Chiya, Sara, Pakura, and the rest of the Loran group finally reached the border.
In the distance.
A Konoha-nin squad had been waiting for a long time. Leading them was Uchiha Masaki.
The moment Masaki saw Chiya, the tension in his expression instantly loosened, and a flash of excitement passed through his eyes.
He stepped forward quickly, dropped to one knee, and bowed respectfully.
"Clan Head! You have finally returned!"
Chiya smiled faintly and reached out to pat his shoulder.
"No need to be so formal. Get up."
Masaki stood, his eyes filled with excitement.
"For these past two years, everyone in the clan has been waiting for news of you. To think that you actually..."
His gaze swept over Sara and Pakura standing behind Chiya. He paused briefly, then quickly composed himself.
Chiya did not explain much. He simply asked.
"How is the situation in the clan right now?"
Masaki immediately straightened his expression.
"Everything is in good order. Lady Mikoto oversees all Guard Corps affairs, and Lord Fugaku handles the day-to-day management of the clan. Things are very stable inside."
"Lady Mikoto? Overseeing the Guard Corps?"
Chiya raised an eyebrow slightly, a little surprised.
That girl Mikoto, she had become this capable?
Masaki nodded, his tone carrying admiration.
"Yes. After you left, Lady Mikoto took over the Guard Corps work. She handles matters swiftly and decisively. Even Lord Hatake Sakumo has praised her."
A trace of warmth rose in Chiya's eyes, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
As expected of her.
'As expected of the good secretary I personally trained.'
Masaki was looking at Chiya, whom he had not seen in so long, and was speaking without his usual careful organization.
He was saying whatever came to mind.
All at once he added more.
"Right, Lord Fugaku has also gotten married. His wife is Uchiha Rinbi. Apparently she is already expecting."
Chiya was briefly stunned, then burst out laughing.
"Cousin has really come through! Swift and decisive action, no hesitation at all!"
Masaki laughed along, but quickly his expression turned serious.
"Clan Head, there is one more thing. This is something Lord Hatake Sakumo asked me to hand to you when I was leaving."
He took a scroll from inside his robe and handed it to Chiya.
"What is this, all mysterious, I am about to return to the village anyway!"
Chiya took the scroll with a smile and quickly looked through it. A flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.
Hatake Sakumo was this efficient?
The scroll was headed with the title of a temporary settlement plan.
A large area had been designated on the outskirts of Konoha village for the people of Loran to stay temporarily.
The detailed settlement documents had already been sent to the Land of Fire's Daimyo office.
According to Sakumo's intent, if things went smoothly, the area could eventually be officially renamed "Loran Town," the place where they would live from now on.
Chiya had originally planned to work things through Tsunade's connections. He had not expected that simply mentioning Loran briefly in a letter would be enough for Hatake Sakumo to begin making arrangements.
"It seems Konoha has changed quite a bit in the two years I was away."
Chiya put away the scroll and turned to look at Sara.
"Sara, good news. Your new home is already prepared."
Sara had still been feeling a little uneasy. Hearing those words, her eyes instantly lit up.
"Really?!"
Chiya nodded.
"Right near Konoha. A large area. The ANBU have already gone over to help. Once the process is complete, that place will be your 'Loran Town.'"
Sara was so moved that the rims of her eyes turned slightly red.
She looked back at the Loran people behind her, and a layer of mist gathered in her eyes.
Suddenly she stepped forward, cupped Chiya's face in both hands, and planted a firm kiss.
"Thank you, Chiya!"
The Konoha-nin and Loran people around them all showed surprised expressions, and then someone laughed softly.
Masaki gave a light cough and pretended not to see it, but the corner of his mouth could not help curving upward.
'The Clan Head really is as popular as ever.'
Chiya helplessly ruffled Sara's hair.
"Stop it."
Sara stuck out her tongue and stepped back, but the joy in her eyes was not reduced at all.
Pakura stood to one side with her arms crossed, watching this scene with a smile that was not quite a smile.
"Looks like your life is quite 'colorful.'"
Chiya glanced at her sideways.
Pakura immediately turned her head to look elsewhere and let out a soft snort.
"Boring."
Masaki looked at Pakura, then looked at Sara, and wisely chose to change the subject.
"Clan Head, it is getting late. We should set off as soon as possible. Lady Mikoto and the others must be anxious by now."
Chiya nodded and touched Sara's hair.
"Let's go."
Sara was about to nod when she noticed Pakura still standing in place.
After this journey together, Sara had come to understand Pakura's identity.
The trip had gone without a single incident precisely because of this person's presence.
"Pakura-nee, we are leaving!"
Sometimes the feelings between girls shift like that. One moment they cannot stand each other, the next they are calling each other sister.
Sara walked over to Pakura and bowed to her sincerely.
Pakura smiled at Sara and waved her hand lightly.
She seemed not to mind at all.
"Take care, Sara-chan!"
The words had barely fallen before she did not wait for Sara to respond.
She used the Body Flicker Jutsu directly and vanished before their eyes.
Chiya watched the figure of Pakura leaving and only after a moment pulled his gaze back.
"Move out, everyone!"
The group finished getting ready and moved in the direction of Konoha.
The sun was setting in the west, and golden light poured over the silhouettes of the group, stretching long shadows behind them.
...
Land of Wind, Sunagakure.
At this moment, the Kazekage Tower was wrapped in a layer of grim atmosphere.
Over a hundred elite ANBU were positioned in three rings of circular formation. The outermost ring was Suna's puppet corps, the middle ring was a warning net composed of sensor-type ninja, and the innermost ring was the Third Kazekage's personal guard.
Every ninja was maintaining their highest state of alert. Not even a desert lizard could approach without being detected.
Inside the conference room, the Third Kazekage sat at the head seat.
His fingers tapped rhythmically against a table condensed from iron sand.
This ninja, known as the strongest Kazekage in history, had a deep frown at this moment. His sharp gaze swept over the representatives of every faction in attendance.
"You have all come from far away. You no doubt understand the importance of this meeting."
The Kazekage's voice was low and forceful.
"The expansion of the Land of Fire has already become a threat to the interests of all of us."
The Iwagakure representative let out a cold snort.
"Kazekage-sama, your Suna previously signed a peace agreement with Konoha. And now you want to..."
"That was nothing more than a temporary measure to buy time!"
Chiyo suddenly cut in. The puppet strings in her hand tightened without her noticing.
"Konoha's power is growing larger and larger. Their stance toward the surrounding nations and regions is increasingly aggressive. Does Iwagakure not feel concerned?"
The air inside the conference room instantly froze.
The Kumogakure representative, who had been silent until now, narrowed his eyes and rubbed the Raikage's seal between his fingers without thinking.
"Get to the point."
"What does Suna want?"
The Third Kazekage slowly rose.
"A plan to completely dismantle the Land of Fire."
As those words fell.
The Third Kazekage gave a signal to the guard beside him.
That person took several documents from inside his robe and passed them to everyone.
Upon seeing the contents of the documents, a fierce debate immediately erupted.
"Absurd! Iwagakure will never serve as the vanguard for you Suna-nin!"
"Then wait to be picked off one by one by Konoha."
Chiyo said, cold and sinister.
"I hear that Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki can already control the power of the Tailed Beast."
"On top of that there is Konoha's White Fang, the Legendary Sannin, and those difficult clans like the Uchiha Clan and the Hyūga Clan and so on..."
"How can any single one of us stop Konoha's advance on our own?"
Those words made the color drain from everyone's faces.
"I believe everyone here understands the logic."
"None of us sitting here wants to keep watching Konoha expand further, do we?"
"Everyone, our enemy is Konoha."
The Third Kazekage's words landed with full weight.
They sent every representative present sinking into deep thought.
In the end, at around seven in the evening, an alliance pact full of compromises was reluctantly reached.
The four great ninja villages agreed to launch an offensive in half a year. At that time, Suna would be the first to provoke a border conflict as the signal.
A direct declaration of war on Konoha!!
As the various representatives were escorted out one after another, Chiyo stood beside the Kazekage and said in a low voice.
"Each of them has their own agenda."
"It does not matter."
The Third Kazekage stared at the darkening sky to the east.
"As long as we defeat Konoha, our Suna village will have the chance to break free from its difficulties and rise again from the ashes."
---
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