I, Uchiha, will not be whitewashed!

"Lady Chiyo." Uchiha Sakugo's voice came from the side, very polite and very calm, as if he were talking about something very ordinary.

Do you want to know where your grandson is?

Chiyo's fingers paused for a moment.

"Do you want to know who killed the Third Kazekage?" Sakugo looked into her eyes. "You fought for two years, killed thousands of people, and burned down the wealth the Third Kazekage had accumulated."

"Don't you want to know who the killer is?"

Chiyo's fingers were trembling. Not from being tired, but from something else.

Shuoge did not continue speaking.

He pulled a scroll from his pocket and threw it over.

The scroll spun twice in the air before landing on the sand at Chiyo's feet.

She didn't look down, but she knew what was written inside.

She always knew.

She knew it from the day the Third Kazekage disappeared.

She just didn't want to admit it.

She refused to admit that the person who killed the Kazekage was her grandson. She refused to admit that the war that lasted two years and killed thousands of people was because of her grandson.

"You..." Chiyo's voice was hoarse.

"Stop deceiving yourself."

Uchiha Sakugo's tone turned somber.

"Sunagakure needs an explanation, and so does Konoha. If this war continues, neither side can win. You can't win, and neither can we. More people will only die."

-

Chiyo remained silent for a long time.

She stood in the moonlight, her silvery-white hair blown about by the wind, and the wrinkles on her face looked as if they had been carved by a knife.

Her fingers hung limply at her sides, her chakra threads loosened, and the ten puppet statues of the Chikamatsu Ten Ninja stood motionless behind her.

She didn't leave.

It's not that I don't want to leave, it's that I can't leave.

Shuoge's words were stuck in her heel, impossible to remove.

"Rasa will not agree to a ceasefire." Chiyo's voice was very low, as low as sand slipping through her fingers.

She looked at Shuoge, whose old eyes held no murderous intent, no anger, only one thing—weariness.

After two years of fighting, thousands of people died. The Third Kazekage's fortune was burned to ashes. Her son died, her daughter-in-law died, and Kato died.

Why should she go back and tell Luo Sha "I'm not fighting anymore"?

Luo Sha will not listen.

It's not that I don't want to listen, it's that I can't listen.

Sunagakure needs a victory to atone for the deaths, to fill the hole left by the Third Kazekage with spoils, and to give the villagers a reason to believe that the past two years have not been in vain.

Luo Sha is not a bad person; he is the future Kazekage.

Fengying cannot return empty-handed.

"He will." Sakugo's voice was flat, as if he were stating something ordinary. "You are Chiyo of Sunagakure. He listens to what you say."

Chiyo looked at him.

The Uchiha brat stood in the moonlight, his sword already sheathed, and there were several cuts on his clothes, made by scraps of wood.

Her face was expressionless, her eyes deep, unfathomable. The corner of her mouth twitched slightly, not in a smile, but with something far more complex. "You have no idea who Luo Sha is."

"I know."

Shuo Ge spoke calmly, but with an air of confidence.

"He was a student of the Third Kazekage, a hero of Sunagakure, and the inheritor of the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai. He wanted to become Kazekage, but he didn't have enough prestige. This war was his chance to prove himself."

"If he wins, he will be the Fourth Kazekage. If he loses, he will have nothing."

Chiyo's fingers tightened slightly. Sakugo didn't stop.

"But what if Konoha supports him becoming the Fourth Kazekage?"

Chiyo's pupils contracted.

"Sunagakure needs a victory, and Konoha needs peace."

Shuoge's voice was very soft, as soft as the wind.

"Rasa is unwilling to stop the war, not because of the dead—the dead are dead, and even if you win the war, they won't come back to life. He is unwilling to stop the war because he needs a victory to secure his position as Kazekage."

"But what if Konoha is willing to support him?"

"No need to win, just sit in the seat. The Third Hokage nodded, and Rasa will handle things with Sunagakure. He'll be the Fourth Kazekage, and Konoha will end this war. Both sides will have a way out."

Chiyo remained silent.

She was thinking, thinking about what this seemingly naive but actually not-at-all-a-child had said.

Will Luo Sha agree?

meeting.

Because what Shuoge said was true—even if you win the battle, the dead won't come back to life. But the position of Kazekage can only be held by the living.

"What does Konoha need?" Chiyo's voice was hoarse.

"armistice."

Sakugo smiled slightly and presented Chiyo with a condition she could not refuse.

"Sunagakure will withdraw its troops unconditionally, and Konoha will also withdraw. The borders will be open for trade. Sunagakure lacks supplies, and Konoha lacks minerals. You have what we want, and we have what you want."

"We've been fighting for two years, and neither side has gained an advantage. If we continue, it will only benefit Iwagakure and Kumogakure."

Chiyo fell silent, speechless.

She looked at Shuoge, at this child who wasn't even as tall as the puppet, and at his unfathomable eyes.

The child isn't speaking like a child; he's speaking like an adult.

It's not the logic of ninjas, it's the logic of politicians.

She knew he was right. This war should never have started.

With the Third Kazekage missing, Sunagakure needed an enemy to divert attention from their troubles, and Konoha was the perfect target. But after two years of fighting, the result was that no one won and no one lost; only many people died.

It's time to stop.

"There's one more thing," Shuoge's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"What?"

"I can help you find Sasori of the Red Sand."

Chiyo's fingers tightened abruptly. The chakra threads taut in the moonlight, and the joints of the Chikamatsu Ten Ninja all cracked simultaneously. She didn't speak; her lips trembled.

"Don't underestimate the Uchiha clan's intelligence network."

Shuoge's voice was very flat.

"After the Senju clan merged into Konoha, the Uchiha became the undisputed number one clan in the ninja world. Not just the number one clan in Konoha, but the number one clan in the entire ninja world. What our eyes can see is more than you can imagine. The power we wield is also beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. You know what I mean."

Chiyo certainly understood.

Having lived for so many years, she understands better than anyone what the Uchiha clan means.

Those eyes, that power, that intelligence network that spans the entire ninja world—it wasn't built by simply having a lot of people; it was built by the things that the Third and Fourth Hokage, and every pair of Sharingan, saw, heard, and remembered.

If the Uchiha say they can find Sasori, then they can find Sasori.

"What do you want to say?" Chiyo's voice was very low.

"Ceasefire. Sign an alliance treaty. Konoha will support Rasa to become the Fourth Kazekage. I'll help you find Sasori."

Sakugo gazed calmly at Chiyo.

"You don't need to win this battle; you just need to take these things back. You have a reason for a ceasefire, you have the position of Kazekage, and you have information about your grandson's whereabouts. Sunagakure has nothing to lose."

-

Chiyo remained silent for a long time.

The wind blew from the west, and the sand stung my face.

Her gaze shifted from White Fang to Sakugo, then swept over those eight Sharingan eyes.

The puppeteers she brought had collapsed; most of the puppets were burned; four of the Chikamatsu Ten were destroyed; and blood was dripping from her fingers.

She can still fight, but what good will it do? If she kills White Fang, can Sunagakure win? If she kills a brat from the Uchiha clan, can the dead come back to life?

Her fingers loosened.

The chakra threads slipped from their fingertips, and the joints of the Chikamatsu Ten Ninja made one last creak before coming to a complete stop.

Ten puppets stood in the moonlight, like ten tombstones.

She bent down, picked up the scroll from the sand, and stuffed it into her sleeve.

She didn't want to see the truth about the Third Kazekage's death, but she had to bring it back. Sunagakure needed an explanation, not just for Rasa, but for the families of those who had died two years ago, thousands of people who had perished.

She turned and walked into the depths of the desert. The ten Chikamatsu Ten followed her like ten shadows.

Under the moonlight, Chiyo's figure was thin and small, like an ordinary old woman.

She took a few steps, then stopped without looking back.

"I will persuade Rosa to cease hostilities."

Chiyo's voice came from the wind, hoarse and calm.

She didn't ask Shuoge if he could do what he said—support Luosha as the Wind Shadow, open the borders, and facilitate trade.

There's no need to ask that kind of nonsense.

She knew the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, all too well.

That guy is no longer the ninja world hero he was thirty years ago.

All he wants now is to preserve Konoha, keep his position as Hokage, and keep his "Will of Fire" teachings going.

He would agree to even more outrageous conditions as long as Sunagakure was willing to cease hostilities. Forget supporting Rasa as Kazekage; even if Sunagakure asked him to move the Hokage Building there, he would consider it for three days and three nights before nodding on the fourth.

She paused. The wind blew from the depths of the desert, scattering her silver hair.

"Find Sasori. Bring him back." Her voice trailed off. "The time Sasori appeared in Sunagakure coincided with the signing of the alliance treaty between Sunagakure and Konoha."

Then she left.

There was no turning back, no pause, and no further words.

Ten members of the Chikamatsu Ten followed behind her, like ten shadows, like ten coffins. In the moonlight, her silhouette grew smaller and smaller, farther and farther away, until it became a black dot and was swallowed by the desert.

The wind blew from the west, smoothing out the footprints on the dunes, covering the bloodstains, and burying the fragments of the puppet.

It was as if nothing had happened.

But Chiyo had an extra scroll in her sleeve, an extra promise in her arms, and an extra road behind her.

The path of the retreating Sand Village.

-

On the sand dunes, only Hatake Sakumo, Uchiha Sakugo, Uchiha Fu, and seven other Uchiha Jonin remained.

Moonlight shone on the scattered puppet fragments, and the wind blew sand up, which hit the broken wood and made a soft, rustling sound.

Sakumo Hatake sheathed his sword, turned around, and looked at Sakugo.

The kid stood in the pile of rubble, his clothes torn in several places, his knife sheathed, his breathing steady, his face expressionless. Exactly the same as before he set off.

Sakumo Hatake stared at him for a long time.

"You had this planned all along?"

"Yes."

"When did it start?"

Before departure.

Sakumo Hatake did not ask any further questions.

He remembered how the brat had pulled back the curtain on his tent, threw the reel on the table, and said, "That's enough."

He thought it was a momentary impulse, a childish act of bravado.

Now he knows. No.

"Chiyo used Kato to lure you in." Sakugo's voice was flat. "I used you to lure Chiyo in."

Sakumo Hatake remained silent for a moment.

He looked down at the knife in his hand; a new scratch had appeared on the scabbard. This brat hadn't come to kill for him in the first place. He came to end the war.

"The Third Kazekage was killed by Sasori of the Red Sand. Sasori was Chiyo's grandson."

Uchiha Sakugo held up two fingers—these were his two trump cards that gave him the courage to plan this way and the confidence that it would succeed.

Two sentences.

enough.

Sakumo Hatake raised his head, the moonlight shining on his face, which remained expressionless.

She still has a touch of baby fat that makes her cute.

They kill without blinking an eye and scheme without mercy.

He suddenly realized that he had never known this kid before.

-

On the way back, Shuoge walked in the middle of the group, with the wind beside him. The moonlight turned the sand silvery white, and the sound of his footsteps crunching on the sand was fine and even.

"After my uncle's death, the relationship between the Uchiha and the village became delicate," Sakugo said, his voice calm. "The Third Hokage did nothing, and Danzo was watching from the shadows. The Uchiha needed a card to play."

Feng turned his head to look at him.

"The retreat of Sunagakure was facilitated by the Uchiha clan. The clan must claim credit for this."

"You want your tribe to return as heroes?"

"Hmm." Shuoge paused. "How much benefit the clan leader can get depends on himself."

"Aren't you going back?"

Shuoge shook his head. The battlefield is where you grow the fastest. He didn't want to leave yet.

The wind was silent for a moment. "Then I'll stay."

"The clan needs you more. Someone needs to negotiate and fight for the peace in Sunagakure. Your task is more important than mine."

The wind didn't argue. He understood.

"Have you considered the matter of the security force?" Feng changed the subject.

Shuoge nodded. "That knife should be put down. The security force may seem powerful, but it's really just a shackle. If we can exchange it for something tangible, it's not a bad deal. Hyuga's Byakugan is more suited for this than the Sharingan."

"It could even be entrusted to Danzo's Root."

The job in the security force may seem powerful, but it's actually a trap.

Managing public order, resolving disputes, and overseeing patrols—they do all the dirty and tiring work in the village.

Neighbors come to you when they quarrel, they come to you when things are stolen, they come to you when someone gets drunk and causes trouble. If you're lenient, the villagers will criticize you for inaction; if you're strict, you'll still be the one getting scolded. The Uchiha clan members stand at the police station window, and people on the street walk around them with their heads down.

There was fear, but even more so, there was disgust.

Who wants to see the person controlling them every day?

The most dangerous thing is offending people. In Konoha, with its dozens of clans, which one doesn't have a few troublesome members? If you arrest a family's son, their elders will hold a grudge. If you release another family's nephew, that family will think it's their duty.

Day after day, the Uchiha clan offended every single clan in Konoha.

It's not that they want to offend people; it's just that taking up this position means you're destined to offend people.

When Jing was alive, he managed to keep things under control by relying on his relationship with the third generation and his old friendship with the second generation.

Now that the mirror is gone, who will give you face?

In the past, if someone was arrested, the other party would ask their family members to plead for leniency, and the matter would be resolved with a laugh.

If they arrest someone now, the other party will go directly to Danzo, who is just looking for a pretext to take action against the Uchiha.

This is exactly what they mean by "putting in a lot of effort for no reward".

Rather than holding onto this hot potato, let's exchange it for something more substantial. The Hyuga's Byakugan is more suited for patrol and surveillance than the Sharingan; if they want it, just give it to them.

Feng glanced at him. This little fellow understood the clan's affairs better than anyone else. When Jing was alive, he couldn't say these things. Now that Jing was gone, he spoke for Jing.

"I will convey your words to Fugaku."

"Um."

"You're all alone on the front lines—"

The wind didn't speak again. After taking a few steps, he reached out and patted Shuoge on the shoulder. It was very light, like patting a stone.

"Don't die."

Shuoge did not answer.

He quickened his pace and walked to the front of the line.

The moonlight stretched his shadow long, trailing it across the sand like a knife.

As the wind watched that retreating figure, it suddenly thought of the mirror. The mirror had also walked by like that, alone, leading the way. This child was colder and harder than his uncle.

But it also makes people feel more at ease.