Living in the World of Naruto, Marrying Tsunade

At the western border of the Land of Rain, where the Land of Wind's main camp was stationed, the shinobi of the Sunagakure had already begun an orderly withdrawal under the command of their higher-ups.

If one looked at the timing, the Suna's retreat was almost perfectly synchronized with Iwagakure's. The two sides had practically withdrawn at the same moment, showing a certain unspoken understanding between the two nations.

Both leadership groups had remained calm. They were not blinded by what seemed like an imminent victory. Instead, they immediately realized that retreat was the wisest choice—trying to clash head-on with a monster like Arata was simply irrational.

Just like the situation on Iwagakure's side, the Suna's main forces were initially filled with confusion.

They could not understand why they were retreating when victory seemed so close.

After all, they were already extremely near the Land of Fire—one more push and they could have invaded its very heartland, seizing vast stretches of fertile land.

Konoha's main elite forces were tied down in the Land of Rain. Their high-end combatants had suffered heavily—Hyūga Higurashi had died at the hands of the Suna, and their overall commander Danzō had lost an arm to Ōnoki.

As things stood, Konoha's remaining high-level fighters were merely Hiruzen's three disciples:

Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya.

Though strong, few believed they could stand against the "Hanzō of the Salamander," the man acknowledged throughout the world as a demigod.

Hanzō's title had not been given lightly—it had been carved out through countless battles. Numerous elite jōnin had died by his hand.

Compared to him, the three prodigies of Konoha were still seen as merely elite jōnin.

In the eyes of most Suna shinobi, those three were as good as dead.

With Konoha's high-end combat power seemingly crippled and their frontline forces reduced to only around forty percent, the decision to retreat made no sense to ordinary soldiers.

To mid-level shinobi, they held a massive advantage.

It felt like they could simply charge forward and win.

So why retreat?

Wasn't that madness?

Yet despite their doubts, no one dared openly question the decision.

The Land of Wind had always operated under absolute Kazekage rule.

Once the Kazekage made a decision, everyone obeyed without question.

Even during the later Chūnin Exams, a single command would be enough to make every Suna shinobi launch an all-out assault on Konoha without hesitation.

That was simply the culture of the Land of Wind.

So although doubts existed, no mutiny arose—unlike Iwagakure, where Ōnoki had to send officials to explain and calm the troops.

Even so, Shamon understood that secrets could not be hidden forever.

He ordered the higher-ups to select articulate jōnin and persuasive chūnin to explain the reason behind the retreat.

The purpose was to prepare the soldiers mentally.

They needed to understand the reality they were facing:

A monster at the Super-Kage peak.

If the troops remained ignorant, then once battle resumed, many would charge forward recklessly and throw away their lives.

Shamon needed them informed—but not panicked.

That was why only skilled speakers were chosen. If the message was delivered poorly, it could easily cause fear to spread throughout the nation.

As for the Konoha Encirclement Plan, Shamon had no intention of revealing it. The fewer people who knew, the better.

Thus, these selected shinobi only explained Arata's strength—while carefully avoiding mention of the alliance.

Gradually, under their explanations, the Suna shinobi began to understand.

The message spread among them was simple:

Konoha possessed a Super-Kage peak monster.

If the war continued, the Land of Wind would become Arata's first major target.

After all, the Sunagakure had provoked the Land of Fire for years. Their hatred ran deep.

Once Arata arrived on the battlefield, aside from the Land of Rain itself, the Suna would naturally become his next target.

Even the most ignorant shinobi had heard of the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju.

Many truly revered him as a god.

So when they heard the term "Super-Kage peak," they immediately understood the implication.

Against that kind of opponent, none of them dared speak of continuing the fight.

Fortunately, the messengers delivered the news tactfully.

They emphasized that although Arata was overwhelmingly powerful, he was not bloodthirsty.

If the Suna retreated and refused to give him an opportunity, he likely would not pursue them aggressively.

That reassurance helped calm the troops.

It was also believable.

Arata's reputation had not begun at Uzushiogakure alone.

Earlier, when he fought the Land of Lightning by himself, his name had already shaken the world—and the Suna themselves had widely spread stories of his feats.

At the time, many Suna shinobi had even criticized him for being too soft-hearted.

If it had been a Suna ninja, they said, they would have slaughtered the retreating Lightning forces and perhaps even invaded the Land of Lightning itself.

Because of that, this explanation quickly gained acceptance.

Still, they were deeply shaken by Arata's power.

According to the stories spreading through the camp, Arata had split Uzushiogakure in half with a single slash, and later caused vast portions of the Land of Fire to sink into the sea during battle.

Such feats were beyond imagination—so unbelievable that many struggled to accept they were the work of a single human being.

By this point, many Suna shinobi had placed Arata on the same level as Hashirama Senju himself.

And since Arata truly possessed Super-Kage peak strength, such treatment felt justified.

And so, the unrest faded.

The Suna shinobi quietly packed up their camp and began marching back toward the Land of Wind.

Meanwhile, far away in the camp of Iwagakure, an almost identical scene was unfolding…