"Lord Chiyojuro, we have reached the border of the Land of Fire. Another ten kilometers, and we'll enter the Land of Fire," a chunin reported.
"Rest for half an hour. Stay alert where you are, and send three squads to slowly scout Konoha's defenses." Chiyojuro swiftly made the arrangements.
"Yes, sir!" The chunin went off to assign the tasks.
Chiyojuro took out a map and checked their position. Their force was to attack the Land of Fire at six that afternoon, making as much noise as possible to draw Konoha's forces into redeployment and create opportunities for the other two Sand Hidden forces to attack.
"Sir, a convoy on our flank has been attacked by bandits."
The report pulled Chiyojuro from his thoughts. He frowned and snapped, "Does something like this even need to be reported? Think for yoursel—"
Chiyo stopped her husband and said, "I'll handle it."
Chiyojuro nodded and continued thinking.
A ninja led Chiyo to the flank.
Down on the road below the mountain, the convoy's situation had already become dire. Only six guards remained, struggling desperately, while the other side had over twenty bandits. Unless something unexpected happened, every guard would die, and the people in the carriages would be taken away!
Chiyo asked, "Can you identify that convoy?"
A chunin beside her studied it for a while before saying, "It should belong to the Fucheng family. They're minor nobles from the Land of Rivers. Judging by this, they were probably heading to the Land of Fire to discuss business. I didn't expect them to run into bandits."
Below the mountain, all the guards had already been killed. A man who looked like the bandit leader grinned viciously as he dragged someone from a carriage. It was a child.
"Boss, how much can we make from this kid?" one bandit asked delightedly.
"At least five hundred thousand ryo, hahaha!" another bandit fantasized.
"That's great! I haven't visited the pleasure quarter in two days!"
"Guisheng, it's only been two days and you're already itching? You'll die in a woman's bed sooner or later!"
"Hahaha!" The bandits laughed without end.
The child did not cry or make a fuss at the sight of their vicious faces, though a trace of terror showed in his expression.
The bandit leader slung the child over his shoulder and laughed. "This little brat knows how to behave. If he dares cry or make a fuss, I'll make sure he gets a taste of my greatness."
One of his underlings flattered him, "Of course. Who doesn't know our boss is the notorious 'fierce bandit' around these parts?"
Basking in the praise, the leader felt as though he were floating on air and grew even more pleased with himself.
Looking at the child, who resembled her own child when he was young, Chiyo struggled inwardly before decisively making her move.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Dozens of shuriken cut down the bandits with precision. In less than a minute, the entire gang had been wiped out.
Seeing Chiyo holding the unconscious child, the chunin cleaning up the battlefield beside her reminded her, "Lady Chiyo, this child will only burden us during the mission. Why not just give him—"
Before he could finish, he met a pair of cold, ruthless eyes. "I'll make the arrangements myself. You don't need to interfere."
"Yes!" The chunin was startled by that gaze. He did not dare say another word and retreated to the side.
Chiyojuro, who had been assigning tasks, frowned when he saw his wife carrying a child.
After quickly finishing the arrangements, he went to her side and asked, "Why did you bring back a child?"
Chiyo's eyes dimmed slightly. "When I saw him being abducted, I thought of our child, so I..."
Chiyojuro stepped forward, embraced his wife, and gently patted her back.
Once he saw her expression ease, he asked, "We're in the middle of a mission. What do you plan to do with him?"
Chiyo said, "I plan to settle him in a nearby village."
Seeing that his wife had made up her mind, he did not ask further.
In Yamagusa Village, the child woke up. The family was not well-off, so Chiyo thoughtfully left them some money.
The child was naturally Su Zheng, transformed with the Transformation Jutsu. His purpose was to implant the "Death Substitute" formula into their bodies and save them!
After returning to his original form, Su Zheng used the Sharingan to make the family forget him. Sasori's parents would not be returning here anyway.
At six that afternoon, the Sand Hidden army entered the Land of Fire. They quickly eliminated the ninja stationed at the border, then advanced in great numbers, wreaking havoc while blocking the transmission of intelligence. This caused Konoha to underestimate the invading force, giving the other two forces a better chance of succeeding.
Su Zheng stood on a distant tree, watching the flames of battle between the two sides with deep eyes. "The grand show is about to begin!"
Land of Rain battlefield.
Standing atop Ibuse's back, Hanzo looked at the Konoha ninja still standing on the battlefield and praised them. "I admire you. From this day onward, your names will be passed down as Konoha's Sannin!"
Hanzo withdrew from the battle with the Rain Hidden ninja. He had already received intelligence that the forces of the Gray Rain and Hiling families had been exhausted, and the Gray Rain members eliminated by his nephew had also been found.
He had achieved what he wanted. He understood that hoping to achieve peace between great powers and small nations, or between great powers themselves, through his own efforts was nothing but wishful thinking!
But he had an outstanding nephew, and he could see hope for peace in him. At the very least, his nephew could ensure that the Land of Rain would not become a battlefield for the great powers. That was enough.
"That bastard! Who wants your title?" Tsunade said angrily.
Jiraiya collapsed onto the ground, letting the rain pour over him as he asked, "Does this mean we won?"
Orochimaru replied evenly, "In battle, we ended in a draw. But the war can be over now!"
Jiraiya shouted, "Whatever. As long as the war is over, that's all that matters."
He turned to Tsunade. "Tsunade, the war is over. Go on a date with me when we return to the village!"
"Hmph!" Tsunade turned her head away.
Rarely, she did not refuse this time. Perhaps she also wanted to vent that pent-up frustration.
"Hahaha, that's great!" Jiraiya danced with joy.
"Enough. What we need to do now is reorganize our forces."
"We still can't let our guard down. Though the battlefield fighting has ended, we need to remain vigilant until the armistice treaty is signed," Orochimaru warned.
He also wanted to return to the village sooner. The food was bad here, sleep was poor, and his nerves had been constantly taut.
But things would be much steadier from here on. Once the treaty was signed and the necessary matters were arranged, they could withdraw.
Over the next few days, Su Zheng spent his time bonding with the children. On sunny days, he went barbecuing with Shota and the others; on rainy days, he trained at home. Life was wonderful.
Meanwhile, the battle between Sand Hidden and Konoha continued to expand.
Konoha, the Hokage's office.
"Hiruzen, the Land of Fire border has been attacked by Sand Hidden's army. Are you just going to watch? As Hokage, you should personally enter the battlefield and deliver those people a crushing blow," Danzo challenged.
Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at him and said, "As Hokage, it is more important for me to hold the rear. I've already sent Hatake Sakumo."
Danzo wanted to continue pressing him, but he no longer had any grounds to do so. He gave up resentfully.
That night, Su Zheng lay in bed, thinking carefully. He had already upgraded his Sharingan to Three Tomoe. If he wanted to grow stronger, he could only aim for the Mangekyo, but he did not have enough points.
Moreover, he did not dare use them recklessly. Death Substitute and Identity Vest should take priority. Many people would die in the future—Nawaki, Dan Katō, Konoha's "White Fang" Hatake Sakumo, and people from the Third Shinobi World War...
He could not spend his points carelessly. He would need them to save those people later on—though Dan Katō could forget it!
No matter how he thought about it, he could not come up with a good solution. He could not possibly kill his own closest relatives, could he?
Ah! Su Zheng suddenly thought of a way to increase his strength: Madara Uchiha, who had already "died."
Madara was searching for someone to inherit his will, and that person had to be an Uchiha Clan member.
Should I steal Brother Toko's script ahead of time? Su Zheng weighed the pros and cons.
After gaining Madara's power, he would be able to do many things. His current strength was still somewhat insufficient if he wanted to transform the Land of Rain.
And he did not need to follow the original script. He could completely create his own script for the future.
Having made up his mind, Su Zheng fell soundly asleep.
Before you continue