The standoff between Danzo and Jiraiya weighed on every survivor like two massive boulders. The air was thick with smoke, blood, and silent power plays.
Danzo's single eye swept over the battle-ready Dawn Wind, lingering especially on Kimimaro and Haku before settling on Jiraiya. His voice was low and steady. "Jiraiya, you've spent years away from the village. How much do you know about its current state? Ensuring the Jinchūriki's safety and eliminating every potential threat must be our top priorities right now. Your emotional decisions could drag Konoha into an even greater crisis."
"Stop spreading fearmongering!" Jiraiya stood his ground, his powerful chakra pressing forward like a physical force. "Gaara is under Sunagakure's own watch. That was one of the conditions for ending the war! As for Konoha's internal affairs, it's not Root's place to meddle! Now, in the name of the Sannin, I order you to withdraw at once!"
The title of Sannin carried immense prestige in Konoha. Though the Konoha Ninja around them feared Root, they looked at Jiraiya with far more trust and hope.
Danzo fell silent for a moment. His face was unreadable beneath the bandages. He knew that with Jiraiya's position made clear and the other side possessing considerable strength—including that mysterious Uchiha Ling and his people—seizing the Jinchūriki by force was no longer possible. A continued standoff would only expose more of his plans and might even provoke infighting. It wasn't worth the cost.
"Hmph." He finally snorted. His single eye fixed on Naruto, whom Ling shielded behind him, then swept over the unconscious Gaara and Uchiha Sasuke, who was being supported by Kakashi nearby and seemed dangerously unstable. "I hope you won't regret today's decision, Jiraiya."
He raised a hand and gave a slight wave.
The Root shinobi surrounding the scene withdrew as silently as they had arrived, quickly disappearing into the shadows. The chill of their oppressive presence faded with them.
Jiraiya watched the direction in which Danzo had vanished, his brow furrowed. He didn't relax in the slightest. He knew Danzo wouldn't let this go.
He turned to Ling, his gaze complicated. The strength and composure the boy had shown during this disaster, along with the force he commanded under the name Dawn Wind, had all far exceeded Jiraiya's expectations.
"Ling, you..." Jiraiya began, but for a moment he didn't know what to ask.
"Let's deal with the casualties and stabilize the situation first, Lord Jiraiya." Ling cut him off. His voice still carried the weariness, but he was exceptionally calm. "The rest can wait."
His gaze swept across the devastated village, over the shinobi searching the ruins for survivors, putting out fires, and tending to the wounded, before finally settling on the silent figure atop Kage Rock.
Jiraiya followed his gaze. Deep grief crossed his face, and he nodded heavily. "You're right."
Over the next few days, Konoha was consumed by grief and frantic activity.
The Third Hokage's funeral was solemn and grand. Nearly everyone in the village came to bid farewell to the old man who had led Konoha for so many years. Grief hung over them all.
With treatment from the medical ninja and the Sage Body's powerful healing ability, the wound on Ling's left arm began to close, though the damaged meridians inside would take time to recover. His chakra returned even more slowly. He spent most of his time in his small courtyard, resting while keeping a close eye on the village through information from Izumi and Zabuza.
After confirming Gaara was safe, Sunagakure's acting commander—Baki was dead—formally submitted a surrender to Konoha and promised to compensate it for its wartime losses. Temari and Kankuro set off for the Land of Wind with Gaara, who was still unconscious, under the "escort" of several Konoha Ninja. The war Orochimaru had instigated ended in Sunagakure's crushing defeat and Konoha's costly victory.
Within Konoha, the power vacuum stirred up undercurrents. Danzo and the Root he controlled grew more active, continually trying to interfere in postwar reconstruction and defense arrangements. They even began, subtly and not so subtly, spreading dangerous talk about "Uchiha Ling and his mysterious forces."
Jiraiya stayed in the village for the time being. His prestige and strength allowed him to keep Danzo's ambitions in check, coordinate the various factions, and handle the heavy burden of postwar recovery. But he wasn't Hokage, and he had no official authority. Many efforts met with fierce resistance.
One evening, Jiraiya came to Ling's courtyard.
Naruto was doing basic physical training to regain his strength in the yard. When he saw Jiraiya, he ran over happily. Ling sat on the veranda, watching them.
"How's the recovery going, kid?" Jiraiya ruffled Naruto's hair, then went over and sat beside Ling.
"Not bad," Ling replied, his gaze still calm.
"You've heard what people are saying around the village, haven't you?" Jiraiya sighed and got straight to the point. "About you and the people around you."
Ling nodded. He wasn't surprised. Danzo would undoubtedly use this to make trouble.
"Can you tell me, Ling?" Jiraiya looked at him, his eyes sharpening. "What exactly is Dawn Wind? Where did you find those Uchiha survivors, along with the Kaguya and Ice Release kids? And what are you trying to do?"
Ling fell silent for a moment. Instead of answering, he asked, "Lord Jiraiya, do you think Konoha is still a place where Naruto can grow up in peace?"
Jiraiya froze and looked at Naruto, who was doing push-ups nearby with great effort. His gaze softened for a moment, then grew grave. He thought of the greed in Danzo's eyes when he looked at Naruto, and of how the village leadership had always feared and exploited the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
"Under the Third Hokage's protection, perhaps he could," Ling continued. His voice was quiet, but his words carried weight. "But now he's gone. The enemies coveting the Nine-Tails' power aren't all outside the village."
Jiraiya's heart sank. He understood what Ling meant.
"I saved those Uchiha, took in Haku and Kimimaro, and formed Dawn Wind..." Ling looked up and met Jiraiya's eyes. "At first, it was only to protect myself, to gain the strength to protect the people I care about and survive in this cruel Shinobi World. Nothing more."
His words were honest, without a trace of flowery language, yet they carried a cold, stark truth. Looking into the boy's eyes—far too mature for his age—Jiraiya seemed to glimpse the shadow of his own student, Minato, struggling to survive alone in the darkness after his sacrifice.
"But things have changed," Ling continued. "Danzo won't leave me or Dawn Wind alone. He sees us as a threat, and he sees Naruto as a tool. If we just defend ourselves, we'll eventually be swallowed up."
"So you want to..." Jiraiya had a vague idea what he meant.
"I need a position that will let Dawn Wind exist openly, and give me the right to help shape Konoha's rules instead of merely obeying them—or being eliminated." Ling's voice was firm and decisive. "Or put another way, I need enough strength and influence that no one, Danzo included, would dare lay a hand on me or those around me."
His aim had already gone beyond mere survival.
Jiraiya was silent for a long time. He realized that the boy before him was no longer a child who needed his protection. He was a player with formidable strength, a clear mind, and an iron will, who had already stepped into Konoha's tangled game of power.
"Do you know how difficult that will be?" Jiraiya finally sighed. "Danzo has spent years building his influence in Konoha. His roots run deep."
"I know." Ling stood and walked to the center of the courtyard, watching the last streak of sunset on the horizon. "But some paths have to be walked."
His figure looked a little frail in the fading light, yet seemed to hold a strength that couldn't be ignored.
After finishing his training, Naruto ran over, sweat beading on his face. He looked curiously at the two serious-looking men. "Pervy Sage, big brother, what are you talking about?"
Ling reached out and wiped the sweat from Naruto's forehead with his clean sleeve. The gesture came naturally. "We were saying that you'll have to work even harder from now on."
"Yeah!" Naruto nodded with determination, his blue eyes brimming with enthusiasm. "I'll get stronger for sure and protect everyone!"
Watching Naruto's innocent smile, Jiraiya made up his mind. He couldn't stay in the village forever, but before he left, he could do something for the two boys—and for Konoha's future.
"Ling," he said, standing up with a serious expression. "I'll raise the matter of your position and Dawn Wind at the next meeting of the High Command. But I can't promise how things will turn out. Danzo will oppose it with everything he has."
"I understand." Ling nodded. "Thank you, Lord Jiraiya."
"Just call me Pervy Sage. I like the sound of that better." Jiraiya waved a hand, returning to his usual shameless manner, though his gaze remained serious. "Before I leave, I'll do what I can to clear a few obstacles for you. But how far you go in the end will depend on you."
He paused, then added, "And be careful with Sasuke. The Cursed Seal Orochimaru left on him is a huge liability. Kakashi is doing everything he can to seal it, but... I'm worried Sasuke himself might go too far."
At the mention of Sasuke, Ling's gaze darkened. He could sense that Sasuke's presence had become increasingly unstable lately, weighed down by a stifled darkness.
"I know," he replied softly.
After seeing Jiraiya off, Ling stood in the deepening night. He knew that he would soon face questioning from Konoha's leadership and obstruction from Danzo. This would be the decisive battle to determine whether Dawn Wind could establish itself in the open.
And Sasuke... Ling looked toward the Uchiha Clan Compound, a foreboding feeling rising in his heart.
The storm wasn't over. It had only changed form.
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