Land of Fire, Valley of the End.
Since the failure of the operation, Uchiha Fugaku had remained here.
He sat quietly atop the statue of Uchiha Madara, gazing into the distance without a word.
There was no visible despair on his face.
Perhaps, from the very beginning, he had not truly believed he would succeed.
White Zetsu observed him in silence.
Whatever Fugaku was feeling, it did not show. Even after losing one Mangekyo Sharingan eye, his expression remained calm and unreadable.
That was fine.
White Zetsu was not suited to comforting others. Acting like a gentle elder sister to ease Fugaku's mood was far beyond its abilities.
The waterfall below continued to roar endlessly, as if time itself refused to stop here.
White Zetsu did not understand why Fugaku had chosen to come to this place. After a failed operation, he should have fled the Land of Fire immediately. There was nothing worth lingering for.
"Uchiha Fugaku, Lord Nagato has sent word. He wants to meet you."
White Zetsu broke the silence after a pause.
"Understood."
Fugaku gave a faint nod.
From this point onward, he was considered an official member of Akatsuki under the name Uchiha Fugaku. In reality, however, he still operated under the shadow identity of Uchiha Madara.
The two identities did not conflict.
Nagato's request was simply a meeting to assess the new member, understand Konoha's current state, and plan future actions.
The Konoha invasion had been far more difficult than expected. The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was not an easy target.
Fortunately, the tailed beasts were sealed within the Gedo Statue and had to be extracted in a fixed order. Although the sequence was not absolutely rigid, the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails could not be swapped casually.
There was still time.
Even though Konoha had not suffered catastrophic manpower losses, the village itself had been heavily damaged. That alone was enough to weaken it indirectly.
But Fugaku's attention was elsewhere.
Right now, the most important matter was obtaining Uchiha Yama's eyes from Orochimaru.
However, that was not something easily taken by force. Orochimaru had hidden them inside Ryuchi Cave, a place normal shinobi could not enter.
Since force was unreliable, negotiation would be necessary.
If both sides had sufficient interests, Orochimaru and Hayashi should not reject a trade.
So what could be used as currency for a Mangekyo Sharingan?
The best answer was another Mangekyo Sharingan.
And right now, there was only one remaining in the ninja world.
It was in the hands of Danzo Shimura.
An eye belonging to Uchiha Kagami.
If that eye were used as a bargaining chip, both Orochimaru and Hayashi would likely agree to a deal that benefited them.
Everything, in the end, circled back to Danzo Shimura.
Fugaku's decision formed in an instant.
He would take it directly.
His expression remained unchanged as he poured himself a drink.
White Zetsu had retrieved the bottle from the Uchiha clan grounds before leaving Konoha. It was the same drink Fugaku had once shared with Hayashi. Only one bottle had been taken; the rest remained in the village.
Fugaku took a slow sip.
The taste was unfamiliar now. It had been five or six years since he last drank anything like this from Konoha.
Was everything he had done ultimately meaningless? Just like that failed invasion?
He tilted his head back and finished the bottle in one gulp.
White Zetsu spoke again.
"If you like it that much, you can always sneak back into Konoha next time. With me around, they won't notice you."
Fugaku tightened his grip on the empty bottle.
"I will never go back."
His voice was quiet, but firm.
This was his first return to Konoha in five years. He had launched an attack, lost an eye, and become a rogue ninja in the aftermath.
"I will never go back," he repeated.
And he meant it.
He would not return.
...
In the 41st year of Konoha, news exploded across the entire ninja world.
Uchiha Fugaku, former young clan head of the Uchiha, had colluded with the Fourth Mizukage Yagura to launch the Konoha Crush Plan.
The information spread rapidly and could not be suppressed.
Many witnesses from other villages had seen the battle firsthand, in addition to Konoha shinobi. There was no way to hide the truth.
Even the third stage of the Chunin Exams had been forcibly halted.
At that point, continuing the tournament was impossible. The village itself had been heavily damaged, and no one had the mind for competition.
The first to depart was Sunagakure.
The Fourth Kazekage Rasa left Konoha the next day with his escort forces.
During the attack, Rasa had remained neutral, and the Third Hokage did not make things difficult for him.
Not that he intended to seek Sand Village assistance anyway. Sunagakure was already so impoverished they could barely sustain themselves.
But things would not be as easy for Kirigakure.
Fugaku had become a rogue ninja, and Konoha would naturally issue a kill order. But since he had escaped, responsibility would inevitably be pushed onto the Hidden Mist.
It was clear Konoha would demand compensation and use the incident to extract resources from Kirigakure to recover its losses.
Fugaku's use of White Zetsu disguised as the Fourth Mizukage had been intentional. It was meant to drag the Hidden Mist into the conflict from the start.
As a result, Kirigakure now stood under immense pressure.
In just a few years, the village had lost two Kage and suffered defeat in the Third Great Ninja War. Now it was once again at the center of international hostility.
Failure to pay compensation was not even an option. Pushing Konoha too far risked retaliation that Kirigakure could not afford.
Beyond that, Iwagakure remained completely silent.
Ōnoki knew better than to provoke Konoha at a time like this.
Kumogakure, however, was different.
They had not yet signed a peace treaty with Konoha, meaning they were still technically at war.
All eyes turned toward the Land of Lightning.
Would the Fourth Raikage seize this opportunity and ignite another conflict?
Inside the Cloud Gorge, A sat cross-legged, staring into the distance.
Beside him sat Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
"I won't start a war," A said flatly.
"At a time like this, attacking Konoha is pointless. Even if they were hit hard, the Yellow Flash and the Sannin are still alive."
"But you've been mobilizing the village like you're preparing for war," Killer Bee pointed out.
"That's exactly the point," A replied without hesitation.
"It's a bluff."
After his father's death, Kumogakure's strength had declined. To gain leverage over Konoha, they needed to appear aggressive enough to pressure concessions.
The weak feared the strong, and the strong feared the reckless.
If Konoha believed Kumogakure might truly invade, they would be forced into negotiation instead of escalation.
A clenched his fist.
"I'll send envoys to Konoha for peace talks."
"Peace talks?" Killer Bee repeated.
A smirked faintly.
"Don't misunderstand. You're not going."
Killer Bee sighed and leaned back again.
A patted his head lightly.
This wasn't a delegation for diplomacy.
It was a team sent to apply pressure.
And Kumogakure had no intention of playing fair.