Living in the World of Naruto, Marrying Tsunade

Iwagakure hadn't even encountered Arata yet, and they had already issued a full retreat order. It sounded unbelievable, but given the circumstances, it was a decision born of necessity.

This move left the Iwa allied forces utterly confused. They couldn't understand why they were being told to withdraw for no apparent reason. After all, they currently held the advantage.

They had Konoha on the back foot, Sunagakure's forces had suffered even heavier casualties than Iwa, and Amegakure's troops were hardly formidable to begin with—only Hanzō of the Salamander had any real combat power.

Under such conditions, there was simply no reason to retreat while holding the upper hand.

Many Iwa shinobi began questioning Ōnoki's decision. Some of the more hawkish faction even confronted him directly.

But Ōnoki's authority in Iwagakure was absolute. His word had always been final, and no one was allowed to challenge his orders.

After he lost his temper and forcefully shut them down, the entire Iwa army finally settled down.

Later, some of the dissenting shinobi were quietly told the truth—the reason for Iwa's retreat was Konoha's Blue Lightning, Arata.

Ordinary shinobi naturally didn't know about Arata's recent feats. In the end, Ōnoki couldn't suppress everyone's curiosity, so he secretly instructed the higher-ups to reveal bits and pieces.

They had initially concealed the truth out of fear that widespread panic would break discipline during the retreat and turn it into a rout, giving enemy nations an opportunity to exploit the chaos.

But since people were already causing a stir without knowing anything, they had no choice but to disclose part of the truth.

Once the shinobi learned that Arata's strength could rival the legendary God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, and the Asura of the Shinobi World, Uchiha Madara, the entire Iwa camp erupted in shock.

Those two names still carried immense weight. Even though Madara and Hashirama had faded from the world stage for over a decade, their legends were still widely passed down.

The idea that a mere nineteen-year-old like Arata had reached the same realm sounded unbelievable. But whether they believed it or not didn't matter—Ōnoki's retreat order spoke for itself. If not for a monster like Arata, why would Iwagakure withdraw?

They all understood that even if the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, personally arrived with reinforcements, the battlefield would at most reach a stalemate. With Sunagakure's help, the war wouldn't end easily, and victory would still be undecided.

But the gap between Hiruzen and Arata was enormous. The difference between a mid-Kage and a peak Super-Kage wasn't something words could measure. It was like a Kage facing a chakra-less civilian—complete domination.

In the end, this information convinced all Iwa shinobi to accept the retreat, though many still wondered whether Arata was truly that powerful.

Verifying it would be simple—just see whether the Land of Fire had really lost a dozen-kilometer stretch of territory. That kind of information was easy to confirm, even from distant Iwagakure.

If it proved true, news of that battle would soon spread across the entire shinobi world. At that point, Iwa's withdrawal wouldn't look so embarrassing.

Charging head-on against a peak Super-Kage monster would be foolish. Their retreat would instead show calm and wise leadership.

After that, Iwa's withdrawal proceeded in perfect order, without any chaos.

Even the Amegakure shinobi who had been monitoring their camp only noticed something was wrong after the place was completely empty. When they finally entered the camp, they discovered Iwa had already pulled out.

The Ame shinobi were utterly stunned. They never expected Iwa—who had held the advantage throughout the war—to retreat at such a crucial moment.

These scouts had been stationed by Hanzō as insurance, to ensure that while he was entangled with Konoha, his rear wouldn't be attacked by Iwa or Suna.

Their mission was simple: the moment Iwa showed signs of mobilizing, they would report back immediately without engaging.

Even if they suffered casualties, at least they could ensure a timely response instead of being caught completely off guard after their retreat route was cut.

But the situation had exceeded all expectations. They had assumed Iwa would rush to reinforce once they received news. Instead, Iwa had fled swiftly and discreetly, as if afraid of being hunted down.

It was hard to believe what they were seeing.

One Ame shinobi asked,

"Captain, what's going on? Why would Iwa suddenly retreat?"

The jōnin captain looked just as confused.

"Who knows what Ōnoki is thinking. But their retreat is good for us."

Another said,

"Could it be a trick? What if they come back?"

The captain shook his head.

"Probably not. They didn't even leave traps. Looks like a real emergency forced them to withdraw."

After checking carefully, they confirmed there were indeed no traps. Iwa's retreat had clearly been hurried.

What they couldn't understand was what kind of crisis could scare Iwa into such a rushed withdrawal.

Could Kirigakure have launched a sudden counterattack deep into the Land of Earth?

They had no way of knowing yet. After confirming the camp was empty, they immediately withdrew.

After all, Kirigakure was far from the Land of Rain. Even if spies obtained information, it would take at least a week.

Amegakure's overall strength was far weaker than a great nation's. The Land of Earth could afford to send elite jōnin as spies, but Ame's spies were usually just regular jōnin. Their travel speed and intelligence timeliness lagged far behind.

This was the tragedy of small nations—one step behind meant falling behind at every step. Many wars unfolded under such conditions, which was why small countries were suppressed by great nations for generations.