[BONUS CHAPTER]
Takuya had no desire to see his disciple turn out like in the original story, abandoning the Hatake clan's specialty of kenjutsu to become an all-around fighter.
The end result? Becoming Hatake "Fifty-Fifty," equally matched with anyone, yet never able to overpower them.
Kakashi picked up his ninja sword, securing it in place. He bowed to Takuya before dragging his tired, bruised body towards Konoha Hospital.
Great talent and tremendous willpower—having such a disciple certainly made teaching easier.
For now, Takuya was quite satisfied.
As she watched Kakashi's departing figure, Pakura sighed, "If a genius like Kakashi appeared in the Sand Village, he would receive the highest attention."
Compared to Konoha, the Sand Village was sorely lacking in talented ninjas.
Pakura's generation was fortunate enough to have several strong figures like herself, Rasa, and Sasori. However, for the next generation… Pakura couldn't recall any children in the village deserving of such focus.
"Kakashi is alright," Takuya said casually.
Sure, Kakashi was a genius worth cultivating, but Konoha wasn't as petty as the Sand Village.
Even for a genius like Kakashi, they wouldn't pour everything they had into nurturing him. Besides, compared to the two future rebels, Kakashi wasn't quite as exceptional.
"..."
Pakura suddenly felt like hitting someone!
Kakashi's talent was clear for all to see, and yet here Takuya was saying he was only "alright?"
Is he kidding?
Other than Kakashi, Pakura hadn't heard of any other prominent geniuses in Konoha.
Despite only being in Konoha for two days and hanging out with Kushina, Pakura had already learned a lot about the village.
Is he mocking me?
Takuya noticed Pakura's expression and added, "Konoha doesn't lack for geniuses. It's just that due to certain individuals' lack of action, many talents don't get the proper training they deserve."
"So, what you're saying is that there are geniuses even greater than Kakashi in Konoha, but because of certain reasons, they aren't given priority?" Pakura inferred.
Takuya shrugged and looked back at her, "That's about right. There are too many ninjas in Konoha. Even when it comes to nurturing geniuses, it's not possible to focus too much on any one of them. Some things aren't for you to know just yet."
Understood!
She was, after all, an outsider. It was best not to ask about things she shouldn't know and avoid meddling in affairs she shouldn't be involved in.
Pakura made an 'OK' gesture and followed Takuya back home.
For now, she was living at Takuya's place. During her short-term evaluation period, staying by his side was also a form of supervision.
There might be plenty of geniuses, but what good is that if they aren't properly nurtured?
Takuya was very curious about how the development of Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha would differ amidst all the current chaos.
It would be best if those two didn't turn into rebels again.
Takuya admitted that Shisui and Itachi were indeed geniuses, but their actions were simply…
Unacceptable.
Even Takuya, who was often ostracized by the Uchiha clan, wouldn't entertain thoughts of becoming a traitor or destroying the clan. What exactly was going on in Shisui's and Itachi's minds?
One became a double agent and dragged the other into it.
One refused to resist, choosing suicide rather than creating a big scene.
And the other? He went even further—cooperating with outsiders to annihilate the entire Uchiha clan.
He stabbed his own parents and even the woman he loved. How did he steel his heart to do such a thing?
Thinking about Itachi's actions, Takuya couldn't help but shiver.
Ruthless to others, ruthless to himself.
But not ruthless enough towards the village leaders.
When Takuya opened the door, he saw Tsunade sprawled out on the couch. He couldn't resist teasing her, "What's this, taking a day off?"
Tsunade immediately sat up at the sound of Takuya's teasing.
"Day off, my foot! The old man is negotiating on the front lines, and it's making me anxious as hell. I had no mood to handle official duties, so I decided to ditch work for the day."
The peace talks between Konoha and the Sand Village directly affected Tsunade's plans, and determined whether or not her job would get a little easier in the future. Naturally, she was concerned.
With no heart for work, she simply skipped out on her duties.
A good day of rest, some good food, and a night of heavy drinking to relax her nerves—that was her plan.
What Tsunade didn't know was that she wouldn't have time to relax in the coming days. Instead, she was about to be thrown into a storm of troubles.
Tsunade's concerns did not hinder the progress of the negotiations.
As Chiyo had expected, after a day and night of deliberation, the Third Hokage finally agreed to her conditions.
Konoha would release Rasa unconditionally and would not demand any war reparations from the Sand Village.
As compensation, the Sand Village would sign a stricter peace treaty and an alliance document with Konoha.
In addition, Elder Chiyo from the Sand Village would lead a one-thousand-strong elite force to assist Konoha against the Mist Village.
All the supplies consumed during this period would be borne by Konoha, with the Sand Village bearing no responsibility.
The spoils of war would also have nothing to do with the Sand Village.
Moreover, the Sand Village agreed to help monitor the activities of the Stone Village.
With both sides eager to wrap things up, the negotiations ended quickly, and the signing of documents went smoothly. Thus, the peace talks concluded without any issues.
After the negotiations, Rasa returned to the Sand Village's camp.
The Sand Village camp was dismantled, and all shinobi retreated back into the Land of Wind.
On Konoha's side, aside from a group of shinobi stationed at the border, the rest packed up and headed back to the village on the Third Hokage's orders.
The war had come to an end.
It ended with cheers from Konoha's shinobi, though two people were not part of those celebrations—Sakumo Hatake and Nara Shikashige.
As two of the insiders, they were feeling rather downcast.
They knew that once the forces returned to the village and the details of the negotiations were made public, it would cause an uproar.
The Third Hokage, who led the negotiations, would find himself at the center of controversy.
But the Third Hokage had mentally prepared himself for that.
Upon receiving the news, Tsunade immediately ordered an announcement to let everyone know that the war with the Sand Village was over.
The war between the village and the Sand Village had ended.
With the announcement paving the way, the news of the war's end still sent the villagers into a frenzy, and countless people wore celebratory smiles.
It seemed no one noticed that the village had only announced the end of the war—there was no mention of the details of the negotiations.
With the war against the Sand Village officially over, the Third Hokage would handle the matters at the front, significantly lightening Tsunade's load.
Finally, she could rest without having to skip work.
Mouthfuls of grilled meat and sake in hand, Tsunade grumbled, "That old man… He didn't even mention what the negotiations covered, just that the war was over."
Only the outcome, nothing else?
Something about this felt off to Takuya.
What kind of scheme was the Third Hokage up to?
Could it be that he agreed to some outrageous conditions from the Sand Village and was trying to keep it under wraps?
It seemed very likely.
In the original storyline, the Third Hokage made a lot of concessions to win over the Sand Village and made even bigger concessions to the Stone Village, leading to resentment and dissatisfaction among the villagers and many shinobi.
This ultimately forced the Third Hokage to propose the selection of the Fourth Hokage and to step down.
The result was that the Third Hokage successfully stepped down, pushed Minato into the position, and then one disaster after another began to unfold.
Danzo attempted to assassinate him, Orochimaru's forbidden research came to light.
Orochimaru fled the village, and Jiraiya left under the pretense of capturing him.
Then the Nine-Tails attacked, forcing the Third Hokage to tearfully return to power, retaking control of the village.
He lived his entire life in power—such was the true portrait of the Third Hokage.
"Maybe he wants to tell you in person when he gets back."
Takuya chuckled mysteriously. "Maybe there's even some good news."
Hopefully, Tsunade wouldn't be too shocked when the Third Hokage returned.
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Next Bonus: 1000
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