Konoha.
Clear skies, gentle breeze, not a cloud in sight.
Half a month had passed since Uchiha Yusuke returned in triumph, and Kumogakure finally sent a diplomatic delegation to negotiate.
The moment Kumo's people arrived, they went straight to the Hokage Tower to meet the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage treated them warmly, practically as honored guests.
When it came to diplomacy, the Third Hokage was a complete disaster.
Over the years, Konoha had won plenty of wars—yet he never demanded compensation from the defeated.
If you wanted to put it nicely, you could call it "benevolence."
If you called it what it really was, it was outright weakness.
Your comrades bleed and die for victory, and you're satisfied with a piece of paper that says "peace."
Then what was the point of all those sacrifices?
If someone can start a war against Konoha, lose, and pay nothing, they'll just rebuild their strength and come again.
If you want lasting stability, you have to make the enemy hurt.
Mercy only makes them bolder.
Inside a two-story detached house,
Uchiha Yusuke was lazily taking a midday nap.
Since the Third Hokage hadn't even bothered to inform him, Yusuke couldn't be bothered to care about Kumo's delegation either.
Besides, Killer B was still being held by the Police Force.
If Kumo wanted the Eight-Tails back, sooner or later they would have to get past Uchiha Yusuke.
Just after noon, Hinata Hyuga and Sasuke Uchiha were dropped off by their families.
Neither of the little ones was old enough for the Academy yet, so Yusuke had to grit his teeth and serve as a part-time babysitter.
Hinata was easy—quiet and well-behaved since she was little.
Sasuke was the problem. The kid was as mischievous as Naruto when it came to pranks.
Don't assume Sasuke was born cold and aloof—before his family tragedy, he was lively.
By routine, Yusuke trained outdoors every afternoon.
With the responsibility of teaching, he had no choice but to bring the two kids along.
On the way to the training ground, Yusuke noticed that Hinata and Sasuke were both curious about the lonely little Naruto.
So, in a moment of softness, he pulled Uzumaki Naruto into the group as well.
Naruto was the Nine-Tails jinchūriki. Ordinary villagers and most ninja were afraid of "karma" and avoided him like the plague.
But Yusuke had no such concern.
His relationship with Konoha's higher-ups was already at the point of open hostility—whether he got close to Naruto or not, they would stay suspicious of him.
Minato and Kushina had wanted the village to treat Naruto like a hero.
Instead, the Third Hokage pushed a hush-hush "secrecy" policy that turned Naruto into a boy everyone shouted at and chased away.
Frankly, Hiruzen had treated the orphaned child of Konoha's hero shamefully.
But the Fourth Hokage was gone; Jiraiya rarely returned.
And among the people close to Minato and Kushina, only Hatake Kakashi remained.
For years, Kakashi had been buried in grief over Obito and Rin.
And he belonged to the Hokage's faction—he trusted Hiruzen.
So Naruto truly became an ignored orphan, barely scraping by on the Third Hokage's "expired supplies."
Why did Naruto love ramen so much?
Because a single bowl of ramen was his childhood dream.
Sure, ramen was cheap—but for an orphan, even that wasn't easy to come by.
At the training ground, Yusuke taught each child differently based on their traits.
Sasuke trained mental focus.
Hinata practiced taijutsu.
Naruto worked on chakra control and gathering.
At four years old, they were still too young—so he started from the basics.
Once the three kids got into the rhythm, Yusuke finally began his own training.
After the war with Kumo, his strength had improved again.
Yusuke closed his eyes and entered his mental space, and new information appeared instantly:
Fire Release Chakra Mode (Proficiency 64.8%)Mangekyō Sharingan (Proficiency 36.5%)Konoha Fluid Technique (Proficiency 98.7%)Swordmaster-Level Swordsmanship (Proficiency 18.6%)
The war had increased his mastery of Fire Release Chakra Mode and his Mangekyō, and his swordsmanship had improved a fair amount as well.
The only disappointment was that his Konoha Fluid Technique still hadn't broken through to 100%.
Yusuke was excited—he couldn't wait to see what kind of upgrade it would bring once it ranked up.
Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, evening arrived.
Under the glow of the setting sun, Yusuke ended his day's training.
When he turned around, he realized the three kids weren't training anymore—they were playing hide-and-seek in the middle of the field.
Seeing that, Yusuke couldn't help but smile and shake his head.
In the original story, none of the three had a happy childhood.
Now, at least he was filling in a little of what they'd missed.
When they noticed him, all three little faces fell.
"Oh no… Teacher's watching!"
Yusuke didn't get angry at all. He smiled.
"Done playing?"
"It's time for dinner. What do you three want?"
"Tonight, it's on me."
Sasuke frowned thoughtfully.
Hinata looked shy.
Naruto didn't even hesitate—he jumped up in delight.
"Really?!"
"I want Ichiraku ramen!"
Sasuke immediately scoffed.
"Idiot!"
"What's so great about ramen? I want bonito rice balls."
Hinata twisted her fingers, cheeks red.
"I… I want ramen too…"
Naruto pointed at Sasuke and burst out laughing.
"See, Sasuke? I told you ramen is good!"
Yusuke was momentarily speechless.
So the "best-friends-who-fight-like-cats" thing starts this early, huh?
Outvoted two to one, Sasuke could only sulk and follow them to ramen.
Yusuke led the three kids to Ichiraku.
"Boss, four bowls of ramen."
Naruto slapped the table and shouted:
"Ramen, ramen! I want ramen!"
"Ichiraku ramen is the best in all of Konoha!"
Yusuke smiled and didn't stop him.
"Eat as much as you want. Tonight, ramen is unlimited."
An hour later—
Sasuke angrily ate three bowls.
Naruto ate six like he'd been starving for days.
Hinata casually ate ten bowls… and still looked like she could keep going.
Yusuke stared at his now-empty wallet and went numb inside.
My Police Force salary… might not be enough for this lifestyle.
Yeah. I'm definitely collecting "meal fees" from their parents soon.
After he sent the three kids home, an ANBU from the Third Hokage appeared immediately.
"Lord Yusuke. The Hokage orders you to attend tomorrow's peace negotiations with Kumogakure."
Yusuke's eyes flickered slightly.
So it finally begins.
Hokage TowerConference Room
Early the next morning, many important figures had already gathered.
Konoha's "F4," Uchiha Yusuke, Hiashi Hyuga—all present.
Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, Choza Akimichi—none absent.
Kumo's delegation was led personally by Tsuchikage—no, Kumo's elder statesman Dodai, a key minister who served two generations of Raikage.
With him came core figures: Darui, Samui, Mabui, and others.
The weight of the delegation showed how much Kumo valued Killer B.
As the Eight-Tails jinchūriki, B was not only a weapon of war—he was also the Fourth Raikage A's brother in everything but blood.
His value to Kumo didn't need explanation.
Once everyone arrived, the Third Hokage approached with a polite smile.
"You are our guests from afar. Please, take your seats."
Dodai returned the courtesy.
"Thank you for the Hokage's hospitality."
Everyone sat, and naturally the discussion turned to exchanging Killer B.
Dodai started by "sharing hardship," saying Kumo had suffered heavily, countless families broken, and so on.
The Third Hokage actually bought it—and responded by talking about Konoha's losses.
War hurt both sides. Even as the victor, Konoha had paid a significant price.
They talked in circles for a long time, eventually arriving at the same conclusion: neither side wanted to keep fighting.
With the peace tone set, they moved on to "building friendship."
Dodai proposed that Konoha release the Eight-Tails as a sign of goodwill.
In return, Kumo would sign a written agreement to not attack Konoha for thirty years.
In short: Kumo wanted to take Killer B back for free, and they didn't mention reparations at all.
What Yusuke didn't expect was that the Third Hokage—leader of the victorious side—actually intended to accept this "empty-handed deal."
The older Hiruzen got, the more he cared about peace and reputation. As long as those two things weren't threatened, he didn't mind "showing kindness" to Kumo.
Among Konoha's F4, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane followed Hiruzen without question.
Danzo, the schemer, also wanted compensation from Kumo—but he didn't want to help Uchiha Yusuke by doing so.
After all, Yusuke had been the commander-in-chief in the war against Kumo.
If Konoha gained anything in negotiations, it would inevitably be credited to Yusuke.
Because of that, Danzo chose to watch from the sidelines.
Whether you take benefits or not—figure it out yourselves.
Right now, I only want my position back.
Ever since the Third Hokage stripped Danzo of all posts, his situation in Konoha had become painfully awkward.
In the past, wherever he went, people treated him with deference.
Now he was just an ordinary jōnin—what face did he have left to throw around?
These days, he stayed shut inside Root and rarely showed up.
If Hiruzen hadn't specifically invited him today, he wouldn't even have had the chance to breathe outside.
Throughout Hiruzen's conversation with Kumo, Yusuke didn't speak.
Honestly, he wanted to see just how soft Hiruzen had become.
Watching the Third Hokage smile politely and talk peace with Kumo, Yusuke sighed silently.
Time was ruthless.
Ever since the Sannin left the village, Hiruzen had lost his old edge.
Good at holding the fort, maybe—but his ambition was gone.
In the meeting, Hiruzen and Kumo were nearing the end.
Dodai stood with a grateful expression and bowed.
"Third Hokage, thank you for your generosity."
"Kumogakure will never forget this friendship."
Of course they were delighted. Getting Killer B back without paying anything was the best outcome possible.
Hiruzen returned the bow.
"Safeguarding peace in the shinobi world is what leaders of great nations should do."
"I hope your nation, like Konoha, will always uphold peace."
Dodai nodded politely—but inside he scoffed.
Expect the ambitious Fourth Raikage A to become a "peace idealist"?
That was a joke.
Konoha's Third Hokage really was an old fool.
But since they needed something, they played along.
Once B was back, Kumo would do whatever it wanted anyway.
A "peace treaty" was just paper.
If a leader wanted war, a thousand agreements wouldn't stop them.
Seeing the silent room, Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction.
Kumo had been rising fast lately. This war had already checked their arrogance—his goal, in his mind, was achieved.
By releasing B for free, he could quietly dilute Yusuke's achievements and sell a favor to the Fourth Raikage.
One arrow, two birds.
Hiruzen was about to finalize the agreement, and yet no one in Konoha stood up to object.
In recent years, the great clans mostly swept snow only from their own doorsteps—Konoha had become a scattered mess.
Hiashi and Shikaku hesitated, but neither dared to publicly challenge the Hokage's face.
Seeing this, Yusuke sighed.
A snake can't move without a head.
Looks like I'm the one who has to step up and stir the pot.
Yusuke slowly stood.
"Third Hokage, I have something to say."
Hiruzen shot him a hard glare and said in a low voice:
"Ah, Yusuke."
"I've basically finalized things with Kumo."
"Do you have something to add?"
Yusuke ignored the warning and spoke calmly.
"This war cost Konoha dearly."
"As the defeated party, Kumogakure should provide compensation."
Before Hiruzen could respond, Yusuke continued.
"I won't ask for much."
"A copy of Kumo's forbidden techniques compendium—just bring one over."
"And hand over the Amber Purifying Pot that can seal tailed beasts."
"As for war reparations… thirty billion ryō will do."
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