Chapter 78

Fuuma Yukimura was on the backfoot now that I was using a wooden staff instead of my usual weapons. Of course, the Kōton: Kōtetsu no Tai (Steel Release: Body of Steel) still gave Yukimura enough Steel to manipulate with his Gauntlets, but so long as I kept him at reach with the Staff, I was able to minimize the amount of magnetic bullshit he could pull to swing the fight in his favor.

He was bruised and battered, with a swollen right eye, split lip, and a busted nose from staff strikes to the head, but still able to fight. Meanwhile, my ribs still hurt from when he'd used those Gauntlets to smash me through a building. Neither of us was ready to give in yet, though. This fight would continue, and I was pretty confident Yukimura wasn't gonna surrender even if I did beat him down.

As if to prove my point, Yukimura Charged Forward, flashing through the hand seals for the Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) and coming out a few steps inside my reach. I channeled Doton Chakra into my Staff and struck with the haft while he lunged forward in a punch, his gauntlets flashing blue. Both our attacks hit at the same time. Yukimura was smashed sideways into a building through the stone wall while I was blown back into another building, my ribs, bruised as they'd been, cracked now under the force of another powerful blow, but I was gonna guess that Yukimura wasn't doing too hot either.

I grunted as I got to my feet, reaching into my storage scroll for a Soldier Pill. I felt some of my Chakra return even as the cracks in my ribs healed up, though they were still sore. I found myself in a small storage hut with a dirt floor as I looked around. Yukimura was going through hand seals outside and I almost wasn't able to avoid the Raiton: Raiga (Lightning Release: Lightning Fang) that was cast at me from Yukimura. In fact, him being able to cast that took me so off-guard that I was forced to use the Kawarimi no Jutsu (Replacement Technique) to avoid the vicious bolt of howling lightning that crashed into the storeroom, lighting the interior up with enough electricity to kill a dozen elephants.

As I reappeared outside the Storeroom, however, Yukimura was already turning to lash out with his gauntleted fist. Thankfully, my extra arms from the Shiyoken (Four Witches) allowed me to come out of the Kawarimi already casting. Two could play at Raiton Ninjutsu, I thought, as my extra arms went through the hand seals for the Taiyoken (Solar Flare) as that technique flashed complete, blinding Yukimura, I janked to the side and struck out with my staff.

Yukimura's Gauntlets flashed blue, but the ripple of energy from his gauntlets that enhanced his punches went off to my right even as I struck him again with my pilfered Bo Staff. My training in Sarutobi-Ryuu Bojutsu (Sarutobi-Style Staff Fighting) had honed my ability to put as much power into every staff strike as I possibly could. This time, when my borrowed staff struck into Yukimura's side, it did so with enough power that I felt something give under the weight of the blow.

Yukimura skidded to the side, crashing through an upturned cart of produce from the force of my blow. Not one to waste the initiative, I launched myself into the air on my pilfered staff before unsealing the wooden Kanabo and smashing down on the standing Yukimura from above. Saru-Ō Ueru no Bun'ya (Monkey King Plants the Field) was the first Jutsu I ever developed by myself, a combination of a couple of different Bukijutsu Techniques, it was a B-Rank Jutsu in its own right and it proved that here.

Yukimura had just stood, grasping his side, as I came down on him with the technique, my liberated Kanabo smashing into his shoulders and cracking his collarbone on the left side, smashing him down to the ground with a pained grunt. As I leaped away, however, he tried lashing out with his one remaining functional arm. The ripple of power as his gauntlet flashed blue grazed me, clipping my side and blasting me sideways, re-bruising my ribs even with all my techniques up and running. Fortunately, I'd sparred with Lee often enough to be able to flip around mid-air and land on my feet.

As I landed with a wince, Yukimura looked worse off than me. He was barely standing. One arm of his was hanging limp at his side, cracked collarbone not letting him use it, while his ribs on his right side were cracked and he was clearly favoring them. His face was swollen up as well. I was doing better but still wounded, as my own ribs were bruised again. I'd already taken a soldier pill and taking another so soon would have consequences later, but at least I was better off than Yukimura looked.

"Surrender! You're beaten up too badly to win this!" I tried.

"Fuck you, Tree Hugger!" Spat Yukimura.

Then he began going through a bunch of hand seals I didn't recognize before he began to glow with an inner light. His body began to burn with flame even as he started throwing off electric sparks. I just barely was able to make out a complex seal array glowing over his heart as the fire burned his armor and clothing off him. I knew enough Fuuinjutsu to recognize a suicide bomb when I saw it, but that thing could take out half a block if I read those seals right! He didn't give me a chance to run, either. As soon as he finished burning through his gear, all except the gauntlets, which he dropped on the street, he charged toward me.

"If I'm going down, so are you! Here, taste the Fruits of my Experimentation with Biosealing! Kyūkyoku no Bakudan (Ultimate Bomb)!" Roared Yuikimura as he charged toward me.

I didn't have time to dodge in any meaningful way. His suicide attack would hit the entire row of buildings on my side of the street and I couldn't dodge far enough to avoid it all. Fortunately, I wasn't alone. I had platoonmates and others to help me. As Yukimura neared me, I heard the sound of a chain rattling before a weighted Chain looped itself around Yukimura's Neck, stopping his rush. Following the Chain, I spotted Saisu on the other end.

"Captain!" I called out, in shock.

"Don't just stand there! Get out of the blast radius!" Commanded Saisu.

He didn't have to tell me twice. I immediately flashed through the seals of the Shunshin and appeared on the other side of the street near Saisu. For his part, Saisu hauled off on the chain, channeling Doton Chakra into his legs as he pivoted. Yukimura was spun about and then tossed high into the air above the street, where he detonated his suicide attack harmlessly.

"Thanks, Captain. I don't know if I would've survived that." I thanked Saisu.

"You might be Jonin-level in Taijutsu and Bukijutsu, but you've still got a few things to learn, Kid." Smirked Saisu.

"Where's Kibagami?" I questioned.

"He headed off to help out Gai. Not that he needs it, even with that freaky body horror jutsu the Fuuma Clan Head was doing." Intoned Saisu.

"What about Shiori?" I queried.

"She got sent ahead with some Yamanaka and ANBU to hit the Fuuma Clan Compound. They're gonna grab any intel they can from there." Answered Saisu.

"Why bring Shiori to that?" I asked.

"I think they were worried about Fuuinjutsu Booby Traps. When you've got explosions to deal with, a Barrier Specialist's a good idea to have." Shrugged Saisu.

"Right, so what do we do in the meantime?" I pressed.

"Right now? Hold in place till we figure out where we're needed. Here, these are yours, you earned them." Insisted Saisu, before scooping up Yukimura's Gauntlets and handing them to me.

I took them with a grin and put them in my storage scroll. For now, it looked like things in the Fuuma Quarter were winding down. Between Kibagami and Gai-Sensei, I couldn't imagine the Fuuma Clan Head would last much longer. Then we'd just have to see where we were needed, like Saisu said. For now, though we could rest for a bit.

It wouldn't be too long before we would be moving out again. . .

XXXX

Hatake Kakashi had to admit, he hadn't thought much of Yakushi Kabuto during the Chunin Exams. When the Genin had vanished in the aftermath, leaving just a blood spatter behind, everyone figured he'd been killed in the fighting that had broken out during the invasion. Nobody had ever guessed the soft-spoken Medic who perpetually lost out on the Exams was actually working for Orochimaru the whole time.

Of course, as Kakashi dodged a conjured blast of venomous snakes that Kabuto had fired at him using the Sen'ei Jashu (Hidden Shadow Snake Hands), he reflected that if anyone had ever figured out that Kabuto had been working for Orochimaru the whole time, he wouldn't have been a very good spy. As the stream of biting vipers sailed over his head, Kakashi channeled Raiton Chakra into the palm of his hand. The Raikiri (Lightning Cutter) was an upgraded version of the Chidori (Thousand Birds) that Kakashi had come up with during the Third Great Shinobi War. It was to the Chidori what the Chidori was to a regular Raiton Jutsu. It should be enough to finish this fight.

As the lightning coalesced in his hand, Kakashi fired the bolt at Kabuto, the smarmy brat not able to twist aside from something that moved literally as fast as lightning, even with the Nan no Kaizo (Soft Physique Modification) that he'd been given which had allowed him to dodge most of Kakashi's prior attacks. The bolt struck into Kabuto, punching through his chest and exiting out of his back. That ought to do it, Kakashi thought. Unfortunately, he was wrong on that front.

Before his eyes, Kabuto's wounds healed up rapidly, the Traitorous Medic-Nin sitting up and giving Kakashi a smug look as he did so. Kabuto pushed himself up to his feet as if he hadn't just taken a deadly attack full in the chest.

"That was some attack, Kakashi-San. To think I'd be hit with the famed Raikiri, truly terrifying." Snickered Kabuto, mocking Kakashi.

"What was that?" Demanded Kakashi.

"In'yu Shōmetsu (Yin-Healing Wound Destruction) a Jutsu of my own devising. Like it?" Smirked Kabuto.

"True regeneration isn't something a human can do. There has to be some kind of trick to that. Fortunately, I've got just the sort of thing to ferret out tricks." Nodded Kakashi.

As he said that, Kakashi reached up to his face to uncover his Sharingan Eye. The black tomoe on red ready to analyze the next attempt by Kabuto to perform his Jutsu. If it bothered Kabuto, he didn't show it on his face, he did however say something.

"My, unveiling the Sharingan for me? I wasn't sure my tricks warranted that." Sneered Kabuto.

"Mah, it's impressive, sure, but still a trick." Scoffed Kakashi, playing for time.

He could see traces of Yin Chakra still soaked in the tissue around the wound with his Sharingan, but that alone didn't tell him much. He'd have to fire another Raikiri at Kabuto and get him to activate his jutsu again to be sure of what's going on. That was a problem since he could only fire the Raikiri four times a day, and he'd already used it once. If he ran into Orochimaru after this, he'd be down to half his daily allotment, which was less than he'd like to have when dealing with the Snake Sannin.

"Not going to attack? In that case, I think I'll go." Intoned Kabuto.

Then the Traitorous Medic-Nin blurred into motion and Kakashi felt a brief stab as something pierced his side. Fortunately, before anything vital could be hit, he was already moving into the Kawarimi. Kakashi reappeared a few feet away to see the log get sawn in half by what looked like a blade of pure chakra. That was a Chakra no Mesu (Chakra Scalpel), a technique that was used for surgery by Medic-Nin based on how it could easily cut away armor in the field for field surgery. To think that Kabuto had been using it for offensive purposes. He must have sandbagged a lot to fail all those exams.

"Damn, I was hoping to get your liver." Groused Kabuto.

"Sorry to disappoint." Huffed Kakashi.

Unfortunately, he'd still gotten cut along his side. The Chakra Scalpel had split apart the steel plates of his Lamellar Vest and drawn a line of blood that continued to bleed, even though it hadn't hit anything vital. Kakashi knew that'd eventually slow him down from blood loss. He'd have to end this soon. To that end, he channeled more Raiton Chakra to the palm of his hand, casting another Raikiri at Kabuto.

The Traitorous Medic-Nin was struck once again by Kakashi's Lightning Cutter. This time, Kakashi was able to get a front-row seat to how Kabuto's Technique Worked. He'd pre-gathered his chakra to begin preemptively starting medical treatment in order to minimize the damage from the attack and effectively heal the wound on the go. It looked like it took a lot of Chakra to pull off, though, and Kabuto had to be sure exactly where he'd get hit and with what to be able to use it properly. As the Traitorous Medic-Nin stood up, Kakashi realized that he'd used up most of his Chakra just healing from Kakashi's Raikiri strikes.

"Mah, Kabuto-San, that really is some technique. Unfortunately, my eye sees all and now I know the trick behind it. You don't have the Chakra to heal another of those." Offered Kakashi.

"It's unfortunate, Kakashi-San, but you're correct. However, I wonder how many Raikiri you have left in you? It must be an awfully Chakra-intensive Jutsu." Nodded Kabuto.

"Why don't you keep fighting and we'll find out?" Challenged Kakashi.

"Actually, I think our time here is almost done, Kakashi-San." Refused Kabuto.

Then, before Kakashi could channel more Raiton Chakra for another Raikiri, Kabuto went through the hand seals for a Taiyoken. Kakashi shut his eyes, but the vulnerability of Dojutsu to such techniques was well-known, and while the more experienced Sharingan wielders could have minimized the blindness and powered through, most of them were dead, and Kakashi hadn't been counted among their number to begin with. He still attempted to lay down an area attack using the Katon: Karyūdan no Jutsu (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet) but when he finally managed to blink the blindness out of his eyes and look at the handiwork of his raging dragon of flame, Kabuto's corpse wasn't among the wreckage. Once again, Kabuto had managed to slip away.

He wouldn't be so lucky a third time, Kakashi swore it. . .

XXXX

Naruto watched as Ero-Sennin and the Snake Bastard duked it out in the middle of a completely wrecked city center. The power these guys were flinging around was no joke and so far it'd prevented any of their group from getting a shot in. They'd been forced to keep their heads down as fireballs the size of buildings and wind jutsu that hit like a hurricane were being tossed around. In one moment, Ero-Sennin turned half the wrecked main street into a muddy swamp only for the Snake Bastard to form a buncha clones outta the mud to attack Ero-Senin with.

That ain't all, though as just up the road, a Big-Ass Snake was wrestling with Gamabunta, crushing what looked like some kinda administrative building underneath their bulks. The whole thing woulda been totally awesome to look at if it weren't so terrifying being next to it. As it was, Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Akamaru, Hinata, and Hinata's Two Helper-Monkeys had been forced to hunker down in the ruins of some kinda commissary or mess hall.

"Damn it, we'll never get our shot like this!" Grumbled Kiba, Akamaru giving a soft whine at all the Chakra being flung around.

"What did you expect? They're S-Rank Shinobi. It's why this plan was crazy to begin with." Sighed Shikamaru.

"Come on, Shika, let's not pretend you aren't happy to just sit on your ass and do nothing, Dattebayo!" Accused Naruto.

"A-ano, Naruto-Kun. Even if Shikamaru-San was completely on board, it is sort of too dangerous for us out there. A-at our level, I mean." Insisted Hinata.

"Hinata-Sama is correct. With such forces arrayed outside, how could we possibly hope to make a difference in the outcome of the fighting?" Questioned Helper-Monkey Number One, as Naruto was dubbing him.

"It was a nice thought, Haruto, at least give him that." Insisted Helper-Monkey Number Two.

"I'll do no such thing, Hotaru." Scoffed Helper-Monkey Number One.

"Shh. Do you hear that? The Ninjutsu Duel's stopped." Urged Kiba.

"He's right. Hinata, what do you see with the Byakugan?" Queried Shikamaru.

"I-it seems like Jiraiya-sama and Orochimaru are just standing there. W-wait, no, they are trying to duel with Genjutsu." Informed Hinata.

"Right! What are we waiting for?" Asked Kiba, an affirmative yip from Akamaru adding to it.

"If we can land a hit on the Snake Bastard while he and Ero-Sennin are mind wrestling, we should be able to hand Ero-Senin the advantage, yeah?" Offered Naruto.

"There's no guarantee it will work out. He might have contingencies. We'll need to do this right." Mused Shikamaru, entering his thinking pose.

For a few moments, everyone just sat around on their asses and let Shika think up a way to do this that had some kinda reasonable chance of success. Naruto didn't like just sitting still, but even he knew that if they were gonna have a shot at helping Ero-Sennin beat down the Snake Bastard, they'd need Shika's big-ass brain on the case. Eventually, Shika nodded once, before opening his eyes and turning to the rest of them.

"All right, here's the plan. Hinata, you Hotaru, and Haruto are on Summons and Clone Duty. The Jyuken is basically tailor-made for destroying clones and unsummoning summons. If they pop up, you'll handle them. In the meantime, I'll try and hold Orochimaru in place with my shadows, but I'm not sure how long that will last. Naruto, you and Kiba work together, Clones and Taijutsu in case he snaps back to awareness. Kiba and Akamaru to push him back into groups of clones who'll try the Bunshin Daibakuha (Clone Great Explosion)." Intoned Shikamaru.

"Right, let's do it, Dattebayo!" Grinned Naruto, fist-pumping.

Then, as a unit, they surged out of their hiding place to put their plan into action. . .

XXXX

Jiraiya of the Sannin was used to these mental battles with Orochimaru. The Snake would usually try to kill him in his mindscape using Genjutsu at some point or other, as it was a weakness of Jiraiya's compared to his Ex-Teammate. Mind you, Jiraiya had a lot more baggage to throw at Oro which evened the playing field some. He'd just drawn Oro into a memory of Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan skirmishing with Hanzo's Forces while Jiraiya kept a low profile. The Phantom Battlefield would slow his Ex-Teammate Down and allow Jiraiya to get the drop on him.

Jiraiya hadn't counted on Oro vacating his mindscape entirely, though. One moment, he was dodging an attack from an Ame-nin's Senbon Umbrella, the next he was gone entirely. There was no trace of him anywhere in Jiraiya's Mindscape. That could only mean something had changed outside, and as Jiriaya opened his eyes, he spotted a group of kids, including his Godson, carrying Oro.

True, Oro had contingencies, Clones that popped out of seals, Snakes summoned out of the aether, but those were being cleared by the Hyuga Heiress and two of her Minders while the Inuzuka Kid forced Oro away and into a batch of Naruto Clones, all of which glowed white before an explosion rocked the already demolished street, completely pulverizing it.

Oro had just barely managed to avoid the sneak attack, but he'd avoided it all the same and started to run through hand seals before just stopping. Jiraiya looked over and saw the Nara Kid struggling to contain Oro with the Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Possession Technique). Oro almost immediately broke free, but in that time, Jiraiya was already moving, the whirling, grinding, Chakra of the Rasengan (Spiralling Sphere) Coalescing in his right hand.

Jiraiya thrust his palm out for Oro's side, only for his bastard of an Ex-Teammate to sway aside like the snake he'd taken for his sigil. Instead of coring through him, Oro took the Rasengan on the shoulder instead. The jutsu shredded pale, leathery, flesh and pulverized iron-hard bone, rendering Orochimaru's left arm a useless hunk of meat. He'd missed his chance, though, and Orochimaru was already withdrawing away. Orochimaru used the Shunshin to move out of the engagement zone, reappearing atop the tallest remaining structure on the Main Street of Oto, a three-story building that was only partially collapsed.

"It seems that our fun is finished for today, Jiraiya. I'll be leaving, now." Hissed Orochimaru.

"Oh no you don't! Not without giving back Sasuke!" Roared Naruto, a Rasengan in one hand as he leaped for Orochimaru.

"Naruto! Wait!" Implored the Nara Kid, but it was too late.

Orochimaru was already moving out of striking range and lashing out at Naruto at the same time. There was a Crunch as Orochimaru's fist met Naruto's ribs and Naruto was blasted back away into a still-standing wall across the street. The wall crumbled on top of Naruto, but thankfully, Jiraiya could sense Naruto was still alive. Wounded and unconscious, but he'd pull through.

"As fun as this is, we'll have to pick it up another time!" Called out Orochimaru.

"Where are you gonna run to now, Oro? This is Otogakure, we've stormed your home base!" Asked Jiraiya.

"Fishing for intel, Jiraiya? You should know by now I won't make it that easy on you. Besides, I get the feeling you'll have other problems soon enough, Ku Ku Ku!" Laughed Orochimaru.

With a snarl, Jiraiya leaped for his Ex-Teammate, only to be smashed aside by the arrival of the Yakushi Kid hitting him with Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Bullet) while he was in mid-air. Jiraiya flipped around as he fell and landed on his feet, but the damage was done. The Yakushi Kid, obviously a traitor, had joined up with Oro, and the pair withdrew from the battlefield at Shunshin Speed. Once again, Jiraiya failed to kill Orochimaru.

"Next time, Oro." Promised Jiraiya.

Count on it. . .

XXXX

As it turned out, the major fighting wouldn't last much past when I'd beaten Fuuma Yukimura. Around twenty minutes later, we'd gotten word that Orochimaru had fled the battlefield. Ten minutes after that, the Fuuma Clan Head finally ran out of corpses to absorb and got killed by Gai-Sensei and Kibagami. Once that was done, it was pretty much just mopping up the remaining enemy resistance. Most of the Oto Jonin were dead, fleeing, captured, or otherwise incapacitated, leaving just a couple of groups of mixed Chunin and Genin.

Compared to the fighting thus far, that was fairly Easy. I went with Saisu to handle one of the enemy strongpoints that'd been built up around the Otogakure Shinobi Library. We'd reinforced Hagane-Sensei and Kamizuki-Sensei who'd taken two platoons to cut off the Otogakure Shinobi Library so that they couldn't link up with any of the other nearby strongpoints.

The assault was way easier than the rest of the fighting. It was mostly a few Chunin and Genin that'd barricaded themselves in the Library using Doton: Tajū Doroheki (Earth Release: Multiple Mud Wall) to try and fortify key points. Saisu and I used the Moguragakure no Jutsu (Hiding Like a Mole Technique) to swim through the Mud Walls to infiltrate the forward command post.

Inside were two Chunin and eight Genin. One of the Chunin looked to be a former Iwa Missing-nin from his tattoos. Those specific geometric patterns only existed in Earth Country, after all. The other wasn't someone I recognized even partially. As we burst out of the Mud Wall, I targeted the Iwa Missing-Nin with a Raiken: Michishio (Lightning Blade: High Tide) using the Blade of Inoshishi-No-Kami. The sneak attack succeeded in stunning the Ex-Iwa-Nin for the brief moment it took me to lop his head off with a strike of my blade.

His body fell in a spray of arterial blood and I was forced to parry a thrusting Kunai from one of the Genin, though an elbow strike to the throat with my off-hand sent that Genin sputtering to the ground, choking. To my right, Saisu dispatched the other Chunin with his scythe blade while sending the weighted chain into the face of another Genin, breaking the unfortunate Girl's skull. The fighting didn't last long past that point, as the other six genin promptly surrendered.

That was fairly typical for the mopping-up operations. Brief flurries of combat followed by surrenders from the lower ranks. I went through four more of those mop-up assaults before the end of the battle, and I only ever got hit once by a Chunin that had been completely concealed in the muddy ground of a garden. He managed to get a Katon: Endan (Fire Release: Flame Bullet) that grazed me and burned my arm, though I was able to gut him using the Chidori afterward.

Eventually, after thirty-six hours of combat, Otogakure was finally declared taken. With the capture of Otogakure, the war was effectively finished. However, we'd taken casualties to get to this point. Of the five-thousand Shinobi that had attacked Otogakure, some nine-hundred-twenty-five would wind up dead or wounded in the fighting. That brought the total casualties of killed or wounded Shinobi for the entire Otogakure War to one-thousand-five-hundred-fifty-three. Ten percent of the total Shinobi Forces of Konoha had been killed or wounded to bring down the Rogue Village. Combined with the damage suffered in the Konoha Crush, Konoha was in a weakened state.

Fortunately, there was some other Good news that would help us keep the Kumo-Iwa Alliance at Bay. Not two days after the official end of the fighting in Otogakure, we received word that Sunagakure had agreed to resume their alliance with us. Not only that but somehow, Tsunade had managed to entice Tanigakure to abandon its neutrality and join our alliance. It seems that Konoha proving our strength impressed the Village Hidden in the Valleys. That shored up our flanks, and a good thing too. I very much doubted that the Iwa-Kumo Alliance wouldn't take advantage of our weakness otherwise.

Regardless, I spent the next week or so in the field hospital, being fussed over by Ino, as she healed my burned arm and bruised ribs. Naruto had to be carried in on a stretcher, though. Apparently, he'd done something stupid and tried to Rasengan Orochimaru, who'd proceeded to break all his ribs in response. Naruto was still out of the field hospital before I was, lucky bastard.

One week and one day after the end of the Battle of Otogakure, word came in from Konoha. The War was officially over, as the Daimyo of Rice Country and the Highest-Ranking Remaining Shinobi of the Fuuma Clan, a Chunin named Fuuma Hanzaki, formally signed the capitulation. Oto would be reorganized as a smaller, allied, village. Now it was time for us to go home and let the advisors who'd help reorganize Oto deal with things.

I couldn't wait. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, here's the official end of the Konoha-Oto War. Otogakure gets crushed, but Orochimaru and Kabuto manage to escape. Meanwhile, Tsunade and Hiruzen were working around the clock to parlay battlefield successes into diplomatic ones and they just about managed to get Suna to resume the alliance with Konoha, along with getting Tanigakure on board as well.

Now Otogakure is going to be reformatted as an allied village to Konoha. Of course, after the beating they took, they are barely going to be larger than a vassal village. Mostly they'll be staffed by captured and surrendered Shinobi, which had precious few people that are stronger than Chunin. Maybe three or four at Tokubetsu Jonin Level. Konoha's gonna have to prop them up for a while yet.

Fortunately, the victory and the expanded list of allies project enough of an aura of strength to the Kumo-Iwa alliance that they aren't going to try moving against Konoha in open war for the time being, which gives Konoha some much-needed breathing room.

At any rate, the next chapter will deal with the aftermath and then we'll get a time-skip before the start of Part Two.

Stay tuned. . .