The negotiations between the Third Hokage and Hanzo of the Rain Village seemed to drag on for quite some time. Given the importance of battlefield matters, it was only natural to proceed with caution.
No matter how each side secretly schemed and plotted against one another, at least there was one shared stance—both parties firmly desired to end the war and restore peace.
During the exchanges between Konoha and Amegakure, Danzo Shimura appeared particularly impressed with Amegakure's designated successor, showing clear signs of support toward him. Danzo's exact thoughts were known only to himself. He never explicitly stated his reasons for supporting Hanzo of the Rain Village, but it could at least be confirmed that this attitude definitely wasn't because their names sounded somewhat similar.
If mutual sympathy was formed merely on such grounds, that would have been too childish.
Actually, both men seemed quite cunning by nature...
Amegakure wanted to establish a peace treaty with Konoha, but the problem was this village had become completely broke after prolonged warfare and continuous attacks from Konoha previously. Therefore, no matter how much both sides negotiated, Konoha probably wouldn't gain anything beyond the peace itself.
Furthermore, considering Amegakure's determination demonstrated throughout this Great Ninja World War, it was nearly impossible for them to fully come under Konoha's control. Hanzo of the Rain Village certainly wouldn't become someone else's puppet.
Yet even just having Amegakure redirect forces away from fighting Konoha, instead focusing on guarding against Iwagakure, would already be acceptable to Konoha.
Exactly how these negotiations went remained unknown to Haseo. The only thing he knew was, not long afterward, the Hokage dispatched search teams back into Amegakure in order to recover trapped Konoha ninja... something Hiruzen Sarutobi as Hokage couldn't possibly ignore.
Such search missions? Naturally Haseo wouldn't participate in them. Sending him on such tasks would clearly mean wanting him dead—after all, hadn't he just tried to kill Hanzo? Now sending him back into enemy territory filled with poison mist?
Even hypothetically speaking, even if the Hokage really wanted him dead, surely he wouldn't use such an elementary method of assassination through others' hands. Moreover, considering Haseo's performance during this war, the Third Hokage was extremely satisfied. There was absolutely no reason for him to do something so heart-wrenching for allies while delighting enemies.
Now that Konoha had sent ninja back into Amegakure again, peace or not, this at least indicated both villages had decided to seek reconciliation.
Such things could never have happened during the First or even Second Hokage periods, but unfortunately, the Senju clan had already retreated from the forefront.
Three days later, most of Konoha's ninja who had entered Yu no Kuni (the Land of Rain) started orderly withdrawals back to the front-line camp in Chi no Kuni (the Land of Rivers).
At this point, Operation Amegakure could officially be declared concluded. Konoha had basically achieved its predetermined objectives—eliminating Hanzo of the Rain Village and achieving mutual peace. Although nobody could have predicted the course of the war—who would ever expect Hanzo of the Rain Village dying from internal betrayal—the outcome was indeed acceptable.
After the conclusion of the Amegakure campaign, Konoha's western front operations largely ended, though this did not mean the immediate removal of front-line camps. In fact, quite the opposite held true—Konoha still planned to station considerable numbers of ninja here for a prolonged period.
Even if Konoha and Amegakure had signed a peace agreement with complete mutual trust, Konoha still had valid reasons to maintain its military presence here. The peace between Konoha and Amegakure applied only to those two parties. As for Konoha and Sunagakure, there hadn't been any indication of signing agreements yet.
Currently, Konoha and Sunagakure were in a de facto ceasefire, but fundamentally, the state of war remained unresolved. War could possibly reignite at any moment, so naturally, Konoha needed to prepare accordingly.
Since the completion of Operation Amegakure and their return to the front-line camp, Haseo gradually noticed some noticeable changes in the vibe around him.
For example, when he walked through the camp and had a head-on encounter with ordinary ninja, they would often step aside to wait on the roadside until he passed before moving again. Moreover, more people recognized his identity, addressing him with "sama"—an honorific suffix full of reverence—when mentioning him.
This was actually no surprise. In wartime, capable ninja earned status and recognition from fellow villagers far easier than those boasting high birthright. Haseo's previous actions on the battlefield had clearly earned him greater respect.
Ninja minds worked in straightforward ways—if you hit harder, your reputation grew stronger. When a ninja fought with the same intensity as Hashirama Senju, no one dared challenge him anymore. At that point, he became a pillar upholding world peace.
The strongest fighters best maintained peace because those opposing peace would be eliminated by warfare tactics. You either chose peace or oblivion. Fundamentally, Hashirama was a naturally peace-oriented person.
Of course, this only applied to Hashirama. Haseo couldn't compare himself. But when he clearly realized he had become somewhat "noteworthy," his first reaction wasn't particularly emotional—he simply thought he wouldn't be able to continue using his current Anbu identity anymore.
When you'd become famous while wearing an Anbu mask, how could you stay hidden?
Although Haseo wore his identity-concealing mask throughout Operation Amegakure, it didn't fulfill its intended purpose. The reason was simple: regardless of whether he wore a mask, he always moved together with the Third Hokage's three disciples, making the concealment of his identity practically impossible.
Nevertheless, after several consecutive victories, Konoha no longer needed to keep such a large number of ninja at the front line. Battlefield resembled a gambling table; only the side holding advantage could freely choose to raise or lower stakes in every round.
Therefore, following the Amegakure Campaign, while maintaining well-organized discipline, Konoha's front-line camp started making frequent personnel transfers. During this process, Haseo wasn't immediately recalled to the village but stayed at the camp, resting, training, and patrolling nearby as usual.
At this point, he felt relatively calm, because staying at the front line instead of being urgently sent back to the village wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
There had been no direct conflict between Konoha and Mist during the First Great Ninja War. Now that Konoha had concluded its wars with Kumo and Sunagakure, and signed a peace treaty with Amegakure, effectively cutting off Iwagakure from all directions, it was safe to say... the Great Ninja War for Konoha had already ended.
What remained were merely some finishing touches. After overseeing the Amegakure operation, the Third Hokage was no longer suited for staying at the Front Line. Thus, he ultimately left behind Danzo, who had only come along just to tag along for show. To be honest, during Operation Amegakure, Danzo's presence hadn't even been as noticeable as Jiraiya's. He stayed behind to handle post-operation logistics and oversee the broader battlefield coordination.
The utilitarian value he hadn't shown during the Amegakure war could now finally be put to use.
The Third Hokage himself decided to return to Konoha, though by then, it had already been a month after the end of the Amegakure conflict.
And since the Third Hokage had decided to return to the village, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya naturally followed him back, thus taking Haseo along as well. That meant Haseo had also completed his frontline service and was returning to Konoha.
Before leaving, Haseo lingered at the entrance of the Front-line Camp for a long time until Jiraiya came to remind him it was time to depart.
"Haseo, what are you spacing out for? It's time to leave."
"... Nothing."
"It's just that it doesn't feel real. Regardless of my feelings, at this moment, I've finally come to realize one thing... the war was finally coming to an end."
"... Is it over?"
These words made Jiraiya pause briefly. Obviously, limited by age, Jiraiya didn't share the same profound feelings as Haseo did.
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