Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 117 Jiraiya is back

Xia Zuo did not stay behind to supervise. After arranging for Konoha ninjas to keep watch, he and Uchiha Shisui returned directly to Konoha Village.

The next day, the Cloud Village ninjas indeed all left.

According to a later report from the Konoha ninja who were monitoring them, the Cloud Village ninjas' retreat was very resolute.

The Fourth Raikage led the way, traveling 200 kilometers to leave the Land of Fire. Instead of stopping to rest, they passed through the Land of Hot Water and the Land of the Moon, returning to the Land of Lightning in one go.

The Cloud Village ninjas not only left quickly, but they also left very cleanly, taking away all kinds of tents, trash, and even the corpses of Cloud Village ninjas that could be found.

Upon returning to Konoha, Xia Zuo convened another meeting of Konoha Jonin to inform them that the mission to defeat the Kumogakure ninja army had been completed.

Xia Zuo reminded everyone, "The reason I was able to force back the Fourth Raikage is certainly because my strength surpasses his, but more importantly, it's because he had a large number of Cloud Village ninjas by his side."

"Ordinary Cloud Village ninjas cannot withstand the Wood Release technique and can only be slaughtered at my will. They have all become hostages in my hands."

"In order to protect the Hidden Cloud ninja, the Fourth Raikage had no choice but to accept my conditions, withdraw from the Land of Fire, and end this probing of the Hidden Leaf Village."

Nara Shikaku understood the implication in Natsume's words and asked to confirm, "Does Lord Natsume mean that if the Fourth Raikage abandons leading the ninja army and teams up with Killer Bee to invade the Land of Fire, you'll be powerless against him?"

Xia Zuo nodded and said, "Yes, Nara Shikaku Jonin. I can defeat the Fourth Raikage head-on, but I can't stop him from roaming such a large area as the Land of Fire."

"Therefore, I did not pressure the Cloud Village ninja excessively. Apart from asking them to withdraw from the Land of Fire, I only put forward one condition and reached a peace agreement with the Fourth Raikage."

Aburame asked curiously, "What other conditions did you propose?"

Xia Zuo replied, "The Hidden Cloud Village paid the ransom to the Hidden Leaf Village, calculated at 100 million ryo per Hidden Cloud ninja."

After a brief silence, the venue suddenly erupted, and almost all the Konoha ninjas stood up.

"What? Make Kumogakure pay money?"

"Several thousand Cloud Village ninjas, wouldn't that cost billions of taels of silver?"

"The Fourth Raikage agreed?"

Faced with the chaotic venue, Xia Zuo smiled and waited for everyone to quiet down on their own.

Then he announced loudly, "The Fourth Raikage accepted the terms of the reparations, which should total slightly over 70 billion ryo."

The meeting room of the Konoha Ninja Tournament became noisy again.

"Hahaha, great! I didn't expect these barbarians from Kumogakure to bow down like this."

"That's how it should be! If we win, the invaders should pay the price!"

Xia Zuo successfully resolved the crisis of the Cloud Village ninja invasion and even obtained a compensation of 70 billion ryo, which surprised the Konoha ninjas even more than Xia Zuo's victory over the Fourth Raikage.

Then some people remembered how helpless the Third Hokage was with the Fourth Raikage, expressing his grievance that the task was simply impossible to complete.

Hiashi Hyuga glanced sideways at the seats in front of him and sneered, "Heh, the Third Hokage—heh heh!"

Amidst the laughter and chatter of the Konoha ninja, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Koharu Utatane appeared grim and even somewhat restless.

They've been fussing for so long, and the Fourth Raikage hasn't even shown up.

How come the Fourth Raikage chickened out when Xia Zuo fought him, and they couldn't even decide the winner, they were just unable to defeat each other?

This doesn't make sense.

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Koharu Utatane and couldn't help but shake his head. This girl was really useless; she wouldn't step up if there was anything to do.

Since Koharu Utatane wasn't going to step forward, the most suitable person to ask a question was Homura Mitokado, but he wasn't in the village at the moment; he was on his way to find Jiraiya and Tsunade.

So Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up and asked, "Chunin Natsu, in my memory, the Fourth Raikage was a very tough ninja who never chose to compromise. What exactly did you do to make him bow down?"

Xia Zuo laughed and said, "Sarutobi Jonin, your impression is just your own illusion."

"The Fourth Raikage may seem tough, but he is actually very rational and good at judging situations."

"I defeated the Fourth Raikage to prove my strength, and at the same time killed about 700 Cloud Village ninjas to prove my attitude, so he accepted my terms."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was utterly shocked. In his shock, he didn't even have time to think before uttering a string of words he had said countless times before: "What?! You actually killed over 700 Cloud Village ninjas!"

"This won't do! The Fourth Raikage will definitely start a war!"

"When war breaks out, countless ninjas of Konoha will pay the price, and you are the murderer who killed him! You are the sinner of Konoha—uh!"

Under the horrified and bewildered gazes of more than 300 Konoha Jonin, Hiruzen Sarutobi regained consciousness.

He realized he had said the wrong thing, because that wasn't the case.

Xia Zuo killed more than 700 Cloud Village ninjas, but the Fourth Raikage did not launch a war. On the contrary, this ninja, who was known as the toughest in the ninja world, backed down.

The Cloud Village ninja withdrew from the Land of Fire overnight and even agreed to pay billions in compensation.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his head buzzing more and more.

It turns out the Fourth Raikage was a fraud. He's just stubborn; if you're tough on him, he'll back down.

Yes, wasn't it the same two years ago?

So what have I been afraid of over the past ten years?

Doesn't this mean that all his past worries and fears were just him scaring himself?

Hiruzen Sarutobi said he couldn't accept it; there must be something else going on.

Xia Zuo chuckled and said, "Sarutobi Hiruzen is right, but killing 700 Kumogakure ninjas is definitely not enough to make the Fourth Raikage back down."

"The key point is that I defeated the Fourth Raikage in a face-to-face battle all by myself."

"I proved that I was so strong that even the Fourth Raikage couldn't stop me, and I also proved that I could kill people. That's what makes me a deterrent."

Hiruzen Sarutobi had nothing more to say.

He lowered his head, seemingly apologizing to no one in particular, and said, "Alas, I was wrong in the past, I was wrong."

After saying that, he slumped back into his seat.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's spirit seemed to collapse all at once, and he suddenly aged ten years, looking like he was on his deathbed, with his back even more hunched.

No one noticed that Hiruzen Sarutobi's lowered eyes still gleamed with a strange light.

He hasn't given up yet.

Another day passed, and Mitokado Homura, accompanied by several ninjas, almost escorted Jiraiya back to the village and handed him over to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Jiraiya was startled when he saw his teacher: "Old man, how did you get so old?"

"Sarutobi-sensei, I heard you were impeached and removed from office. Is it true?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up and replied with a wry smile, "Of course it's true, otherwise I wouldn't have been in such a hurry to call you back."