A Grand Feast for All the Ninja!

Time flew by, and the end of Konoha's twenty-sixth year arrived.

Winter had slipped in quietly. With the new year approaching, Konoha bustled with preparations to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Prayer knots hung beneath every household's eaves.

Ninja and villagers shopping for the holiday filled the streets and alleys. Children chased one another through the streets, their laughter scattering on the cold wind.

Two years had passed since the campaign in the Land of Grass began. Iwagakure had not crossed the country's border again, though some of Konoha's troops remained stationed there.

Most of the Second Legion's ninja, having distinguished themselves in battle, were relieved and returned to the village. Danzo also brought Hatake Sakumo and the three young ninja led by Tsunade back to rest. After two years guarding the southwest, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally returned for a brief respite as well.

To celebrate the great victory and welcome the new year, Kagami Uchiha arranged a grand victory banquet in the square before the Hokage Building.

The square blazed with light. Long tables stretched across it, laden with food and wine. Konoha's major ninja clans and all the ninja who had earned merit in battle gathered there.

Shimura Danzō, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Torifu Akimichi, all students of Tobirama, stood shoulder to shoulder.

The three Elders had gathered too. On the left, Senju Bu smiled broadly, as though marveling at how much the village had changed.

In the middle stood Uchiha Setsuna. Though usually stern, he wore a rare smile today.

On the right stood Tokuma Hyuga. Ever since his public humiliation at a meeting two years earlier, he had kept his head down and worked diligently, never again daring to oppose Kagami Uchiha.

Word was that the Branch Family faction led