"Finally, we're back..."
Uchiha Feiyu looked at Konoha and let out a long breath.
Most of the ninja stationed on the Sunagakure front in the Land of Rivers had returned by now. Only a small number remained behind to patrol and guard the border.
The formation of over a thousand ninja stretched on in a mighty procession, yet at the sight of Konoha, countless ninja burst into tears. Though the battle had seemed easy to Uchiha Feiyu, Konoha had in fact suffered devastating losses.
Leaving aside everything else, during the decisive battle against the Sand Shinobi alone, Konoha had lost over two thousand ninja to poison gas—nearly half of the original main force.
Including the casualties from all the other scattered battles, only around thirty percent of the ninja who had originally manned the entire front remained.
And this was only the beginning of the Ninja World War. Things would likely grow even more brutal from here on.
Once they returned to Konoha, many ninja's relatives rushed out to search for their loved ones. Some found their family members, while others could only find an urn of ashes.
For a time, tears of joy and heartbroken wailing filled the village. Every facet of human life played out within the small ninja village.
Uchiha Feiyu was undoubtedly an outlier among them. Let alone parents, he barely had any friends in all of Konoha, so naturally, he could not empathize with them.
"Come with me to the Hokage Office, Feiyu-kun. You've rendered great service this time, and the Hokage needs to see you."
Orochimaru, wearing the same indifferent expression, spoke to Uchiha Feiyu. Feiyu nodded. Aside from his great military achievements, he had now become Orochimaru's disciple, so the Third Hokage naturally needed to get a grasp of his background.
Following Orochimaru