Jiraiya returned

Shazo did not stay behind to supervise. After arranging for Konoha Ninja to keep watch, he and Shisui Uchiha returned directly to Konoha.

The next day, as expected, all the Cloud Ninja left.

According to a later report from the Konoha Ninja were monitoring them, the Cloud Ninja ' retreat was very decisive.

The Fourth Raikage led the way, traveling 200 kilometers at breakneck speed from the Land of Fire. Instead of stopping to rest, they traversed the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Moon, returning to the Land of Lightning in one go.

The Cloud Ninja not only left quickly, but they also left very cleanly, taking away all the tents, trash, and even the corpses of Cloud Ninja that could be found.

Upon returning to Konoha, Xia Zuo convened another meeting of Konoha Jonin to inform them that the mission to defeat the Kumogakure ninja army had been completed.

Shazo reminded everyone, "The reason I was able to force back the Fourth Raikage is certainly because my strength surpasses his, but more importantly, it's because he had a large number of Cloud Ninja around him."

"Ordinary Cloud Ninja cannot withstand the Wood Release Secret Technique and can only be slaughtered at my will; they have all become hostages in my hands."

"In order to protect the Cloud Ninja, the Fourth Raikage has no choice but to accept my conditions, withdraw from the Land of Fire, and end this probing attack on Konoha."

Shikaku Nara understood the implication in Shazo's words and asked for confirmation, "Does Lord Shazo Zuo mean that if the Fourth Raikage abandons leading the Ninja Army and teams up with Killer B to invade the Land of Fire, you will be powerless to stop him?"

Shazo nodded and said, "Yes, Shikaku Nara Jonin. I can defeat the Fourth Raikage head-on, but he can roam freely across such a large area as the Land of Fire; I can't stop him."

"Therefore, I didn't pressure the Cloud Ninja excessively. Besides asking them to withdraw from the Land of Fire, I only made one condition, and that's how I reached Peace Agreement with the Fourth Raikage."

Shibi Aburame asked curiously, "What other conditions did you propose?"

Shazo replied, "The Kumogakure paid the ransom to the Konoha, calculated at 1 million ryo per Cloud Ninja."

After a brief silence, the Meeting Hall suddenly erupted, and almost all the Konoha Ninja stood up.

"What? Make the Kumogakure pay money?"

"Several thousand Cloud Ninja, wouldn't that cost billions of taels of silver?"

"The Fourth Raikage agreed?"

Faced with the chaotic Meeting Hall, Shazo smiled and waited for everyone to quiet down on their own.

Then he announced loudly, "The Fourth Raikage has accepted the terms of the reparations, which should total slightly over 7 billion ryo."

The meeting room of the Konoha Ninja Assembly became noisy again.

"Hahaha, great! I didn't expect those barbarians from Kumogakure to bow down like this."

"That's how it should be! Once we win, the invaders should pay the price!"

Shazo successfully resolved the crisis of the Cloud Ninja invasion and even obtained a compensation of 7 billion ryo, which surprised the Konoha Ninja even more than Shazo's victory over the Fourth Raikage.

Then some people remembered how helpless the Third Hokage was with the Fourth Raikage, expressing his frustration that the task was simply impossible to complete.

Hyuga Hiashi glanced sideways at the seats in front of him and sneered, "Heh, Third Hokage—heh heh!"

Amidst the laughter and chatter of the Konoha Ninja, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Utatane Koharu appeared grim and even somewhat restless.

They've been causing trouble for so long, and the Fourth Raikage hasn't even shown up.

How come the Fourth Raikage chickened out when Shazo fought him, and before either could gain the upper hand, with neither able to defeat the other?

This doesn't make sense.

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Utatane Koharu and couldn't help but shake his head. This girl was really useless; she wouldn't step up if there was anything to do.

Utatane Koharu wasn't going to step forward, the most suitable person to ask a question was Mitokado Homura, but he wasn't in the village at the moment; he was on his way to find Jiraiya and Tsunade.

So Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up and asked, "Shazo Chunin, in my memory, the Fourth Raikage was a very tough Ninja who never chose to compromise. What exactly did you do to make him bow down?"

Xia Zuo laughed, "Sarutobi Jonin, your impression is just your own misconception."

"The Fourth Raikage may seem tough, but he is actually very rational and adept at assessing situations."

"I defeated the Fourth Raikage to prove my strength, and killed approximately 700 Cloud Ninja to demonstrate my resolve, so he accepted my terms."

Hiruzen Sarutobi utterly shocked. In his shock, he didn't even have time to think before blurting out a string of words he had said countless times before, "What? You actually killed over 700 Cloud Ninja!"

"How can this be? The Fourth Raikage will definitely start a war!"

"When war breaks out, countless Ninja of Konoha will pay the price, and you are the murderer who killed him! You are the sinner of Konoha —uh!"

Under the horrified and bewildered gazes Jonin over 300 Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi regained consciousness.

He realized he had said the wrong thing, because that wasn't the case.

Shazo killed over 700 Cloud Ninja, but the Fourth Raikage did not launch a war. On the contrary, this Ninja, known as the toughest in the Ninja World, backed down.

The Cloud Ninja withdrew from the Land of Fire overnight and even agreed to pay billions in reparations.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his head buzzing more and more.

It turns out the Fourth Raikage was a fraud. He's just stubborn; if you're tough on him, he'll back down.

Yes, wasn't it the same two years ago?

So what have I been afraid of all these past ten years?

Doesn't this mean that all his past worries and fears were just him scaring himself?

Hiruzen Sarutobi expressed his disapproval, stating that there must be other issues at play.

Shazo Zuo chuckled and said, "Hiruzen Sarutobi is Jonin, but killing 700 Cloud Ninja certainly won't make the Fourth Raikage back down."

"The key point is that I defeated the Fourth Raikage in a face-to-face battle all by myself."

"I proved that I was so strong that even the Fourth Raikage couldn't stop me, and I also proved that I could kill. That's what makes me a real deterrent."

Hiruzen Sarutobi had nothing more to say.

He lowered his head, seemingly apologizing to no one in particular, saying, "Alas, I was wrong in the past, I was wrong indeed."

After saying that, he slumped back into his seat.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's spirit seemed to collapse all at once, and he suddenly aged ten years, looking like he was on his deathbed, with his back even more hunched.

No one noticed that Hiruzen Sarutobi's lowered eyes still gleamed with a strange light.

He hasn't given up yet.

Another day passed, Mitokado Homura, accompanied by several Ninja, practically escorted Jiraiya back to the village Jiraiya handed him over to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Jiraiya was startled when he saw his teacher. "Old man, how did you get so old?"

"Teacher Sarutobi, I heard you were impeached and removed from office. Is that true?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up, smiled wryly, and replied, "Of course it's true, otherwise I wouldn't have called you back in such a hurry."