"THE WAR IS OVER!"
Sasori threw the tent flap wide and roared.
For one heartbeat, the camp was frozen.
Forty thousand voices erupted. Ninja—Suna, Kumo, Ame, Konoha, Taki, everyone—collapsed into each other's arms. Enemies five minutes ago. Brothers now.
Tears streamed down faces caked in sand and blood.
A year of hell. A year of watching friends die. A year of sleeping with kunai under pillows and waking to screams.
The Kage emerged. Shoulder to shoulder. Smiling.
(As if we'd never tried to kill each other.)
Jinghang raised his hands. Silence rippled outward.
He lifted the chakra microphone. His voice—warm, paternal—rolled across the desert.
"Go home." Simple. Gentle. "Honor your parents. Hold your children. The war is done."
The roar that followed shook the dunes.
Jinghang walked into the crowd. Shook hands. Embraced strangers. The Raikage beside him. Hiruzen. Pain.
All friends now.
(Until the next war.)
"Let's check on the injured." Jinghang's tone was casual.
But his eyes—locked on Hiruzen—said something else.
We need to talk.
The field hospital was a joke. Open-air tents. Stretchers on sand. A thousand wounded crammed into improvised beds.
The ones who could walk had already left.
These were the broken ones.
Jinghang stopped at one bed.
A pale girl. IV drip. Unconscious.
"Your Three-Tails jinchuriki?"
Hiruzen nodded stiffly.
Beside the bed, a silver-haired boy glared murder at a young monk.
The monk—eyes closed, hands clasped—murmured prayers.
"Hōichi?" Jinghang raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"
The monk opened his eyes. Bowed. "Kazekage-sama. I... miscalculated. During our battle, I struck too hard. The girl—" His voice cracked. "Forgive me."
"Accidents happen." Jinghang's tone was light. (Hōichi's a perfect jinchuriki. Rin's a rookie. Of course she got crushed.)
"Tsunade." Jinghang gestured. "How bad?"
Tsunade checked Rin's pulse. Lifted her eyelids.
"Bad. Tailed beast chakra flooded her system. Internal damage. She needs a real hospital." Her gaze swept the tent. "Not... this."
Hiruzen's jaw tightened. "Konoha's facilities—"
"Will work." Tsunade nodded. "Barely."
Jinghang smiled. (He doesn't want to send his jinchuriki to Suna. Fair.)
"Then go. Take her home. Consider it a favor."
Tsunade hesitated.
Jinghang leaned close. Whispered. Pressed a small pouch into her hand.
Her eyes widened. Then—understanding.
"Time's wasting." Jinghang's voice rose. "Hokage-sama, send an escort. Get her moving."
The silver-haired boy's hand shot up.
"Kakashi." Hiruzen's tone was gentle. "Your arm—"
"It's fine." Kakashi ripped off his bandages. Flexed. "Just a dislocation. I'm—ow!"
Tsunade had jabbed a pressure point.
"Dislocations don't heal in five minutes." Her voice was ice. "Rebandage. Now. Unless you want arthritis at twenty."
Kakashi grimaced. Rewrapped his arm.
Jinghang smiled. Patted his shoulder.
"Good kid. Protect her well." A pause. "This time."
The Kiri mission. When Rin was kidnapped. Does Suna know? How much do they—
"Naturally." His voice was steady. But his mind raced.
Two figures crouched on a distant dune.
White cloaks. Veiled faces.
Kirigakure headbands.
"Captain." The younger one's voice was tight. "This is insane. There are forty thousand ninja down there. We brought a hundred."
The taller figure—calm, cold—didn't look away from the camp.
"The Three-Tails belongs to Kiri. Konoha stole her during the civil war." His voice was steel. "I don't care if there are a million of them. We're bringing her home."
"We wait." The captain's eyes narrowed. "Like wolves. Patient. Lord Saizō taught us that."
A small group—maybe forty ninja—broke off from the main camp.
Heading toward Fire Country.
The younger hunter's breath caught. "Captain—"
"Follow. Distance. Don't engage." The captain's smile was hidden behind his veil. "First, we learn. Then we strike."
They vanished into the sand.
[Strategic Setup: Jinghang's "gift" to Tsunade = unknown insurance (trap? Backup? Readers left guessing). "This time" comment = confirms Suna knows about previous Rin kidnapping (Kakashi's paranoia justified). Small escort = deliberate vulnerability (bait for Kiri hunters). Tsunade's presence = wild card (legendary Sannin vs. unknown Kiri squad).]
[Foreshadowing Layers: Celebration = false security (danger immediately follows). Rin's condition = makes her easy target (can't fight back). Kakashi's injury = handicapped protector (classic setup for heroic struggle). Kiri captain's patience = professional hunter (not random thugs). 40 vs. 100+ = massacre math (unless Tsunade intervenes).]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 BOOK COMPLETED ON PATREON!📚
This story has reached its conclusion on my Patreon!
🔥 Full story available now
💎 Exclusive bonus content & early access to new books
👉 Join my Patreon community today!
[✨patreon.com/DarkGolds]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━