The bright sun covered the land, melting away the remaining snow.
Early morning, at a cave nestled in a mountain range within the Land of Wind.
Inside the cave, Tsunade stepped out slowly. Because of the melting snow, the weather was even colder than yesterday when it had been snowing.
Even with all her strength, she couldn't suppress a slight shiver.
"Huff!"
However, in those beautiful eyes of hers was only a sense of relief. She took a long breath of air that was cold yet unusually crisp, instantly feeling refreshed and energized.
Tsunade lifted her gaze, observing this valley.
She lingered at the mouth of the cave, caught up in her thoughts.
"You're awake."
Suddenly, a voice came from the top of the valley. Tsunade slightly turned her eyes, and Sakumo Hatake was already by her side.
"I guess I was too relaxed; I overslept," she said lightly with a smile.
Sakumo smiled faintly and replied, "After continuous battles, everyone is exhausted. As their commander, you're even more so. Now that our war's over, oversleeping occasionally isn't such a bad thing."
Tsunade gave a small shrug without answering, then sighed, "Yeah, our war's over."
In the Second Great Ninja War, Konoha had certainly achieved a great victory, but that didn't mean the whole war had truly ended.
Though Konoha in the Land of Fire was merely one faction among many in this ninja world war, on the distant continent's other side, the Lands of Earth and Lightning were still locked in conflict.
But now that the fighting here had ended, the disputes there wouldn't last much longer either.
The reason was simple—anyone could see that during the war, Konoha stood head and shoulders above the rest. First, the Sannin fought against the semi-god Sanshouo Hanzo. Then Sakumo Hatake defeated Tsuchigawa's Iwa ninja unit. Later, Tsunade and Chiyo—two top-tier female shinobi representing both the old and new generations—clashed against each other.
Finally, Minato and Sakumo Hatake successively eliminated Kouhi and Liufei, two high-ranking figures from Sunagakure.
In the past, Konoha had the God of Ninja, the First Hokage, as well as Uchiha Madara, the leader of the mighty Uchiha clan, who dominated the ninja world.
Nowadays, although modern-day Konoha did not match its former glory, it remained home to many formidable shinobi—the Sannin, Sakumo Hatake, and promising young prodigies like Minato rising up.
At this point, if the Lands of Earth and Lightning kept fighting and wasting their strength, they'd only end up looking foolish.
"Now that it's over, we should head back home soon," Sakumo said, his voice stirred with emotion at the thought of going home.
Tsunade felt the same way but asked one more question: "Where are the others?"
Continuous battles had left the Konoha shinobi exhausted both mentally and physically, so resting another day or two was perfectly understandable.
"You'll see soon enough," Sakumo said, raising his pale eyebrows slightly. Moments later, figures began emerging across the valley.
Tsunade looked on. The eager expressions on everyone's faces were plain to see.
Seeing this, she smiled gently before saying, "Alright then, let's move at full speed. Let's return to Konoha!"
...
Two days later, in the Hidden Leaf Village.
During the war, for various reasons, the village's main streets were nearly deserted. Konoha was shrouded in tension.
This suffocating pressure lasted over a year.
However, everything changed two days ago when a battle report arrived from the frontlines.
Konoha forces scored a major victory invading the Land of Wind!
The news spread across the village within a short time. To Konoha's civilians, it was naturally welcome news—but not exactly thrilling for everyone.
After all, this was a conflict between ninja nations, involving interests of powerful great nations behind them. All ordinary citizens wanted was a quiet, peaceful life.
Moreover, the Second Great Ninja War had yet to officially conclude.
But for those ninjas currently stationed in Konoha village, the news undeniably brought smiles to their faces, happiness clearly visible.
Yet even with such a significant victory on the main battlefield, defensive duties still needed continuation.
Whoosh!
From some remote corner of the village, a slim figure darted through shadows before finally stopping at a secluded spot.
"Rina, why are you here?"
From one hidden corner came a slightly surprised voice, then from the darkness, a red-haired girl gracefully emerged.
In more than half a year, Kushina had grown somewhat taller; her previously slightly chubby face had become much slimmer.
That young girl was clearly on her way to becoming a beauty.
"I'm here to relieve you."
Smiling, the girl before Kushina said—she was Rina Takeuchi, Minato and Kushina's former classmate—now also growing increasingly beautiful, though slightly less dazzling compared to Kushina.
Kushina blinked slightly, "Relieve me? Isn't your shift supposed to start at sunset?"
Since Sarutobi decided to attack the Land of Wind, the original team groupings responsible for guarding the village had undergone major changes.
Rina Takeuchi and Kushina were assigned to the same team.
"Yeah," Rina chuckled, saying, "but the frontline squad will return to the village soon."
As she finished speaking, ripples appeared in Kushina's eyes, but that emotion quickly disappeared.
"Mm." Kushina murmured, nodding slightly.
"'Mm'? What're you waiting for? Hurry to the village gate—they'll be back any moment!" Rina urged while pushing Kushina forward.
"But..." Kushina hesitated.
Seeing her expression, Rina couldn't help but laugh, teasing, "Never thought the day would come when even The Red-Hot Habanero could be this shy and awkward."
Upon hearing this, Kushina immediately changed expressions, "Who's being all shy and fidgety!"
She shot back quickly, her voice carrying that familiar odd accent again.
"If not, then hurry up already! If Minato comes back and doesn't see you, he'll definitely feel sad," Rina continued jokingly.
For such teasing, Kushina actually felt secretly delighted. She smiled at Rina Takeuchi and said, "Thank you."
"It's nothing really. Compared to the help you and Minato gave me back during the Chakra Aptitude Test, this is just a small gesture." Rina laughed. "Besides, Minato's already become the village's hero, and you... well, you're the hero's..."
Everyone in their class knew about Minato and Kushina's relationship.
Whoosh—
Before she could finish her sentence, all that remained in front of them was a gust of wind.
...
At Konoha's main gate.
"They're back!"
When those figures finally became clear in their sight, the Konoha ninja who had come to greet them all cried out in excitement.
At this moment, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other three high-ranking officials of Konoha stood among the crowd. Except for Danzo, smiles appeared on the faces of the other three elders.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Finally, one by one, those silhouettes emerged beyond Konoha's main gate. Among them, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and several other leading commanders quickly stepped forward ahead of the dozens of people present.
"You've all worked hard, young ones," said the Third, his weathered face crinkled with joy.
Tsunade and the others stepped forward and stood before the Third and the rest of Konoha's senior leaders, saying in unison.
"We're... finally home!"
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>