Once the dust had settled, Mei Terumi prepared to take her people back to the Land of Water.
To thank the Mizukage for her help, Hiruzen Sarutobi held a grand but utterly useless farewell ceremony.
If there was one place that loved keeping up appearances, it had to be Konoha!
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi did more than just that this time. After forming a deeper strategic alliance with Kirigakure, Konoha would also provide it with a range of support, including supplies and personnel.
They also successfully reached an agreement on overseas trade, exchanging what each side needed and assisting each other in defense.
It certainly looked good. The only question was how long it would last.
Also worth mentioning was that Danzo had been locked up for crossing Hiruzen Sarutobi's bottom line.
Mei Terumi felt immensely satisfied when she heard.
Although she also knew that the Hokage was very likely just putting on a show and would release him before long, that did not stop her from enjoying his misfortune.
Not long after Mei Terumi, Shinji, and their party left Konoha, something happened.
Naruto and Sakura went looking for Sasuke, but instead of finding him, they found only a letter.
Sasuke had left the letter for them and Kakashi-sensei. In essence, it said that the Chunin Ninja Exams had made him deeply aware of his shortcomings, so he was going out to train, and they did not need to look for him.
Naruto and Sakura immediately took the letter to Kakashi-sensei.
Kakashi's heart sank as soon as he read it.
He could tell that this was indeed Sasuke's handwriting, but there was something wrong with Sasuke choosing to leave without saying goodbye.
Could going out to train alone really make his strength grow rapidly?
Of course not!
Why did people from