The war between Sunagakure and Konohagakure had lasted for two years, but compared to Sunagakure, Konoha had a very strong war-weariness.
Before engaging in battle with Sunagakure, Konoha had already fought against Amegakure ninja in the Land of Rain. Many ninja were already physically and mentally exhausted. Under these circumstances, they were once again dragged into the rhythm of war by Sunagakure. It's easy to imagine the extent of Konoha's fatigue with the war.
Therefore, when the Third Kazekage submitted the peace treaty, Shiraishi estimated that Konoha would very likely agree.
After all, this had always been Konoha's main strategic approach.
Continuing to deplete resources against Sunagakure would only allow other ninja villages to profit from their struggles.
"Seriously, we've fought this far. We should just defeat Sunagakure in one go. Submitting a peace treaty like this, without truly settling anything, means they'll just come back later."
Ruri sat on a rock, her face showing dissatisfaction.
It had only been a little over a month since she left the village, and she hadn't had her fill of fighting the Suna ninja. If the war ended now, Sakumo's team's mission would also conclude.
"You can't say that. Many ninja from the village in the camp are feeling war-weary, and it's much the same in Sunagakure. Ending it peacefully at this point benefits both sides. As for the future... we'll deal with that later."
As a Konoha ninja, Shiraishi believed this was indeed the best solution.
"That's great! I thought I wouldn't be able to go back to the village for New Year's this year. I'm really looking forward to this year's festival."
Ayane said with a cheerful smile from the side.
Shiraishi turned his head away, pretending not to hear that remark.
"That's true. If the war ends quickly, we can go back for the New Year's festival... And I also want to go back and see Kakashi."
Sakumo smiled and said, hearing the three of them chatting.
"Kakashi?"
Shiraishi and the other two were drawn to the name.
"Ah, haven't I told you?"
Sakumo blinked in confusion.
"No, we've never heard of this person. By the way... who is he?"
Shiraishi shook his head.
"He's my son, Hatake Kakashi. Although he's only two years old this year, I believe he will be an excellent ninja in the future."
Sakumo said.
"Son!?"
Shiraishi and the other two were stunned and cried out loudly.
This news couldn't be described as mere surprise. They had heard absolutely nothing about Sakumo having a son.
"What, is something wrong?"
Sakumo looked at the three of them strangely.
"No... I thought you were still single, Sakumo-sensei. I didn't expect you to not only be married but also have a son..."
Ayane quickly explained.
Shiraishi and Ruri also nodded, as this was indeed the image they had of Sakumo.
"My apologies, I thought I had already mentioned it."
"It's okay, we were just a bit surprised to hear it suddenly. After all, it's a personal matter, and we didn't have contact with Sakumo-sensei before graduating from the Ninja Academy. So, Sakumo-sensei's son is already two years old, huh... Hatake Kakashi, that's a very good name."
Ayane smiled.
But in her heart, she was thinking: What kind of name should I choose for my and Shiraishi-kun's child in the future?
"Speaking of which, I've been a bit of a neglectful father. I couldn't return to the village to celebrate my child's birthday in September. In the blink of an eye, it's already November."
"There's always next year. Sakumo-sensei can treat us then."
Shiraishi said with a smile.
Sakumo's mouth twitched. When it came to treating them, he seemed to suddenly recall some unpleasant memories.
He didn't want to be on the verge of bankruptcy on his son's birthday, which would be a mix of joy and sorrow.
"Really? That's great! I'll come with an empty stomach that day. Get ready, Sakumo-sensei."
Ayane said with a smile, settling the matter.
Sakumo sighed. It seemed his wallet wouldn't be safe. Then he looked at Ruri.
"Don't look at me like that. That's your son's birthday party. If I were to pay, wouldn't that be incredibly tactless? After all, you are Lord White Fang."
No, I don't care about my reputation. Hearing Ruri's merciless refusal, Sakumo grumbled inwardly.
Two days later, it was the day Konoha and Sunagakure officially signed the peace treaty and armistice agreement.
The weather was clear and sunny.
Sakumo's team set off to return to the Konoha camp on the border of the Land of Fire.
The signing of the armistice agreement was at nine in the morning.
It was now four in the afternoon.
This meant that the armistice agreement with Sunagakure had already been signed. This news should have already reached the camp and would be relayed to the village as quickly as possible.
However, upon returning to the camp at five in the afternoon, the four members of Sakumo's team sensed that something was wrong.
It was too somber.
Rather, it was sorrowful.
The four looked at each other, not knowing what had happened.
Although they knew that some people would be sad at the end of the war, it shouldn't be this profoundly somber.
Within this somberness, there was also a burning anger and killing intent that seemed to want to devour everything.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know. Did something happen?"
Shiraishi stroked his chin, beginning to ponder.
Had there been some problem with the agreement?
Could it be that Sunagakure didn't intend to uphold the terms of the agreement?
Otherwise, he couldn't explain all of this.
"You're a medical ninja too, right? Hurry to the medical department, they're desperately short-staffed!"
Just then, a Konoha ninja ran over quickly, speaking to Shiraishi with extreme urgency.
Shiraishi looked at Sakumo, who nodded. Shiraishi then followed the ninja to the medical squad's camp.
"You all rest here. I'll go find Orochimaru to understand the situation."
Ruri and Ayane nodded, obeying Sakumo's instructions.
— Medical Squad Camp.
Horrific!
Only the word "horrific" could describe it.
Dozens of Konoha ninja lay mutilated in the tents, their screams of pain, like wailing ghosts, caused Shiraishi to momentarily lose his composure.
What was going on?
These injuries must have been recent... no, caused today, right?
What happened?
Shiraishi didn't ask. He immediately followed behind a medical ninja skilled in medical ninjutsu, assisting him. All dozens of these ninja required emergency surgery.
Moreover, during the emergency treatment, some seriously injured individuals inevitably couldn't be attended to and died directly from unbearable pain.
Sobs and wails converged in one place.
Every medical ninja was busy, sweating profusely, with no time for extra communication.
The emergency treatment ended two hours later.
It wasn't that the emergency treatment was successful. It ended so early because many people died before they could even undergo surgery.
Some underwent emergency surgery but still died.
Only a dozen or so were pulled back from the brink of death.
"We did our best."
The attending medical ninja patted Shiraishi's shoulder, seemingly worried that a young medical ninja like him might have psychological burdens, and offered a word of comfort.
"Um, senior, what exactly happened? Why did it turn out like this?"
Shiraishi finally asked the question he most wanted to ask.
The attending medical ninja knew that Shiraishi was a medical ninja following Sakumo, so it was natural for him not to understand the situation here.
"We don't know the specifics either. We only know that the delegation that went to sign the armistice agreement with Sunagakure was ambushed by unknown individuals on their way. By the time they were brought back, they were already in this state."
The attending medical ninja said with a pained expression.
"What about the armistice agreement then? Was it the Suna ninja who did this?"
"I'm not clear on that either. But we suffered heavy losses this time. I heard that even Jonin Kato sacrificed himself."
"Jonin Kato?"
Shiraishi was startled. That surname, and a Jonin... could it be... "Tsunade-sama's emotions are very unstable right now. Jonin Kato's sacrifice has hit her too hard."
The attending medical ninja sighed.
"Jonin Kato was so powerful, how could he..."
Shiraishi found it a bit incomprehensible.
Jonin Kato was Tsunade's current boyfriend, Kato Dan. Although his reputation couldn't compare to Sakumo, who held the name of the White Fang, he was one of the few elite Jonin in Konoha. In a one-on-one situation, he might not be much worse than the Sannin.
After all, the power of the Spirit Transformation Technique was terrifying.
Moreover, he also possessed a wide range of sensory abilities, making it quite easy for him to break through and find a weak point to escape.
"To cover his comrades' retreat, he chose to fight the enemy alone. By the time reinforcements arrived, he was already... gone! Tsunade-sama tried with all her might, but couldn't save Jonin Kato's life."
"Is that so?"
Shiraishi sighed.
Although he didn't know Jonin Kato Dan, his selfless act of saving his comrades, from any standpoint, would earn him heartfelt admiration for his spirit.
In this era, birth was not something to be happy about, and death was not something to be sad about.
This was the current creed of the ninja world.
He could understand Tsunade's pain, but he couldn't personally experience that kind of suffering.
Human joys and sorrows are not interconnected.
Because he was not familiar with Jonin Kato, his sigh was only for Tsunade.
The death of her younger brother Nawaki, the sacrifice of her boyfriend Kato Dan... would she be completely devastated from then on... No, no matter what, she's one of the Sannin, it shouldn't be that bad, right?
Shiraishi thought this, but he didn't have much confidence in it.
Humans are, after all, emotionally fragile creatures.
Shiraishi saw that there was nothing left to do in the medical squad, so he left and went to meet Sakumo and the others at their lodging.
Sakumo and the other two were already waiting there, discussing something.
"Sakumo-sensei, I'm back. What's the situation? I heard that unknown individuals attacked the ninja delegation that went to sign the armistice agreement with Suna."
"That's right. Not only that, but Orochimaru also suffered very serious injuries. If Jonin Kato hadn't resolutely chosen to stay behind, it's very likely that everyone who went to sign the armistice agreement would have been completely wiped out within the enemy's encirclement."
Sakumo concisely explained what he had learned from Orochimaru.
"That's outrageous. No matter what, they should have maintained the highest level of vigilance."
Ruri's face showed anger.
After all, there was a precedent for this kind of thing. During the First Great Ninja War, the Second Hokage and the Second Raikage of Kumogakure were attacked by the radical leaders of Kumogakure, the Gold and Silver Brothers, and a large number of Kumogakure Jonin while signing a peace treaty.
The Second Raikage was killed on the spot by the Gold and Silver Brothers at the signing of the armistice agreement. The Second Hokage, to cover his subordinates, ultimately perished along with the Gold and Silver Brothers and their troops.
This was all due to trusting the enemy too much.
Given the Second Hokage's past lesson, they should have been more cautious when signing the armistice agreement.
Who would have thought that the commander, Orochimaru, would be severely wounded, and out of a hundred Leaf ninja, only a small fraction returned?
The greatest sacrifice was made by Dan Kato, who fought to the death alone to cover Orochimaru's retreat with the Leaf forces.
"Now isn't the time to blame anyone. Has the enemy's identity been clarified?"
Shiraishi looked at Sakumo.
Sakumo sighed and shook his head, saying, "No. Their ninjutsu styles are very complex. It's said that one of them is incredibly powerful and seems to be immortal, able to revive after being killed once. Because of this ability, many of our comrades were careless and he single-handedly counter-killed several jonin."
"Who is he?"
"We don't know."
Shiraishi and the other two frowned slightly.
Such a formidable person, possessing an ability similar to immortality, shouldn't be unknown in the ninja world.
How could they not know?
"Perhaps he's a bounty hunter from the black market."
Sakumo wasn't entirely sure who led the attack on the Leaf delegation, only speculating that the opponent might be a ninja active in the black market.
That was a truly dark world where the strong preyed on the weak, and there were many powerful but not well-known ninja there.
The ninja who attacked the Leaf delegation this time fit the image of a high-level black market ninja.
"The underground black market? That makes investigation very difficult. Could they have been hired by Sand?"
Shiraishi had also heard of such a dark world.
Existing in the shadows of the ninja world, bounty hunters operating in the black market were either rogue ninja or samurai. While many were trash, there were also truly powerful individuals.
The underground black market had a complex network, with outposts in every country, deeply rooted in the ninja world.
"There's only that possibility, but we have no evidence to prove it. However, before we returned, the Third Kazekage sent an envoy to condemn us for not arriving on time, asking if we intended to prolong this war."
This incident angered many Leaf ninja.
In the eyes of many Leaf ninja, the ambush on their delegation was orchestrated by the Sand ninja behind the scenes.
If Orochimaru hadn't intervened, that Sand envoy would likely have been torn to shreds by the furious Leaf ninja.
Shiraishi and the other two felt a heavy silence after hearing this, understanding the anger of those Leaf ninja.
From the current situation, it seemed highly probable that Sunagakure had gone back on its word and intended to catch Konoha off guard.
However, these were all mere conjectures, with no conclusive evidence to prove that the Sand ninja were responsible.
It was truly frustrating.
"What did the village say?"
"The village just received this news. Because it's a matter of great importance, the higher-ups will surely debate endlessly. Accurate orders will likely only come down in three or four days."
This was the most conservative estimate.
Now, whether to fight or make peace depended solely on the decisions of the higher-ups.
Shiraishi had no opinion on this; he was not interested in war to begin with, and how the Konoha higher-ups managed this situation was irrelevant to him.
◎
"Peace talks?"
Three days later, the orders from the high-level meeting came down.
Peace talks with Sunagakure.
This caused many ninja in the Konoha camp to frown.
However, the higher-ups provided an explanation—the ambush on the Konoha delegation, which prevented the signing of the Konoha-Sunagakure armistice agreement, was all a conspiracy by Iwagakure.
The unidentified ninja who ambushed the Konoha delegation were hired by Iwagakure from the black market.
If Konoha and Sunagakure continued to wage war at this point, they would both fall into the trap carefully designed by Iwagakure.
Therefore, an armistice agreement with Sunagakure had to be signed to guard against Iwagakure.
"What's going on, Orochimaru?"
Jiraiya asked, somewhat unable to understand.
Orochimaru took out another piece of intelligence and said, "This is important intelligence collected by the Anbu. Two days ago, Sand and Stone ninja had a small-scale conflict in the Land of Bears."
"Sand and Stone… them?"
Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru with even more confusion.
Orochimaru replied, "After Sakumo destroyed Sand's supply of provisions, Sand sought cooperation with Stone, hoping Stone would provide them with some supplies. Stone agreed to Sand's request, but two days ago, during the transfer of supplies, the provisions Stone promised Sand were only one-twentieth of what was agreed upon. That's when the conflict occurred between them."
Jiraiya still frowned, feeling that something wasn't quite right.
"Whether this is a scheme by the Tsuchikage of Stone, or the Kazekage of Sand, or if they both conspired together to trick Konoha, it no longer matters."
"How can it not matter? Dan sacrificed himself, only to—"
"Don't shout here. Too many people die in war. Dan Kato was a true ninja, nothing more."
Orochimaru didn't want to hear Jiraiya shouting in front of him; his mood was very agitated right now.
"Continuing peace talks with Sand is the unanimous decision of the higher-ups. After all, if we keep fighting, we won't just be facing Sand, but Stone as well."
The words 'it's not worth fighting both Sand and Stone for one Dan Kato' still couldn't be uttered.
But that was Orochimaru's perceived reality.
The mastermind behind the ambush on the delegation was very likely Sand.
However, Orochimaru wasn't entirely clear why they would ambush Konoha once before the war ended, and even involve the Tsuchikage in this charade, making Konoha hesitant to act rashly.
"What exactly is that Kazekage thinking?"
◎
"It's like a warm-up exercise before a battle, slowly heating up the atmosphere."
"Warm-up exercise?"
Only the two of them were in the tent. Ayane looked at Shiraishi with a puzzled expression, not understanding why he would say such a thing.
"The one who ambushed the Konoha delegation earlier was undoubtedly that Kazekage. Even if he didn't personally hire them, this strategy must have come from him."
"Is there any basis for that?"
"The warm-up exercise I mentioned is the basis. Eliminating a portion of Konoha's elite ninja before the end of this war is equivalent to weakening Konoha's power."
"But… if the higher-ups decide to continue the war, wouldn't that be counterproductive?"
Ayane retorted.
"That's why Iwagakure was dragged in. In the eyes of Konoha's higher-ups, this is the situation: Sunagakure's initial intention was to continue fighting Konoha because they had received supplies from Iwagakure and could continue the war. However, after annihilating the Konoha delegation, Iwagakure suddenly drastically cut the promised supplies, causing Sunagakure to lose its sustained combat capability. In this way, in the eyes of Konoha's higher-ups, Sunagakure was played by Iwagakure, and if Konoha continues to fight Sunagakure, it will fall into Iwagakure's trap."
"Our higher-ups wouldn't fall for such a simple scheme."
"Whether they fall for it or not doesn't matter. What matters is whether they have the ability to fight two villages, Sand and Stone, simultaneously. That's the key point; Konoha's higher-ups aren't prepared to fight two ninja villages at once. This is a blatant open conspiracy."
Although Konoha had the capability, the sacrifices would be much greater.
Shiraishi didn't believe Konoha's higher-ups had the resolve to sacrifice nearly a decade of Konoha's future development to wage war against Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
It was clear that these two villages, one overt and one covert, had already colluded.
Or perhaps, Iwagakure was also being used by that Kazekage.
Iwagakure didn't cooperate with Sunagakure in acting; it was merely Sunagakure unilaterally putting on a show for everyone, misleading others' perceptions, and shifting the focus of the problem.
"A warm-up exercise? That's a very apt description."
If what Shiraishi said was true, Ayane thought the term "warm-up exercise" was very fitting.
Annihilating the Konoha delegation and having Iwagakure cooperate in the act was a warm-up for an even fiercer attack on the Land of Fire next time.
This meant that a few years after this war ended, Sunagakure would surely return, and under the leadership of that Third Kazekage, their offensive would be even more ferocious than this one.
Recalling what Shiraishi had said long ago, that after the Second Great Ninja War, the Third Great Ninja War would not be long in coming and would still revolve around the Land of Fire where Konoha was located, she couldn't help but feel admiration.
At that time, it was indeed the best opportunity to leave Konoha.
◎
Sand Village Camp.
"Is this your future development plan, Kazekage-sama? It's truly brilliant! No one could possibly guess the Kazekage-sama's true intentions."
Surrounded by Sand's trusted jonin, after reviewing the entire plan, they all showed reverence for the Third Kazekage.
Iwagakure and Konoha, both villages were being played like fiddles by their respected Kazekage-sama.
Konoha was even more tragic, having lost so many people, yet still having to sign an armistice agreement with them, Sand.
Iwagakure indeed intended to use Sand to continue the war with Konoha.
The reduction in the supplies originally promised to Sand also genuinely happened; it was not a deception.
However, this point was also exploited by the Third Kazekage.
Iwagakure was secretly pleased that the conflict between Sand and Konoha had deepened.
Konoha, on the other hand, believed that Sand and Stone had already colluded, and this was a trap targeting Konoha, so they couldn't act rashly. They had to continue signing the armistice agreement with Sand to prevent Sand and Stone from jointly attacking the Land of Fire.
"For the next few years, we must make good use of the abundant resources we obtained from the Land of Fire to cultivate more excellent ninja for the village, preparing for the next war a few years from now. And to build a prosperous era belonging to our Sand Village, I ask all of you to strive with me."
The Third Kazekage stood up from his seat, his tone filled with confidence and an encouraging message for his subordinates.
"Yes! We swear to serve until death!"
These Sand jonin also stood up from their seats, looking at the Third Kazekage with fervent eyes.
It was as if they saw, a few years later, under the Kazekage's leadership, they would once again break through the defenses of the Land of Fire and plunder more and better resources.
The era of Sand Village's true rise was fast approaching.