Peace Agreement

The rules of the Anbu are numerous, yet can be summarized in a few words.

Talk less and do more, obey absolutely, and prioritize the task.

It was simple and straightforward, but even so, it took Taiichi an entire afternoon to get everything done.

It's not for any other reason than that the Anbu) has too much to learn.

New sign language, new Secret Rune, deciphering various codes, and the unique secrets of the Anbu.

This knowledge cannot be taken away yet; it can only be learned in this Anbu base. Even with Taiichi's current memory, he cannot learn it all in one day.

That afternoon, he only learned the basics; he estimated it would take at least three or four days to learn everything.

This is still Taiichi; if it were someone else, the time would be extended by four or five times or more.

He also understood why, even after Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi defected, the Secret Rune and hidden gates of Konoha's Anbu remained largely unchanged—the workload was simply too large, and they were too lazy to make the changes.

When Taiichi, now known as the Macaque, reappeared before Hiruzen Sarutobi along with the Soyo, the sun had already set.

"Hokage-sama, this Macaque reports for duty."

Wearing a monkey-face mask and Anbu cloak, he was completely covered up, but Taiichi's voice remained unchanged.

"Macaque?" Hiruzen Sarutobi chewed on the name, a smile spreading across his face. "Macaque, you'll take up your post tomorrow and serve as my bodyguard for a while!"

"Ah—but Hokage-sama, I haven't finished learning the rules of the Anbu yet, and I have to get to work right away!"

Taiichi pulled down his hood and adjusted the mask on his face; it was anything but comfortable to wear.

"You brat." Hiruzen Sarutobi pointed at Taiichi and said with a smile, "Don't think I don't know how you usually train. Why do you have so many Shadow Clones, but you can't bear to send even one to learn those things?"

The Soyo standing to the side tilted its head slightly toward Taiichi, but in the end, it restrained itself from acting impulsively, keeping its eyes fixed ahead, as if it were invisible.

Taiichi, however, showed no hesitation and turned to glance at the guy.

This guy is such an ice block. After spending the whole afternoon together, he didn't say a Taiichi except for the things that had to be said.

If it weren't for his subtle turn of his head, Taiichi would have doubted whether this guy even had any curiosity.

Turning his head to meet the Hokage's gaze again, Taiichi knew he couldn't refuse this task. Now that he had joined the Anbu, the Hokage ultimately had the final say on the mission.

"Alright, alright, let the Shadow Clone learn, I'll be the guard."

Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his pipe on the table and said with satisfaction, "Alright, you can go back and rest now. See you at 7 a. m. tomorrow."

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"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Taiichi put his feet together, gave an exaggerated bow, and strolled out of the Hokage's Office amidst Hiruzen Sarutobi's laughter and curses.

"How's the Soyo doing?"

The Hokage's question seemed cryptic, but the Soyo clearly understood what the Hokage wanted to know.

"He showed no dissatisfaction and was quite proactive in learning the rules and regulations of the Anbu and various other knowledge."

Hiruzen Sarutobi silently. That's good. If he can follow my arrangements, then he's still a good kid.

Taiichi was completely unaware of the final conversation in the Hokage's Office, but even if he had known, it wouldn't have mattered to him.

From the moment he was transferred back to the village from the front lines, he knew that the village's higher-ups intended to sideline him for a period of time, and he was happy to cooperate.

Having fought on the front lines for nearly two years, he has gained many new insights and ideas, all of which require a significant amount of time to put into practice.

In places like the front lines where you have to give it your all at all times, he simply can't spare enough manpower and time to do these things.

This is perfect. No matter how busy the Anbu is, as long as his main body or a Shadow Clone is present, he can handle the rest.

After finishing his evening prayers, Taiichi went to bed early. He needed to get a good rest today, because tomorrow would be a different day.

The next day, in the Hokage's Office.

When Taiichi arrived, Hiruzen Sarutobi was already seated and working.

You have to admit, at least in terms of diligence, Hiruzen Sarutobi was quite diligent.

"Tai—no, it's Macaque, they arrived just in time."

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at the clock on the wall; it was exactly 7 o'clock, 5 seconds to go.

"Strict adherence to time is the duty of every Anbu Ninja."

Taiichi's words sounded somewhat somber through the mask, but anyone could hear the laughter beneath them.

Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled, unconcerned, and pointed behind him to the shadows ahead.

"Alright, alright, I don't need to explain your duties as a guard, right? Today, your job is to protect my safety indoors."

Taiichi looked in the direction Hiruzen Sarutobi was pointing. It was the corner between the wall and the bookshelf, which was just hidden by the bookshelf's shadow.

Without hesitation, he Body Flicker and instantly appeared in the corner, his aura quickly concealed, and his figure slowly merged with the shadow.

This is a simple application of Yin Release. Although it is not as advanced as Nara's Shadow Secret Technique, it is a piece of cake to hide a person.

Hiruzen Sarutobi clearly saw Taiichi's movements, which was precisely why he was surprised.

Because once Taiichi hid himself, even if he tried to sense him carefully, he could no longer detect Taiichi's presence.

In terms of this ability to conceal one's abilities alone, few people in the entire Konoha can reach this level.

As time went by, the Hokage's workday officially began.

Reviewing documents, listening to reports on important missions, receiving visiting ninjas, and holding meetings with Village Higher-Ups—

In short, Taiichi didn't see Hiruzen Sarutobi at all throughout the morning.

I don't know if this is just how it is today, or if this is the daily life of Hokage character.

Taiichi, hidden in the shadows, felt a chill run down his spine. He simply couldn't understand how anyone could enjoy such a life.

If he had to sit there all day doing these tedious things, even just for a day, he would break down.

However, Taiichi also noticed that while Hiruzen Sarutobi was indeed diligent, his work efficiency was not high.

Right now, he and Mitokado Homura have been discussing expanding manpower at the Root for two hours.

It was such a simple matter, yet the two of them spent ages discussing just one spot, from funding and logistics to the rules, giving Taiichi a headache just listening to them.

Taiichi sometimes wondered if the two of them were doing this on purpose, just to buy time so he wouldn't have to deal with that huge pile of documents.

After Mitokado Homura finally left with a beaming smile, the office fell silent once again.

"Macaque, come out! It's rest time now, chat with me!"

The shadow in the corner twisted, and Taiichi's figure slowly emerged from it.

Taiichi walked around the Hokage's office desk and stood in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"How are you adapting to the guard job?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi held his pipe and smoked leisurely. He was quite used to this level of work, and Taiichi couldn't see anything unusual on his face.

"That's great. No fighting or killing involved. As long as I'm safe, I'm quite satisfied with my current job."

Taiichi spoke calmly, mimicking the standard way an Anbu spoke, but inwardly he was already complaining: This is so incredibly boring.

"I'm satisfied. You fought in all four battlefields of Konoha, and in the most dangerous moments of each one."

I noticed your condition, which is why I brought you back from the front lines so you could relax and have some peace and quiet.

While war can accelerate progress, keeping your mind too tense is also detrimental; you must understand that.

Hiruzen Sarutobi patiently explained to Taiichi the reasons for his transfer from the front lines, fearing that Taiichi might harbor some resentment.

Taiichi cooperated quite well, putting on a tearful performance of gratitude.

The two exchanged words for a while until the afternoon work hours arrived. Taiichi disappeared back into the darkness, and Hiruzen Sarutobi buried himself in his desk once more.

This afternoon, a message arrived from the Southern Front.

From Taiichi's perspective, Hiruzen Sarutobi has remained silent ever since he saw the report scroll.

He remained completely still, showing no reaction even when his pipe went out.

Taiichi, standing behind, was filled with curiosity, but also worried about the Hokage's current state.

Unfortunately, he couldn't see the contents of the scroll. If he hadn't been unable to sense Chakra fluctuations, he would have been tempted to appear and take a look.

After a long while, the pipe trembled slightly, and Hiruzen Sarutobi's lifeless eyes regained their sparkle.

Go and fetch Mitokado Homura.

Taiichi knew this wasn't a conversation with him.

Sure enough, on the other side of the bookshelf, in that equally shadowy place, a figure emerged, received the order, and left.

Taiichi had already noticed that there was another person there, and that he was a ninja from the Nara Clan. He recognized the familiar Shadow Secret Technique at a glance.

Not long after, Mitokado Homura, who had left that morning, rushed back to the Hokage's Office.

His face was grim, and he thought there had been another setback regarding the personnel expansion that morning. He was about to question Hiruzen Sarutobi about the reason.

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's calm, even indifferent, face, he swallowed back his original words, and what came out of his mouth was something else entirely.

"Hiruzen, what's going on? Has something serious happened again?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't say anything, but handed over the scroll sent from the front lines.

Mitokado Homura took the scroll and quickly scanned its contents, then stared blankly for a moment.

He quickly recovered, rolled up the scroll again, put it back on his desk, and looked up into the Hokage's eyes.

"Wasn't this something we expected? To end the war sooner, necessary sacrifices were unavoidable."

"How could I not know? It's just that, given how things have developed, the ninjas on the front lines and everyone in the village might not think the same way after hearing this news."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's words drifted over, filled with melancholy.

Taiichi, listening from behind, was completely bewildered but incredibly curious.

These two old men are not explaining what they're talking about, and they're making him feel really uncomfortable.

"Regardless, the war with Sunagakure is over. We should quickly transfer Jiraiya's ninjas to the Northern Front and Western Front, which are where we need to focus our attention next."

Mitokado Homura was quite pragmatic; things had come to this point, and there was nothing more to dwell on. Completing the next phase of strategic planning was the most important thing.

"That's all we can do, but necessary public opinion guidance still needs to be done. I'll leave that to the Root; I don't want any trouble to break out in the village."

Hiruzen Sarutobi regained his composure and quickly made arrangements for the next steps.

After Mitokado Homura left, he sat there alone, lost in thought.

However, Taiichi keenly sensed that the aura of decline emanating from Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to have intensified.

Sure enough, rumors began to spread in the village the next day.

Konoha is now surrounded by enemies on all sides, and the village is facing a severe crisis.

Konoha is short-handed, and students from the Ninja Academy are graduating early to rush to the battlefield.

The Daimyo has stopped allocating war funds to Konoha's finances are now stretched thin.

All sorts of rumors and gossip made it seem as if Konoha was about to be breached.

This continued for three days in a row. During these three days, the Military Police Force disappeared without a trace, and the Anbu and the Root were nowhere to be found.

Influenced by the rumors, the villagers, unaware of the truth, were terrified, and the once prosperous streets showed signs of desolation.

On the fourth day, a definitive public announcement was finally released.

Konoha and Sunagakure reached a peace treaty, exchanging prisoners and resolving past grievances. Starting today, both sides will gradually withdraw their ninja forces stationed at the border.

This news acted like a shot in the arm, quickly reviving the somewhat dejected Konoha.

People flocked out of their homes to joyfully celebrate this hard-won peace treaty.

On this day, all the merchants in Konoha offered a 20% discount, and ordinary people decorated their homes with lanterns and took to the streets, making the whole of Konoha feel like it was celebrating the New Year.

The rumors from the first three days were so depressing that everyone was living in fear.

This sudden peace treaty immediately alleviated everyone's fears.

This is a release after repression, a celebration after fear.

Taiichi walked down the street at midnight. The street was still brightly lit and the crowds showed no signs of decreasing, indicating that the party was going to last all night.

Taiichi had to admire Mitokado Homura's methods.

That humiliating peace treaty.

Konoha invested so much manpower and resources beforehand, and lost so many ninja lives.

Most importantly, Konoha did not lose on the battlefield; on the contrary, they kept the Sunagakure on the defensive.

In this context, a peace treaty that offers no apology, no compensation, and instead requires each side to release the other's prisoners of war is undeniably humiliating.

However, Mitokado Homura used a strategy of first suppressing and then elevating the villagers' perception, taking advantage of their fear of war to directly reverse this perception.

At least the ordinary villagers accepted this humiliating peace treaty with great joy.

As for the various Ninja Clan in the village, they certainly couldn't be kept in the dark like the ordinary villagers.

On the very day the rumor broke, both the large and small Ninja Clan obtained accurate information through their respective channels.

But on that very day, ninjas from the Anbu) came to these families one by one.

That day, Taiichi witnessed firsthand the Hokage's silver tongue.

Over the course of the day, the Hokage met with the heads of all the clans in turn, appealing to their emotions and reasoning with them.

All the families obediently kept their mouths shut and remained silent.

Looking at the people still celebrating in the street, Taiichi felt confused for the first time.

Was I too easygoing? If I had been more proactive and assertive in fighting for my rights, would this peace agreement have been avoided?