The smoke of war had barely begun to clear when the ceasefire treaty and alliance agreement were finally signed. The war between Konoha and the Hidden Sand Village, which had lasted nearly a year, had at last come to an end.
The war-scorched land gradually cooled, and the chaotic battlefield returned to peace. Following the Battle of Kikyo Mountain, the Konoha ninja forces that had advanced once more into the Land of Rivers also withdrew from the Land of Fire in an orderly fashion, in accordance with the agreement between both sides.
Other than the border garrison troops Orochimaru had previously redeployed, the remaining Konoha ninja split into two groups. Those with serious injuries returned to Konoha for quiet recuperation, while those in better condition, after a brief rest, followed Orochimaru without pause to reinforce the still-fierce western battlefield in the Land of Grass.
However, Yin Jie did not accompany Orochimaru to the Land of Grass. His destination was temporarily changed to the eastern part of the Land of Fire—the border battlefield between Konoha and the Hidden Mist Village.
Intelligence indicated that the Hidden Mist Village intended to clash with Konoha on a large scale soon, and there was a high possibility that the "mysterious" Third Mizukage of Kirigakure would deploy a jinchuriki onto the battlefield.
Before that, however, he made a detour back to Konoha, where he and his girlfriend properly eased the pain of their longing for one another. Then he went to see the Great Elder, Uchiha Zong, and the former clan head, Uchiha Xuan, who had temporarily resumed authority as clan head due to Uchiha Fugaku's deployment. From them, he obtained clues regarding two of the Uchiha Clan's Three Sacred Treasures—the Sword of Totsuka and the Yata Mirror—which they had found and compiled from the clan's