In the room where Konoha was hosting Kumogakure.
"Lord Sarui, this is something sent by Konoha's informant."
A Kumogakure ninja entered the room and handed a scroll to Sarui, the person in charge this time.
Sarui was merely a Jonin sent to negotiate with Konoha. After each day's talks, he would use a summoning beast to transmit information, allowing the Raikage and others to direct the next course of action.
Kumogakure was still trying to secure more benefits, and both sides were locked in a constant tug-of-war, leaving Sarui feeling quite flustered.
Now that the informant had sent a message, he wanted to see what was inside.
Sarui unrolled the scroll, and after examining it, his pupils constricted in shock; he couldn't believe his eyes.
He touched it up and down, a bit suspicious: "Is this real or fake?"
"Interesting..."
Sarui immediately picked up a pen and recorded the incident.
He bit his finger and immediately formed hand signs.
As his hand gestures changed, he slammed his palm onto the table.
With a 'bang,' a Grey Hawk appeared.
He placed the recorded note along with the scroll into the small pouch on the Grey Hawk's back and dispelled the summoning jutsu.
The Grey Hawk vanished from the room with a 'bang'.
Sarui's face held a hint of mockery: "This Konoha is truly chaotic, so fond of infighting."
...The next day.
Aoran stretched comfortably after waking up.
Having to maintain the Transformation Jutsu outside meant only light sleep was possible; only after returning home could he truly get a comfortable night's rest.
After a simple wash, he went into the living room.
Karin, who was sprawled on the sofa looking at a picture book, saw him come out and pattered in her slippers to put breakfast in the microwave.
"Good morning, Brother."
"Mm, morning."
Aoran stroked Karin's hair. Her once somewhat thin cheeks had quickly plumped up within this past month.
Her round face, rosy and fair, was particularly endearing.
Ding... the microwave finished.
Karin, wearing an oven mitt, took out the fried fish and meat patties.
The rice porridge, seaweed salad, and pickled vegetables had been placed on the table even earlier.
These were all prepared by Aoran the night before.
Although Karin was very precocious, she was too young, so Aoran didn't make her do housework.
"Let's eat."
Aoran led Karin towards the dining table.
The chairs in their home were all raised. Aoran placed Karin on the tallest chair before heading to his own seat.
For people who had been perpetually hungry and struggling to make ends meet, eating until full was a kind of happiness.
"I'm going to eat!"
Karin exclaimed with sparkling eyes and began to devour the food on the table.
If it were an ordinary three-year-old, half a bowl of porridge and a third of a meat patty would surely be enough.
But Karin's appetite was several times that of an ordinary person.
She would eat three palm-sized, finger-thick meat patties, plus three bowls of porridge.
In a few bites, a meat patty disappeared into her mouth.
Seeing Karin eat with such gusto, Aoran himself had an extra bowl of porridge.
Noticing Aoran staring at her, Karin playfully stuck out her tongue, a little embarrassed.
"It's alright, didn't I tell you? Your body is still recovering. Eat as much as you can; at home, you should always eat until you're full."
When Karin first arrived, she would also gauge Aoran's expression when eating, consuming only as much as he did.
After two such instances, Aoran discovered it and told her to eat her fill.
Once she started eating freely, it was astonishing; Karin was younger than him, but her appetite was half again as large as his.
It must be said that the Uzumaki bloodline's energy conversion rate was incredibly strong.
During this time, with large amounts of refined rice, grains, chicken, duck, and fish fed to her, Karin visibly gained weight.
Previously, the Shadow Clone had barely left the house to reduce consumption, only occasionally showing its face at the branch family training ground.
With negotiations imminent, he also needed to check on Orochimaru's preparations.
He took Karin's hand and soon left the house. The streets were bustling with people, their faces radiating a longing for peace.
Although the negotiation terms between Kumogakure and Konoha were still being debated, recent fighting had completely ceased.
Aoran took Karin to Konoha's main street. He looked up and saw a string of wind chimes hanging by the window of the tallest building.
And it looked like they had been there for quite some time; that was the secret signal for their meeting.
"Brother... Brother... look..."
Karin bounced happily several times beside him, then grabbed Aoran's back, climbed onto his shoulder in two movements, and pointed at the sky.
Aoran looked up at the sky, reached out his hand, and a crystalline white melted in his palm.
It was snowing... Hidden Cloud Village.
Raikage's Office.
The Raikage and Dodai were looking at the negotiation documents with Konoha on the desk.
"...Konoha has agreed to the other compensation terms, but they consistently refuse the border mine. Although we want to use this place as a springboard, Konoha has seen through our intentions and there's no chance they'll agree."
"Konoha can't afford to drag this out any longer. We just need to..."
"Knock, knock, knock..."
A hurried knocking suddenly came from outside the door. Such a situation usually indicated an emergency.
Before anyone in the room could speak, an Anbu pushed the door open and entered.
"Lord Raikage, urgent dispatch!"
Kumogakure didn't bother with many rules. Seeing the situation, the Raikage immediately snatched the scroll from the Anbu's hand.
There were two scrolls. After the Raikage opened and read the first one, his eyes were filled with disbelief, followed by a surge of ecstasy:
"Hahahaha, Konoha is absolutely insane."
Dodai, who was nearby, also noticed something was amiss and immediately opened the second scroll.
The scroll clearly depicted the layout of the Hyuga Clan's construction site and their patrol routes... Konoha Village.
Hokage Office.
"...Considering that our Kumogakure citizens have long yearned for peace, we have abandoned the issue of the border mine's ownership."
"A delegation will be dispatched shortly to formally sign the peace treaty..."
"Bang..."
When the office door closed again, Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado both looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi in unison.
"Hiruzen, Kumogakure dragged this out for so long, why did they suddenly relent?"
The Third Hokage took two puffs from his pipe; he was actually a bit puzzled himself.
Danzo would not inform Hiruzen Sarutobi about what he was going to do; this was an unspoken understanding between them.
After all, if everything had to be discussed, how would Danzo profit, and how would Hiruzen Sarutobi distance himself from it?
So, the Third Hokage had no idea that Kumogakure had agreed to concede because of Danzo's actions.
"No matter what Kumogakure's intentions are, as long as the peace treaty is signed, that's what matters."
The Third Hokage still intended to respond to all changes with no change.
Although such treaties were mere scraps of paper when there was a reason to discard them, they still had some effect when both sides genuinely wanted to cease hostilities.
Anyone who casually tore up a treaty would see their reputation in the Ninja World plummet.
His long-time teammates, Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado, also understood Hiruzen Sarutobi's meaning.
Homura Mitokado, responsible for village affairs, asked, "Then, when will the peace celebration be?"
Although some families in Konoha had televisions, they were few, and it was difficult to inform every household about such a major event.
Therefore, a celebration was needed to appease the villagers who longed for peace.
After a brief thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a stern face:
"Then let's set the peace celebration for December 27th."
"This date?" Homura Mitokado was a little surprised. Was there anything special about this date?
Utatane Koharu, beside him, said with a slightly contemptuous tone, "That's the birthday of Hyuga Hinata, the young lady of the Hyuga Main Family."
Homura Mitokado suddenly realized; Hiruzen Sarutobi was doing this on purpose.
Let's see if the Hyuga Clan will attend the peace celebration or be so ungracious as to continue celebrating that three-year-old's birthday.
"I understand, we'll go make the arrangements now."
Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu exchanged glances and quickly left the office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood by the window, watching the falling snow.
[Danzo, I've given you the opportunity. I wonder how you plan to act?]
...