Chapter 3: Victory Is the Only Way to Negotiate
"Big Brother, the Kazekage has returned. The village has summoned you back immediately!" Pakura called out anxiously.
"Pack up and get ready to return to the village. Be prepared—we'll be heading to the battlefield soon," Jinghang instructed as he adjusted his battle attire.
The Second Kazekage had indeed returned, but he came back lying down.
The war in the Land of Rain had been treacherous from the very beginning. Just as Sunagakure and Amegakure were locked in fierce combat, Konoha intervened—not with seasoned veterans like Shimura Danzō or Akimichi Torifu, but with a team led by the younger generation: Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade. Their target wasn't the invading Sunagakure but the besieged Amegakure.
Under this new pressure, Amegakure was forced to shift its focus. Hanzō of the Salamander, the leader of Amegakure, decisively ceded large swathes of territory to Sunagakure and concentrated his forces against the incoming Konoha troops. On the battlefield, Hanzō summoned his salamander, Ibuse, to release a massive cloud of poison, incapacitating many Konoha ninjas. In the end, only Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade remained standing. Impressed by their resilience, Hanzō bestowed upon them the title of the "Legendary Sannin."
Though Konoha emerged victorious in this battle, it was a pyrrhic victory. Amegakure, however, was left with no choice but to align itself with Konoha. Meanwhile, the exhausted Sunagakure forces, instead of pressing their advantage, chose to sit back and watch the chaos unfold, hoping to reap the benefits later. But they underestimated the strength of Konoha's younger generation, who ultimately forced Hanzō into submission.
At this critical juncture, Danzō led Konoha reinforcements to the battlefield, forcing the Second Kazekage, Shamon, to engage in a grueling battle against this new adversary.
The Land of Rain's wet and humid climate was ill-suited for Sunagakure's desert-trained ninjas. The prolonged stalemate drained their resources, and without the promised funding from the frugal Daimyō of the Land of Wind, supplies dwindled. Weapons and tools were in short supply, and when the battle against Konoha began, Sunagakure was immediately at a disadvantage.
Even Chiyo's poisons, once a formidable weapon, were rendered ineffective by Tsunade's medical expertise. Frustrated, Chiyo struggled to find a countermeasure. Shamon, hoping to turn the tide with his exceptional personal strength, found himself evenly matched against Danzō and Uchiha Kagami. Despite his best efforts, Shamon could only manage a stalemate.
Sunagakure's forces suffered heavy losses, losing many elite Jōnin. Their defensive lines were on the verge of collapse.
As the saying goes, "A long defense is bound to fail." Sensing an opportunity, Danzō launched a concentrated attack on Sunagakure's defenses. The lines crumbled almost instantly. Shamon took it upon himself to cover the retreat, but this played right into Danzō's hands.