As the time for signing the contract was set, Dodai immediately left Land of Fire's border with his remaining troops without any reluctance and returned to Kumogakure.
However, Shikaku was not careless. He only carefully cut down half of the people and arranged for them to return to the village. He himself continued to stay here with the rest of the people, in case Kumogakure's people suddenly attacked back.
After the peace agreement was officially signed, he would lead the team to return.
Just like this, Aoba and the others stepped on the road home first.
Many of the ninjas who had been glorious in this war had somehow spread out, becoming the topic of gossip for many people.
Among them, the reputation of Mikawa Team rose greatly, especially the rise of Aoba's group of three. It was as if a needle had been injected into Konoha, making many people look forward to their future.
Whether it was the enemy calling them 'Konoha's Three Ghosts,' or the title of supernova that their own people gave them, they were all proud.
It was under such circumstances that Konoha's heroes came back.
.........
When Aoba, who was mixed in the group, finally returned to Konoha, in addition to many villagers who spontaneously came to greet them on both sides of the street, what surprised them was the Hokage-sama and the higher-ups of Konoha standing in the front.
Obviously, this was already the highest degree of recognition and honor for them!
"Heroes of Konoha, thank you all for your efforts. Welcome home."
Sarutobi solemnly took off the Hokage's hat and bowed deeply to all of them.
Homura and the others behind him also followed Sarutobi's actions and expressed their respect to them.
You could say that they were putting on a show to buy people's hearts, but at this moment, the soldiers who had retreated from the front line felt their blood rush up, feeling that their sacrifices and efforts were not in vain!
The village had never forgotten them. They were the heroes that the Hokage personally admitted!
Therefore, each of them subconsciously puffed out their chests proudly. Under everyone's gaze, they solemnly shouted that sentence.
"The will of fire, endless!"
As long as there was a place where leaves danced, the fire would burn. The shadow of the fire would shine on the village, and new leaves would sprout!
Sarutobi's eyes were a little red, but what followed was relief and pride. He felt proud of Konoha, proud of them!
Even Aoba and the others seemed to be affected by this strong atmosphere, and they felt a sense of recognition towards the village.
This also made Aoba sigh in his heart about how terrifying Konoha's grasp of people's hearts was.
In terms of mental construction, even the other four great enduring villages combined would not be as good as Konoha. This also explained why Konoha was always able to stand tall and not fall, and there were very few rebellions.
After Sarutobi thanked these heroes, the welcoming ceremony for the villagers to celebrate Guy's return also began. Although only half of the people came back this time, this did not hinder the enthusiasm of the crowd.
So even though he was a little embarrassed, under this enthusiasm, it was still a warm scene of the military and the people enjoying each other.
......
While the outside was bustling with noise and excitement, Danzo was currently hiding in his lair, his gaze gloomy.
At this time, as one of Konoha's upper echelons, he should have followed behind Sarutobi to gain some sense of presence.
However, this time, Sarutobi rejected his colleague on the grounds of his terrible reputation.
Even though Sarutobi had made this decision in a tone that was for his own good, Danzo still felt that he had been greatly humiliated.
Yes, as the book became more and more widespread in private, many people went outside to look at him strangely. Almost everyone who knew of Akatsuki's existence would subconsciously bring him into the protagonist in the book.
After discovering that there was no way to reverse the situation, he could only try to reduce the number of times and time in front of people, hoping that time could erase all of this.
At first, Danzo was still thinking about how to avoid the attention of the crowd, but in the end, Sarutobi stabbed him in the back!
Although the final result was the same, Danzo thought, I can not accept it, but you can't not give it!
Can resignation be the same as being fired?
Therefore, Danzo was very unhappy and angry!
Especially that little brat, he actually came back alive and well.
They were all a bunch of trash!
As the saying goes, luck is peerless, disaster never comes alone.
Just as Danzo was furious, his subordinate sent him another piece of infuriating news.
"Danzo-sama, Akatsuki's men are impatient. They sent an ultimatum. They said that if we are not sincere, we will cancel the cooperation."
Bang!
Danzo slammed the table and said coldly, "If we don't cooperate, we don't cooperate! Do you really think that I am begging them?"
"But, Akatsuki's people said that they would only release you if you personally showed up. If we were to break all pretenses with them now, I'm afraid that our people would be in grave danger. Moreover, it would be very difficult to get back the deposit that we paid beforehand."
Hearing this, Danzo's expression instantly became even more unsightly.
Back then, he had sent his subordinates to disguise themselves as him and brought people to meet up with Akatsuki's people.
In the end, the fake identity was immediately seen through by the other party. Not only had the person and money been deducted by Akatsuki, he had even sent a person back to deliver a message.
He said that they were not sincere and that they had agreed to meet the leaders of both sides to discuss cooperation, and then sent an imposter?
Danzo was so angry that his liver hurt, but Akatsuki, who was not to be underestimated, had no good way to deal with him.
He asked people to communicate with him several times, but there was no good result.
He said one sentence after another, if he wanted to cooperate, he would show sincerity, and everyone would sit down and talk.
Forget about pretending to be mysterious, Akatsuki doesn't work with cowardly rats and is afraid of being dragged down.
Danzo is so angry!
What do you think a mercenary group like you is pretending for?
Isn't it a little too cautious?
Who else can set up a trap for you?
Why do you have to see me before you are willing to cooperate?
Can my identity be exposed?
If you get hold of this, even if you successfully kill Sarutobi, the position of the Hokage will not be stable!
Danzo was a little depressed, but now he was a little unable to back down.
Unless he was willing to break his teeth and swallow it down.
But he really couldn't swallow this tone!
Moreover, seeing that he was getting further and further away from the position of the Hokage, to be honest, he was unwilling.
Then he thought about the peace agreement he was about to sign with Kumogakure.
Danzo's eyes kept flashing, and he finally made up his mind to fight for a future.
"Tell Akatsuki that they can meet, but the time and place are determined by our side. It's fine as long as it's okay. If it doesn't work, then we will break up!"