Days passed, and on the eighth day after Sunagakure's surrender, Iwagakure also announced its surrender, sending an envoy to Konoha.
They brought documents to seek peace with Konoha.
After all, their strength among the Five Great Villages could only be ranked in the middle, and fighting on three fronts against Sunagakure, Konoha, and Kumogakure caused their logistical resources to be consumed at an insane rate.
The Kannabi Bridge, which Minato Namikaze's squad destroyed two days prior, directly caused them to lose their logistical support.
Afterward, the attacks caused by Tsunade and Jiraiya became the final straw that broke them.
Although Ōnoki was very reluctant to end the war, even he understood that Iwagakure no longer had the capital to continue fighting.
If he insisted on fighting, his skyrocketing prestige in the Land of Earth, far surpassing the Daimyo, would surely suffer a severe blow.
Therefore, no matter how unwilling he was, he could only seek peace with Konoha.
On the other side, although Hidden Mist Village was still holding on, Konoha had already received news that the Kirigakure stationed in the Land of Waves had begun to withdraw to the Land of Water one after another.
From the looks of it, the Kirigakure battlefield was also nearing its end.
As for Kumogakure, although they still showed no signs of seeking peace, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that they wouldn't last much longer either.
Meanwhile, Ren had just walked out of the restroom, and looking at the wall slowly closing behind him, the upward curve of his lips was impossible to suppress.
He truly hadn't expected that within less than ten days of the bounty mission being released, these Bounty Hunters had managed to capture nine Jonin alive from various parts of the Ninja World.
Most of them were Ninja from small Villages like Grass Ninja Village and Takigakure Village, and there was even a samurai among them.
Adding the four he had captured on the battlefield in the past two days, thirteen Jonin sacrifices were temporarily enough.
However, he truly paid a lot for the reward; ninety million, he had spent most of the Sand Gold he got from Rasa last time.
After all, although Sand Gold had 'gold' in its name, its price in the Ninja World wasn't particularly high. Ren didn't care anyway; these things were all picked up, so spending them was fine, and converting them into combat power was just right.
Ren hummed a tune all the way back to the Konoha Camp and saw a convoy at the entrance. The surrounding Konoha Ninja were moving goods from the Konoha Camp onto the vehicles, and everyone's face was beaming with smiles, presenting a peaceful and busy scene.
"Oh?"
Seeing this, Ren was first stunned. After glancing around for a moment, his gaze quickly landed on Lord Jiraiya, who was sitting cross-legged on a rock not far away.
"Lord Jiraiya."
Ren leaped a few times to stand in front of him and greeted him with a raised hand.
"What is it, kid?"
Lord Jiraiya propped his chin with his right hand, lazily glanced at Ren, then turned his head away and yawned.
"Lord Jiraiya, please change your address."
Ren stared at him with resentful eyes and said in a deep voice.
But this piqued his interest, and he directly leaned his head over and said with a smug expression,
"Oh, I called you that, what can you do, Ren kid?"
"Tsk."
Ren stopped talking. Under Lord Jiraiya's puzzled gaze, he raised his right hand.
"Sizzle!"
In the blink of an eye, Ren's right hand was instantly covered by a large amount of dark red Chakra, quickly condensing into the shape of a beast's paw. The large amount of Chakra gathered on it even secretly startled Lord Jiraiya in front of him.
"If Lord Jiraiya isn't busy, how about we find a place for you to give this kid some pointers?"
Ren smiled, leaned his face closer, and said softly.
"Uh…"
Looking at the solidified Chakra hand, Lord Jiraiya's mouth twitched twice, and he said with a forced smile,
"This Sage would never lay a hand on a kid like you; it would be beneath my dignity."
"Tch."
Ren rolled his eyes, then dispersed the Chakra on his hand, sat down in the empty space beside him, looked at the distant convoy, and said,
"Speaking of which, Lord Jiraiya, which battlefield is this convoy heading to? Kirigakure or Kumogakure?"
"Neither."
Lord Jiraiya pulled a blade of grass from somewhere and chewed on it, explaining,
"This is the team returning to the Village. Sunagakure and Iwagakure have both made peace here, so the border defense doesn't need so many people stationed here anymore.
Over the next period, the Village will arrange for everyone to return to the Village. This is the first batch, led by me."
"Eh?!"
Ren sat up, looking at him with some anticipation, and said,
"If Lord Jiraiya is in the first batch, does that mean we'll be soon too?"
"Yep."
Lord Jiraiya glanced at him, a slight smile on his lips.
"Soon."
And just as the two were chatting, the convoy in the distance was already ready, and the Konoha Ninja began to board the vehicles in an orderly fashion.
"I'm not talking anymore."
Lord Jiraiya stood up, walked into the distance, and waved to him behind him.
"See you in the Village, kid."
Ren nodded slightly, chuckling.
"Yep."
A few minutes later, the convoy in the distance began to move forward. At the Konoha Camp entrance, a dense crowd of Konoha Ninja stood, basically everyone who didn't have a mission came to see off their relatives and companions who were returning home first.
Watching the convoy gradually disappear at the end of the road, Ren couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.
Home, what a strange word. This Ninja World War had lasted for a year, and on this battlefield, which was frantically harvesting lives, every minute and second felt like a year to the Ninja.
Now, as the war was about to end, they no longer had to constantly worry about being suddenly assassinated while sleeping, or a glowing Kunai suddenly flying at them while resting hidden in a tree.
After returning to the Village, they could go and eat long-awaited delicious food with their families, stroll around the Village with their companions, then go to an izakaya to drink, get drunk, be sent home by their companions, and then sleep until dawn.
These ordinary things in peacetime were incredibly precious to those returning from the battlefield.
"What a beautiful day."
Ren pulled a blade of grass from beside him and chewed on it, lying on the rock. The bright sunlight shone down, warming his entire body.
"Time for a nap."
Ren formed hand signs, and as white mist exploded and dissipated, Number One appeared beside him with a dark expression.
"See you this afternoon, good brother."
After Ren finished speaking, he let out a long yawn and lay down on the rock to sleep under everyone's gaze. A slight snore soon followed.
"…"
Looking at the curious gazes from the people not far away, Number One twitched his mouth, sat down casually beside him, closed his eyes tightly, and acted as a protector.
This…
Seeing Ren's actions, the people at the entrance immediately looked at each other. A hint of sleepiness appeared in their eyes.
This weather was indeed perfect for an afternoon nap…