The next morning dawned bright and clear over the Land of Waves.
The air on the bridge was thick with the sound of trumpets and the rhythmic beating of drums. A massive crowd of workers, all dressed in their crisp uniforms, were setting off firecrackers and banging on drums with a fervor that felt almost mocking.
Several others held up large banners, all pointed directly at a grim-faced Sarutobi Hiruzen and the other Kage standing beside him.
The terms of their release had been agreed upon, and today was the day they finally got to leave.
Apart from the four Kage, Homura Mitokado, and Danzō Shimura, the release also included key ninja from the major villages.
Not all 100,000 prisoners were released at once—Yuto planned to send them home in batches over the next few months.
On the surface, it was to prevent chaos due to the large number.
In reality, this staggered release had a major benefit, it maintained the Land of Waves' high-speed production development for a small period of time.
The host of this farewell ceremony was, once again, Hanzo the Salamander.
The once-feared legend of the ninja world was growing increasingly fond of this kind of psychological torment.
From time to time, he'd throw an arm around Danzō's shoulder or pat Yagura's back while urging him to "be a better person" after his release.
It made the Fourth Mizukage wish he could just summon a tidal wave and wash Hanzo off the bridge. Instead, he could only clench his jaw and stare at the ground, frustration rolling off him in waves.
'Be a better person? You people of the Land of Waves are the real monsters here! Damn bastards! Forcing compliance by feeding people "Youth Rejuvenation drugs"? What kind of twisted mind even comes up with that?'
"Alright, now it's time for everyone's favorite part—the group photo!" Hanzo clapped his hands, gathering the ninjas present. "Look at the camera, everyone! Come on, smile! Say cheese!"
He was doing his best to liven up the atmosphere, but aside from the Land of Waves workers, not a single person could muster a smile.
Which was only to be expected.
Not only had they lost the war, but they also had to pay a massive amount of money and resources as compensation!
This was arguably the greatest humiliation the great villages had suffered since their founding. If anyone could smile under these circumstances, they'd have to be insane!
Hanzo, of course, understood this perfectly well, so he didn't push the issue.
After the photo was taken, Hanzo raised his hand and gently clapped.
The workers immediately fell silent, stopping what they were doing and clearing a path on both sides.
"Dear friends and colleagues, thanks to all of you, the Land of Waves has reached new heights of development," Hanzo said, turning to Hiruzen and the others with a light laugh. "In recognition, our leader has prepared some gifts for you all. May your futures be smooth sailing!"
Clap clap clap clap—
The workers began applauding in perfect unison.
The faces of Hiruzen and the others darkened even further, their lips twitching.
They really, really did not want any gifts.
Anyone with half a brain knew that whatever was in those boxes was definitely not a token of goodwill. This was just the Land of Waves' final, elaborate act of humiliation.
But at this point, their wants were irrelevant.
A group of young figures appeared in everyone's view, walking down a red carpet.
They held exquisitely decorated gift boxes in their hands, with red ribbons tied around , and they slowly made their way toward Hiruzen and the others.
"Nar… Naruto?"
Seeing the blond boy at the head of the group, Hiruzen felt a complex mix of emotions.
"Hey, old man Third, " Naruto said with a sunny smile, holding out the gift box to Hiruzen. "Thanks for taking care of me in Konoha. Hang in there, okay!"
"Naruto, I—"
"No need to say anything. I know the whole truth now."
Hiruzen suddenly felt the gift box in his hands weigh as much as a mountain, a sense of powerlessness washing over him.
It wasn't until every Kage present, along with Danzō and Homura, had received their parting gifts that the group of children turned and left.
"Let us give our friends from the great villages a grand send-off!" Hanzo waved his hand, and several cannons fired into the sky with a boom boom boom.
Colorful lights painted the sky, and countless balloons floated upward.
Goddammit!
The more festive they made it, the more unbearable the Allied Shinobi Forces found it!
"Damn you!"
The hot-tempered Fourth Raikage finally couldn't hold back his anger. With a furious roar, he strode off in the direction of Kumogakure with his subordinates.
"Quite the performance," Ōnoki remarked, choosing to walk alongside Hiruzen and the others for the time being.
"What do you mean by that, Tsuchikage-sama?" Homura asked in a low voice.
"Why do you think Hayashi Yuto put on this little show?" Ōnoki fell silent for a moment before speaking calmly. "Just to humiliate us? I doubt it…"
"You think there's a deeper meaning, Onoki?" Danzō probed cautiously.
"He probably wants to provoke our anger, make us lose our rationality and attack again," Yagura sighed. "That would give him a legitimate reason to capture us all over again."
Capture them again?
A flicker of fear appeared in Homura Mitokado's eyes.
He was scared!
This Konoha elder was genuinely terrified.
Death wasn't scary—it was over in an instant.
But forcing an old man like him to farm without using chakra? That was a fate worse than death!
"The Mizukage and I are on the same page," Ōnoki sighed. "That bastard is truly cunning!"
"Perhaps everyone is overthinking this?" Hiruzen offered a different perspective.
His instincts told him Yuto didn't have some grand scheme—he just wanted to humiliate them.
Why?
Because that bastard's thought processes were on a completely different, utterly mad wavelength than everyone else's!
"I hope we are overthinking it," Ōnoki paused, then turned his gaze to Hiruzen. "I've been meaning to ask, Hokage-sama! What happened to your face… and the faces of your two elders?"
Yagura only now noticed—all three members of the Konoha group had faint bluish-purish marks on their faces.
"We had a little accident on the steps while using the restroom at night," Hiruzen, Homura, and Danzō said in unison.
"??"
"??"
Ōnoki and Yagura were stunned, sucking in a sharp breath.
Did Konoha have a custom of going to the bathroom in groups?
"Rather than trivial matters, I'd like to know what kind of gifts Hayashi Yuto has given us," Danzō said, decisively changing the subject.
"Shall we open them now and see?" Ōnoki blinked.
"Tsuchikage-sama, wouldn't that be a bit… unsafe?" his son, Kurotsuchi, whispered from behind him.
"Fool!" Ōnoki glanced back at him. "If that guy really wanted to harm us, do you think we'd have made it out alive?"
As he spoke, he tore open the wrapping of his gift box.
Ōnoki discovered that his gift was actually a laptop computer.
"Whoa, this is incredible!" Kurotsuchi's eyes widened as he reached out to touch the laptop's casing. "The latest product from the Land of Waves! It's worth at least ten million ryō on the market!"
"Hmph, the kid at least has some conscience," Ōnoki said, equally pleased, unable to suppress the upward curl of his lips.
The Mizukage received a tablet phone, also a cutting-edge electronic device.
Seeing this, the Konoha trio seemed to relax a little. It appeared Hayashi Yuto occasionally did something halfway decent!
That is, until they opened their own gift boxes.
In Hiruzen's hands was a green-skinned toad. Homura found a hairy crab. And clamped onto Danzō's finger, refusing to let go, was a fiercely aggressive snapping turtle.
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