New Transformation Technique: Swimsuit Chiyo Unlocked

The next day, a memorial service was held before the Memorial Stone for the two murdered Advisors, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, as well as the nearly twenty heroes who had sacrificed themselves to protect Konoha during this war.

Even the still-injured Third Hokage was pushed to the site in a wheelchair by Biwako. An elderly fat man stood beside him as well.

Akimichi Torifu, like Danzo and the others, had been one of the six members of the Second Hokage's original guard squad. Unlike several of his former teammates who had remained in high office, he had retired early in his old age, spending every day eating and drinking at home, content to be a happy fat man.

Having heard the tragic news of his three old friends, he had come specially to see them off one last time.

Standing beside the Third Hokage, Akimichi Torifu looked at Minato, Tsunade, and Jiraiya before the Memorial Stone; at outstanding Konoha shinobi like Asuma, Kakashi, and Guy among the crowd; and at children like Naruto and Sasuke. He patted the Third Hokage on the shoulder and sighed. "Hiruzen, our era has passed..."

"Yes. Tobirama-sensei once taught me that one must become Hokage, then nurture people worthy of being entrusted with the next era. Now, not only has the next generation grown up, but even the generation after them has begun to grow."

Torifu said regretfully, "If Danzo had understood that, none of this would have happened today. What a pity about Koharu and Homura."

The Third Hokage remained silent. His best friend's betrayal of Konoha had dealt him a heavy blow. Now, he somewhat understood how Jiraiya had felt when Orochimaru defected and Jiraiya searched for him across the world.

Before everyone, Minato briefly recounted the accomplishments and deeds of the fallen—many matters could not be described in detail due to the nature of shinobi.

Afterward, everyone offered white flowers to express their condolences. The families of the fallen sobbed softly, filled with both pride and grief.

For those with adults in their households, Minato naturally granted the proper compensation. Those left with only children were sent to the orphanage, with their pensions to be distributed monthly once the children grew older.

Nonō and Kabuto naturally did not refuse. They ran the orphanage for children like these, and Kabuto had recently brought back quite a few rewards, so funds were plentiful.

Minato was conscientiously doing everything a Hokage should do for them. As for the grief that could not be dispelled, only time could handle it.

Several more days passed, and Otogakure and Sunagakure Village sent delegations to Konoha one after another for negotiations.

There was not much to say about Otogakure. It had not been established for long and was not particularly strong to begin with. This time, Orochimaru had gambled away most of its elite forces, severely crippling it.

If they did not properly beg Konoha for forgiveness, seek an alliance with Konoha, and ask their big brother to keep protecting them, they might very well be attacked by neighboring countries taking advantage of their weakness.

Especially those small countries that also followed Konoha's lead. They would probably say, "You offended big brother and still think you can run?" before happily starting a fight.

Otogakure tactfully stated that it would provide reasonable compensation for Konoha's losses and would cooperate with Konoha in clearing out Orochimaru's remaining forces within the Land of Rice Fields.

They requested that Konoha release Otogakure's prisoners, naturally excluding Orochimaru's few diehard followers.

Konoha did not make things too difficult for them either. Otogakure's attitude was good and its sincerity was sufficient; this little brother could barely still be kept around.

Sunagakure was different. As one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages of the Five Great Nations, its status was a notch above Otogakure's, so it harbored some unrealistic fantasies.

Chiyo's Granny led Sunagakure Village's delegation.

Chiyo had actually retired long ago. She had dug a reservoir in her home, and her greatest hobbies every day were fishing there and playing dead to tease her Younger Brother, Ebizo.

The reason they had asked her to come out was that Sunagakure Village truly had no one else worth putting forward.

The Kazekage had died under unclear circumstances, and it had taken great effort just to recover his bones from the desert—Orochimaru really was something. After killing someone, he had not even bothered to bury him.

There had once been a hero, Scorch Style Pakura, but rumors said she had been set up and killed by Rasa.

Later, there had been an outstanding shinobi who was the Kazekage's brother-in-law, Yashamaru. Unfortunately, he too had been killed by Rasa's string of ridiculous schemes.

As for Baki, he believed that as a prisoner who had been released by Konoha to deliver a message, serving as delegation leader would damage Sunagakure's dignity.

In the end, Sunagakure Village's higher-ups had no choice but to ask Chiyo's Granny to come out of retirement.

Naruto caught a distant glimpse of the delegation, then unlocked the new Transformation Technique, Swimsuit Chiyo, intending to find an opportunity to let Jiraiya appreciate it.

For Sunagakure, the negotiations did not go smoothly, because at first they had wanted to take a relatively tough stance, striving to pay less compensation, no compensation at all, or even gain some benefits.

Based on Chiyo's many years of experience, Konoha's foreign policy had always favored peace.

During the era of the strongest First Hokage, if a village had no money, it could try attacking Konoha. When the time came, if they cried hard enough about their misery and were not beaten to death on the spot by Madara, Hashirama might not hold it against them and might even provide a little aid.

During the Second Hokage's era, if a village had no money, it could still try attacking Konoha. Though Tobirama's attitude was somewhat tougher, he generally still supported his Older Brother's ideals and pursued peace. As long as they properly admitted their mistakes, the outcome would not be too terrible.

By the Third Hokage's era, it had been the best time for Sunagakure. If they had no money, their first thought would be to attack Konoha. Even if they were defeated in the end, as long as they acted tough enough, they might receive benefits as if they had won.

But now it was the Fourth Hokage's era. Chiyo had intended to start out tough and test the Fourth Hokage's attitude, only to hit a wall.

The seemingly amicable, sunny, and cheerful Fourth Hokage showed absolutely no mercy in this matter. You had harmed Konoha's companions, so naturally you had to pay the price.

Moreover, when Minato, Tsunade, and Jiraiya sat down opposite Chiyo, she had no confidence even if she wanted to be tough. Any one of them could hang up the entire delegation and beat them senseless. What did she have to act tough with?

As she walked out of the meeting room, Chiyo looked at the vibrant scene on Konoha's streets and sighed that the times had changed.

Konoha had an outstanding Hokage and was growing stronger and stronger. What was Sunagakure Village supposed to do from now on?

Thinking of the higher-ups who only knew how to fight for power and profit at the conference table gave Chiyo a headache. Yes, Sunagakure Village's higher-ups could absolutely compete with Konoha's previous generation of leaders in being terrible.

Forget it. Chiyo shook her head. I'm old too. I should leave it for the next Kazekage to worry about. Then her head began to ache again, because she realized there seemed to be no one in all of Sunagakure Village capable of becoming Kazekage.

The final alliance treaty was entirely centered around Konoha. Though Sunagakure Village remained one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages of the Five Great Nations in name, it would likely have to act according to Konoha's wishes in every respect from now on.

Chiyo felt that after returning, she would probably become Sunagakure Village's sinner.