"Sis, go and get some rest," Nawaki said. His nose felt sour as he watched Tsunade, and he fought back his tears.
Minato stood silently beside them. This was the most brutal battle he had ever witnessed.
Tsunade just cried in Kawaki's arms, neither speaking nor raising her head.
"Let's go and rest."
"Big bro, keep an eye on things."
Kawaki scooped Tsunade up in his arms and greeted Sakumo, who had just arrived.
"Go ahead," Sakumo nodded. He didn't say much, as he was also deeply saddened.
Tsunade naturally wrapped her arms around Kawaki's neck, and her sobbing quieted down.
Kawaki disappeared from everyone's sight and reappeared in Tsunade's tent.
He gently laid Tsunade on the bed and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Get some rest. You're exhausted," Kawaki said as he removed Tsunade's hands from around his neck.
"Am I useless?"
Tsunade's exhaustion was palpable as Katsuyu Sage had already silently vanished.
"You're the best in my heart," Kawaki comforted her.
"No one could have expected the Third Kazekage to be completely deranged."
Kawaki figured that quite a few Sand ninjas had perished in the Third Kazekage's all - out assault.
"I don't know how to face their families when we return to the village," Tsunade said, her voice choked with sobs.
"I brought them here, but..."
As she spoke, her emotions welled up, and tears streamed down her face again.
It was normal for there to be casualties on the battlefield, but this time, there were too many deaths.
"Aigh~ Don't dwell on it too much," Kawaki said.
"The injured still need you. All you need to do now is rest."
Kawaki didn't have any better ideas, so he mentioned the thing that worried Tsunade the most to force her to rest.
"Yes, you're right."
"I need to rest. I need to rest."
Tsunade closed her eyes, and tears rolled down her cheeks.
Kawaki sat by the bed and could see her lips moving, but she didn't make a sound.
After a long time, Tsunade finally fell asleep. She curled up like a child.
Kawaki quietly covered Tsunade with the quilt and smoothed her light yellow hair on her forehead.
Finally, he leaned down and gently kissed her forehead before turning to leave.
Even in her sleep, Tsunade's expression didn't ease. Only time could heal her wounds.
In contrast, there was no one left in the Sand ninja camp.
Under the yellow sand not far from Sunagakure, a huge underground cave had been built. The surrounding yellow sand, reinforced by Shukaku, was covered with black spell words, which were the seals set by the Sand ninjas to block out sensing.
The routed Sand ninjas led by Bunpuku had gathered here, and even the ninjas from Sunagakure had all come.
Now, only civilians remained in Sunagakure, and the village was almost on the verge of collapse.
"Master Bunpuku, what should we do next?" Pakura sat cross - legged beside Bunpuku, looking listless.
"I ain't getting involved in making decisions," Bunpuku said. After all, he was just a monk who served as a war weapon and was not good at coming up with strategies.
After saying that, he closed his eyes and continued to rest. He would have died if it weren't for the Third Kazekage.
"We need a decision - maker now," a group of Sunagakure officials emerged. And indeed, as they said, this was the current situation.
"So, who do you think is suitable?"
Pakura stared intently at several venerable old men.
Maybe their strength was no longer what it used to be, but they still had influence and prestige.
"Rasa is a good choice," said an old man with a kind face, who had a good relationship with the Third Kazekage.
He was willing to support Rasa at this time.
"No, he's too young," someone immediately objected.
"I think Pakura would be a good fit," said the only old woman, speaking in support of Pakura.
"I'm not interested in the position of Kage," Pakura said. She knew very well that it was impossible to get the Daimyō's approval at the moment. As long as the villagers recognized her, she could take the position.
However, it was still uncertain whether Sunagakure could survive this crisis.
"I propose..."
"I suggest..."
Everyone started to discuss noisily.
For a moment, the entire underground cave was in an uproar.
"You got that much time to spare?" Bunpuku couldn't stand it anymore and interjected.
His voice was not loud, but it was like a thunderbolt.
Everyone looked at each other and stood still.
"Okay then, let Pakura temporarily take the position of Kazekage if our Sunagakure survives this crisis."
"Once Rasa grows up, she can then pass the position to him. What do you think?"
An old man with the most prestige proposed a compromise since Pakura and Rasa had the most supporters.
"I agree that Onee - san Pakura should be the Kazekage. I want to avenge my teacher," Rasa voluntarily gave up the chance. He knew he was still young and needed more time to train instead of dealing with official business.
"Since that's the case, you should agree," everyone's eyes turned to Pakura.
"Let's talk about the Kage thing later. Let's see if we can survive this crisis first," Pakura reluctantly agreed, rubbing her temples.
Now that the burden had fallen on her, My head's killing me.
"How is the situation in Konoha?" Pakura asked the intelligence chief beside her. He had managed to avoid the battle as he hadn't gone to the battlefield.
"Konoha suffered heavy casualties and are being treated in the camp."
"They probably won't go on a campaign anytime soon. Even if a few of them come, they may not be able to find us."
Under such circumstances, the intelligence chief still managed to obtain basic intelligence, which is why he was trusted by the Third Kazekage.
"Will the civilians in the village be in danger?" Rasa, still childish, asked a stupid question.
"It doesn't make no sense for Konoha ninjas to kill the civilians. Civilians' lives ain't even worth them venting their anger on."
"And since we lost this battle, the Daimyō will definitely step in and negotiate with the Land of Fire."
An old man who had first supported Rasa explained patiently, with a smile on his face.
"That's good," Rasa said, relieved. They were all his teacher's people.
"Keep gathering intelligence and wait for the result of the Daimyō's negotiation. If something unexpected really happens, I can't guarantee other things. I'll die before you."
Pakura vowed, her eyes showing a determined look that was startling.
"But there's no need for that, Fourth Kazekage - sama."
Pakura officially became the acting Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure, but this was only recognized within the village.
Bunpuku opened his eyes and looked at Rasa. His eyes were filled with hatred.
Then he shook his head. Ninjas were just pawns. The real culprit was the greedy human heart.
However, things didn't develop as they had expected.
After receiving the news that the Third Kazekage had died in battle on the spot and the Sand ninjas had been badly defeated, the Land of Wind Daimyō immediately sent people to the Land of Fire to seek peace.
This news spread across the entire Ninja World in a short time.
The name of Kawaki Hatake resounded throughout the Ninja World again after he killed Hanzō of the Salamander.
Naturally, the news that Tsunade of Konoha had become the Jinchūriki of the Seven-Tailed Beast couldn't be kept secret.
With such a huge advantage, how could the Fire Daimyō agree to the peace - seeking request of the Land of Wind?
He wished he could swallow up the entire Land of Wind.
The Land of Wind Daimyō was extremely panicked. Without the ninjas of Sunagakure, what could he use to defend against Konoha?
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