Time to Settle Accounts

Land of Fire, Konoha Village.

In the high-level conference room, the four senior officials—Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Shimura Danzō—were holding a secret meeting.

Yet strangely, as they sat in their seats, all four remained silent. No one spoke.

The eerie atmosphere persisted for a while before Utatane Koharu finally broke the silence.

"The Uchiha Clan performed exceptionally well in this war..."

"Starting from the eastern battlefield, outstanding young talents such as Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Daiki emerged one after another."

"Uchiha Daiki in particular was able to change the course of the entire war by himself. He is truly a rare, top-tier talent who cannot be overlooked."

Though her words sounded flattering, none of the four looked particularly pleased.

As the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared relatively composed. He simply smoked in silence.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, however, looked far more troubled. Their brows were tightly furrowed, their faces heavy with worry.

Shimura Danzō, the head of the Root Organization, still looked as lifeless as ever.

After Utatane Koharu finished speaking, the conference room fell into an eerie silence once more.

After a while, Mitokado Homura slowly spoke. "After this battle, the Uchiha Clan's prestige within the village will likely rise again. As the village's administrators, we must give such a heroic clan sufficient recognition and rewards."

"We must not give people cause to criticize us."

He was reminding Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Although the Uchiha Clan and Konoha had distrusted each other for years, and everyone knew their relationship behind the scenes was far from harmonious.

The proper appearances still had to be maintained. That was what made a qualified ruler.

Hiruzen Sarutobi still said little, quietly puffing on his pipe.

At that moment, Utatane Koharu spoke again. "The matter of the Uchiha will naturally be handled properly. Uchiha Daiki's files have already been sent to your office. Now, let us discuss other matters."

Her tone grew somewhat stern.

Hiruzen Sarutobi remained as unruffled as ever.

"Hiruzen."

Mitokado Homura spoke in a low voice. "In this war, although Kirigakure of the Land of Water, Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning, and Sunagakure of the Land of Earth have all agreed to peace talks, and Konoha can be said to have won the war..."

"Our casualties have been extremely severe. Not to say that the village is nearly empty, but the ninjas we sent to the battlefield barely survived."

"There is now a great deal of criticism within the village regarding this war... More importantly, many discordant voices have also come from the Land of Fire's Daimyo."

He slowly folded his arms, his stern gaze falling upon Hiruzen Sarutobi's face.

Having served as Hokage for so many years, and with the two of them being comrades who knew each other inside and out, how could Hiruzen Sarutobi fail to understand what Mitokado Homura meant?

The war was about to end.

Negotiations were about to begin.

But afterward, someone would have to take responsibility for the disasters and losses this war had brought upon Konoha and the Land of Fire.

Hiruzen Sarutobi finally lowered his pipe and looked seriously at Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. "Since I am the village's Kage and the overall commander of this war, you need not worry about the responsibility I should bear."

"Before that, I still need to negotiate with the leaders of the other nations. Once the results of those negotiations are known, it will not be too late to discuss this."

The outcome of the negotiations would determine his fate.

If Konoha could gain enough benefits from the negotiations, perhaps even offsetting the tremendous losses this war had inflicted upon the Land of Fire to a certain extent.

Then perhaps he could emerge unscathed. Otherwise, he could only leave it to fate and accept whatever changes might come.

Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi say this, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu's expressions softened somewhat.

As long as someone was willing to step forward and take responsibility without dragging them down as well, they naturally would not press too hard.

"Hiruzen, I reminded you long ago to withdraw the remaining troops from the battlefield as soon as possible."

Utatane Koharu looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with faint regret and pity as she spoke gently.

"Only the situation on the Western Battlefield has yet to be confirmed. Let us wait a little longer. Perhaps in the next few days, I will be able to set out for the Land of Fire's Daimyo."

Hiruzen Sarutobi changed the subject and murmured to himself.

Just as he finished speaking, Minato Namikaze's voice came from outside the conference room. "Third Hokage-sama, the latest news from the battlefield has arrived."

After the troops of the major hostile ninja villages withdrew from the Land of Fire's borders, Minato Namikaze, who was skilled in the Flying Thunder God Technique, temporarily served as a messenger delivering important intelligence.

Upon hearing him, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately ordered him to enter.

"The latest intelligence reports that Lord Orochimaru has led his forces to defeat Sunagakure's invading troops. The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, has personally agreed to withdraw and begin peace talks."

"It seems the war can finally come to a complete end..."

The good news Minato Namikaze brought back had long been expected by everyone.

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly raised his pipe again and took a puff. Then he looked calmly at Minato Namikaze. "Minato, go make preparations. You will accompany me to the Land of Fire's Daimyo."

"Yes, Third Hokage-sama."

Minato Namikaze paused slightly. Sensing that Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to have something he wished to tell him privately, he did not ask any questions and hurriedly nodded.

The Third Shinobi World War, which had lasted for years, finally came to a complete end after the final desperate struggle of the major ninja villages.

Strictly speaking, this war had no victors.

Whether it was Kirigakure, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure, which appeared to have admitted defeat by withdrawing their troops, or Konoha, which seemed to be the victor, every side had in fact paid an unimaginably terrible price.

The various nations supporting these ninja villages from behind the scenes had naturally paid an enormous economic price as well.

Now, news that the war was about to end completely spread rapidly across the battlefield.

The combat forces of the other four ninja villages had all withdrawn from the Land of Fire's border. Apart from the necessary defensive forces, the Land of Fire's remaining troops also began returning to their villages one after another.

The Uchiha Clan's combat forces were no exception.

At this moment, Uchiha Daiki had returned to his unit and was traveling back toward Konoha with the main force.

However, despite having won the battle, there was none of the expected cheering and laughter within the ranks. Every Uchiha clansman looked gloomy.

A stifling, oppressive atmosphere filled the entire unit.

This left Uchiha Daiki deeply puzzled.