— — — — — —
"Huh?!"
Jiraiya's jaw practically hit the floor. "Wait, seriously?! The Third Raikage actually snuck off to raid Ōnoki's base?!"
"Hahahaha! Just imagine it! With how stingy and scheming that old man Ōnoki is, he's probably having a stroke right about now!"
Honestly, Jiraiya couldn't be happier. If Iwagakure and Kumogakure ended up tearing each other apart, even better!
"Haha! Looks like things are about to get real messy for the Land of Lightning and those Kumo shinobi!"
As far as he was concerned, this was great news.
"That's basically the plan," Renzo said with a grin, shrugging. "Leaving behind a crippled Third Raikage in Kumo Village at least guarantees that they won't descend into civil war anytime soon. That way, they can focus all their energy on dealing with Iwa's incoming invasion."
"Don't forget—Kumo took a massive hit on our side too. And the thousands of ninja they left behind in the Land of Earth? Yeah… odds aren't looking good for them."
"I'm not saying they'll get wiped out completely, but you can bet more than half of them won't be making it back. If they do, then that guy wouldn't be Ōnoki."
In the original timeline, the Third Raikage sacrificed himself to hold off over ten thousand Iwa-nin, buying enough time for the Kumo troops to retreat safely.
Now, without him there to play the martyr—even if they didn't go quite as deep into enemy territory as before—there's just no way they're pulling off a clean retreat.
"You're worried that Kumo's going to get totally curb-stomped by Ōnoki now, huh?" Jiraiya said, a bit speechless.
He honestly hadn't expected Renzo to think things through this far ahead.
"Heheh," Renzo chuckled. "If you want to control the whole board, you've got to think long-term. It's the only way Konoha comes out on top alone."
"Anyway, I'll leave the rest to you. I need to head back to Konoha and bring over a few people who actually know how to negotiate. I suck at this kind of thing. You aren't much better, honestly."
Renzo had seen enough to know what kind of guy Jiraiya was.
The guy had clearly been influenced by Hiruzen's whole "peace and goodwill" philosophy. No way he'd drive a hard bargain,
"No problem. Leave it to me. I can at least handle things on this end," Jiraiya said, thumping his chest with confidence.
Still, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. Getting saved not once, but twice by someone practically two generations younger? Yeah, his pride had definitely taken a hit.
After that, Renzo arranged for both the Third Raikage and Killer Bee to be placed in a secure tent under heavy watch, with Kakashi, Asuma, and the others taking shifts to guard them.
Before leaving, Renzo made sure to thoroughly check the Raikage's injuries. He patched up all the life-threatening ones, just enough to guarantee the guy wouldn't drop dead—and then stopped right there.
With that done, he activated the Flying Thunder God seal linked to the Hokage's office and swish!—vanished on the spot.
— — —
Meanwhile, over on the Iwa battlefield—
"Urgent report for Lord Tsuchikage! We're in serious trouble! Three days ago, the Third Raikage led thousands of Kumo shinobi in a surprise attack on over a dozen towns deep in our territory!"
"Everywhere they went, they slaughtered all ninja and any forces who tried to resist!"
"Please, Lord Tsuchikage—you have to send reinforcements immediately! If we delay any longer, it'll be too late!"
A battered and bloodshot Iwa shinobi dropped to his knees, having narrowly escaped with his life to deliver the message.
"What the hell did you just say?!"
Ōnoki shot up from his seat like a spring-loaded puppet. His vision swam as rage surged through him—he almost passed out right then and there.
"You useless fools! Why are you only reporting this now?! It's been three days! What, were all the scouts in those towns Kumo spies?!"
He roared like a madman, practically shaking with fury.
Three whole days! Even with some rough terrain, if they'd moved quickly, it shouldn't have taken more than two days to get word to him!
And yet this guy only shows up now?!
He was this close to killing someone on the spot.
The Iwa shinobi looked pained, nearly in tears. "Lord Tsuchikage! The Kumo ambush came out of nowhere. They were too well-prepared. They sent elite squads ahead of time to set up multiple layers of ambushes on every major route leading here."
"Most of the people who tried to send reports got wiped out. I only made it through because several of my comrades gave their lives to cover me!"
"Please, I beg you—send reinforcements now! We don't have time to worry about blame or punishment!"
The guy would've gladly taken a death sentence if it meant help would arrive in time. That was all he cared about.
"Kumogakure… you bastards…"
Ōnoki's jaw clenched so hard he almost cracked a tooth.
Just a month ago, he'd sent a confidential letter to the Raikage, inviting him to take advantage of Konoha's internal mess and join forces in an attack.
And this was the response?
They'd stabbed him in the back and torched his backyard instead?!
"Relay my orders immediately!"
Ōnoki bellowed, slamming his hand on the table. "Send the vanguard units with just enough supplies to travel light—get them moving back toward the homeland now!"
"All other forces are to regroup and prepare to march. We're heading back too—at full speed! No delays! Go!"
"Yes, sir!"
The dozen or so jōnin commanders in the war tent shouted in unison, then rushed out to assemble their squads.
"Father, what about the frontlines?" Kitsuchi asked, his expression serious.
Ōnoki furrowed his brows before giving a decisive answer. "Leave five ten-man squads to hold the border. At the same time, send a formal request to Konoha proposing a ceasefire and peace negotiations."
"Have an Elite Jonin stay behind to handle the talks. Tell him to stall for time—act calm, unhurried, like everything's under control. We can't afford to make Konoha suspicious."
"If they decide to launch a counterattack while we're distracted, we'll be in serious trouble. Got it?"
Ōnoki was visibly irritated. The situation had been perfectly in their favor—until the muscle-brained maniacs from Kumogakure decided to throw everything into chaos.
He really wanted to kill this damn Third Raikage.
"Yes, Father. I'll see to it right away!"
Kitsuchi wasted no time in getting to work.
Within minutes, the Iwa ninja's vanguard and portions of the Anbu were mobilized and began pulling back at top speed. The remaining troops were all scheduled to withdraw within the day.
Only a handful of small squads were left behind to watch the border.
---
Back at Konoha's camp
Orochimaru received a message half a day later—an envoy from Iwagakure delivering a letter requesting peace talks.
"Oh?"
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. "Peace talks? Now that's interesting. Didn't your Tsuchikage just a few days ago line up his forces like he was ready to go to war with us again?"
"So why the sudden retreat and change of heart?"
The Iwa messenger stiffened, clearly nervous. "It was... all a misunderstanding! Just a routine military exercise, that's all! The drills are over, so naturally... we're withdrawing. Heh..."
He forced a strained smile.
"Seriously?" Orochimaru clicked his tongue, clearly unimpressed. "That's the best lie you've got? Come on—we all know your rear lines got blitzed by the Third Raikage and his troops. What's there to hide?"
"W-What? How do you know about that?!"
The Iwa ninja's eyes widened in shock. That intel had only reached them hours ago—how did Konoha know already?
"Wait... don't tell me—"
Before he could finish that thought, Orochimaru casually raised a hand to cut him off. "Careful now. Don't go throwing around baseless accusations. We've been busy fighting the Kumo ninja nonstop. You think we've had time to team up with them just to screw you over?"
"Truth is, the Raikage and his people just have... a unique way of thinking. You got played, that's all."
"Y-Yeah... you're right."
The Iwa ninja nodded, now understanding. After all, the latest reports from their own side confirmed that the Kumo ninja had been clashing head-on with Konoha's forces.
The leaders on their side were Ay the Raikage's son, Killer Bee the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, and the elite kunoichi Yugito Nii.
It was that kind of lineup that had convinced even someone as cunning as Ōnoki to believe the front was solid.
He'd been fooled—just like everyone else.
"So... about those peace talks?"
The envoy asked cautiously, clearly worried he'd blown it.
They had clearly underestimated Konoha's intel network. The information gap was glaring now.
"Oh, I'm open to peace talks," Orochimaru said with a smile that sent shivers down the man's spine.
"But you can forget about the terms you had in mind before. You better prepare to offer Konoha some serious compensation—otherwise, we might just take this chance to push back and invade Iwa instead. Hehehe…"
Now that the tables had turned, there was no way he was going to waste this opportunity.
After all, this whole situation had only been possible thanks to Renzo sending critical intel in advance—via the Red Queen.
That's right.
Orochimaru had learned about the Kumo and Iwa conflict, and even their battle formations and strategies, hours ago.
Renzo had transmitted everything through their communication rings, and even granted him partial access to satellite surveillance.
Thanks to that, Orochimaru could now view real-time updates of the situation in the Land of Earth—watching the skirmishes between the Kumo and Iwa ninja unfold with frightening precision.
As of now, the forward units of Kumogakure were still clashing directly with Iwa's forces.
Meanwhile, the Kumo troops had already begun looting supplies and prepping for withdrawal—following the final orders the Third Raikage had issued before his incapacitation.
The Raikage wasn't willing to let his forces continue their rampage deep behind enemy lines without him.
Ōnoki wasn't an idiot, he would catch on soon enough. And when he did... he wouldn't be so easy to deal with.
It was clear that the Third Raikage wasn't just a bravewarrior—he was also a sharp, compassionate leader who put his people's safety first whenever possible.
The problem was... he was toobrave for his own good. Sometimes, that fearlessness crossed the line into recklessness.
.
.
.