The Third Hokage's concession yielded its due reward. Konoha and Kumogakure finally signed a peace treaty. With this single piece of paper, the decade-long Shinobi World War officially ended for the Land of Fire.
The day the news broke, all of Konoha—and indeed the entire Land of Fire—was immersed in an unprecedented surge of joy.
The war that had engulfed three generations was finally over. Konoha's pain had ended, and the dying... such things would no longer happen.
Triggered by the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, the Third Shinobi World War saw Konoha surrounded by enemies on all sides. Early on, they relied on the steady veteran generation, like the Sannin, to hold the line; in the middle phase, the mid-generation, like the Yellow Flash, shouldered the heavy burden of breaking the stalemate; in the later stages, a new generation, like Hagoromo, suddenly rose to prominence as a wildcard...
But even so, the cost of war was never measured merely in time. Countless Konoha shinobi died on the battlefield. During this long ordeal, even the "God of Shinobi," the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi who once suppressed the ninja world, had grown old, and the Fourth Hokage, upon whom the whole ninja world focused, had died.
Peace was settled, but looking at Konoha's current state, could this really be called a victory?
Ordinary citizens couldn't grasp Konoha's internal hidden dangers, and even lower-tier shinobi lacked this awareness. To them, peace had arrived, and they were happy; they couldn't concern themselves with internal strife.
In short, joy and excitement were everywhere. And when citizens are happy, they tend to drink; when they drink too much, they tend to cause trouble; and when there's trouble, the Konoha Military Police Force deploys.
It has to be said, the Second Hokage gave the Uchiha a great job. Generation after generation, the Military Police Force's work bred a lot of resentment because they openly disciplined their own people, which drew even more hatred than the Anbu operating in the shadows.
The conflict between the two sides probably festered little by little just like this.
The superficial era of peace and the underlying tension between the Uchiha and Konoha meant that the area around the Naka River, which rarely saw traffic anyway, was now completely deserted. Meanwhile, the Uchiha clansmen gathered frequently at their Naka Shrine.
Under these circumstances, even without a spy like Itachi Uchiha, everyone knew they were plotting something given their frequent secret meetings.
Not that the Uchiha liked such blatantly obvious secret meetings. In truth, they had to meet to discuss their next plans.
Plotting a rebellion made Konoha treat them like a mortal enemy, but as the instigators, the Uchiha had even more concerns than Konoha did. After all, they were the weaker party; for the rebellion to succeed, the weak had to overcome the strong.
Naka Shrine, the night of the third day after Hagoromo returned to Konoha.
"The new development we must discuss today is the return of the White Yaksha."
"Originally, our concern was that Jiraiya of the Sannin might return to Konoha. We didn't expect it would be the White Yaksha. In a sense, he is a more troublesome opponent than Jiraiya."
Amidst the flickering candlelight, Fugaku Uchiha, sitting cross-legged at the very front, spoke.
This was a highly accurate assessment. Hagoromo was more troublesome than Jiraiya. This wasn't about a difference in sheer strength—no Uchiha had fought both Jiraiya and Hagoromo simultaneously to compare their power levels—but rather about their operational styles.
Hagoromo's style was drastically different from Jiraiya's. He was the kind of guy who would lock the doors and unleash a Tailed Beast without a second word. The barrier seal he used to protect his teacher, Kushina, further illustrated his style: when necessary, he had zero qualms about being absolutely ruthless and pushing things to the extreme.
As for doubting his strength or offensive power? Please, just look up at the Hokage Monument while patrolling the streets. Can't you see that the faces of the First and Second Hokage are still crooked?
"According to our intel, after the Nine-Tails incident, the White Yaksha should have been alienated from Konoha's system. Why would he return at this specific time?"
"Alienated isn't quite right; at most, he's been keeping the village at arm's length."
"He is the Fourth Hokage's disciple, after all."
"The Fourth Hokage's disciple" was technically inaccurate; Hagoromo was Kushina's disciple. But in the general consensus, treating him as the Fourth's disciple wasn't an issue. Kushina and Minato were husband and wife, and the "White Yaksha" was the most prominent title Konoha had propped up since the "Yellow Flash."
"So when push comes to shove, he will still stand on Konoha's side."
As Fugaku finished speaking, murmurs erupted among the clansmen. For them, Hagoromo's return at this juncture was incredibly troublesome.
"The problem is..." Fugaku interrupted the chatter and stated the biggest complication caused by Hagoromo's return. "Our actions regarding the Nine-Tails may have to change drastically because of the White Yaksha's return. Given his past attitude toward the Fourth's orphan, he will inevitably defend the Jinchuriki with everything he has. If we want to unleash the Nine-Tails, we must break through his guard."
That would be extremely difficult.
Regardless of Fugaku's personal stance, the situation was forcing the entire Uchiha clan toward rebellion. This was an unsolvable dilemma. To the Uchiha, Konoha's suppression only fueled their dissatisfaction; and the more dissatisfied they became, the heavier Konoha's suppression grew. A vicious cycle.
Thus, the Uchiha either had to wither away over time or rise up in revolt. In the matter of rebellion, the pressure of the times and their sociopolitical stance transcended simple right and wrong. Konoha's actions were structurally correct, but from the Uchiha's perspective, their own actions couldn't be called wrong either, since their very right to survive was being threatened.
"Regardless, the White Yaksha has become our enemy, a target that must be 'eliminated' the moment we act." This was Fugaku's conclusion.
While Hagoromo was still dilly-dallying on his own, the Uchiha had already declared him an enemy. But... that was practically decided the moment he chose to return to Konoha.
In reality, whatever was discussed in the Uchiha's secret meetings wasn't "secret" to Konoha at all.
First, the Anbu ninja present, Itachi Uchiha, was a spy planted in the Anbu by the Uchiha, but he was actually a double agent whose true loyalty clearly aligned with the greater good of the village.
Then there was Shisui Uchiha, a descendant of Kagami Uchiha. He had always been a die-hard Hokage loyalist and occasionally received directives from Danzo Shimura...
Aside from these two, it was highly unlikely that Konoha didn't have other spies within the Uchiha clan.
Their intelligence network was riddled with holes, meaning all their schemes were completely exposed to Konoha's watchful eyes.
"However... you could also say that Konoha recalling Kamishiro Hagoromo is their greatest misstep. Shisui, Itachi, if it comes down to it, the two of you will deal with the White Yaksha. But the 'elimination' we want for him is an elimination in a different sense..."
"Shisui, you must find an opportunity to use that jutsu on him and turn him into our military asset. Understood?"
Hagoromo's assumption had been wrong; the Uchiha took him very seriously, even dedicating a portion of their combat meeting to him.
They even assigned their two greatest geniuses to team up against him.
Ultimately, Fugaku's conclusion was to use Kotoamatsukami on Hagoromo.
Shisui and Itachi exchanged a glance, then nodded in unison. As to whether their nods meant genuine agreement or mere lip service?
Fugaku naturally assumed the former.