passive position." As a commander, thinking about defeat before engaging in battle is a basic quality!

"Understood, I'll go to the General Staff Headquarters right away." Ebizo immediately understood Chiyo's thoughts. In any case, the Sand Ninja had only come to the Land of Rain to see if there was an opportunity. Whether they could achieve victory was not their main goal. Naturally, they needed to secure a way out for themselves as soon as possible.

............

The Konoha military camp in the Land of Rain.

The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, put down the information he was holding about Ameyo's achievements in the Land of Wind and asked, seemingly casually, "Did Sarutobi and Danzo both read this intelligence report? And what were their reactions?"

The ANBU member delivering the intelligence seemed completely oblivious to Tobirama Senju's implied meaning, describing in a flat, methodical voice: "After reading the intelligence, Lord Danzo remained silent with a stern face, while Lord Sarutobi simply smiled wryly and congratulated Konoha on its victory in the Land of Wind."

Tobirama Senju sighed and nodded, signaling the Anbu to leave: "Very good, thank you for your hard work, go and rest."

"Yes." The secret agent bowed and left the tent.

Tobirama Senju sipped his tea casually, reflecting on the seeds of Konoha's future that he had chosen: "Under my tutelage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, Kagami Uchiha, and Ame-no-Kage have all proven their loyalty to Konoha through their actions. At the same time, their strength is indeed sufficient to shoulder the responsibilities of Hokage. Therefore, they all possess the basic qualifications to become the next Hokage."

"However, Uchiha Kagami has now become the head of the Uchiha clan, but the effects of Uchiha Madara's defection and attack on the village with the Nine-Tails are still there, so he can no longer become Hokage. And judging from his performance after seeing the information just now, Danzo's lack of magnanimity is also evident. Amehari's victory in the Land of Wind also means Konoha's victory. Even if he is his rival, he should prioritize the village at this moment, and at least should not show their discord in front of his subordinates. Therefore, Danzo is not on the list of candidates."

"As for Hiruzen Sarutobi..." Tobirama Senju thought of his most prized disciple, "His strength, battle achievements, and temperament are all excellent, but he was born at the wrong time. There is someone who is even more outstanding than him in every aspect!"

Just as Tobirama Senju was sighing, Tsunade walked in: "Grandpa Tobirama, it's time for today's treatment."

Not long ago, Tsunade successfully concocted an antidote for Hanzo's salamander venom. After that, through continuous treatment of Tobirama Senju, Tobirama, who was originally suffering from severe poisoning and on the verge of death, regained much of his vitality.

Chapter Seven: All I want to say is, who else?!

The high-ranking officials of Konoha, including Tobirama Senju himself, were well aware that his physical condition was far from what it used to be. On one hand, Tobirama was now in his forties, and his physical and mental abilities were rapidly declining from their peak. On the other hand, he had served as Hokage for nearly twenty years, and the long hours and intense work had severely worn down his body. The heavy workload also encroached on his personal training time, further diminishing his individual strength.

In the previous battle, Tobirama Senju's condition had severely declined, and he was not even half as strong as he was at his peak. Even with his two trump cards, space-time ninjutsu and the still undeveloped Impure World Reincarnation, he could only barely fight Hanzo to a draw. He was also poisoned, and if it weren't for Tsunade's timely treatment, Tobirama Senju would probably be dead by now.

"It seems it's time for me to retire," Tobirama Senju said with a self-deprecating smile. "I'm really not in the right state to continue serving as Hokage. I guess a new Hokage will take office after the war ends."

"It seems the future hope of the Senju clan rests on Tsunade and her brother." Tobirama Senju felt a little gratified as he watched Tsunade busily preparing the potion.

With the Senju clan's ninja ranks dwindling, Tsunade and her younger brother, Senju Nawaki, are arguably the only two promising ninjas among the current generation. The other newcomers have not only failed to inherit the Senju clan's Sage Body, but have also shown little talent as ninjas. It seems the Senju clan will soon fade into obscurity.

"But it doesn't matter," Tobirama Senju thought with a wry smile. He explained that he had followed Hashirama's instructions to encourage the Senju clan to abandon their traditional ninja identity and increase their sense of belonging to Konoha. As a result, the Senju clan had now completely integrated into Konoha and become one with the entire village. Even if the Senju clan's reputation declined in the future, the Konoha family would continue to prosper.

As for the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, which have always insisted on intermarriage within their own clans to maintain the purity of their bloodline, it is likely that they will also open up to intermarriage with other clans in the near future and join the Konoha family.

Although the current Shinobi World War is not yet over, Tobirama Senju has already begun to think about the post-war situation. Konoha is currently doing very well on all fronts, and it is estimated that the Shinobi World War will end soon, and Konoha will surely achieve final victory.

Currently, the Land of Fire faces four possible wars: a three-way war between the Land of Rain, the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth; a war between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire on the border of the Land of Wind; a defense war to prevent a sudden attack by the Land of Lightning; and a defense war to prevent a sudden attack by the Land of Water.

On the battlefield of the Land of Rain, when Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived with Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade, he immediately led his troops into the war against the Land of Rain. Just moments before, Tsunade, relying on an antidote she had concocted for Hanzo's salamander venom, joined forces with Jiraiya and Orochimaru to hold off Hanzo. Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already led the Konoha forces through the Land of Rain seven times, routing the Rain Ninja and causing them to flee in disarray.

Hanzo was unable to escape the combined attack of Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru. In the end, he could only watch helplessly as the Land of Rain was defeated. Moreover, he did not even dare to kill Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, who had exhausted their chakra. Instead, he bestowed upon them the title of "Sannin" and let them go.

Hanzo knew very well that if the three legendary Sannin died at his hands, not only himself, but the entire Land of Rain would likely be unable to withstand the retaliation from Konoha. Especially now that his Salamander venom had been neutralized, his title of "demigod" was nothing more than an exaggerated facade, and truly powerful nations wouldn't care.

Therefore, after the Land of Fire defeated the Land of Rain, Hanzo's original ambitions completely vanished. He not only yielded to the various great powers, but also relaxed his daily rigorous training, indulging in wine and women all day long, and no longer posed a threat to the various great powers.

Next, Konoha, riding the wave of its victory in the war, began a full-scale cleanup of the remnants of the Land of Earth's army remaining in the Land of Rain, and prepared to wage war against the Sand Ninja army. For a time, on the battlefield of the Land of Rain, Konoha overpowered the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, once again demonstrating its strength as the world's number one power.

On the front lines in the Land of Wind, Ame-no-Kage has already led the Konoha army into the country, advancing rapidly and likely reaching the Sand Village soon, making the situation even more favorable.

Meanwhile, the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth were locked in a fierce battle, and the closed-off Land of Water was engaged in the Blood Mist, actively fighting amongst themselves and killing each other. Therefore, the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water posed no threat to Konoha.

At this moment, Tobirama Senju surveyed the world and was surprised to find that the Land of Fire was now invincible. Shortly after the start of the Second Shinobi World War, Konoha, with its forces scattered across various fronts and surrounded by enemies on all sides, had achieved victory after victory, single-handedly defeating four opponents to ascend to the top and become the strongest. Can you believe it?

At this moment, Tobirama Senju just wanted to point at the Kage of the other major nations and shout: Who else?!

P.S. JD.com's computers are really unreliable. The hard drive contained a lot of unspeakable content. Of course, it's okay to get free movies with a computer purchase, but seriously, how many times has this computer been used? How long has it been used? So I've decided to return it.

Chapter 8 The Confused Hatake Sakumo

Surrounding the Sand Village are six massive fortresses built according to the terrain. The areas between these fortresses are cliffs or swamps that are difficult for large forces to traverse. Therefore, if the Konoha army wants to invade the Sand Village, it must choose and conquer one of these fortresses to open a path to the village.

Sakumo Hatake stood on a sand dune in the Gobi Desert, looking at the brightly lit fortress in the distance.

Upon discovering that the Konoha army had set up camp near the fortress, the Sand Ninja army within the fortress acted swiftly, reinforcing their defenses overnight and sending out continuous signals for reinforcements from other fortresses.

"Sakumo, what are you thinking about?" Tensei jumped up the sand dune from behind and asked Sakumo, who was staring blankly into the distance.

In this war, Sakumo Hatake, the "White Fang of Konoha," who should have shone brightly, did not achieve many military exploits. Because the Konoha army heavily utilized ranged puppet weapons in combat, the enemy often collapsed before close-quarters combat even began. Therefore, Sakumo Hatake, a close-combat ninja skilled in swordsmanship and fond of using chakra blades, did not have a particularly outstanding performance and naturally did not earn the prestigious title of "White Fang of Konoha."

Although his comrades all thought that Hatake Sakumo's swordsmanship was excellent, his skills were superb, and he was very effective at cutting people down, making him the number one killer in the entire army, few people knew that, without a large number of battle achievements, Hatake Sakumo's true strength at this moment was no less than that of the newly famous "Three Legendary Sannin".

However, Ameyoshi, Hatake Sakumo, and the Sannin were all classmates in the special training class of the Konoha Ninja Academy and had spent a lot of time together before. Therefore, Ameyoshi knew that Hatake Sakumo was not the kind of person who coveted fame and reputation and would not go to the sand dunes to sulk because his battle achievements were not outstanding.

"Are you thinking about that Sand Ninja couple from before?" Tianqing suddenly remembered the surprise attack mission not long ago.

Not long ago, Sakumo Hatake led a small team to a suspicious location for reconnaissance. They encountered a ninja couple who fought desperately to stop them. Hatake, instinctively assuming the location was an important military stronghold, immediately ordered a long-range bombardment, reducing all the Sand Ninja there to ashes. However, Hatake later discovered that the place had no military value whatsoever. The Sand Ninja couple were fighting so fiercely simply because their child was hidden there, and they were covering their child's retreat.

Perhaps because of this, Sakumo Hatake seemed much more somber after returning from his mission.

"Didn't Sakumo Hatake ever consider the cruelty of war before? War is not a dinner party; it involves bloodshed. Without this awareness, how did Sakumo Hatake ever step onto the battlefield in the first place?"

However, Tianqing has never been very good at playing the role of a caring older sister and lecturing confused teenagers. After all, she was just a civil servant in her previous life, not a political commissar, and she really couldn't do advanced skills like verbal persuasion and brainwashing.

So all Tianqing could do was come over and chat with her old classmate, so that Hatake Sakumo wouldn't get too caught up in his thoughts and become too conflicted, eventually leading to a severe sense of guilt and causing him to crash into a sand dune and die young, thus causing the future Konoha's number one technician, Hatake Kakashi, to die before he was even born. That would be terrible.

"Tenqing, I wonder how many men we'll have to lose to take this fortress?" Hatake Sakumo turned around and stared intently at Tenqing. As the commander-in-chief of the Konoha forces, Tenqing naturally had the authority to decide whether to launch an attack on the fortress.

Well, it seems that Sakumo Hatake has stopped dwelling on the previous battles and has decided to look to the future, caring about the safety of his comrades. Perhaps he has become more determined to protect them after witnessing the cruelty of war? Truly a man who would rather abandon a mission for his comrades.

Amemory patted Hatake Sakumo on the shoulder with a mysterious look: "Don't worry, I've already had the strategic department come up with a detailed plan. This time, we're going to fight a different kind of war."

..............

The next morning, many black cannon barrels were erected in front of the Konoha troops' positions. These were all the electromagnetic rocket launchers that the Konoha army had left, originally intended for the final attack on the Sand Village. However, Amemori ordered all the army's long-range firepower to be deployed into the battle.

"There is only one requirement: to bombard the Sand Village Fortress with as much ammunition as possible in the next few days, preparing to raze the entire fortress to the ground, even if it means using up all the ammunition in the army's reserves!" This is how the staff officers of the Strategic Department conveyed the previously designated plan to the squad leaders of the Konoha army.

Chapter Nine: Do you know the fun of blowing up poop?

"It's Konoha's long-range weapon!! Get to cover!!" As soon as Konoha erected the first barrel of the electromagnetic rocket launcher, the scouts in the Sand Village fortress discovered the anomaly. The Sand Village had suffered heavy losses under such long-range firepower before, so they naturally remembered this new weapon of Konoha. The cannon barrel erected high in Konoha's position had become an indelible nightmare in the hearts of the Sand Village.

The next moment, a deluge of electromagnetic rocket launchers rained down on the Sand Ninja Fortress. To the Sand Ninja within the fortress, the sky above had completely darkened; the morning sun was nowhere to be seen, leaving only countless black dots forming a vast expanse of floating clouds, like fireworks before the Grim Reaper appeared, ready to bring endless death.

Then, the shells came flying down like raindrops in a storm.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Numerous sparks of death erupted on the Sand Ninja's fortress, but this time, the damage was not significant.

The same move cannot be used twice against a Saint, because when you use it for the first time, the Saint will remember it and see through its weaknesses and flaws. When you use the same move a second time, the Saint can use it to counterattack.

Although the Sand Ninja are not Saint Seiya, after suffering heavy losses under Konoha's long-range firepower, they gradually figured out ways to defend against long-range attacks.

First, the Sand Ninja constructed numerous thick fortifications for their ninja to hide in. These fortifications were covered with at least 20cm of solid concrete, and the interiors were reinforced with simple earth-based barriers to further strengthen the outer shell. Therefore, in actual combat, Konoha's artillery shells could not penetrate these fortifications and harm the ninja inside.

Secondly, the Sand Ninja, through searching the post-battle battlefield, found several unexploded shells. Although they couldn't reverse engineer the shells' manufacturing process by deciphering the puppet cores, they discovered that the key to the shells' explosion lay in the earth and wind attribute clay fillings. The earth attribute clay was primarily responsible for initiating the detonation, while the wind attribute clay amplified the explosive power.

Therefore, based on the principle of lightning over earth in the chakra attribute system, the Sand Ninja drew many barriers on the outer shell of the giant fortress that emitted weak lightning chakra fluctuations. The sole function of these barriers was to act like antennas, sending weak lightning chakra fluctuations upwards towards the fortress, thereby interfering with the earth-attribute clay in the cannonballs. This greatly reduced the explosive power of many cannonballs, and some could not even be detonated, instead hitting the fortress's outer shell like solid iron balls.

Considering that this barrier is quite effective in defending against aerial shells, unexpectedly achieving results that were not anticipated at the beginning of its development, the Sand Ninja gave this barrier a rather good name: Anti-air Radar.

"Damn it! These cunning Sand Ninjas!" The Konoha captain in charge of the artillery fire looked at the battle situation in the Sand Ninja fortress and shouted angrily after realizing that the expected results had not been achieved.

"Keep firing! Don't stop, fill up all the shells in the logistics department! Bomb them to death!!" the captain shouted. Anyway, the orders from above were to attack regardless of losses, so of course he had to go all out and bombard them.

Just like how mischievous kids love to throw firecrackers and blow up poop, many men are inherently fond of the unique form of entertainment of throwing bombs. Targets like the Sand Fortress, which can only be bombed but cannot retaliate, are the favorite targets of bomb maniacs.

Watching the boxes of shells being taken from the logistics department's warehouse and loaded into the empty barrels of the electromagnetic rocket launcher, before being slowly aimed at the distant Sand Ninja Fortress and launched, finally blooming with deathly sparks on the fortress's outer shell, the captain's face was filled with a happy smile, even more excited than when he saw his son born, as if he were watching the world's greatest artistic creation, occasionally letting out a cheer or applause.

"Does that captain have a deep-seated grudge against the Sand Ninja?" After seeing the strange behavior of the Cannon Captain, Tianqing asked Hatake Sakumo curiously.

"No, as far as I know, his family life is very happy. His wife gave birth to a son last year."

"Then why is he so excited now?"

Hatake Sakumo shrugged: "Those who know him know that he has a twisted personality by nature. He gets extremely excited when he sees an explosion, which is why he gave up being the captain of the Jonin team and asked to be the squad leader of the artillery squad."

Tian Qing immediately understood that this guy was just a Konoha version of Deidara, all that was missing was the word "art" to make him explode.

Looking at the captain's satisfied expression, Tianqing guessed that he had no intention of becoming a rogue ninja like Deidara. He couldn't help but think to himself, "It seems that the Konoha higher-ups are good at recognizing and appointing people. Unlike that stubborn old man Onoki, Tobirama Senju has done a really good job."

Chapter Ten: The Endless Art of Bombing

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A whole day had passed, and the Konoha forces' long-range artillery bombardment had not ceased. At this moment, the Sand Village fortress was riddled with shell craters of all sizes, resembling a bald head covered in scars.

The air was filled with dust and smoke from the explosion, making many Sand Ninjas gasp for breath. Occasionally, the smell of blood mingled with the stench of the explosion, the last remnants of some of the Sand Ninjas who had been blasted into the world. The outer shell of the fortress had been almost completely blasted by the bombs, and the bodies of these Sand Ninjas had naturally been reduced to ashes.

Sano peeked out from his bunker, then quickly shrunk back in. In just a few seconds, his headscarf was covered in dust, as if he had just been buried alive.

"How's the situation outside?" Gui Li asked using sign language.

"The bombing in Konoha hasn't stopped yet. Many bunkers have already collapsed. The bunker of that Chunin on the other side has been blown up. He probably won't survive." Sano also used sign language to convey the information he had just seen to his teammates.

The prolonged bombing of Konoha produced a deafening roar. Due to the prolonged exposure to such high-decibel explosions, most of the Sand Ninja had temporarily lost their hearing, and thus they could only communicate with each other using sign language.

"But don't worry, we just received news that the village headquarters has sent its most elite troops. We'll be able to launch a counterattack soon!" Sano waved his arms excitedly, using sign language to convey the latest intelligence to his companions and boost their morale.

"Finally, I can vent my anger!" Gui Li thought to himself. "Once the village's reinforcements arrive, we'll make those bastards from Konoha pay!"

...............

"After a day of bombing, the Sand Village should have sent reinforcements by now, right? Since the area between different fortresses is not suitable for large-scale troop movement, the place where reinforcements can be sent the fastest is naturally the Sand Village headquarters. Therefore, the Sand Village is currently at its weakest point, with all its elite forces deployed!"

Tianqing piloted the Freedom Gundam alone, soaring high in the sky, passing the fortress, and flying towards the sky above the Sand Village.

"Well then, it's time to let the Sand Ninjas see what a true puppeteer's fighting style is all about!!"

This is Tianqing's plan.

According to intelligence from the Land of Rain, the Sand Ninja forces there are showing signs of retreating. However, it's estimated that the pro-war faction within the Sand Ninja still harbors illusions of future victory, so the Land of Wind is reluctant to announce its surrender. Therefore, Ameharu decides to further inflame the situation. If even the Sand Ninja Village, their rear base, is attacked, then the pro-war faction in the Land of Wind will likely have no choice but to surrender.

Therefore, starting this morning, the Konoha forces will conduct continuous long-range artillery bombardment of the Sand Village fortress without any regard for the loss of strategic materials and reserve ammunition. Through this endless, all-round bombardment, the Sand Village will believe that Konoha is about to launch a full-scale attack to completely capture the fortress in order to launch the next step of attacking the Sand Village.

Therefore, in order to prevent the fortress from falling, the Sand Ninja would continuously send reinforcements to the fortress. However, due to the geographical reason that the area between different fortresses was not suitable for large-scale troop movement, the only way to quickly reinforce the fortress was to draw troops from the Sand Ninja Village behind it.

Furthermore, since the Sand Village is surrounded by various fortresses and is very safe, the Sand Ninjas will try their best to draw as many guards from the village as possible to support the fortress troops that have suffered heavy losses at the front.

At this moment, Tianqing took advantage of his flight to launch an aerial attack on the Sand Village when its defenses were at their weakest.

This would force the Land of Wind to demand a ceasefire and peace talks without any casualties among the Konoha troops.

For Ameharu, ending the war in this way also had considerable advantages. She had already achieved remarkable feats, leading Konoha's forces to penetrate deep into the Land of Wind with minimal casualties. Such achievements were enough for her to surpass all other contenders for the Hokage throne.

However, if Amemori insists on ordering his troops to forcefully attack the Sand Village fortress to end the war, the Konoha forces will inevitably suffer considerable casualties during the assault on such a heavily fortified stronghold. These casualties would, in turn, lower Amemori's battle record, affecting his evaluation of merit and his reputation within the village. Therefore, for Amemori, ending the war without any casualties is the best option.

Another major reason was that Tianqing planned to observe the Freedom Gundam's performance in actual combat and to test his own strength once again. If he couldn't even defeat such an empty ninja village, how could he be qualified to return to his previous life and cause trouble for those bastards who made him abandon his physical body and transmigrate?

Right? Those Saiyans who fight all the time in the sky above the city?! Can I use ninjutsu to fight you guys?