"This matter couldn't be related to you, could it, Danzo?" Homura Mitokado said flatly.
If he remembered correctly, Danzo had previously gone to the Land of Rain to execute a mission, and had obtained a sum of funds and supplies from Amegakure. The people of Akatsuki, it seemed, were from the Land of Rain.
"Homura, what do you mean by that?" Danzo Shimura coldly glanced at Homura Mitokado.
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane were both Hokage Advisors, theoretically on the same level as the Hokage, and their status was even slightly higher than his own as the leader of Root. After all, Root was, at the end of the day, merely a branch of the Anbu. Homura Mitokado hailed from the Mitokado Clan, and Koharu Utatane came from the Utatane Clan—both were shinobi clans that did not possess any Kekkei Genkai. On the other hand, Danzo had the Shimura Clan backing him, which was a massive clan on par with the Sarutobi Clan. In terms of sheer political power, Danzo Shimura did not fear these two in the slightest.
"Enough."
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not wish to see his old friends squabbling, and slammed his tobacco pipe against the wooden desk once more.
"Have Minato return. We can concede more benefits to Kumogakure, as long as they halt this war."
As Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, he exhaled a small cloud of smoke. Konohagakure could no longer withstand the devastation of war. This conflict, which had dragged on for several years, was finally overdue to draw its curtain.
"Hiruzen, you..."
Before Danzo could finish his sentence, Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his hand to cut him off.
"I will take full responsibility for this entire matter. I will step down from the position of Third Hokage, and yield the seat to the Fourth."
Since yielding benefits to Iwagakure had already forced his abdication, adding Kumogakure to the mix changed nothing. With so many debts to his name, Hiruzen was no longer afraid of adding one more. The new generation needed the youth to continue leading them. It was time for his generation to retire behind the scenes.
Of course, the newly appointed Fourth Hokage would definitely be unfamiliar with administrative affairs. When that time came, he would assist in handling the village's administration.
"Hmph. Yielding the seat to the Fourth... I hope you do not regret this, Hiruzen."
Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Danzo Shimura was infuriated to the extreme. He swept his sleeves and stormed out of the room.
Right now, the most crucial matter was to send someone to negotiate with Hanzo of the Salamander. Since both of them were accomplices, they needed to join forces to combat Akatsuki. And lastly, there was the matter of the candidate for the Fourth Hokage.
"The formal selection of the Fourth Hokage is just around the corner. Orochimaru, do not disappoint me," Danzo Shimura muttered to himself.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was single-mindedly set on a truce, and Kumogakure would likely take the offered exit strategy. Even if they had hired Akatsuki, it would at most give them a slight leverage. If they continued fighting, not many of their local shinobi would be left. Peace was already inevitable.
And once Orochimaru, Minato Namikaze, and the others returned, it would be the exact moment of the Fourth Hokage selection!
As time passed, the days on the battlefield flowed continuously like water, never pausing for a single moment. Hiruzen Sarutobi's command gradually reached the entire shinobi village. Some cheered with joy, while others cursed in anger. Hiruzen Sarutobi's public reputation suffered quite a blow at this moment.
After several days, this news finally reached the front lines. Shimizu and the others also received the ceasefire order; Hiruzen Sarutobi had already dispatched Jiraiya to conduct the negotiations.
Jiraiya, huh? I wonder if Hiruzen Sarutobi knows that Jiraiya is the mentor of Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan, Shimizu thought to himself.
Although Konohagakure did not have strict regulations regarding the private teaching of ninjutsu to outsiders—and major clans wouldn't be foolish enough to teach their secret techniques to strangers—someone like Jiraiya, who had spent three whole years teaching them, passing on various high-level ninjutsu, and failing to bring them back to Konohagakure to register them as Leaf shinobi, choosing instead to let them remain in the Land of Rain, had essentially aided the enemy. For Hiruzen Sarutobi to show no reaction to this was highly intriguing. Jiraiya believed that Nagato was the Child of Prophecy, but Hiruzen Sarutobi had never been to Mount Myoboku. It could only be said that what Hiruzen Sarutobi truly thought in his heart was something only he himself knew.
"Kumogakure has agreed to sign the peace treaty!"
Tekka Uchiha ran over, his face flushed with excitement. He belonged to the squad under Jiraiya's command and had personally witnessed the moment Jiraiya stepped out with the signed agreement.
"We finally don't have to fight on the battlefield anymore."
Inabi Uchiha followed a few steps behind Tekka. The faces of both young men had grown far more resolute, and their heights had increased considerably, completely shedding their past immaturity.
War was truly the ultimate catalyst for changing a person. Both of them had successively awakened their Sharingan, reaching the level of the Two-Tomoe.
"Is it over there?" Shimizu pointed toward a specific direction, where many shinobi seemed to be running.
"Yes, that's the direction Lord Jiraiya is returning from," Tekka and Inabi nodded simultaneously.
"I see." Shimizu nodded.
The war had ceased. The first major crisis he faced upon transmigrating had formally been resolved; he had successfully survived the Third Shinobi World War. All that remained was some cleanup work and the post-war handovers between the nations. However, those matters had nothing to do with Shimizu, and he had no need to handle them.
The odd jobs that the orphanage can do will probably become even scarcer now, Shimizu mused.
Those children were too young, far below the legal age to work, and the orphanage followed a strictly legitimate path, so they wouldn't take such a risk. If they were caught, they might lose even their meager subsidies. Such a counterproductive move that would make life harder for the orphanage was something Nonou Yakushi would never do.
With the war winding down, high-risk missions would decrease significantly during this period. The shinobi of all major nations and smaller factions would begin to rest and recuperate. It was highly unlikely that Nonou Yakushi would be able to find work treating shinobi. Taking private commissions would mean returning to the active shinobi world under her former identity, and Danzo was still watching her like a hawk from the sidelines.
Last time it was a nun's black thigh highs, what will it be this time? Shimizu's Three-Tomoe Sharingan involuntarily manifested. The bottleneck of his visual prowess seemed to be trembling. After all, Nonou Yakushi's identity was his mentor, while he was the disciple. The thrill this taboo dynamic brought was entirely different from anyone else.
"Shimizu?" Tekka noticed that Shimizu's Sharingan had suddenly activated.
"It's nothing. I was just a bit emotional. The flames of war will no longer spread across this land," Shimizu said smoothly, slowly deactivating his eyes.
The orphanage was merely one aspect; in this post-war period, he needed to begin laying out his comprehensive plans. Shimizu couldn't just sit idly by and watch the Tragedy of the Uchiha Clan unfold. He himself carried the Uchiha surname, and it was hard to say what choices Shisui and Itachi would make when the time came.
As long as the Uchiha were not eradicated, the higher-ups of Konohagakure would never sleep in peace. The conflict would only grow increasingly intense. Shimizu was currently a favorite in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, viewed as the successor to Kagami Uchiha. But further down the line, he would inevitably be perceived as a threat and branded with the label of Madara Uchiha. Hiruzen Sarutobi might not act so ruthlessly, but his dear friend Danzo Shimura certainly would. And Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude would merely be one of silent, ambiguous acquiescence.
"Jiraiya-sensei, has the war truly ceased completely?"
Minato Namikaze's complexion had recovered significantly, and he showed very little abnormality on the surface, though his footsteps were slightly weak. A man possessed only two orbs, which were the primary organs for secreting male hormones. Having lost one, his masculine side was bound to be affected.
"Indeed it has."
Jiraiya did not notice anything unusual about his student. At this moment, he, like everyone else, was immersed in immense joy. The only regret of this trip was that he hadn't managed to meet the members of Akatsuki. Otherwise, he would have definitely asked them about how Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko were doing. They were all from the Land of Rain, and since Akatsuki was the local powerhouse there, it wouldn't take much effort to find them if they looked.
"Minato, you are a true hero this time. Without your rapid response, your entire squad would have been wiped out." Jiraiya patted Minato Namikaze on the shoulder.
The relationship between the two was exceptionally close; though they were mentor and student, they were practically like father and son. Minato was an orphan whom Jiraiya had personally brought back from the war, so the depth of their bond went without saying. Furthermore, Minato had even mentioned wanting to consult him for inspiration when naming his future children.
"I am not the true hero. The true heroes are all the shinobi of our village," Minato Namikaze smiled humbly. He was a very modest man. "Shimizu also made a massive contribution this time. Without him, I wouldn't have been able to extract the others so smoothly," Minato stated calmly.
The presence of an extra Tailed Beast Jinchuriki introduced too many variables; who knew what could have happened? Under the circumstances, having everyone escape with only minor injuries was already the absolute best outcome.
Only, as for myself... Minato Namikaze cast a dark, obscured glance toward his lower body and shook his head, dispersing the gloom in his mind. After several days of recovery, the existing tissue had mostly healed, but the large portion that was missing would never return. He could only place his hopes on future scientific advancements, just as Shimizu had suggested.
Minato still held plenty of confidence in this. The technological landscape of the shinobi world was changing rapidly with each passing day; when he was a child, none of these convenient technologies existed. Furthermore, a shinobi was never meant to excessively pursue ordinary human happiness; they had to transcend base desires. To ordinary civilians, shinobi were like grim reapers who held the power of life and death. Powerhouses like them had to be even more mindful of their psychological state to prevent themselves from falling into the path of an Asura.
"Shimizu Uchiha, huh..." Jiraiya frowned slightly.
Shimizu Uchiha was simply too brilliant, far too dazzling. In the past, everyone had merely dismissed him as a second coming of the White Fang's son. But looking at it now, Shimizu Uchiha had completely surpassed Kakashi Hatake.
Not long after gaining the moniker of "Body Flicker Shimizu," he had already become a Jonin. Shimizu's qualifications as a Jonin were entirely solid, having been tempered by several years of war alongside his astonishing combination of ninjutsu. Speed, defense, flight, long-range capabilities, and close-quarter combat—it was as if he were an all-around shinobi, possessing absolutely no flaws across Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu.
For Konohagakure to possess such a prodigy among the new generation was naturally a blessing. But unfortunately, the error lay in the fact that Shimizu Uchiha was Shimizu Uchiha, rather than Shimizu Inuzuka, Shimizu Sarutobi, Shimizu Namikaze, or even Shimizu Uzumaki.
Jiraiya was all too familiar with the dark undercurrents within Konohagakure. Once the Fourth Hokage firmly secured the position, it was highly likely that the loyal hound would be cooked once the game was bagged.
The Uchiha's standing within Konohagakure was simply far too delicate.
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