The Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Rivers caught between them finally settled into temporary stability.
The flames of war that had burned for years were beginning to die out—had already died out.
Within just a few short days, news of Konoha and Sunagakure signing a peace treaty spread through the entire ninja world like a storm, triggering a chain reaction of consequences.
Viewed from the perspective of the Third Great Ninja War, this conflict was essentially a continuation of the Second Great Ninja War. The disappearance of the Third Kazekage had been the spark that ignited it. Sunagakure was the first ninja village drawn into the war, and the Land of Wind was the first nation to be dragged in.
Now, it was also very likely to become the first nation to step out of the war.
After ending its conflict with Konoha, Sunagakure's only remaining major enemy was Iwagakure.
By contrast, Konoha's enemies included Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and the smaller but troublesome Amegakure.
Iwagakure's enemies: Sunagakure, Konoha, Kumogakure
Kumogakure's enemies: Konoha, Iwagakure, Kirigakure
Kirigakure's enemies: Konoha, Kumogakure
But things were never that simple.
The ceasefire between Konoha and Sunagakure was not merely an affair between two villages. A single peace treaty was enough to influence the entire balance of the war.
The Third Great Ninja War was deeply intertwined—pull one thread, and the whole tapestry moved.
Strategic Ripple Effects
First, for the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire themselves:
After signing the peace treaty, neither side could afford to completely let its guard down—but at the very least, massive troop concentrations along the border were no longer necessary.
The freed-up manpower would inevitably be redirected to other fronts.
Sunagakure would certainly reinforce the Iwagakure front.
Konoha, meanwhile, was more likely to strengthen its forces against Iwagakure and Kumogakure, as those fronts were far more demanding than the Kirigakure line.
Naturally, in order to maintain battlefield balance, Iwagakure and Kumogakure would also have to respond with strategic adjustments. Reinforcing their own lines was almost inevitable.
Second, Sunagakure had long maintained murky, under-the-table dealings with Amegakure. Otherwise, their earlier raid on Konoha's command headquarters would never have been able to pass through Rain Country territory.
Now that peace had been signed, Sunagakure would have to unilaterally put an end to those maneuvers.
Even if such activities continued, they would have to be far more covert and indirect.
In short, because of the sudden peace and alliance between Konoha and Sunagakure, the once-blazing battlefields of the Third Great Ninja War abruptly fell quiet—as if someone had pressed a pause button.
Every nation needed time to reassess its next move.
One Week Later
One week after the peace treaty was signed—
Following the conclusion of the Hokage–Kazekage summit, Konoha's forces withdrew from the Land of Wind in about a day and a half. After passing through the Land of Rivers, they temporarily stationed themselves along the Land of Fire's border.
Next came strategic discussions between the Hokage and the advisory staff.
A small portion of Konoha ninja would remain at the border to monitor Sunagakure's movements. Unless under extremely special circumstances, however, Konoha ninja were strictly forbidden from entering Wind Country territory.
As for the rest of the forces:
One portion was dispatched directly to reinforce the Iwagakure and Kumogakure fronts.
Another portion accompanied the Hokage back to Konoha.
Immediately after withdrawing from Wind Country, Namikaze Minato took Kakashi and Rin back to the Iwagakure front. This didn't mean Minato himself would remain there—after reuniting his two students with their unfortunate third teammate, he still had reasons to return to Konoha.
After Minato's departure, the main Konoha force began moving in earnest.
Return to the Village
The first group to leave consisted of severely wounded ninja, medical staff, and their escorts—most of them heading straight for Konoha.
Next were the reinforcements bound for the Iwagakure and Kumogakure fronts.
Finally, after the overall situation stabilized, the Third Hokage returned to Konoha with his直属 ANBU.
Konoha was currently stretched thin. Allowing these elite forces to remain outside for too long would inevitably make the Hokage uneasy.
After all, Konoha wasn't immune to surprise attacks.
Amid these frequent and chaotic large-scale troop movements, Hagoromo received no clear assignment at all.
He wasn't on the list for the Kumogakure front.
He wasn't assigned to remain on border duty.
He wasn't even on the immediate return roster for Konoha.
It wasn't until today—while he was effectively in a state of "lost contact" or "being forgotten"—that his orders finally arrived:
Return to Konoha with the unit.
As for future missions, those would be determined after his return.
The arrangement was complicated, but Hagoromo didn't pay it much mind.
A ninja obeyed organizational orders.
A ninja was a piece on the board of war.
Hagoromo was no exception.
Homecoming
This was likely the final group returning to Konoha—around a hundred people in total. Most were injured but still mobile, accompanied by medical ninja. The rest were unattached personnel like Hagoromo—so-called "free agents."
The journey back required caution in route selection, but realistically speaking, this was a period of strategic realignment across nations. The battlefield was relatively quiet, and the likelihood of encountering enemy attacks was low.
Because many were injured, the group moved slowly. After several days of steady travel, they finally arrived back at Konoha.
...
When Konoha's gates came back into view, calling it "long-awaited" would have been an exaggeration—but returning safely from the battlefield still stirred something in Hagoromo.
At its core, Konoha looked exactly the same.
For many people, war was little more than an abstract concept.
Which village Konoha was fighting.
How the war was going.
How much could ordinary villagers really know?
Victory, to them, was mostly symbolic—something emotional rather than practical.
Civilians didn't go to the front lines. And no matter how fiercely the war burned, it was unlikely to reach Konoha itself.
Ninja and civilians worried about entirely different things.
Most people cared only about victory. What came after victory was something they neither thought about nor wanted to think about.
Even though some time had passed since the treaty was signed, Konoha was still steeped in celebration.
After completing the entry procedures, ninja like Hagoromo escorted the wounded and medical staff to the Konoha Hospital, after which the unit officially disbanded.
Walking through Konoha's streets, Hagoromo could still see traces of post-celebration revelry.
All he wanted now was to go home and sleep—deeply, without thinking about anything else.
So he did exactly that.
As for filing post-mission reports?
That could wait until tomorrow.
An Unexpected Cleanup
Upon returning home, Hagoromo noticed something strange.
The house wasn't nearly as dirty as he'd expected.
After being empty for so long, the furniture and bed hadn't even gathered dust.
That… wasn't normal.
Had someone come by to clean recently?
Still pondering this, Hagoromo moved to sit down on a chair.
Just as his weight touched it—
The chair collapsed.
Completely.
He rubbed his eyes.
No mistake—the chair had definitely fallen apart.
With housekeeping skills like this, he immediately knew who the culprit was.
Kushina.
A true kind soul.
If only she were just a little more careful.
Authour's Note :
Hey readers,
I've been thinking about dropping this fic because there hasn't been any support on P@treon over the past few weeks. I've been releasing chapters daily, and honestly, it hurts to see almost no support after putting in so much effort.
If you're enjoying the fic even a little, your support would truly mean a lot to me. It really helps a student stay independent and continue uploading .
complete fic (soon all chapters will be uploaded) are already up on Patreon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789
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