Surrender and Triumphant Return

Just as Uchiha Fucheng had predicted, the Sand Ninja, having failed on the main battlefield, finally reached their breaking point.

After a brief period of hesitation, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind decisively abandoned Sunagakure.

Without the logistical support of "manpower, wealth, and resources," Sunagakure was left with only one choice.

That was to surrender unconditionally and immediately sue for peace with Konoha.

Inside Konoha's core command tent.

Hatake Sakumo and Tsunade were gathered for a secret late-night meeting with the Sand Ninja representatives who had come to negotiate.

Compared to the Konoha-Sand war in the parallel timeline, the defeat of the Sand Ninja this time was far more thorough.

The number of Sand Ninja captured or annihilated was significantly higher than in the original timeline.

One could only wonder if Uchiha Fucheng, that little butterfly, had played a part by flapping his wings here.

The absence of the tragedy of Nawaki's death meant that Tsunade's attitude toward the peace talks remained relatively positive.

She and Hatake Sakumo quickly reached a consensus, with Konoha taking the initiative to lower their demands for war reparations and material compensation.

However, when it came to the border issues in the Land of Rain, Konoha appeared exceptionally strict.

They not only required the Sand Ninja to complete specific deployment tasks but also imposed requirements on the number of garrison troops and their defensive positions.

On the Sand Ninja's side, along the border of the Land of Rain, Konoha demanded that they carry out the fixed-point deployment of specific units.

It was clear that they intended to force the Sand Ninja to draw more attention from the ninja forces of the Land of Rain and the Land of Earth.

The Sand Ninja did not have many bargaining chips left.

Under these circumstances, they had no choice but to agree to Konoha's ceasefire and peace agreement first.

At this moment, the first phase of the Second Shinobi World War, [Konoha vs. Sand Ninja], officially came to an end.

With the peace agreement signed by the Sand Ninja, the Konoha forces began their official withdrawal from the battlefield.

Because of the aerial surveillance provided by the giant ninja hawk Garuda, all six ninja hawks used by the Root for communication were intercepted and captured by Uchiha ninjas.

Fucheng certainly understood that too many people knew he possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, and it was unrealistic to completely control all information returning to the village.

However, he could still manage to control the information gap for a period, preventing Shimura Danzō from causing trouble on the journey back.

As for whether he would be targeted by Shimura Danzō in the future, Fucheng really wasn't afraid.

With Shisui, Obito, and Itachi not yet in the picture, it was unlikely that Shimura Danzō and his newly established, ragtag Root organization would openly clash with the Uchiha clan.

Uchiha Fucheng's most urgent task was to seize the power of the Uchiha clan head as quickly as possible.

As for Shimura Danzō and the Root, he only needed to handle them with caution.

On the return journey, Fucheng also grew much closer to Hatake Sakumo, thanks to Hatake Jiangyi.

As Hatake Sakumo's nephew, Jiangyi was one of the few males in the Hatake samurai clan to become a ninja.

Upon learning that Fucheng had saved Hatake Jiangyi more than once, the usually stern and humorless Hatake Sakumo warmly invited Uchiha Fucheng and the members of Jiangyi's squad to enjoy a whole roasted lamb he had prepared himself.

Perhaps due to his stunning knife skills and unique cooking techniques, in Fucheng's eyes, the Konoha White Fang was undoubtedly an excellent gourmet.

Even if he weren't a ninja, he could probably make a fortune running a barbecue restaurant.

After spending more time together, Fucheng discovered that Hatake Sakumo was not a rigid or severe elder at all.

On the contrary, in Fucheng's view, Hatake Sakumo was a very humorous and straightforward man.

It was no wonder he could invent such a bizarre secret technique as the "One Thousand Years of Death."

The "youthful at heart" mischief and humor in Kakashi's bones were likely inherited from Hatake Sakumo.

Uchiha Fucheng chatted and laughed with the White Fang, and even discussed medical ninjutsu with Tsunade from time to time.

His social butterfly demeanor truly left Uchiha Fugaku feeling confused.

In his impression, his younger brother had always been a "socially anxious Uchiha" who couldn't even squeeze out a word under pressure.

How has it only been a few days? Is it really as he said—that Fucheng has suddenly become so close to the White Fang and Lady Tsunade?

If Fucheng knew what Fugaku was thinking, he would certainly scoff.

This was considered a social butterfly? He was barely getting started.

This was just basic social interaction for a normal person.

If Fugaku had seen him back when he was running a private coal mine—having to deal with seven or eight inspection teams, five or six organized crime groups, and all sorts of competitors in a single month—Fugaku would probably have been shocked into a nosebleed.

Any one of those messy situations would have been enough to stress Fugaku into awakening his own Mangekyo.

In Uchiha Fucheng's words, anyone who could make a name for themselves in such a godforsaken place would have their severe social anxiety cured, whether they liked it or not!

Thanks to Fucheng's cautious handling, the disappearance of the eight Root ninjas on the battlefield didn't cause a single ripple amidst a conflict involving over a thousand casualties.

By intercepting all the communication hawks of the Root, Fucheng ensured that Shimura Danzō could not obtain accurate information about his Mangekyo Sharingan in the immediate aftermath.

It was only when the main force arrived within forty kilometers of Konoha that the returning troops finally sent back some more accurate reports to the village.

The war briefing from the Konoha high command instantly alerted Danzo, who had not received any news from his Root operatives.

Previously, the majority of his attention had been drawn toward the Land of Rain.

At this moment, Danzo clearly sensed the scent of danger.

Touching the right eye covered by bandages, Danzo's expression was cautious and uneasy, "A Mangekyo Sharingan?! Has the Uchiha clan produced another Mangekyo?"

Most of Danzo's Root subordinates were currently concentrated in the Land of Rain.

If he were to recall these ninjas prematurely, all the preparatory work in the Land of Rain would have been in vain.

Furthermore, the eight Root ninjas he had deployed in advance to the battlefield of the Sand Ninja had not sent him a single message since the battle began.

Abnormal!

Extremely abnormal.

When he discovered that all eight of his Root ninjas had gone missing on the battlefield, Danzo immediately understood that he had been ruthlessly schemed against this time.

The disappearance of the Root ninjas had already occurred nearly a week ago; by the time he sent people to investigate the border of the Land of Wind, the opportunity would have long since passed.

Trying to find the true culprit was nothing more than a pipe dream.

The conspiracy theories in Danzo's mind expanded infinitely.

In his eyes, the Konoha Anbu, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Konoha advisors, White Fang, Tsunade, the Uchiha, and even certain subordinates within Root who were disloyal behind his back, were all suspects!

This internal conflict and hesitation caused him to miss the final opportunity to ambush Uchiha Fucheng outside the village.

For the ordinary villagers of Konoha, the triumphant return of the ninjas filled them with ecstasy.

Although there were many families of fallen ninjas wailing and sobbing over the vehicles transporting the bodies, as the victors, the ninjas still received a highly ceremonial welcome.

Flowers, delicacies, colorful fireworks...

And a personal greeting from the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Having slain two Kage-level experts of the Sand Ninja, Hatake Sakumo, the Konoha White Fang, was the very definition of a [Konoha Hero] at this moment.

With his silver-white hair and the red triangular emblem on his left shoulder, looking at the high-spirited White Fang, it was hard for Fucheng to imagine the scene of Sakumo's bleak suicide in the future.

After the welcome ceremony, upon learning that his wife was due to give birth soon, Hatake Sakumo was already eager to return home.

This also reminded Fucheng of something.

It seemed that Kakashi's mother had suffered from a severe physical illness caused by a difficult labor.

She had passed away prematurely when Kakashi was still very young.

Thinking of this, Fucheng looked at Hatake Sakumo's back with profound meaning.

If I can save the mother of the Copy Ninja, could I perhaps change the tragic fate of this miserable father and son...