Escape from Konoha.

"Whether it was the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure who orchestrated this, or the Kazekage of Sunagakure who orchestrated it, or whether the two of them joined forces to plot against Konoha, it is no longer important."

"How could it not be important? That guy sacrificed himself—"

"Stop making a fuss here. Too many people have died in the war. Kato Dan is a true ninja, nothing more."

Orochimaru didn't want to hear Jiraiya yelling at him; he was in a very agitated state.

"Continuing peace talks with Sunagakure is a unanimous decision by the higher-ups. After all, if we continue fighting, we won't just be facing Sunagakure alone, but also Iwagakure."

He still couldn't bring himself to say, "It's not worth fighting Sunagakure and Iwagakure at the same time for Kato Dan."

But that's the truth in Orochimaru's opinion.

The mastermind behind the previous ambush on the delegation was likely Sunagakure.

Orochimaru wasn't quite sure why he would ambush Konoha before the war ended, and why he would even bring in the Tsuchikage to stage this charade, making Konoha hesitant to act rashly.

"What exactly is that Kazekage considering?"

◎

"It's like doing some kind of warm-up exercise before a battle, slowly heating up the atmosphere."

"Warm-up exercises?"

Only the two of them were in the tent. Ayane looked at Shiraishi with a puzzled expression, wondering why he would say such a thing.

"The one who ambushed the Konoha delegation was undoubtedly the Kazekage. Even if he didn't hire him personally, the strategy must have been his doing."

What is the basis for this claim?

"The warm-up exercise I mentioned is the basis. Annihilating a portion of Konoha's elite ninjas before the end of this war is tantamount to weakening Konoha's strength."

"But... if the higher-ups decide to continue the war, wouldn't that be counterproductive?"

Ayane countered with a question.

"So they dragged Iwagakure into it. This is how the Konoha leadership sees it—Sunagakure's initial intention was to continue fighting Konoha because they received supplies from Iwagakure and could continue fighting. However, after annihilating the Konoha delegation, Iwagakure suddenly drastically reduced their supplies, leaving Sunagakure without the ability to continue fighting. As a result, in the eyes of the Konoha leadership, Sunagakure was tricked by Iwagakure, and if Konoha continued to fight Sunagakure, they would fall into Iwagakure's trap."

"The higher-ups won't fall for such a simple trick."

"Whether we fall for their tricks or not is irrelevant. What matters is whether we have the capability to wage war against both Sunagakure and Iwagakure simultaneously. The key point is this: the Konoha leadership has no intention of engaging in simultaneous warfare with both ninja villages. This is a blatant and overt scheme."

Although Konoha has the capability, the sacrifices would be far greater.

Shiraishi did not believe that the Konoha leadership had the resolve to sacrifice Konoha's development for the next decade and wage war against Sunagakure and Iwagakure.

It is obvious that these two villages, one openly and one covertly, have long been colluding together.

Or perhaps, Iwagakure was also manipulated by that Kazekage.

Iwagakure did not cooperate with Sunagakure in their act; it was Sunagakure that was putting on a show for everyone, deceiving others and shifting the focus of the problem.

"A warm-up exercise? That's a very apt description."

If what Shiraishi said is true, Ayane thinks the term "warm-up exercise" is very apt.

The annihilation of the Konoha delegation, and the subsequent charade orchestrated by Iwagakure, was a warm-up exercise for an even more ferocious attack on the Land of Fire.

In other words, in the years following the end of this war, Sunagakure will definitely launch another attack, and under the leadership of the Third Kazekage, their offensive will be even more ferocious than this time.

Thinking back to what Shiraishi had said long ago, that after the Second Shinobi World War, the Third Shinobi World War would not be too far in between and would still revolve around the Land of Fire, where Konoha was located, I couldn't help but admire him.

That was indeed the best time to leave Konoha.

◎

Sunagakure Camp.

"Is this your future development plan, Lord Kazekage? It's truly amazing! No one could possibly have guessed Lord Kazekage's true intentions."

Surrounded by trusted Jonin of Sunagakure, they all showed reverence for the Third Kazekage after reviewing the entire plan.

Both Iwagakure and Konoha were completely outmaneuvered by their respected Kazekage.

Konoha was in an even more tragic situation, having lost so many people, yet still having to sign a ceasefire agreement with Sunagakure.

Iwagakure does indeed intend to use Sunagakure to continue the war with Konoha.

The reduction in the supplies originally promised to Sunagakure is a fact, and not a fabrication.

However, this was also exploited by the Third Kazekage.

Iwagakure was secretly pleased, as the conflict between Sunagakure and Konoha had intensified.

From Konoha's perspective, they believed that Sunagakure and Iwagakure had long been colluding, and that this was a trap set for Konoha, so they couldn't act rashly. They needed to continue signing the ceasefire agreement with Sunagakure to prevent the two villages from launching a joint attack on the Land of Fire.

"In the coming years, we must make good use of the abundant resources we have obtained from the Land of Fire to train more outstanding ninjas for the village, in preparation for the next war a few years from now. And let us work together to build a prosperous era for our Sand Village."

The Third Kazekage stood up from his seat, his tone full of confidence and encouragement for his subordinates.

"Yes! I swear to serve you to the death!"

These Sand Sand Jonin also stood up from their seats, looking at the Third Kazekage with fanatical eyes.

It was as if they could see, a few years later, under the leadership of the Wind Shadow, they once again opened a breach in the Land of Fire and plundered even more and better resources.

The era of Sunagakure's true rise is fast approaching.

Chapter 72 This is not a Shura Field

The ceasefire with Sunagakure took place a few days later.

The location for signing the ceasefire agreement was re-established, and the Konoha delegation was not attacked. The ceasefire agreement signing ceremony passed peacefully.

Although the war is over, ninjas still need to be stationed along the border of the Land of Fire.

Moreover, evacuating back to the village is not a matter of just one or two days. Unused supplies need to be inventoried, and there are still many wounded who need care.

The bodies of the victims also need to be identified and transported back to the village.

The Sakumo Squad is currently idle, and with the war over, there's no need for them to carry out sabotage operations behind the Sunagakure camp.

Leaving aside the other three, Shiraishi is currently being conscripted as a medical ninja and has to stay in the medical unit every day.

Once these wounded soldiers recover, their return to Konoha will be much smoother.

On this day, Shiraishi was working as usual in the medical unit, cooperating with the other medical ninjas to treat wounded ninjas.

In reality, they were just assistants; the medical ninjas who performed the surgeries were all experienced and highly skilled adult ninjas.

Shiraishi did not complain about this, as it actually made his workload much easier.

These days continued until early December, when the Konoha ninjas on the front lines began to break camp and return to the village, and Shiraishi finally finished his work with the medical unit.

It took three or four days to get back to the village from the front line because we weren't walking very fast.

During this time, we need to take care of the wounded and protect the remaining important supplies. We can't move too fast, otherwise we'll have to return to the village within a day.

Upon returning to the village, Shiraishi experienced the treatment of a 'hero' for the first time.

Led by the Third Hokage, the Konoha leadership, along with a large number of Konoha ninja and villagers, came to welcome the ninjas returning from the front lines.

After a day of rest, a grand burial ceremony was held in Konoha the following day.

Only a little over 500 people were able to bring back the bodies, and of those, less than one-tenth managed to keep the bodies intact.

Furthermore, there are many cases where the bodies cannot be found, or the bodies are so mutilated that it is impossible to identify whether they are one of our own or Sunagakure ninjas. There are even more ninjas in this category.

The weather in December is already very cold.

In addition, the weather on the day of the burial ceremony was not very sunny, and there was very little sunshine.

The four members of the Shuo Mao squad, dressed in pure black mourning clothes, stood before the newly added tombstones to pay their respects.

This war with Sunagakure, which lasted for more than two years, was even more intense than the war with the Land of Rain, and in terms of casualties, it even surpassed the war with the Land of Rain.

The overall level of the Sand Village ninjas far surpasses that of the Amegakure ninjas.

"I haven't seen Tsunade."

Ayane glanced around and whispered.

Shiroishi circled around, and saw Orochimaru and Jiraiya, two of the Legendary Sannin, as well as Minato, Jiraiya's disciple, but he didn't see Tsunade anywhere.

"After all, this war directly cost her two closest loved ones, so it's understandable that she wouldn't want to attend this kind of funeral. However, she'll probably sneak over here alone after everyone else has left."

Not wanting others to see the vulnerable side of the Sannin, Tsunade chose to come and mourn alone. In Shiraishi's view, Tsunade's heart had become weak.

However, people have different levels of inner strength, and their ability to cope with bad news varies from person to person.

Shiraishi could completely understand this.

"You all go back first, I'm going to talk to the Hokage about something."

After the funeral, Sakumo left those words and headed towards the location of the Third Hokage and other high-ranking officials.

The three of them, including Shiraishi, did not object. They exchanged glances and left the cemetery park.

"It looks like this year's New Year festival will be quite quiet."

Ayane said something as she walked down the street, seemingly expressing regret.

After hearing this, Shiraishi and Ruri nodded slightly.

It's already December, and many families have been torn apart by the war. Although the festival will still be held as usual, it will certainly not be as lively as in previous years.

Not only civilians, but also a considerable number of ninjas from various ninja clans sacrificed their lives.

"What's next? The war is over, it all feels so sudden."

"That's because our squad hasn't participated in any direct combat, that's why we think that way."

Shiraishi responded to Ayane's sentiments.

"Don't let your guard down just because the war is over. If you die, it will be very difficult to find ninjas who can keep up with my pace."

Liuli was splashing cold water on him from the side.

Shiraishi chuckled and said, "It's alright, safety first has always been my principle."

The end of the war does not mean that ninjas have lost their purpose.

Even in peacetime, ninjas still carry out missions, but the difficulty of these missions is much lower compared to wartime.

Shiraishi realized that he had never tried to take on a normal mission before; all the missions he had ever undertaken were battles against enemy ninjas.