The negotiations lasted for more than an hour.
Aside from Orochimaru being visibly irritated whenever Rasa couldn't resist throwing in a few unnecessary remarks, the entire meeting went smoothly without any real incident.
Once it was over, Yūhi Shinku politely escorted Rasa and the other two out in person.
The moment the three of them left, the entire conference room exploded into noise.
Cheers, laughter, relieved voices—
A war had come to an end.
And everyone gathered in that room, every shinobi who had contributed to this victory, finally let out the emotions they had been holding back.
The celebration continued for quite a while before the excitement finally began to settle.
Once the room had quieted down, Yagami took out the Den Den Mushi and placed a call to the Hokage Building.
As for why the village's higher-ups hadn't taken part in the negotiations directly, the reason was simple.
Soldiers faced soldiers. Commanders faced commanders.
Rasa might have been Sunagakure's frontline commander, but he still wasn't qualified to sit across from Konoha's true leadership.
"Buru buru... click!"
"Moshi moshi, Yagami-kun?"
The Den Den Mushi connected, and Mikoto's voice came through.
The moment he heard her voice, Yagami felt a faint pang of guilt.
He hadn't really spoken to Mikoto properly in several days.
Lately, every time they connected through the Den Den Mushi, all they'd exchanged were the briefest greetings before getting straight to business.
"Mikoto, could you pass the Den Den Mushi to Lord Third?" Yagami said, keeping his tone as calm as usual while forcing down the guilt in his chest.
"...Okay, Yagami-kun. Just wait a moment."
Mikoto answered softly.
There was a trace of disappointment in her voice, subtle, but impossible to miss.
A short while later, the voices on the other end grew louder. The sound of a meeting room, filled with the Third Hokage and Konoha's senior leadership, reached them clearly.
"Yagami, what's happened on the front line?"
Hiruzen's voice came through at last.
"Sunagakure has sent representatives to negotiate for peace."
Yagami got straight to the point.
There were still two active battlefields inside the Land of Fire. In the middle of a war, there was no room for wasting time.
"Hahaha... well done. That's excellent news."
The Third Hokage's laughter rang out through the Den Den Mushi, his joy impossible to hide.
Not once, but several times.
And right after that, loud cheers erupted from the meeting room in the Hokage Building as well.
For Sunagakure, this defeat had come suddenly.
But for Konoha's higher-ups, this victory had also arrived far sooner than expected.
Just over ten days.
From the outbreak of war to victory—
It had all ended in barely over ten days.
This was one of the fastest major victories in Konoha's history since the village's founding.
Hearing the uproar of celebration from the Den Den Mushi, the Konoha jōnin inside the command post couldn't help but grin and laugh as well.
No matter what rewards came after the war, one thing was certain—
This battle was over.
And for every one of them standing here, their part in a war between great nations was more than enough to count as an S-rank achievement.
After all, war between villages was as high-level as missions could get.
The cheering from the Hokage Building went on for some time before it finally died down under Hiruzen's signal.
Then the Third Hokage's voice came through the Den Den Mushi once more, solemn and full of authority.
"Everyone at the command center... you've done Konoha proud."
"You are all heroes of the village."
The jōnin inside the command post straightened unconsciously as they listened.
Every one of them wore an excited expression.
Of course, the war wasn't fully over yet, so for now, Hiruzen could only offer words of praise.
There was no way to hand out actual rewards while the battlefield was still active and both sides remained separated by war.
Then Hiruzen shifted the topic.
"Yagami."
"After discussion with the village leadership... we've decided to grant you a very special honor in recognition of your achievements."
"A very special honor?"
Yagami raised a brow, genuinely surprised.
The jōnin in the command post also looked over with interest.
Even they were curious what kind of distinction the village would give the one who had contributed the most in this battle.
"Hahaha... I'm afraid I can't tell you that yet," Hiruzen said with a laugh.
"But that honor has already been sent to the battlefield where Konoha is facing Iwagakure. Once you arrive there, you'll see it for yourself."
Voices of approval and congratulations from the other clan heads and senior officials echoed faintly through the Den Den Mushi.
But none of them revealed what this so-called honor actually was.
That only made Yagami and the others even more curious.
"So then... I'm being sent to the Iwagakure front next?" Yagami asked.
The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere on the other end fell quiet.
A beat later, Hiruzen's voice returned, now much more serious.
"That's right. But not just you."
"Everyone currently stationed on your front—"
"Other than the severely wounded—"
"Will move out and reinforce the other two battlefields immediately."
As those words sank in, the mood inside the command post turned heavy.
That was true.
They had defeated Sunagakure.
But the war itself was far from over.
Elsewhere in the Land of Fire, two even more dangerous enemies were still pressing Konoha from different directions.
"I understand," Yagami replied with a nod.
Then another thought crossed his mind.
"Right... where's Minato?"
If he remembered correctly, in the original timeline, the battlefield against Iwagakure had ultimately been decided by Minato.
So where had that guy been sent?
"Taking into account that Kumogakure's Third Raikage specializes in speed, Minato was dispatched to the Cloud front," Hiruzen answered honestly.
Though he didn't know why Yagami was suddenly asking about Minato, there was no reason to hide it.
"I see. Got it."
Yagami nodded again after hearing the answer.
Thinking about it, that did make sense.
With the speed of the Third Raikage—and the Fourth Raikage in the future—
There were probably very few people in the entire shinobi world who could match them head-on in mobility.
At present, Minato was likely the only one who could truly overwhelm that kind of speed with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Looks like I need to come up with one more trump card as soon as possible, Yagami thought to himself.
For now, his speed was already enough to leave most shinobi far behind.
But against people like Minato, who relied on space-time ninjutsu, there was still a clear weakness in his arsenal.
Still, Yagami wasn't the least bit shaken.
With the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit in his hands, speed was never going to be his limit.
As long as he kept developing that power, then one day, even the Raikage would only be able to dream of reaching his level.
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