The war ends

"T-T-Tailed Beast Bomb?!"

Fugaku looked utterly incredulous, his expression twisting out of shape!

The energy ball shot out with a whoosh and slammed into the distant, flat-topped mountain. With an earth-shattering explosion, the entire mountain was blown to pieces.

After the dust cleared, a bottomless crater appeared where it had stood.

That mountain peak, which had endured such hardship, finally fulfilled its mission and retired from this cruel world with honor.

The corners of Seiichi's mouth lifted slightly. He was very satisfied with the effect of this attack.

Then he began a series of tests.

Especially flying.

After quite a while, Seiichi felt his chakra running low.

With a thought, he dispersed his Susanoo and returned to human form.

"Father, this is my current strength." Seiichi looked at Fugaku, his eyes gleaming with confidence.

As Fugaku looked at his son before him, his heart filled with pride. He knew Seiichi's future would surely be limitless.

"Well done, son!" Fugaku patted Seiichi's shoulder. "But remember, you must never grow arrogant or complacent. The road of training is still long. You must keep working hard to become truly strong."

Seiichi nodded, understanding his father's lesson. At that moment, his conviction grew even firmer. He would become the strongest person-no, the strongest living being.

Mikoto looked at Seiichi with gratification written all over her face.

Shisui and Itachi stared at Seiichi with shining eyes.

"You'll both have your chance. Don't rush."

Seiichi gently stroked the two younger boys' heads.

After resting briefly and feeling that his chakra had recovered, Seiichi quietly brought the group back to the Uchiha Clan Compound in Konoha.

All that remained at the site was a smoking crater, as though it were recounting its own tragic story.

Just as the atmosphere in Konoha was growing increasingly tense.

The news that the war had ended in Konoha's victory was finally announced by the Hokage's office.

Those who had fought in the war were already on their triumphant journey home and would return to the village within days.

The Hokage's office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had replaced his pipe yet again and was sitting behind the Hokage's desk, puffing away.

Mitokado Homura joined him with a pipe of his own.

Only Danzo and Utatane Koharu watched longingly, breathing in their secondhand smoke while serving as human air purifiers.

"Hiruzen, are you ready?"

Now that things had reached this point, Danzo was no longer impatient.

"Yes, I believe we're all ready. For now, let's keep an eye on how they're doing."

By "they," Hiruzen Sarutobi did not mean the Uchiha Clan.

He meant the specific condition of Minato Namikaze and the others who had fought in the war.

Knowing Hiruzen Sarutobi had not gone soft and started pulling anything strange, Danzo felt reassured.

He was afraid Hiruzen Sarutobi would change his mind right before it was time to act.

That really would frustrate him to death.

Precisely because they were going to target the Uchiha, he had not even interfered with the peace negotiations between Konoha and Iwagakure. He had even urged Hiruzen Sarutobi to hurry them along.

Meanwhile, the Uchiha Clan showed no reaction at all, as though they had never seen the news.

The leaders of the other ninja clans were all frightened by the Uchiha's response.

No response was the strongest response-and the worst one!

It meant only one thing: the Uchiha had already made up their minds. No outside factors could sway their resolve or their thinking.

Inside the Uchiha Clan Compound, Fugaku and Mikoto exchanged a glance, each seeing the worry in the other's eyes.

"It seems this war hasn't changed anything," Fugaku said quietly.

Mikoto sighed. "We actually anticipated this outcome long ago."

Just then, Seiichi walked in, his gaze firm and calm.

"Father, Mother, I've decided. I'll keep getting on Hiruzen Sarutobi's nerves."

Fugaku looked at his son, feeling both gratified and helpless.

"All right, Seiichi. You have your own ideas. But remember, whatever happens, we and the clan stand with you."

Seiichi nodded, then turned and left the room.

The sky outside was dark and overcast, seemingly foretelling the coming storm.

At last, the guards at the Konoha Gate spotted the war heroes led by Minato Namikaze.

After entering the village, the group began to disperse.

The wartime commanders followed Minato Namikaze to the Hokage's office to meet Hiruzen Sarutobi and submit their reports on the war.

The other ordinary participants were dismissed on the spot, each heading home to their own families and mothers.

Everyone who had fought in the war, from top to bottom, was utterly exhausted.

On the battlefield, they had to keep their nerves taut, or they would be gambling with their own lives.

On top of that, the villagers were all celebrating Konoha's victory in the streets.

As a result, those who had just returned did not notice the change in the village's atmosphere.

"Greetings, Lord Hokage, Hokage's assistant, and honored elders."

After leading the group inside, Minato Namikaze greeted the four in a gentle voice.

"Minato, thank you for your hard work, and thank you to everyone here as well. You've all done well. You have not disgraced our Will of Fire!

"You're all The Superstars of Konoha."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood, walked over to Minato, and patted his shoulder in encouragement.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had, after all, served as Hokage for decades. Winning people over was practically etched into his bones.

Sure enough, it went just as he had expected.

Young people like Minato grew slightly red around the eyes at those few "heartfelt" words of his.

Without showing it, Hiruzen Sarutobi noticed out of the corner of his eye that the expressions of old foxes like Shikaku Nara had not changed at all.

As expected, he particularly disliked these old foxes he could not fool.

Of course, the ones he hated most were still the Uchiha. No one could rival the Uchiha's place in his heart!

After saying a few brief words, he noticed everyone's exhausted expressions.

As an "understanding" Hokage who was "considerate of his subordinates," Hiruzen Sarutobi certainly could not disregard their feelings, so he told them to go back, wash up, and rest first.

The war reports were not so urgent. They could just as well wait until tomorrow.

"Hiruzen, they seem to be in pretty good shape."

"Yes, much better than I imagined, actually. That's good news."

All four of them broke into relaxed smiles at the same time.

The Uchiha Clan Compound also welcomed back the clan members who had fought in the war.

Fugaku, the clan head, Seiichi, the young clan head, and the Uchiha's ten elders had long since gathered at the compound's entrance with the clan, ready to welcome their heroic clansmen home from the war.

Unfortunately, only 626 clan members ultimately made it back alive.

The clan's casualty rate was nearly forty percent.

Of the more than six hundred who returned, virtually every one of them had minor injuries.

More than thirty clan members were seriously injured.

Nearly ten others had been left disabled.

Of the one thousand clan members who had originally gone to war, five hundred were jonin, three hundred and fifty were chunin, and one hundred and fifty were genin.

Now, four hundred and fifty jonin remained, along with one hundred and fifty-seven chunin and only nineteen genin.

Alas, on a battlefield as brutal as the Third Shinobi World War, chunin and genin were nothing but cannon fodder.

Surviving was far, far too difficult for them.

But...