At that mont, the Second Kazekage, Shamon, stepped forward to ease the tension. His tone was calm and composed.
"We didn’t co here to settle personal grudges. We’re here to discuss how to bring this war to an end."
"The pain and destruction caused by this conflict have gone far enough. It’s ti to end it."
The Third Mizukage nodded and followed up:
"That’s right. The Kazekage is correct. We need to establish a fair frawork to bring this war to a close."
Once the Third Mizukage finished speaking, the others all nodded in agreent.
They understood well—none of the villages had truly gained what they wanted from this war. But at this point, they could no longer afford to continue.
If the fighting dragged on, victory on the battlefield might never co—only the collapse of their own villages.
This was especially true for the Sand. They were already poor to begin with.
They’d hoped this Shinobi World War would earn them enough spoils to develop their village. But the longer it dragged on, the poorer they beca.
Shamon had beco the Second Kazekage not only because of his past accomplishnts in battle, but also for pioneering puppet techniques and developing sand-based jutsu.
The developnt of Puppet Jutsu gave the struggling Sand Village a sliver of hope. What they needed now was ti—ti to recover and rebuild.
Naturally, he would support ending the war now to focus on reconstruction and growth.
As for the Stone and Mist villages, their battle had not only taken the lives of both of their Kage, but had also cost them countless comrades.
Now, they needed ti to lick their wounds and await a better opportunity.
Just then, the Raikage’s eyes lit up, as if he’d thought of sothing.
"This war... Konoha seems to have taken minimal losses. And isn’t Konoha always calling itself the strongest?"
"How about this—why don’t we have the Hokage make a few sacrifices and support the smaller nations like us?"
His words were clearly aid at Konoha.
Whether for the benefit of his own village or to save face, dragging Konoha into the center of the whirlpool was an effective strategy.
And he wasn’t wrong—his words did have an impact.
Though Uchiha Hikaru’s Mangekyō Sharingan had struck fear into everyone, that strength ca with consequences.
With the Raikage’s provocation and Konoha’s overwhelming power, signs of alliance began to quietly stir among the other four villages.
The rest of the Kage paused their discussions.
They all turned their eyes toward the Fourth Hokage—Mito Uzumaki—with unfriendly intent.
Yet Mito didn’t seem to notice their hostility at all. Unhurriedly, she poured herself a cup of tea and took a calm sip.
Her composure and actions caught everyone off guard.
They had expected her to lash out—but instead, she remained as serene as ever.
Still, that didn’t stop them from pressing her. Compared to the benefits on the table, everything else was secondary.
But Mito remained unaffected by their glares.
She sipped her tea slowly, as if savoring the mont.
Her calm and confidence unsettled the others.
Then, just as suspicion began to flicker in their minds, Mito gently set her cup down.
She took a deep breath and spoke slowly:
"If you want to make concessions... I’m not against it."
She paused.
Seeing the anticipation bloom on their faces, she continued:
"I propose a joint Chūnin Exam. We’ll use the results of the exam to fairly allocate the benefits among the nations."
"You want more? Then win the exam. Otherwise, go ho and work on your own developnt."
Her words stunned everyone present.
None of them had expected such a suggestion.
But when they thought it over, it wasn’t a bad idea.
Using an exam to distribute resources not only avoided direct conflict—it was a chance to display each village’s strength, potentially attracting more missions and clients.
Still, the proposal wasn’t without risks.
It ant trusting their next generation. Believing in their strength and potential.
And if Konoha’s new generation truly was that exceptional, Mito’s "concession" might actually bring even greater returns.
The Kage began to weigh her offer. They thought about the rising stars in Konoha.
They had to admit—Konoha did have so impressive talents.
But the gap wasn’t insurmountable. Their own young shinobi still had a shot.
After much thought and discussion, they agreed.
They would host a joint Chūnin Exam to fairly divide the war spoils.
With the proposal accepted, the Five Kage began debating where to hold the exam.
Everyone knew—whichever village hosted would benefit enormously.
Even the participating genin would gain a ho-field advantage.
In the end, the host was chosen: Konoha.
Since Mito had already made a concession in their eyes, the others felt they too should compromise.
Letting Konoha host was their form of concession.
With the core issue settled, only trivial matters remained.
Once those were handled, the Five Kage Summit ca to an end, and each leader set off for ho.
After the eting, Mito imdiately sent word to the Konoha shinobi on the front lines.
She knew—for them, the war was over.
It was ti to bring them ho.
As the news spread, Konoha’s forces erupted in celebration.
They hugged, cried tears of joy—relief washing over their war-weary hearts.
For the first ti in a long while, they could let go of the exhaustion and pressure... and return to their beloved village.
Not long after, the news reached Konoha itself.
The villagers rejoiced when they heard the war had ended and their shinobi were returning victorious.
The whole village was buzzing with excitent.
When Mito returned, the streets were packed with people there to welco her.
They waved flags, lit fireworks, beat drums and gongs—it was a massive celebration.
Mito, however, felt a little undeserving of such fanfare.
In her mind, the true credit belonged to the Konoha shinobi who had risked their lives on the battlefield.
As Hokage, she had only participated in negotiations.
Uchiha Hikaru was among the crowd. One look at her expression, and he knew what she was thinking.
But she didn’t realize—without her imnse strength and firm leadership as Hokage, the war might have dragged on far longer.
And in that extra ti, even more lives would have been lost.
Lives that Mito had, in truth, saved.
Especially... Orochimaru’s parents.
Hikaru turned his gaze to the side. There stood Orochimaru, beaming with joy.
Standing among the wounded, he showed a childlike happiness that Hikaru had never seen on his face before.
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