After Konoha and Sunagakure formally signed their peace agreement, Tobirama returned to camp and received intelligence sent by Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen Sarutobi and Torifu Akimichi were the supreme commanders on the Earth and Water fronts. Routine orders did not require Tobirama's approval; they could make decisions in the field. Normally, they only sent a summary report once a week, but their last report had arrived just three days earlier. That meant this intelligence had to be important enough for Tobirama to hear immediately.
At first, Tobirama wondered whether something had changed on the battlefield. They had just freed themselves from the Sunagakure front, so if Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others needed help, he could send reinforcements at once.
Yet after reading the intelligence, he let out a breath and told the somewhat tense people around him, "The Second Tsuchikage and the Second Mizukage killed each other on the battlefield."
Although the situation in the shinobi world differed from the original course of history, the two men's fates had not changed. Second Tsuchikage Mu and Second Mizukage Gengetsu Hozuki had been bitter rivals since the Warring States Period, and their strength was closely matched. Without some unexpected outside interference, this was probably how things would end for them.
"The newly appointed Tsuchikage and Mizukage both want a ceasefire. They'll probably sign an agreement to end the war before long," Tobirama said. "In other words, the Shinobi World War will soon be over."
Everyone had thought they would have to fight another campaign on the Earth and Water fronts, and their expressions had been grim. After such a long war and the deaths of so many comrades, they had all grown weary of fighting to some degree. News of the impending ceasefire delighted every one of them.
Tobirama believed Hiruzen Sarutobi and