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    For over a month, Ay tried every method available in Kumogakure to remove the pink color sprayed on his body. Unfortunately, nothing worked. Though the shade became slightly lighter, it was still very visible. He had to maintain Transformation jutsu every time he met others.

    Of course, there were several instances when he wanted to rip his skin off. Unfortunately, something important would happen just before he took that step, forcing him to return to work. @@@@

    Now that Konoha and Sunagakure made peace, he wanted to do it before something else happened.

    Mabui thought solemnly, ''To force Raikage-sama into such a situation without even facing him... Akuro, what a fearsome enemy. The fact that we have no idea where he is and when he''ll attack us again is scarier. Sigh, I hope he doesn''t show up right when Raikage-sama does this...''

    Even though several shocking events had happened around the world, the humiliation inflicted by Akuro was still fresh on the minds of people living in Kumogakure. Their hatred hadn''t decreased either. Unfortunately, the subject of their hatred was nowhere to be found. They could only divert their hatred elsewhere which caused Ay even more headaches.

    ——

    Kirigakure received information about the new alliance too. However, neither faction paid any attention to it. The situation in the Land of Water, though tense, was a bit strange. After the death of Mangetsu, the Fourth Mizukage was expected to join the frontlines.

    However, he didn''t do so. Not knowing what he was planning, the rebels pulled back their forces and waited to see what move he would make. As such, no battles were happening in the Land of Water.

    The ninja world, which was on the verge of exploding into another great war, suddenly calmed down completely. Of course, this peace was very brittle. All it would take to break it would be a single rank S ninja. It was something that every leader understood. Not one of them was counting on this peaceful phase to continue for long.

    The two factions in the Land of Water had a war to settle. The rest would soon begin building their forces to prepare for the next round of hostilities.

    In Kumogakure, Ay had to rebuild his reputation and regain the trust of his subordinates. In addition, he had to rebuild their elites.

    Sunagakure was the most hit among any village. They needed to do some serious introspection to stop declining any further. They had taken the first step by establishing another alliance with Konoha and buying much-needed time. However, the road to rebuild their village was very long.

    Iwakagure was doing relatively well. They had already recovered to some extent from the blow Fujin gave them a few years ago. However, Han''s absence was a painful blow to Iwagakure. With Onoki not getting any younger, Iwagakure needed to raise more rank S ninjas. At the same time, Onoki wanted to raise more elite forces to make up for this shortcoming temporarily.

    Konoha, which looked extremely strong and near invincible, had its fair share of troubles too. What other villages didn''t know was that Hiruzen was still in a coma. Kakashi, one of their strongest ninjas, was also unconscious. In addition, they would have to adjust under a new leader. However, with the two Sannins finally returning to the village, their situation was far better than others. They would soon start working to become so strong that they would truly seem indomitable.

    There was another who finally enjoyed some peace. Even though he was still hiding, he was relieved that no one was chasing after him or reverse summoning and ganging up on him.

    While Ay healed his mutilated body, Fujin''s army marched back to Konoha, the two Sannins rushed back to their village, and Sunagakure searched for their missing Grandmaster, Orochimaru was preparing to use his forbidden technique to take over a new body! While the Fire Capital slept peacefully, the schemes in the dark never halted!

    As the first rays of the Sun hit Konoha, a few figures appeared at their gate. The guards were shocked as soon as their eyes lay on those figures. However, their shock quickly changed into relief. Two of the strongest ninjas in Konoha''s history had returned to the village!

    Shikaku thought, ''So the reason why I was woken up was because he heard something... And that ''something'' was Fujin''s doing... In the end, it''s still that kid disturbing my sleep!''

    He sighed and answered, "You''re late."

    Jiraiya, Tsunade, Naruto and Shizune tensed up as they feared the worst. Shikaku continued, "The talks concluded yesterday. Sunagakure accepted most of our demands. We did march towards them, but the army is already returning to the village."

    Everyone sighed in relief while Shikaku complained in his heart, ''You could have asked this to anyone. Why did you have to disturb my sleep?''

    Despite not saying anything, both Tsunade and Jiraiya could read him like a book. It was very obvious that Shikaku wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep. Smiles appeared on the faces of two Sannins.

    Tsunade walked next to Shikaku and said, "You haven''t changed at all since we last met."

    Jiraiya added, "Come, sit here. Tell us all that has happened since I left the village. Naruto, you can go home. I''ll come see you later!"

    Naruto complained, "Hey, I want to listen too. Besides, she has to heal Sasuke!"

    Jiraiya shrugged him away, "You can listen when you become the Hokage, besides, Sasuke''s safe for now. The old man takes priority. You can wait outside if you''re impatient. Shizune, take him out. Shikaku, why are you still standing?"

    Naruto was unwillingly dragged out while Shikaku was unwillingly forced to stay in the room and inform the two Sannins of everything that happened after Jiraiya left to look for Tsunade. Poor guy could do nothing other than curse in his heart as the two Sannins shamelessly piled onto his misery.

    ————————————

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