The War Ends, Sasori's Transformation

In the morning, at the Leaf Village Hospital.

"Where is this place?" Danzō asked, a bit disoriented.

"Danzō, you're awake. This is the Leaf Village Hospital!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said, looking at his old friend with concern.

"Is that so?" Danzō turned his head and saw his empty right arm, staring blankly at the ceiling.

In his mind, "Let them escape... escape... escape!"

"Ah!" Danzō clutched his head in pain. The events of last night replayed in his mind, like a devil's whisper, constantly lingering around him!

"Doctor, hurry and check on him!" Hiruzen shouted.

A medical ninja quickly approached, placing a hand imbued with Medical Ninjutsu on Danzō's forehead. As Chakra was injected, Danzō gradually stabilized.

Seeing this, the medical ninja breathed a sigh of relief. He explained, "Hokage-sama, Danzō-sama was likely severely injured yesterday, causing his mind to become unstable."

"Will he get better?"

"Yes!" the medical ninja affirmed.

"Then, his right arm...?"

"We can do nothing about that!"

"I see!"

Hiruzen looked at Danzō with concern and comforted him, "Danzō, you need to get better quickly. I still need you..."

"Hokage-sama, the Third Kazekage and his group have arrived again," a dark-ops ninja whispered.

"Let's go meet them!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi had already undergone surgery the previous day and had been recuperating. It wasn't until last night that he suddenly learned Danzō had led an attack on the Sand Village camp.

He didn't blame Danzō; after all, it was all for the Leaf Village, and Danzō was his comrade. He could understand.

The iron filings in his body had been removed from his organs, but a small portion had integrated into his blood vessels. If he didn't fight often, it wouldn't have a significant impact. However, as he aged, his body would gradually deteriorate.

Tsunade and the others wouldn't arrive for a few more days, so he couldn't wait. He could only rely on the existing medical ninjas. However, for the vigorous Hiruzen, this was not a major problem!

At the entrance of the Leaf Village.

Seeing Hiruzen standing before him unharmed, Kazekage Kono looked surprised and teased, "Third Hokage-sama, are you feeling better?"

The Leaf Village ninjas were somewhat angered, but Hiruzen remained unfazed, smiling, "Thank you for your concern, Kazekage-sama. I am feeling very well!"

Kono observed him carefully for a moment, noticing nothing unusual. He put away his dismissive attitude and said, "We, the Sand Village, have come to the Leaf Village this time to congratulate the Third Hokage's beloved disciple for defeating the Ninja World's 'Demigod'."

The Leaf Village ninjas' faces grew darker. Even Hiruzen felt a touch of annoyance, but who was he? He was the strongest "Professor of the Ninja World"!

Hiruzen, showing no emotion, said, "Thank you, Kazekage-sama, for your concern for my beloved disciple!"

Seeing that the other party was unmoved, Kazekage Kono stated directly, "I won't beat around the bush. As long as you agree to our Sand Village's conditions, we will withdraw our troops immediately!"

"Oh! May I know what your conditions are, Kazekage-sama?" Hiruzen asked calmly.

"It's very simple!" Kono extended a finger and said, "As long as the Leaf Village is willing to donate 100 billion Ryo to the Sand Village unconditionally, then not only will the Sand Village retreat immediately, but we will also be allies of the Leaf Village forever!"

"This is simply shameless! And you have the nerve to call it a donation? How is this any different from robbery?" a Leaf Village Jonin couldn't help but blurt out.

Kono raised an eyebrow and said, "If you don't give it, we'll continue to fight. Let's see if your Leaf Village can outlast us."

"Also, don't forget, your Leaf Village attacked our great camp last night. I was being kind by letting them go back. Don't be ungrateful!"

"Hokage-sama, don't agree to him! If we can't win, we'll just drag them down with us!"

"No one will have an easy time. The Stone Village, Cloud Village, and Mist Village are all restless. Let's see who loses first."

Neither side would back down, determined to fight to the death!

Veins bulged on Hiruzen's forehead. He hadn't expected the Sand Village's conditions to be so harsh; it was practically a brazen demand!

After all, the annual revenue the Leaf Village received from the Daimyo's office was only 15 billion Ryo. So much of that had to be used for administration, the dark-ops, medical department, education department, interrogation department, as well as ninjas' salaries and research funding...

Although they earned a considerable amount of money through village missions and commissions, that money was all accounted for and couldn't just be given away as he pleased.

After a long silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Kazekage-sama, how about this: we fight and negotiate at the same time."

"Oh! What do you mean by 'fight and negotiate at the same time'?" Kono became interested.

"If the Sand Village wants to take the funds, they'll have to show they have the strength for it. If neither of us Kage makes a move, and it's all up to the ninjas fighting, whoever wins more will have the upper hand in negotiations!"

"Hmm~" Kazekage Kono pondered. Escalating the war was not good for the Sand Village. Although they had successfully entered the Leaf Village yesterday with a surprise attack tactic, Kono didn't want to get bogged down in the Leaf Village's quagmire. He couldn't afford too many losses and needed to weigh his options carefully!

After much thought and consultation with his subordinates, Kazekage Kono finally agreed to Hiruzen's proposal.

They wouldn't make a move, allowing ninjas from each village to fight. Whoever won more would gain the advantage.

The following week was filled with battles between the ninjas of the two villages. For the first two days, led by Bunpuku, the Jinchuriki of the One-Tail, the Sand Village held the advantage. However, as Sakumo Hatake and Orochimaru's forces, along with Chiyo of the Sand Village, gradually joined the battlefield, the situation became a stalemate.

During this period, the Uchiha clan elders were completely wiped out, and Danzō Katō of the Leaf Village died in battle. It's worth noting that Danzō and Tsunade did not become lovers; with Jiraiya constantly around, he never had a chance!

Naturally, Tsunade did not grieve over Danzō Katō's death. She merely helped raise his young niece, Shizune!

Chiyo also didn't get to fight Sakumo Hatake. Instead, she clashed with Tsunade. As a master of poison, Chiyo utilized poisonous substances multiple times in her encounters with the Leaf Village.

However, Tsunade, also a medical ninja, had a slight edge, neutralizing Chiyo's poison and saving many Leaf Village ninjas.

A week later, the negotiations between the Sand Village and the Leaf Village were drawing to a close. Neither village could afford to win against the other, and further pointless sacrifices were out of the question.

Ultimately, the Leaf Village gifted the Sand Village fifty billion ryo without compensation. Since the Sand Village couldn't produce such a sum immediately, they offered two solutions: one was to pay with resources, and the other was to pay in installments.

The Sand Village took away resources equivalent to twenty-five billion ryo, and the remaining amount would be paid off within five years.

It was heard that Danzō had no reaction upon hearing this news, perhaps still reeling from the shock.

After returning to the Sand Village, they received reports from intelligence personnel regarding "troop movements by the Stone Village and the Cloud Village."

Both sides were fortunate that the conflict hadn't escalated, otherwise, they would have been taken advantage of!

Sasori's home.

"Grandma, many people have returned, why haven't my parents come back yet?" Sasori asked in a soft voice.

Chiyo lovingly embraced Sasori and said, "They've gone to carry out a secret mission for the village. It will be a very, very long time before they return."

"Grandma will teach you something fun. Look, these are chakra threads. Move your fingers, and it will move. See? Isn't it fun?"

To distract Sasori from his longing for his parents, Chiyo taught him the Puppet Technique. Little did she know, this would lead him down another path of no return!

"Fun, fun!" Sasori clapped his hands in delight.

In the lonely night, only cold puppets accompanied Sasori, while his longing for his parents grew wildly in his mind!