Although Konoha won the decisive battle with Sunagakure this time, it also paid a very heavy price.
More than 10,000 ninjas were deployed, over 3,000 were killed, and nearly all others were injured. Many of them will no longer be able to live as shinobi. After returning to Konoha, only two outcomes await them: either to start a small business on their own or to continue working as civilians.
According to Asakura's understanding, Konoha's attitude toward these severely wounded individuals is relatively humane. Some other shinobi villages, due to lack of resources, are forced to abandon their wounded — either expelling them from the village or, in extreme cases, killing them and burying them on the spot.
After getting a rough estimate of Konoha's casualties, Chao Yanqian began to do the math in his mind.
In terms of current military strength, Konoha could still go head-to-head with a major shinobi village, but after such a battle, its overall power would fall to a critical low point.
I remember that in the original story, Konoha once compromised with Kumogakure and tried to exchange Hyuga Hiashi's life for peace. At that time, Konoha had just come out of several conflicts and had lost the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, during the Nine-Tails' attack. That period marked one of the weakest stages in Konoha's history.
However, Konoha is still very strong now and continues to stand proudly as the "Number One Village in the Shinobi World."
Especially after defeating Sunagakure, Konoha's prestige will experience a short-lived resurgence until the next war begins.
In the original Naruto manga, Konoha clashed with the four major shinobi villages—Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure—during the Third Great Ninja War. In the early stages of the war, Konoha's strength was sufficient to hold its own, but as the war dragged on, its power began to decline, making things more difficult.
Therefore, Chao Yanqian still has a few years to grow stronger—at least strong enough to survive the coming war.
After analyzing the current shinobi world situation, Chao Yanqian felt a sense of unease.
Being born into such a chaotic era, simply surviving is a challenge. Chao Yanqian must now plan for his own future. If he wishes to become strong in the future, he must first survive these next few years of the Third Great Ninja War.
Tsunade and Orochimaru are undoubtedly the key figures of this era. Especially Orochimaru—if one wants to quickly increase their strength, studying forbidden techniques is the fastest way.
Although the situation involving Uchiha Chizuru disrupted Orochimaru's plans to study the Sharingan, Chao Yanqian would never believe Orochimaru had given up on using him.
Especially now that Chao Yanqian knows some of Orochimaru's secrets, his own abilities would be very useful for Orochimaru's forbidden experiments.
In the following days, aside from helping treat the wounded in camp, Chao Yanqian spent the rest of his time training outside, all while waiting for a signal from Orochimaru.
Unfortunately, ten days passed, and not only did Orochimaru not appear, not even a single snake — his usual summoning messenger — showed up.
It wasn't until the tenth day that Sunagakure sent envoys to express the desire for peace talks, and Chao Yanqian received an order from Orochimaru. But the order was simply to return to Konoha. As for Orochimaru himself, Chao Yanqian never saw him.
That night, the group of returning ninjas rested in the camp, preparing to head back to Konoha the next day.
The welcoming ceremony in the village was unprecedented. This was Konoha's first major victory in the Third Great Ninja War. It severely dampened Sunagakure's morale and greatly boosted Konoha's reputation. After this battle, many mission clients would likely prioritize Konoha.
With an increase in missions, Konoha's system would resume full operation. Ninjas would not only gain more experience but also have more opportunities to earn money.
When Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Minato Namikaze walked into the village side by side, thunderous cheers erupted from the crowd. At that moment, they were the stars of the village—dazzling and triumphant.
Asakura followed closely behind Tsunade. Many people noticed him walking prominently near the front. To match the atmosphere, Asakura had to maintain an expression of confidence and pride.
Konoha's high-ranking officials were almost all present, except for Shimura Danzo. Occasionally, eyes from the Konoha Council swept across them, observing their expressions.
The Third Hokage looked at his two students with satisfaction.
After experiencing the Second Great Ninja War, the trio of Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade had matured. In this battle, Orochimaru's leadership was particularly outstanding, making Hiruzen Sarutobi very proud.
At this time, Orochimaru was still Hiruzen's favorite disciple the one he most hoped would succeed him as Hokage. If he hadn't noticed the ambition in Orochimaru's eyes when he was young, the Third Hokage might have passed the Hokage title to him without hesitation.
When he looked at Tsunade, a flash of regret crossed the Third Hokage's eyes. As the only female Sannin, the "Slug Princess" Tsunade had the ability to succeed him as Hokage—if not for her hemophobia.
As for Minato Namikaze, his performance in this battle was brilliant, which deeply pleased the Third Hokage.
Then the Third Hokage turned his gaze to Asakura, who was walking beside Tsunade. Asakura's performance in the battle had also been remarkable. Though he did not stop Rasa's plan in time, he was the first to sense Rasa's suspicious actions. That awareness alone was admirable.
Moreover, now that Asakura had become Tsunade's disciple, and considering his innate talent in medical ninjutsu, he held great potential. With the right guidance, he could stand out on his own in the future.
Especially in wartime, when Chao Yanqian was able to support Tsunade through her hemophobia and help her appear on the battlefield — this role couldn't be filled by just anyone.
Thinking this, the Third Hokage silently began to make mental calculations.
Meanwhile, Chao Yanqian was also thinking about what kind of attitude he should adopt when dealing with Konoha's leadership in the future. Only with their approval could he gain access to Konoha's secrets — especially those forbidden techniques sealed within the Scroll of Seals.
In the crowd, Chao Yanqian spotted a few fellow academy students. At that moment, they were waving enthusiastically, their faces full of excitement.
As children from prominent clans, they would only be deployed in the most critical moments. Though they now admired Chao Yanqian for having battlefield experience, he also envied them for never having to risk their lives.
They simply didn't understand what it meant to grieve.
The grand celebration on the surface was over, and what followed was a dialogue among the higher-ups. Matters like how to handle relations with Sunagakure and how to divide the spoils of victory were for the senior officials to resolve.
As a lower-ranked ninja, Chao Yanqian only needed to go home and wait for orders from above to know what he would do next.