Chapter 46

Only Onoki refused to resign himself to defeat and wanted to put up one last struggle. Consequently, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade had no choice but to push their battle lines forward toward the direction of Land of Earth. Having learned a strict lesson from Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, they issued a strict order forbidding their army from disturbing the local civilians, lest they provoke Hanzō of the Salamander once more. They even dispatched ninjas specifically to deliver a formal document to Hanzō to negotiate the matter. Initially, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade still worried that Hanzō might obstruct them. To their surprise, however, Hanzo indeed refrained from intervening this time; after all, circumstances had changed, and the greater threat to the Land of Rain was now the Land of Earth. Meanwhile, in the Land of Rivers, following the initiation of the peace accord, Konohagakure halted its standoff with Sunagakure, and the shinobi forces began withdrawing in batches. A portion of these troops was reassigned to the Land of Rain. As for Hatake Sakumo, he still had to wait a while, as he was scheduled to withdraw with the very last contingent.