After leaving Land of Earth, at this point, the mission could be considered to have been completed perfectly.
Aoba was also prepared to take his leave. After all, this trip had already taken up quite a bit of time, and Konoha still had important matters waiting for him to deal with.
As for the excuse that he had already used, such as 'traveling and training', although Konan had some unspoken criticism, because the strength that Yasuo displayed was becoming more and more shocking, he did not probe further.
In this world, the strong would naturally have more privileges.
Just like how Nagato did not show up all year round, all the tasks were handed over to others to do, and no one would provoke Pain, saying that he was not worthy of being Akatsuki's leader.
Because strength was there, those who were unconvinced had to prepare their own bone ash boxes in advance.
Even Orochimaru, who had always been greedy for Pain, did not dare to completely shed all pretense of cordiality without his assurance.
Therefore, he would occasionally show up, but if he did not leave the organization, it was not a big problem.
After going back this time, Konan decided to have a good talk with Nagato about Yasuo so as not to make things unpleasant.
As for the personal feelings from before, the selfless Konan was willing to put it aside for the time being.
She just didn't know why, but her back always ached.
After separating with Konan and Deidara, Aoba directly rushed back to Land of Fire's territory. After all, he came out to do a mission openly this time. For the sake of safety, it was necessary to leave some traces of.
Especially when he returned to his old place and came to the small town where he met Tsunade, he also specially went to the wine house to eat something.
However, after a long time, things had already changed, and he could no longer meet Tsunade and Shizune's little maid.
Even Jiraiya, who had been traveling around to collect materials, did not hear any related news.
Thinking about it carefully, it was also true that if it was anyone else, they would not use their own big vest to ruin their reputation.
Aoba really wanted to communicate with Jiraiya about his writing experience.
As time passed, (The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi) book had already become popular. Not only did it spread to Konoha, it also began to gradually spread to the entire Land of Fire.
Even many other countries had read this book, or perhaps they had heard of this book before.
In this world where communication was not particularly developed, it was already a big miracle.
He didn't know if the system would issue a death-seeking mission for him to teach Jiraiya how to write a book if he met Jiraiya in the future.
Just like that, there were no fortuitous encounters along the way, and there were no decent encounters. Aoba returned to Konoha after two months.
Konoha still had a peaceful aura, almost the same as before he left.
After such a long period of recuperation, Konoha's people gradually came out of the wounds brought by the war, and even took the initiative to forget those painful experiences.
According to the old rules, he first went to the Hokage to report the specific situation of the mission.
When he saw Sarutobi again, perhaps because of the difference in his mood, Aoba always felt that the old man's face had more wrinkles and the old Madara.
After all, Sarutobi was already 63 years old. If not for that accident, he would have enjoyed his life.
Aoba, who was determined to become the 5th Hokage, looked down on this method of squeezing the elderly. He was already so old, wouldn't it be a bit too much for him to retire?
Just as Aoba made the decision to retire for Sarutobi in his heart, Sarutobi finished reading his mission report.
"I was going to say why it took so long. It turns out that there was such a change in the process."
Aoba nodded solemnly. "I didn't expect that Kirigakure would be willing to hide in a small mountain village and act like a tyrant. I also didn't expect that the mysterious Akatsuki had already set his eyes on this guy. If I didn't choose to retreat immediately, maybe you wouldn't see me now."
"But although the Thundersword: Kiba was snatched, I brought back the body of Kurosuki Raiga, which is not a little gain."
In order to secretly keep Thundersword: Kiba, Aoba began to talk nonsense again.
In the mission report he handed in, everything about Kurosuki Raiga was real. However, Kekkei Genkai, who had hidden away Ranmaru, only described him as a child who had been caught by Kurosuki Raiga. Now, he had been settled in a kind family in the village.
As for the ninja sword that was taken away by Akatsuki, it was completely nonsense.
But the story he made did not look fake at all. It directly said that after Akatsuki knew Kurosuki Raiga's whereabouts, he sent people to invite him to join Akatsuki.
In the end, Kurosuki Raiga was killed by him first, so Akatsuki's people chased after him to find trouble.
Moreover, in the report, he also made up his alt account, describing it as a super expert who liked to collect ninja swords.
It was not against the law to throw the black pot to his alt account!
His words were simply perfect and flawless, not afraid of any investigation.
Even if Sarutobi dared to confront the people who dared to look for Akatsuki, the answer he would get would be what he said.
Almost every member of Akatsuki knew that Yasuo was searching for Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swords, and only Kiba and Samehada were missing.
It was perfectly reasonable to hear the traces of Kurosuki Raiga and take action to rob him.
Besides, no one knew where Yasuo was during the mission, so there was no possibility of exposing himself.
In order to complete the task perfectly, Aoba really put in a lot of effort.
However, his actions could only be said to be done for the blind, because Sarutobi had no need to doubt him on such a small matter.
Although he had a moment of thought, he felt that the sword would not be hidden by Aoba.
But when he thought about it carefully, he felt that it was impossible.
Because if Aoba left the ninja sword, it would definitely be for his own use. But once it was used, it would mean that he was exposed. So what was the point of lying now?
As for just collecting it, he never thought of taking it out. Even a fool would not believe it, so Sarutobi naturally would not think in this direction.
So after putting down the mission report, Sarutobi said with great satisfaction, "You've worked hard for this mission. Although you failed to save the missing people, at least you have an explanation."
"When you leave later, remember to give Kurosuki Raiga's body to the people outside. No matter what, this is Kirigakure's rebel. It is necessary to return it to Kirigakure."
Aoba nodded to show that he had no objection.
Sarutobi did this because Kurosuki Raiga's body had no value. Without Kekkei Genkai, he would not be able to get any information after dying for so long. At most, he could only exchange it for some money.