Konoha.
Clear skies. Warm breeze. Not a cloud in sight.
Half a month had passed since Uchiha Yusuke's triumphant return, and at last, Kumogakure sent a diplomatic delegation to negotiate.
The moment they arrived, they went straight to the Hokage Tower to meet the Third Hokage.
Hiruzen welcomed them with extreme enthusiasm—treating the Kumo delegation like honored guests.
In diplomacy, the Third Hokage was honestly a disaster.
In the past, Konoha had won wars more than once—yet he never demanded reparations from defeated nations.
Call it "benevolence" if you want.
Put bluntly, it was weakness.
Your comrades spill blood and tears for victory, and you walk away satisfied with a single "peace treaty."
Then what did the sacrifices even mean?
If a nation can start a war, lose, pay nothing, rebuild, and come back again—
Then they will come back.
If you want lasting stability, you must make the enemy hurt.
Kindness only makes them bolder.
Inside a two-story standalone house, Yusuke was leisurely napping.
Since Hiruzen never notified him, Yusuke couldn't be bothered with this so-called "Kumo delegation."
Anyway, Killer B was still locked up under the Police Force.
If Kumo wanted their Eight-Tails back, they'd have to pass through Yusuke sooner or later.
Just after noon, Hyūga Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke were delivered over by their families.
Neither kid was old enough for the Academy yet, so Yusuke could only grit his teeth and act as a part-time babysitter.
Hinata was easy—quiet and obedient from the start.
Sasuke was a headache.
Don't let the "cold genius" image fool you—before tragedy, Sasuke was lively and mischievous, almost like Naruto with his pranks.
As usual, Yusuke spent every afternoon training outside the village.
Since he was responsible for teaching them, he had no choice but to drag the two kids along.
On the way to the training ground, he noticed Hinata and Sasuke were both curious about the lonely Naruto—
So, on impulse, he pulled Uzumaki Naruto into the group too.
Naruto was the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. Regular villagers and even shinobi avoided him, terrified of "bad luck" and "karma."
But Yusuke didn't care.
His relationship with Konoha's leadership had already turned into open hostility.
Even if he kept his distance from Naruto, the elders would still suspect him.
Minato and Kushina had hoped the villagers would treat Naruto like a hero.
Instead, the Third Hokage's hush-hush secrecy policy turned Naruto into a hated stray.
Fairly speaking, Hiruzen treated the orphan of Konoha's hero unjustly.
But Minato was gone.
Jiraiya rarely returned.
And the only person left who truly had deep ties to Minato was Hatake Kakashi—
who, crushed by Obito and Rin's tragedy, spent years drowning in grief.
And Kakashi, being from the Hokage faction, naturally trusted Hiruzen more than he doubted him.
So Naruto became a nobody—surviving on expired supplies handed out by the Hokage's office.
Why did Naruto love ramen so much?
Because for a lonely child, one bowl of ramen was a dream.
Ramen might be cheap—but for an orphan, it wasn't something you could eat whenever you wanted.
At the training ground, Yusuke tailored different practice methods for each child:
Sasuke trained mental focus.
Hinata practiced taijutsu basics.
Naruto worked on chakra control and condensation.
At four years old, they were still too young for anything advanced, so he started from fundamentals.
Once the three finally got into the rhythm, Yusuke began his own cultivation.
After the war with Kumo, his strength had risen again.
He closed his eyes and entered his inner space—new information surfaced immediately:
Fire Release Chakra Mode (Proficiency 64.8%)
Mangekyō Sharingan (Proficiency 36.5%)
Leaf Flow Body Art (Proficiency 98.7%)
Swordmaster-Level Swordsmanship (Proficiency 18.6%)
The war sharpened his Fire Mode and Mangekyō control, and his swordsmanship climbed too.
The only regret—
Leaf Flow Body Art still hadn't broken through 100%.
Yusuke was eager to see what the next stage would bring once it ranked up.
Time passed quickly. By sunset, he ended the day's training.
Turning around, he found the three kids weren't training at all—
They were playing hide-and-seek across the field.
Yusuke couldn't help but smile.
In the original story, none of them had a happy childhood.
In his own way, he was patching some of those regrets.
When the kids noticed him, their faces instantly fell.
"Uh-oh… sensei is watching…"
But Yusuke didn't get angry.
He smiled instead.
"Had enough fun?"
"It's dinner time. What do you three want?"
"Tonight, I'm treating."
Sasuke looked thoughtful, Hinata went shy and red, and Naruto jumped up instantly:
"Really?!"
"I want Ichiraku Ramen!"
Sasuke snorted.
"Idiot!"
"What's so good about ramen? I want bonito rice balls!"
Hinata fiddled with her fingers, cheeks bright red.
"I… I also want ramen…"
Naruto pointed at Sasuke and laughed hard.
"Sasuke! See?! Ramen is good!"
Yusuke went momentarily speechless.
So the "best friends / rivals" dynamic starts this early, huh…
Sasuke lost two-to-one and could only follow them to ramen with a sulky face.
Ichiraku Ramen.
"Boss, four bowls of ramen!"
Naruto slammed the table like a commander.
"Ramen, ramen, I want ramen!"
"Ichiraku is the best in all of Konoha!"
Yusuke just smiled and didn't stop him.
"Eat as much as you want—ramen's on me."
One hour later:
Sasuke angrily ate three bowls.
Naruto ate six bowls like a starving ghost.
Hinata calmly ate ten bowls, and still looked like she could keep going.
Yusuke stared at his empty wallet, utterly speechless.
My Police Force salary… might not survive this lifestyle.
It was probably time to start charging the parents "meal fees."
Right after he sent the kids home, the Third Hokage's ANBU appeared.
"Yusuke-sama, Hokage-sama orders you to attend tomorrow's peace negotiations with Kumogakure."
Yusuke's eyes flickered.
So it's finally here.
Hokage Tower — Conference Room
Early morning, the room was already packed with key figures.
Konoha's "F4" were present, along with Yusuke and Hyūga Hiashi. Shikaku, Inoichi, Chōza—none were missing.
Kumo's delegation was led personally by Dodai, a senior retainer of two generations of Raikage.
Darui, Samui, Mabui, and other core figures came too.
Such a heavy delegation showed one thing clearly:
Kumo valued Killer B extremely.
B wasn't just a weapon of war.
He was also the Fourth Raikage's brother.
His value to Kumo was beyond question.
When everyone was seated, Hiruzen smiled warmly.
"You are honored guests. Please, sit."
Dodai replied politely.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Hokage-sama."
Naturally, discussion shifted to the exchange of Killer B.
Dodai started by "suffering aloud," talking about how Kumo had lost so much, families shattered, and so on.
Hiruzen actually swallowed that whole.
He even echoed Konoha's own losses—war harms both sides, after all.
After a long round of aimless talk, they reached the obvious conclusion:
Neither side wanted to keep fighting.
Once the "peace tone" was set, they talked about "friendship."
Dodai proposed:
Konoha should release Killer B as a gesture of goodwill.
In return, Kumo would sign a thirty-year non-aggression agreement.
In other words—
Kumo wanted to take B back for free, and didn't even mention reparations.
What shocked Yusuke was this:
As the leader of the winning side, the Third Hokage looked like he was actually going to agree.
Hiruzen only cared about peace and reputation.
As long as those weren't threatened, giving Kumo some "kindness" was fine.
In Konoha's F4, Homura and Koharu naturally followed Hiruzen.
Danzō, despite wanting compensation, didn't want to hand Yusuke a victory.
After all, Yusuke had been the commander-in-chief.
Any gain from Kumo would be credited to Yusuke.
So Danzō chose to watch silently.
He only wanted one thing:
His position back.
Since being stripped of office, Danzō's situation had become humiliating.
Before, people bowed and yielded.
Now he was just another jōnin.
What face did he have left to posture?
He'd been hiding in the shadows, refusing to come out.
If Hiruzen hadn't personally summoned him today, he wouldn't even be breathing fresh air here.
Throughout Hiruzen's friendly exchange with Kumo, Yusuke didn't speak.
He wanted to see just how soft Hiruzen had become.
Watching the Hokage smile and nod at Kumo, Yusuke sighed silently.
Time really does grind people down.
Ever since the Sannin left the village, Hiruzen had lost his edge.
He might be fine at maintaining—
But he lacked ambition entirely.
Soon, the dialogue was reaching its conclusion.
Dodai stood up, gratitude on his face, and bowed.
"Third Hokage-sama, thank you for your generosity."
"Kumogakure will not forget this bond."
Getting Killer B back without paying anything—of course they were delighted.
Hiruzen returned the bow politely.
"Protecting peace in the shinobi world is the duty of us great-nation leaders."
"I hope your nation also embraces peace as Konoha does."
Dodai nodded outwardly—
but inwardly he sneered.
You want the Fourth Raikage to be a pacifist?
That's a fairy tale.
This Third Hokage really is an old fool.
But since Kumo needed something, they played along.
Once B was returned, Kumo could do whatever it wanted.
A treaty was just paper.
A leader with ambition will start war whenever he pleases—no matter how many agreements he signs.
Hiruzen looked around the silent room, satisfied.
Kumo had been rising too fast recently.
Being able to suppress their arrogance a bit was "goal achieved" in his eyes.
And by releasing Killer B for free, he could quietly dilute Yusuke's battlefield glory—
while also selling the Fourth Raikage a "favor."
Two birds with one stone.
The meeting was about to end, and not a single Konoha clan leader stood up to oppose the Hokage.
Over the years, the clans had become scattered sand—each sweeping their own doorstep.
Hiashi and Shikaku wore hesitant expressions, but still didn't dare challenge Hiruzen publicly.
Seeing this, Yusuke sighed.
A snake without a head can't move.
Looks like I'm the one who has to step up again.
He rose slowly.
"Third Hokage-sama. I have something to say."
Hiruzen shot Yusuke a hard glare and said heavily:
"Yusuke."
"I've basically finalized matters with Kumogakure."
"Do you have anything to add?"
Yusuke ignored the warning and spoke calmly:
"This war cost Konoha dearly."
"As the defeated party, Kumogakure should pay compensation."
Before Hiruzen could respond, Yusuke continued as if it were obvious:
"I won't ask for much."
"Kumo's complete forbidden-technique compendium—send me a copy."
"The Amber Purifying Pot that can seal tailed beasts—hand it over."
"And war reparations…"
"Thirty billion ryō will do. Call it a bargain."
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