(ne)
On Rasa's end, when he heard Chiyo give the order to retreat, his brow furrowed. That she had issued such a command without his approval left Rasa somewhat displeased.
But now wasn't the time to argue. After glancing once more at Uchiha Fugaku—who had fought him for so long yet still appeared unruffled—Rasa also chose to retreat.
And so, the Suna-nin withdrew under the orders of their village leadership.
Naturally, Konoha wouldn't let them off so easily. Jiraiya and Uchiha Fugaku led a pursuit.
The rest of the ninja were left to be handled by Orochimaru.
However, since Kikyo Mountain sat close to the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire—closer to Iwagakure—many Iwa-nin had already retreated after sensing their side's defeat. Not many remained on the battlefield.
Those that stayed clearly had no intention of returning alive—they were there to stall Konoha's forces, buying time for their comrades.
One after another, these Iwa-nin charged the Konoha ninja with fearless resolve, a real "burn the boats" mentality.
To reduce Konoha casualties, Orochimaru called on Uchiha Yuan and the Uchiha elders to join the fray.
With this level of high-end power added, the remaining Iwa-nin were no match—they were quickly wiped out.
Next came battlefield cleanup, which no longer concerned the Uchiha directly.
However, Orochimaru specifically called for Uchiha Yuan to patrol the battlefield with him.
Noticing how close the two appeared, Uchiha Fugaku showed a contemplative expression.
As Orochimaru and Yuan walked the field, they took the opportunity to discuss the First Hokage's cells and Danzō.
Orochimaru voluntarily revealed that his sample of Hashirama's cells had come from Danzō.
Uchiha Yuan responded that he didn't want Danzō to know he and Hyuga Asana were involved in the research.
Orochimaru readily agreed. He wanted Yuan's help in making money and establishing a lab outside of Konoha that Danzō wouldn't know about. Their future research would take place there.
Yuan hesitated a moment before nodding in agreement.
As they talked over the cooperation details, they walked the field, inspecting the corpses of Konoha and the Iwa–Suna alliance. If they found any Iwa or Suna ninja faking death, they finished them off. If they found any surviving Konoha ninja, they arranged for their treatment.
As they walked, Yuan noticed a small figure near some Konoha corpses—the child's arm had moved.
A female medical ninja nearby also noticed the struggling limb.
Yuan paused when he saw her—this medic looked very familiar, like someone from the original series.
So he stopped. Orochimaru followed suit.
"What is it?" Orochimaru asked.
Yuan raised a hand and pointed to the small figure beside the corpses. "There's a child over there who seems to still be alive."
Even though it was just a child, one couldn't let down their guard on the battlefield.
Orochimaru summoned a large snake to bring the child over.
Once everyone saw it was just a toddler, their tension eased.
What threat could a three- or four-year-old possibly pose?
The female medic immediately began treating him.
The child's injuries weren't serious—just a blow to the head that had knocked him out. With treatment, he soon woke up.
When Yuan got a better look, he found the child's silver-gray hair looked very familiar.
The medic, seeing him awake, asked gently, "Little one, who are you? What's your name? Where's your family?"
The child lay there dumbly, staring at the sky, not answering.
Despite repeated questioning, they got nothing. Orochimaru ordered the medic to stay and care for the boy, while he and Yuan continued searching for survivors.
After a while, they circled back. The medic was holding the now-sleeping child, humming a soft tune.
"How is it? Did you find out who the child is?" Orochimaru asked.
"Lord Orochimaru," the medic replied, "he has amnesia. He doesn't remember anything. The Yamanaka clan already checked—his mind is blank. Definitely not a spy. So I'd like to adopt him into my orphanage. I hope you'll approve."
Yuan had already suspected she resembled someone from the original work, and now that she'd mentioned the orphanage, it made his suspicion even stronger.
To confirm his guess, Yuan asked, "Your orphanage? What's your name?"
"I'm Yakushi Nonō, head of Konoha's orphanage."
Upon hearing that name, Yuan sighed in his heart: So it really is her… and this familiar-looking child must be Yakushi Kabuto, then.
Yakushi Kabuto was indeed a talent.
In Yuan's view, among bloodline-based shinobi, if Might Guy was the ceiling for taijutsu, then Kabuto was absolutely the ceiling for ninjutsu.
Despite not being the protagonist, Kabuto had trained himself into Sage Mode, launched the Fourth Great Ninja War using Edo Tensei, and used terrain and deep ninjutsu knowledge to battle both Itachi and Sasuke.
If not for Itachi's use of Izanami, Kabuto might've erased his consciousness, subdued Sasuke, and rewritten the fate of the ninja world.
Yuan had always admired Kabuto, so he put in a few good words on his behalf. Orochimaru, seeing Yuan's interest, left the matter in Nonō's hands.
Most likely, as in the original series, she would name him Yakushi Kabuto and take him back to the Konoha orphanage.
By the time battlefield cleanup wrapped up, Jiraiya and Uchiha Fugaku had returned.
Their pursuit had succeeded in killing over 500 Suna-nin. This was a decisive victory for Konoha.
The only unresolved front was Namikaze Minato's.
By now, Kakuzu was already thinking of retreat. With Iwa and Suna forces gone, he had no reason to face Konoha's entire alliance alone.
So he unleashed a large-scale combo jutsu to force Minato back, then promptly escaped the battlefield.
Minato did not pursue. Compared to chasing Kakuzu, he was far more concerned about Kushina's condition. He had sensed earlier that she'd used the Nine-Tails' chakra to fight the One-Tail and Five-Tails, and now all he wanted was to make sure she was okay.
(To Be Continued...)