Peace Talks

"What? Yichen, what did you say?" This time it was Saka who asked the question; he never expected Yichen to say that.

Are you crazy to want Konoha to quickly remember the Third Shinobi World War?

If it weren't for Yichen's outstanding performance in this battle, and his saving of Ikura's life from Minato Namikaze, Saka would have suspected that Yichen was a spy for Konoha.

Yichen looked around at everyone and noticed that everyone else had the same expression as Saka.

Then, with a sly grin, he said, "Heh heh. Advisor Saka, do you think winning the war quickly is a good thing for Konoha?"

"Does everyone remember the conditions that Hiruzen Sarutobi used to persuade the Uchiha and Hyuga to send troops after the Mist ninja joined the war?"

Following the White Fang Incident, the relationship between the Konoha High-ranking officials, represented by Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the Uchiha Clan was not handled well, and the two sides were almost in a state of cold war.

Later, when dealing with the Mist ninja, in order to persuade the Uchiha Clan to send troops, Hiruzen Sarutobi publicly promised to abdicate after the war was won.

And whoever has the greatest military achievements will succeed as the Fourth Hokage.

In order to get the Uchiha Clan to fight desperately, Hiruzen Sarutobi even proposed that the battle merits of the clan members could be attributed to the same person.

"You mean, deliberately let Konoha win early, and then force Hiruzen Sarutobi abdicate?" This time it was Ikura who asked the question; he didn't understand the point of Hiruzen Sarutobi's abdication.

Ōnoki has already semi-publicly mentioned that he will choose a successor after Third Shinobi War.

It's just changing the Hokage, right? Hiruzen Sarutobi isn't dead, he's just stepping down. What's the point? Konoha won't lose anything.

"Ikura, if Konoha wins and Hiruzen Sarutobi down, who do you think will succeed him?" Yichen asked Ikura with a strange look on his face.

"Yichen, are you saying that you're using the position of the Fourth Hokage to sow discord between the current Konoha High-ranking officials and the Uchiha or even the Hyuga?" Ōnoki, having been the Tsuchikage for many years, was the first to react.

"That's right. No matter how nice Hiruzen Sarutobi's words were, he wouldn't let the Hokage position fall into the hands of the Uchiha Clan," Yichen said excitedly.

"At that time, regardless of the outcome, if the Fourth Ninja World War breaks out, the Uchiha Clan will likely not send another person to the battlefield."

"Who knows, they might even get the Hyuga Clan along with them. If the Uchiha Clan and Hyuga Clan are gone, even if Konoha wins the Third Shinobi War, can it still maintain its position Ruler of the Ninja World?"

"Whether or not the Fourth Great Ninja War will happen is up to us, who have preserved our strength."

"Moreover, even without the Fourth Shinobi War, there's bound to be some drama unfolding within Konoha itself."

"Slap! "Ōnoki slammed his hand on the table and said, "Saka, send a message to the capital and have Mei tell the daimyo that we want to negotiate peace."

Mei is the middle-aged female advisor who happens to be in the capital recently. Since the peace talks between the two countries require the presence of the daimyo, it is appropriate for Advisor Mei to act as the representative of Iwagakure and communicate with the daimyo.

After setting the most important Strategic Direction for the next step, Ōnoki felt a sense of relief, then looked at Yichen with a smile and said, "Yichen, congratulations on finally Wind Release: Breakthrough."

Yichen chuckled. That's right, during the previous battle, at the very moment when Ōnoki used Dust Release to cleanse the ground and single-handedly changed the course of the battle, Yichen Wind Release: Breakthrough.

Yichen's comprehension is not low, but the reason why he Elite Jonin level for so long is largely because he knows too much about the plot.

Its success was due to the plot, and its failure was also due to the plot.

With the help of the plot, Yichen gained a lot. But it was precisely because of these gains that Yichen never had the magnanimity of a Kage-level experts.

Whenever something happens, Yichen's first reaction is to find a solution from the plot; he never thinks about breaking free of his shackles through his own strength.

This time, Yichen racked his brains but still couldn't figure out how to reverse the unfavorable situation of the Iwa ninja.

But Ōnoki had an idea. Ōnoki's method was simple and direct: to use Dust Release to cleanse the ground.

Overwhelming strength is the fastest and most direct way to solve all problems.

At that moment, Yichen had an epiphany! In that instant, Yichen felt a surge of joy and relief.

After suppressing the Konoha ninja and returning to the Land of Fire of Land of Earth, Yichen buried himself in comprehending the final attribute: the Wind Release.

Because he was prepared, Yichen's feelings developed better and faster than Ikura's back then. Now, Yichen can be considered to have all Five-Attribute.

However, Yichen's Wind Release is currently insufficient to support him in using even a C-rank Wind Release.

Upon hearing Ōnoki's words, everyone was taken aback, then their faces lit up with joy, and they all congratulated Yichen.

Yichen thanked them one by one, feeling embarrassed.

Yichen understood what everyone meant. The role of Kage-level experts was too great. This time, the Iwa ninja were blocked halfway by Jiraiya from the very beginning and could not make any progress.

This was only because the Iwa ninja used the Tailed Beast. If it weren't for Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, attracting most of Jiraiya's attention, the Iwa ninja would have had to pay a huge price to Wind Release: Breakthrough Jiraiya's obstruction.

However, the Tailed Beast are too unstable, and Han is still unable to fight.

If Han is sent out now, it probably won't take more than a few minutes for the Five-Tails to go berserk.

But now, following Ikura, another near-shadow has appeared in the village.

Two years from now, once Yichen has fully transformed, Iwagakure will enter its most glorious moment since its founding.

After all, there has never been a case of Three Kage-level Iwa ninja.

During the previous battle, Ōnoki, who was flying in mid-air just like Yichen, was the first to notice the change in Yichen's aura, even before Yichen himself.

Therefore, when Yichen later proposed withdrawing the troops, Ōnoki did not hesitate for long.

In Ōnoki's view, even just creating a relatively quiet training space for Yichen was more important than defeating Konoha.

Therefore, the Iwa ninja completed their evacuation at the fastest speed, which gave Yichen time to comprehend the fifth attribute.

"Yichen, have you successfully comprehended the Wind Release?" Ikura knew about Yichen's four attributes and roughly guessed that Yichen planned to comprehend the Wind Release after Wind Release: Breakthrough the Kage Level, which is why he asked this question.

Ikura had been wondering why Yichen went to cultivate right after the battle, and didn't even attend the post-battle debriefing meeting.

Looking back now, Yichen probably took advantage of his recent Wind Release: Breakthrough to try and comprehend the Wind Release.

Yichen smiled confidently and said, "Of course, because the timing was well managed, the effect is even better than what you achieved back then."

"That's great," Ikura said after a moment's hesitation. "This time, you can consider how to deal with Minato Namikaze Flying Thunder God when you choose to train S-rank Ninjutsu."

"Minato Namikaze is the only ninja of our age in Konoha to Wind Release: Breakthrough to the Kage Level. He should be our biggest rival in the future."

"The Flying Thunder God is too overpowered; it's too effective against Ninjutsu- based ninjas like us."

Ikura hesitated when she said this, after all, it was a big sacrifice for Yichen. If Yichen did this, she would likely have to change a series of tactics in order to deal with Minato Namikaze Yichen, who might become the enemy.

Mentioning this, the others frowned. Ōnoki, however, said directly, "Tell me in detail about Minato Namikaze."

After finishing his conversation with Ōnoki and the others, Yichen stayed at the South Front Camp for more than twenty days.

During this time, Ōnoki did not leave. In fact, Ōnoki mobilized another 5,000 ninjas within the village.

However, these five thousand ninjas did not go to the front lines; instead, they gathered in the village, ready to depart at any moment.

The goal, of course, is to gain the upper hand at the negotiating table.

After a month of wrangling, the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth finally signed a ceasefire treaty.

Article 1 of the Armistice Treaty: The Land of Earth recognizes the Land of Fire as the victor of the Third Shinobi World War.

This is quite interesting; the Iwa ninja clearly prioritize substance over appearances.

Apart from the first clause, the other clauses either favor the Iwa ninja or impose restrictions on both sides.

Konoha only achieved a nominal victory.

For example, the treaty stipulated that the Land of Fire had to pay a huge sum of reparations to the Land of Earth; the Land of Fire had to dissolve its alliance with the Land of Grass, and the Land of Grass would remain neutral between the Lands of Fire and Earth.

For example, the treaty stipulates that Konoha must transfer three A-rank Ninjutsu and ten B-rank Ninjutsu that Iwa ninja does not possess.

This was the clause that the two sides argued about the longest. The Iwa ninja initially demanded S-rank Ninjutsu, Konoha naturally refused. Later, the Iwa ninja proposed that they could choose A-rank Ninjutsu themselves, but Konoha still refused.

Finally, the consensus reached by both sides was that the Iwa ninja would list the names of ten A-rank Ninjutsu, and the Konoha would choose three of them.

The same applies to B-rank Ninjutsu; the Iwa ninja writes down thirty, and the Konoha selects ten from them.

One noteworthy point is that when Ōnoki asked which Ninjutsu to include, Yichen suggested adding Lightning Release Stimulation Method to the list of B-rank Ninjutsu, but unfortunately, Konoha didn't grant it in the end.

Yichen felt regretful about this for several days.

Even now, Yichen still doesn't understand the true essence of the Lightning Release Stimulation Method.

The war is now over for the Iwa ninja, and according to the treaty, they must withdraw their Iwa ninja from the border.

Not only must we withdraw troops from the Land of Grass, but we must also reduce the number of ninjas on the Land of Earth border. Of course, Konoha will also reduce the number of ninjas confronting Iwa ninja at the same time.

After everything was settled, Ōnoki was going back to the village, but Yichen still had to go to the East Front Camp.

Because in this peace treaty, Konoha also made some demands on the Iwa ninja East Front Camp.

Konoha has ordered the Iwa ninja to relocate their East Front Camp. The new location must be far from the Land of the Falls.

As a master of Sealing Jutsu, Yichen needs to go to the East Front Camp to oversee the setup of the Sealing Barrier.

Before leaving, Ōnoki had Yichen copy down the three A-rank Ninjutsu and ten B-rank Ninjutsu given to him by Konoha, and this time he didn't even apply Sealing Jutsu to Yichen's mind.

Perhaps Ōnoki thought these things were just freebies, and he didn't value them as much as the Ninjutsu that the village already had.

"After you've finished setting up the East Front Camp, go back to the village and learn an S-rank Ninjutsu. This is the village's reward for your Wind Release: Breakthrough Kage Level." Ōnoki gave Yichen a few instructions before letting Yichen leave.

Yichen came alone, but left with a thousand ninjas and a large amount of supplies.

These are all to be taken to the eastern front. After most of the ninjas were withdrawn from the Southern Front, it no longer needs so many supplies, while the eastern front, after its expansion, will require a large amount of supplies.

So Yichen was given the additional task of escorting supplies.

After the fighting on the Southern Front ceased, the village had a much larger troop strength, which allowed the eastern front to be expanded to twice its original size.