War Ends, Sasori's Change

Morning, Konoha Hospital.

"Where am I?" Danzo asked, somewhat dazed.

"Danzo, you're awake. This is Konoha Hospital!" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at his old friend with concern.

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

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

"Ah!" Danzo clutched his head in agony. The scenes from last night replayed in his mind, like a demon's whispers constantly lingering around him!

"Doctor, come quickly and see what's wrong!" Hiruzen called out.

A medical ninja hurried over and placed a hand glowing with Medical Ninjutsu on Danzo's forehead. As Chakra flowed into him, Danzo gradually calmed down.

The medical ninja sighed in relief and explained, "Lord Hokage, Lord Danzo was probably too severely injured yesterday. His mental state is unstable as a result."

"He'll recover, right?"

"Yes!" the medical ninja answered firmly.

"Then what about his right arm...?"

"There's nothing we can do about that!"

"I see."

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

"Lord Hokage, the Third Kazekage and the others are here again," an ANBU ninja said quietly.

"Let's go meet them!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi had finished his surgery yesterday and had been recuperating ever since. It was not until last night that he suddenly learned Danzo had led people in an attack on the Sand Village camp.

He did not blame Danzo. After all, it had all been for Konoha, and Danzo was still his comrade. He could understand.

The iron filings inside his organs had been fully removed, but a small portion had fused into his blood vessels. If he did not fight often, it would not affect him much. However, as he grew older, his body would gradually worsen.

Tsunade and the others would not arrive for several more days, and there was no time to wait for them. He could only rely on the medical ninja currently available. Still, for Hiruzen in his prime, this was not a major problem!

At the entrance to Konoha.

Seeing Hiruzen standing before him completely unharmed, Kazekage Kōno was somewhat surprised. He teased, "Third Hokage, are you feeling better?"

The Konoha crowd grew angry, but Hiruzen did not mind. Smiling, he said, "Thank you for your concern, Lord Kazekage. I'm in excellent health!"

Kōno observed him carefully for a moment and found nothing unusual. Setting aside his contempt, he said, "Sand Village came to Konoha this time to congratulate the Third Hokage's beloved disciple for defeating the 'Demigod' of the ninja world."

The faces of the Konoha crowd darkened further. Even Hiruzen felt somewhat angered, but who was he? He was the strongest "Professor of the Ninja World"!

Without showing joy or anger, Hiruzen said, "Thank you, Lord Kazekage, for your concern for my beloved disciple!"

Seeing that the other party remained unmoved, Kazekage Kōno said directly, "I won't beat around the bush. As long as you agree to Sand Village's terms, we will withdraw immediately!"

"Oh? And what conditions does Lord Kazekage have?" Hiruzen asked calmly.

"Very simple!" Kōno raised one finger. "As long as Konoha is willing to give Sand Village one hundred billion ryō without compensation, Sand Village will not only withdraw at once, but will remain Konoha's ally forever!"

"What a shameless bastard! You still have the nerve to call it an uncompensated gift. How is this any different from outright robbery?" A Konoha jonin finally could not endure it any longer and cursed aloud.

Kōno raised his brows. "Refuse, then! We'll keep fighting and see whether Konoha can outlast Sand Village, or Sand Village can outlast Konoha."

"Besides, don't forget that Konoha attacked our camp last night. Out of kindness, I let those people return. Don't be ungrateful!"

"Lord Hokage, don't agree to his terms! At worst, we'll both perish together!"

"No one will have an easy time. Rock Village, Cloud Village, and Mist Village are all watching eagerly. Let's see who loses first."

Neither side was willing to yield, both determined to fight the other to the death!

Veins throbbed on Hiruzen's forehead. He had not expected Sand Village's demands to be so ruthless. This was simply an outrageous extortion!

After all, the Daimyo's residence only provided Konoha with fifteen billion ryō in annual revenue. There were simply too many expenses: the administration department, ANBU, medical department, education department, interrogation department, ninja salaries, research funding, and more...

Although the village also earned considerable money through missions and commissions, those funds had their own uses. It was not his to give away whenever he pleased.

After a long silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Lord Kazekage, how about this? We fight while we negotiate."

"Oh? What do you mean, fight while we negotiate?" Kōno became interested.

"Sand Village wants to take the funds, but that depends on whether you have the strength to do so. Neither of us Kage will intervene. We'll let the ninja fight it out. Whoever wins more battles will hold the advantage in negotiations!"

"Hmm..." Kazekage Kōno pondered. Expanding the war would not benefit Sand Village. They had successfully broken into Konoha on the first day by relying on a surprise attack, but Kōno did not want to become bogged down in Konoha's quagmire. He could not bear excessive losses either. He needed to weigh the matter carefully!

After considering it for a long time and consulting with his subordinates, Kazekage Kōno ultimately agreed to Hiruzen's proposal.

Neither side would intervene, leaving the ninja of both villages to fight. Whoever won more would gain the initiative.

For the next week, the ninja of the two villages fought. During the first two days, Sand Village held the advantage under the leadership of Bunpuku, the One-Tails Jinchuriki. But when the forces of Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru, along with Chiyo and other Sand Village ninja, joined the battlefield one after another, the situation became evenly matched.

During this time, the Uchiha Clan's council of elders was completely wiped out, while Konoha's Dan Katō died in battle. Worth mentioning was that Dan and Tsunade had not become lovers. With Jiraiya hovering around her all day, how could Dan have found the opportunity?

Naturally, Tsunade was not saddened by Dan Katō's death. She merely helped raise his young niece—Shizune!

Chiyo never got the chance to fight Hatake Sakumo. Instead, she faced off against Tsunade. As a master of poisons, Chiyo repeatedly used poison during her clashes with Konoha.

However, Tsunade, also a medical ninja, was slightly superior. She neutralized Chiyo's poisons and treated many Konoha ninja.

A week later, negotiations between Sand Village and Konoha gradually drew to a close. Neither village could defeat the other, and they could not continue making meaningless sacrifices.

In the end, Konoha gave Sand Village fifty billion ryō without compensation. Since it could not produce such a large sum at once, Sand Village offered two options: one was to repay the debt in supplies, while the other was to pay in installments!

Sand Village took supplies worth twenty-five billion ryō, and the remaining amount would be paid in full over five years!

It was said that Danzo showed no reaction upon hearing of this. Perhaps he was still traumatized!

After Sand Village returned to its village, it received intelligence reports concerning troop movements by Rock Village and Cloud Village.

Both sides were glad they had not expanded the conflict. Otherwise, those villages would have profited from it!

Sasori's home.

"Grandmother, so many people have returned. Why haven't my parents come back yet?" Sasori asked in a sweet voice.

Chiyo hugged Sasori painfully and said, "They went to carry out a secret mission for the village. It will be a very, very long time before they return."

"Grandmother 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 missing his parents, Chiyo taught him Puppet Technique. Little did she know, this would lead him down another path of no return!

"Fun, fun!" Sasori clapped his hands and cheered.

On lonely nights, only cold puppets kept Sasori company, while his longing for his parents grew wildly within his mind!