Konoha: Uchiha, I get stronger by causing trouble.

Chapter 193 Return

"Retreating to Fallen Leaf City is impossible!"

"That's already the border of the Land of Wind. If you change your mind halfway, a single raid can get you to Sunagakure in two days!"

The Fourth Kazekage said.

"You think Konoha would willingly occupy that barren land of your Wind Country?"

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately said with disdain.

"Hmph, who knows if your Konoha village is short of sand to build houses!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was almost ready to hit the Fourth Kazekage with his stick; how could he say something so absurd?

However, considering that there would be further cooperation, Hiruzen Sarutobi simply put his hand into his robes.

"Oh no, they're about to attack!"

"Protect the Fourth Kazekage!"

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi's action startled the guards behind the Fourth Kazekage, who quickly protected the Fourth Kazekage in front of them.

If the Fourth Kazekage hadn't raised his hand to stop the Sand Ninja from doing anything further, the negotiations probably wouldn't have continued.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the Fourth Kazekage and rummaged in his pocket for a long time, as if testing the Fourth Kazekage's patience. Only when the Fourth Kazekage's brows furrowed did he take out a scroll and smile slightly at the Fourth Kazekage, saying, "Fourth Kazekage, please take a look at this first."

The Fourth Kazekage did not take it. Instead, a ninja behind him stepped forward, took the scroll, examined it carefully, and finding nothing amiss, handed it back to the Fourth Kazekage.

The Fourth Kazekage opened it and his face immediately darkened.

Right after the war between the Sand Village and the Leaf Village ended, the Rock Village of the Land of Earth had already dispatched a portion of its ninjas to guard the border area near the Land of Wind.

This incident at this time undoubtedly allowed Konoha to gain greater benefits in this negotiation.

What the Fourth Kazekage found most infuriating was that, despite being in territory close to theirs, the intelligence transmission was not as fast as that of Konoha, who were just watching from the sidelines.

He even considered the authenticity of the information, but then he thought that although Konoha wanted to gain greater benefits, there was no need to deceive people with false information.

Hiruzen Sarutobi thoroughly enjoyed the Fourth Kazekage's grim expression: "How about it, Kazekage-sama? Do you still want to drag this out?"

The Fourth Kazekage gripped the intelligence scroll tightly, saying reluctantly, "This is the capital of the Land of Rivers. Your ninjas must not exceed 300 people!"

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded: "Alright!"

The capital of the River Country is located in the middle of the River Country, which means that the Wind Country ceded half of the River Country's land.

This is already a great deal for Konoha.

Both men achieved their respective goals, and with their signatures on the ceasefire agreement, the war came to a temporary halt.

With the ceasefire agreement reached, the next step is cooperation.

That's easy to explain. It's estimated that Chiyo did a lot of work on the Fourth Hokage to ensure that the cause of the Third Kazekage's death wouldn't be discovered.

The Fourth Kazekage was much more proactive in the joint attack on the Land of Earth.

After thinking about it carefully, Chiga roughly understood the Fourth Kazekage's thoughts.

As a leader who came to power temporarily, he needed achievements to solidify his position.

Nothing could gain the approval of the already materially impoverished people of the Wind Kingdom more than expanding their territory.

Using the seemingly legitimate reason that the Third Kazekage was killed by the Third Hokage of the Land of Fire, he incited the Sand Village ninja to invade the Land of Fire and thus achieve his political influence. This is the reason he launched the war.

After suffering a defeat against a war-torn country, one's prestige would inevitably plummet upon returning, and one might even be forced to step down.

Therefore, in order to maintain his position, he had no choice but to launch another war of aggression against the Land of Earth.

Furthermore, the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth had a deep-seated grudge from the Second Shinobi World War.

If it weren't for the allure of the Land of Fire's territory, the Land of Wind would have already set its sights on the Land of Earth.

"Alright, now that we're allies, I hope we can cooperate smoothly!"

"By the way, to show our sincerity, Konoha will return prisoners of war captured during the war free of charge!"

After signing the alliance agreement, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and said to the Fourth Kazekage.

Then, Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Chiga.

Chiga nodded, stepped forward, and took out a sealing scroll.

After untying it, it contained Pakura, a Sand Ninja.

Yecang is still unconscious at this moment. Her days in Konoha have not been easy.

Because she possesses the Scorch Release technique, Konoha ninjas come to draw her blood for experiments almost every day.

He looked extremely thin and malnourished.

The Fourth Kazekage flew into a rage and shouted, "Is this how you Konoha treats prisoners?"

Chiga rolled her eyes. If you saw a prisoner of Yekura's caliber with a flushed face and a voluptuous figure, that would be something for you Sand Ninja to worry about.

A week after the ceasefire agreement was signed, the majority of Konoha's army on the Sand Ninja front, except for a small portion stationed in the Land of Rivers to monitor the Sand Ninja's movements in case they broke the agreement, were deployed to support the other two battlefields.

Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi led dozens of seriously wounded soldiers and some bodyguards back to Konoha.

Chiga's team, Kushina, and Tsunade were also among them.

At this point, Tsunade was no longer suitable to appear on the battlefield. In addition, with the brief end of the Sand Ninja front, Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to let Tsunade return to the village.

In terms of high-end combat power, only Sakumo Hatake remains.

There's no need to elaborate on the return journey. With Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kushina by their side, they were very careful in choosing their route, and since they were on their own turf, there was no chance of any accidents.

However, due to the presence of wounded, the group did not travel very fast, stopping and starting along the way, and it took them a week to return to Konoha Village.

When the familiar streets reappeared before Chiga, he felt a surge of emotions.

For ordinary people living in Konoha, war was a completely insignificant matter.

Whether they win or lose, it seems it won't affect them at all.

His mindset this time was completely different from when he returned before; the end of the war had completely relaxed his tense nerves.

Once he relaxed, he thought about having a good meal.

"Kushina-sensei, let's go to your place and have a big meal!"

Chiga said with a smile.

"good!"

Kushina smiled and nodded.

"Ha, Kushina, would you mind adding two more people? Shizune is a great cook too!"

Seeing that Chiga and his apprentice were about to eat, Tsunade brought Shizune over, intending to mooch a meal.

She looked back and forth across the bustling street. She hadn't had a proper meal in all this time on the front lines, and when she looked down, she could even see her big toes.

This was something that had never happened to her before.

Kushina's residence.

Shizune and Kushina were busy in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Chiga and Tsunade, bored out of their minds, started playing dice in the living room to see who could win.

Although Kushina always forbade Chiga from participating in gambling, can you really call it gambling when you gamble with Tsunade?

It's obviously not gambling if you already know the outcome!

Judging from Tsunade's frantic expression, it was clear that they had lost miserably.

Tsunade asked incredulously, "How is this possible? How come you're so lucky with your bets? You always win by a little more than me!"

"Lady Tsunade, shall we come again?"

Chiga chuckled and asked.

"Come on, let's see who's smaller this time!"

A short while later, Kushina and Shizune came out carrying food, thus saving Tsunade from having her underwear stolen by Chiga.

After the meal, the four of them drank tea and chatted leisurely.

Kushina looked at Chiga and asked, "By the way, Chiga, are you going to be giving intensive training to your class for the next few days?"

"Probably, considering the significant difference in their abilities!"

Chiga replied.

"Oh, then I won't be bringing you lunch. I have some things to take care of these next few days!"

"Tch!" Tsunade sneered. "Is that blond brat back again?"

For Tsunade right now, she won't give a good look to anyone associated with Jiraiya. Even someone as flawless as Minato will find a way to criticize him.

Kushina, displeased with Tsunade's way of addressing Minato, glared at her and said angrily, "Tsunade-neechan, he has a name!"

After she finished speaking, she turned to Chiga and said, "Chiga, I'm sorry, Minato can only be back for half a month. It's been so long since we've seen each other!"

Chiga waved his hand dismissively, then asked with a hint of doubt, "Has the situation on the Iwa ninja front eased up?"

The news that the Wind and Fire nations had signed a ceasefire agreement and formed an alliance has swept across the entire ninja world, triggering a series of chain reactions. This cessation is not just a matter between the two countries, but concerns the future direction of the entire ninja world's war situation.

The Land of Earth was the most affected.

Now that the war has ended, Iwagakure will face the Sand Village and Konoha, who will free up their forces.

With both sides attacking from the same direction, they won't fare well. In addition, the Cloud Ninja from the Land of Lightning have also joined the fray. The Iwa Ninja are in an even worse situation than the Konoha Ninja, as they are simultaneously fighting against three major powers.

"Yes, because we've reached a truce with the Sand Village, the Iwa Village is facing pressure from three sides. Compared to their previous fierce offensive, they're now mainly focused on defense, which is why Minato had time to come back and rest for a while."

After Kushina finished speaking, she added, "Besides, he was also doing this for his students. Obito and Rin are coming back to participate in the Chunin Exams."

"Oh!"

After listening to Kushina's explanation, Tsunade and Chiga both sneered, remaining noncommittal. Anyone with eyes could see that Minato had returned for no reason.

The two of them were simply missing each other because they had been apart for so long.

However, when it comes to the Chunin Exams, Chiga has to complain a bit.

The war has already begun, yet the Chunin Exams are still going on as planned, only now they've become internal exams with no ninjas from other countries participating.

Kushina seemed to sense Chiga and Tsunade's disbelief, her face flushing red as she said, somewhat embarrassed and angry, "Minato really came back for his disciple."

Seeing that Kushina was already angry, Tsunade and Chiga did not dwell on the matter.

(End of this chapter)