The great victory of the Hidden Stone in the northern battlefield.
The withdrawal of the Hidden Leaf army in the southern battlefield.
Both pieces of news swept across the entire ninja world at once. As one of the parties involved, Menma had people constantly monitoring the movements of every major nation. Among them, the Sand's retreat had been the swiftest.
In Baki's own words, they would do as much as they were paid for. Talking about "friendship" or "loyalty" between nations and villages was laughable. The so-called era of peace built on "mutual understanding" by Hashirama Senju or Naruto Uzumaki in the original timeline had been founded entirely on overwhelming personal power. Perhaps some people truly had been moved by Hashirama and Naruto—but if those two hadn't possessed that level of strength and status, would the Kage of the Great Villages have been moved at all?
Probably not. The real question would have been whether they even dared to move.
The Six Paths-level power of Naruto and Sasuke aside, even among those considered "Super Kage," ten Onokis or ten Third Raikages combined wouldn't have been enough for Hashirama Senju to handle with one hand. The tier "below Six Paths but above Super Kage" had been created specifically for Hashirama and Madara Uchiha in their prime.
Strength was the only true guarantee of justice.
Truth always rested in the palm of the strong.
At least in this world, that was the most accurate statement.
Therefore, there could never be genuine friendship between the Five Great Nations, nor could eternal peace ever exist. The joint operation between the Leaf, Mist, and Sand in this war was the best proof of that. The Mist, at least, had its own core interest at stake—the Six-Tails.
The Sand had simply been doing business for money.
If the Leaf had been overwhelmingly dominant, Baki naturally would have cooperated to the end. But once it became obvious that the Leaf was running out of steam and the Mist had already withdrawn on its own, only a fool would keep helping the Leaf.
Staying at the forward base a little longer had already been the limit of Baki's courtesy as the Fifth Kazekage. After that, he found a convenient excuse and led the bulk of his forces back into the heart of Wind Country.
When Menma received the report, he had been considering whether to pull some forces from the Hidden Grass to further pressure and intimidate the Leaf.
Instead, the news of the Leaf's full withdrawal reached him first.
"Oh? You're certain the main force has withdrawn? Or is it only a small detachment? The difference is huge."
Menma set down the scroll and looked at Doran, who had come to report, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Yes, Lord Menma. It has been confirmed multiple times. They aren't even trying to hide it—they're withdrawing openly. Also, this letter was sent by the Leaf side. They said it must be read by you personally. We've already confirmed there are no special jutsu on it."
Doran bowed respectfully as he spoke, then pulled a blue scroll from his vest and offered it with both hands.
A young Waterfall shinobi standing guard nearby stepped forward at Menma's nod, took the scroll from Doran, and placed it on Menma's desk.
Menma's perception expanded and completely enveloped the scroll.
Although he didn't think Jiraiya and the others would resort to something so underhanded, and he trusted Doran's team, necessary caution was never optional. This level of vigilance had been carved into Menma's bones long ago. Without it, he would have become a pile of bones years earlier.
Chakra flowed over the scroll in a sweeping scan.
Once he confirmed there was no issue, Menma calmly unrolled it. The moment he read the contents, his eyes narrowed.
The message was short.
The core point was only one:
Jiraiya wanted a private meeting with Menma.
He even swore on his own honor that he truly just wanted to meet—nothing else, no tricks.
'Jiraiya, huh?'
The image of the legendary Toad Sage rose in Menma's mind. In his previous life, this had been one of his favorite characters.
But now…
To Menma, it was nothing but a joke.
He shook his head lightly, then casually tossed the scroll into the trash bin beside his desk.
A meeting?
Sorry.
If it had been much earlier, Menma might have still had some interest. But after the continuous battles and one frustrating conversation after another, he had already lost all patience and interest.
Their paths were different. They could never walk together.
Jiraiya was destined to be his enemy.
Menma no longer saw any meaning or value in talking with him. Enemies had to be completely eradicated.
"Go. Continue monitoring the Leaf and the Sand. Also, send my congratulations to the Hidden Stone in my name."
After all, they were still nominal allies, weren't they?
Besides, from an outsider's perspective, this war had been the Waterfall-Grass alliance and the Hidden Stone joining forces to fight the other four Great Villages. The formal gesture of congratulations was necessary. Menma also intended to use this opportunity to probe the Third Tsuchikage's true intentions once more.
The alliance was now paper-thin and could be seen through at a glance.
But Menma still needed to determine whether there was any critical buffer period left. Based on Onoki's attitude, he would decide his next strategic moves—because after this war, Menma could already foresee a future where they would be surrounded by enemies on all four sides.
This was an inevitable trend.
Menma had to prepare for it well in advance.
This was required by the current situation, and it was also the fate dictated by geography.
"Yes, Lord Menma. Please rest assured!"
Doran bowed deeply once more, then turned and left immediately.
With the Sand and Leaf both withdrawing, and the smoke of war slowly fading, the Hidden Waterfall and Hidden Grass also began their own orderly withdrawal preparations under Menma's different orders.
However, these were only preliminary steps. Until he was one hundred percent certain that the enemy's main forces had completely left the border, Menma would never allow all the Waterfall and Grass shinobi to pull back. What if the enemy suddenly turned around and charged back?
Unlike the Five Great Nations with their vast territories—where losing some land would compress strategic space and cost interests (as the Cloud was now experiencing), it might hurt but would never be fatal—these smaller nations were different. They had only a handful of strategic strongholds. Once lost, the enemy could drive straight in without worrying about any other factors.
Caution was absolutely necessary.
Even if they could finally withdraw later, given the current state of the ninja world, they would still need to maintain a proper garrison at the front lines. Fu, Utakata, and the others would also have to allocate their time accordingly, staying near the forward bases so they could provide immediate support at any moment.
At the same time…
Hundreds of kilometers away from the Waterfall's forward base, on a wide plain…
Jiraiya stood alone on a relatively high earthen slope, gazing northwest. The Leaf army had already withdrawn under his orders. Aside from a small number of garrison troops left at the forward bases according to standard protocol, the rest had returned to the village under Inoichi and Nara Shikaku's command.
Kakashi and Choza had wanted to stay behind with Jiraiya.
But he had refused them both.
He wanted to meet Menma here alone. This was his sincerity—at least, that was how he saw it. Jiraiya planned to give Menma one final piece of advice. Everything was not yet completely irreversible.
However, Jiraiya was destined to be disappointed.
The appointed time was 11 a.m. Jiraiya had arrived a little after 9 a.m. and waited until the sun set and dusk fell.
He never saw Menma's figure appear.
Jiraiya's heart sank bit by bit. The determination in his eyes slowly turned into disappointment.
You really won't give even the slightest chance?
In the end, Jiraiya still carried that wavering nature. Many times he clearly knew he had to make a firm decision, but in the end…
He would still hesitate.
From this perspective, Nagato truly had been a disciple worthy of Jiraiya. The two shared many overlapping traits in personality. The most classic example was after the Leaf Invasion Plan failed.
The scene where Nagato was talked down by Naruto.
At the time, it felt like Naruto was incredibly hot-blooded and responsible. Looking back now, every word of Naruto's persuasion had been hollow and empty.
When Nagato asked Naruto about "pain" while subduing him, Naruto couldn't answer or explain it directly at all.
Silence had been Naruto's best response.
That had clearly been the moment Nagato had backed Naruto into a moral corner.
And yet, in the end, Naruto had managed to move Nagato simply by shouting slogans!?
It was an utterly absurd outcome.
Or perhaps it should be said that deep in Nagato's heart, he had always carried the same obsession as Naruto and Jiraiya. But it also showed the slight "weakness" and "naivety" in Nagato's personality that he shared with Jiraiya.
Jiraiya's death. Nagato's defeat.
Both had been inevitable results born from uncertain factors.
This was also one of the biggest reasons Menma refused to believe in Jiraiya and no longer saw any value in him.
The last lingering thread of sentiment…
Had been ruthlessly severed by Menma.
As the final rays of sunset faded from the earth…
Jiraiya took one last deep look toward Menma's direction. Then, with a powerful burst of chakra from his feet, the legendary Toad Sage turned and left.
Just as he had never been able to understand Orochimaru back then, the current Jiraiya would never be able to understand Menma.
The figure walking farther and farther away.
Two parallel lines that could never intersect.
The slowly darkening sky.
The moment the two completely overlapped…
It signaled the arrival of night.
The danger that had nearly completely receded…
After repeated scouting and final confirmation that both major villages' main forces had left the front lines…
Menma finally ordered the majority of the Waterfall and Grass shinobi—who had already been prepared—to withdraw back to their respective villages in orderly batches.
Only the necessary garrison troops were left at the forward bases on both flanks.
The Hidden Grass, in particular, could breathe a little easier. Menma understood the Sand's nature better than anyone.
Calling them "bullying the weak and fearing the strong" might be a bit harsh.
But under normal circumstances, even if you gave the Sand several times more courage, Menma didn't believe they would launch an aggressive advance without any external factors pushing them.
Setting aside the Waterfall-Grass alliance he currently led…
From the current power balance among the villages, the title of the "Five Great Nations" had already become somewhat inaccurate.
Both the Sand and the Mist had clearly fallen behind.
Especially the latter. They had lost two Jinchuriki in succession. The Fourth Mizukage had died under suspicious circumstances. They still hadn't been able to choose a successor.
And now they had suffered another devastating blow.
Their only remaining advantage was the foundation they had built over the years. But compared to the established structure of the Five Great Nations, it was truly precarious.
The Sand was in roughly the same boat.
The only thing slightly better than the Mist was that their One-Tail was still under their control—but that was only thanks to Tsunade's "generosity." If Danzo had been in charge, the Sand would never have gotten the One-Tail back in this lifetime.
Moreover, the Sand's geographical position was obviously far worse than the Mist's.
Overall…
They were two pitiful brothers in hardship.
Menma didn't need to worry too much about the Sand right now. Similarly, the Cloud—which had been heavily damaged first by him and then by the Stone—didn't require much attention at the moment either. In the battle for the Mount Tsumuji stronghold, the Cloud had suffered another three to four thousand casualties, with over a third dead. The Fourth Raikage, who had only just begun to recover, had been wounded again in direct combat with Kitsuchi.
Even though Killer B truly deserved his title as a perfect Jinchuriki and could fight like a thousand-man army by himself…
The Stone had two Jinchuriki of their own.
While Roshi and Han together might not be able to defeat Killer B outright, they could at least neutralize the terrifying threat he posed.
In the remaining battle groups…
Elite Stone shinobi like Akatsuchi and the others had been able to tear through the Cloud's defensive lines.
Once again, in utter helplessness and with the situation on the verge of collapse, the Fourth Raikage had been forced to grit his teeth and order another retreat.
This withdrawal…
Meant the complete defeat of the Hidden Cloud.
Of course, the Fourth Raikage might not accept it so easily. But Onoki was determined to force that stubborn mule to bow his head.
No matter how you looked at it, the Cloud would not be able to threaten Menma again anytime soon.
Instead, the Hidden Stone…
Would become Menma's greatest enemy going forward.
Therefore, after securing the defensive lines against the Hidden Leaf, Menma shifted his main focus to the northwest region.
If Menma had to choose…
In his view, the Hidden Stone led by Onoki posed the greatest strategic threat to his side.
That old man was far more decisive than Tsunade or Jiraiya, and far more rational and calculating than Danzo.
He was a truly troublesome old fox.
The different judgments made by the different nations.
The ninja world that continued to stir.
The war flames still burning in the north.
Onoki could calmly continue his village's strategy and keep pressuring the Cloud.
But the Hidden Leaf had fallen into an extremely awkward position—unable to advance or retreat.
Jiraiya couldn't make a rational decision.
He could only send the problem back to Tsunade.
But faced with this situation, Tsunade was also suffering a massive headache. Who could have predicted that everything would look so promising before the war—victory seeming almost certain—only for it to end like this!?
The moment she received the frontline report, Tsunade felt her entire world tilt.
What kind of joke was this?
Three villages applying overwhelming pressure together, and this was the result?
Even if the Sand had been slacking off, the main battlefield had still been a solid eight-thousand-strong army from the Leaf and Mist combined. That scale ranked among the largest deployments in any major village war in history.
The shinobi the Leaf had sent were all elites of the elite. Every major clan had dispatched their best members. And they still lost!?
How was Tsunade supposed to accept that?
And as if that terrible news wasn't enough, another disaster arrived at the same time: the Leaf units stationed in the rear—responsible for patrols, supervision, and logistics—had been ambushed by enemies of unknown identity.
Dozens of shinobi had been killed. Most critically, the Hyuga clan members tasked with rear security—including the most important main-branch member—had all gone missing!!!
This was like pouring oil on a fire.
What made Tsunade even more furious was that the so-called "unknown identity" was nothing more than a polite lie for the public.
The ANBU's full investigation had already uncovered clear traces.
The unmistakable scent of a snake.
There was only one person that could mean.
Orochimaru!!!
The first name that came to mind.
The most terrifying part was whether that bastard was simply interested in the Byakugan or if he was actually coordinating with Menma. There was no way to know right now.
The only thing Tsunade could be certain of was that the Hidden Leaf was in deep trouble.
"Why does nothing ever go smoothly…?"
Tsunade let out a long, helpless sigh.