As winter arrived, the lush greenery of Konoha Village finally changed colors. After a heavy snowfall, the village, seen from above, was covered in a vast blanket of white. Villagers donned thick winter clothing, and the students at the ninja academy were bundled up like little balls, energetically chattering away early in the morning, releasing their seemingly endless energy.

However, today, Naruto Uzumaki, who was usually the most active, didn't join the lively crowd.

He sat at the back of the classroom, slouched over his desk, staring blankly ahead. Although his eyes were wide open, it was clear to anyone that his mind was elsewhere. This made Uchiha Fujika, who had just entered the classroom, wonder if something major had happened at the academy during her two-day absence.

"Naruto, did you eat expired ramen and get a stomachache again?"

Fujika sat in the empty seat in front of Naruto, tossed her bag on the desk, and turned around to curiously look at the unusually downcast Naruto. Getting an upset stomach was common for Naruto. Living alone, his main food source was ramen, and even if it was expired, he wouldn't hesitate to eat it.

Once or twice, he could rely on the strong Uzumaki bloodline to handle it, but Naruto's poor diet was a long-term issue. Eating expired or near-expired ramen often resulted in him missing classes due to stomach troubles, something well-known to everyone.

"Fujika, you're back?"

Naruto snapped out of his daze and excitedly shouted.

"Quiet down! You're yelling so loud, it hurts my ears." Fujika gave him a precise chop to the forehead, making the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, who had been about to jump up, sit back down obediently. Beside Naruto, a shy girl with pure white eyes, resembling a timid rabbit, looked enviously at Fujika, who interacted so freely with him.

However, neither Naruto nor Fujika noticed this Cinderella-like girl, who was barely noticeable in the class.

"Oh! I get it now." Naruto chuckled awkwardly and lowered his voice. "Fujika, are you feeling better from your cold?"

"It's nothing now. It was just a little cold. If it weren't for my grandpa making a fuss, I would've been back at school yesterday. Instead, I ended up sleeping another day at home. It was so boring!" Fujika grumbled about how her grandfather had over-coddled her. It was just a minor cold, yet she had been given three full days off.

For three days, bedridden due to the cold weather, she couldn't even take a stroll in the yard. Even Yakumo Kurama, who came to visit, only stayed for a brief moment, leaving a gift before departing. Yakumo's health was too fragile to risk catching a cold.

"Hey, don't change the subject! What were you daydreaming about just now? You looked out of it."

Fujika pressed on.

"Well... how should I put this..." Naruto scratched his face awkwardly. He glanced around at his classmates. The girls, like Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka, were mostly gathered around Sasuke Uchiha, who sat by the window in the second row. Choji Akimichi was snacking, Shikamaru Nara was napping at his desk, and Kiba Inuzuka was feeding his dog. Everyone was busy with their own thing, and hardly anyone was paying attention to them sitting in the back row.

"Last night, the Hokage came to my house."

Naruto lowered his voice and said softly.

"The Hokage?" Fujika's eyes widened, her mind instantly filled with questions.

"Yeah, the Hokage came to my house last night and told me something."

"What did he say?"

"He told me that he's going to send me to a special place for training, and I might have to leave the village."

That explains it! Fujika suddenly understood. As one of Naruto's few friends—well, she initially treated him as a little underling, but that didn't matter anymore—she knew how much Naruto loved Konoha. Even though he hadn't experienced much warmth from the village, and had instead faced waves of hostility since childhood.

She hadn't originally known about any of this.

But during their journey to the Land of Water, she had learned a lot from Naruto, her brother, and others like Shisui, who had explained things in a roundabout way. She had come to understand Naruto's complicated background and his difficult life. She also learned that Naruto was the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, and that was when she first understood what a Jinchuriki was.

Similarly, Naruto had come to understand why everyone in the village called him a demon fox.

It was because he really had a demon fox sealed inside him, a fox that his own father had sealed within him... this wasn't something Sougen had told him, but something the Fifth Hokage had explained. Unlike the Third Hokage, who had tried to keep these things hidden and maintain control over the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, the Fifth Hokage had less of a need for such control.

The Fifth Hokage wasn't as power-hungry.

Of course, as Hokage, he still wanted Naruto to be a loyal ally, but he was old and didn't have the same grip on power as Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had held it for decades. For Sarutobi, power had become second nature, and life without it was as painful as breathing without air.

But Torifu Akimichi was different.

He didn't want to control the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki by pushing Naruto into a corner and then swooping in as a savior. Maybe he wasn't even capable of that anymore. After all, Jiraiya was watching closely. Instead, Torifu tried to build an honest connection with Naruto.

This approach might not work well on adults, but Naruto was just a child. No matter how smart he was, he still lacked experience. And Torifu had observed Naruto's inherently kind nature.

With someone like Naruto, honesty was likely to be more effective than manipulation.

In short, Naruto now knew a lot more about his situation, and it gave him a lot to think about.

"When? Are you leaving soon?"

"The Hokage said the exact time isn't set yet, but if everything goes smoothly, I'll probably take a break from school at the start of next year." Naruto's voice was filled with mixed emotions. He was a little reluctant to leave the village and take a break from school.

He had only recently made friends at the academy—Fujika, Sasuke, Kiba, Choji—and since the Fifth Hokage took office, fewer people were calling him a demon fox. His circle of friends was growing!

"The start of next year…"

Winter had already arrived, and the start of next year wasn't far off.

"Don't worry too much. The Hokage did say 'if everything goes smoothly,' right? That means it's not set in stone yet!" Fujika, who was naturally cheerful, didn't fully grasp Naruto's worries, but her kindness made her offer comforting words.

"Even if you do leave, I'll find a way to visit you. If I ask my brother, I'm sure he'll help."

"Sougen?"

Naruto perked up a bit. He had no doubt in Sougen's abilities.

If it was Sougen, he probably could make it happen!

"By the way, when is Sougen coming back?" Naruto asked.

At the mention of her brother, Fujika's previously lively demeanor suddenly dimmed, and she mumbled, "I don't know. I've written to him so many times, but he always replies saying he'll come home after the war ends. The Cloud Ninjas have already been defeated, but he still hasn't returned."

"Maybe there's something else going on that we don't know about."

"Who knows? At this point, I'm starting to think he won't be back until next year."

Their conversation was cut short by the ringing of the school bell. The teacher walked in with a lesson plan in hand. Class was starting.

While the students at the ninja academy began their lessons, the Hokage's office—the brain of Konoha—was operating at full capacity, processing information and sending out orders to keep the village running smoothly after a night's rest.

"Hokage-sama, how did it go last night?" asked Shikaku Nara, who had arrived at the Hokage's office.

"There was some reluctance, an attachment to the village, which is a good sign," Torifu Akimichi replied as he reviewed a document.

"A strong attachment to the village? That's definitely a good thing," Shikaku nodded in agreement.

Nara Shikaku's brows slightly relaxed. The fact that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki didn't lose control or go on a rampage after learning about the past, and still felt attached to the village, was undoubtedly good news. This meant they could continue investing in Naruto Uzumaki, raising him properly.

"However, for safety, it's best to evaluate the mental state of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki every six months—no, every three months."

"We'll see about that when the time comes! Jiraiya might not agree to it. Let's drop this for now, Shikaku. Any new updates today?" Akimichi Torifu wasn't eager to discuss Naruto further. Sending Naruto to Turtle Island for training was still just a draft, and they had to wait for Jiraiya's return to make a final decision.

It had to be said—

He, as the Fifth Hokage, certainly didn't have the authority that the Third Hokage did.

"This morning, at around six, we received the latest intel from the Land of Hot Water. It was just decrypted. The intel states that four days ago, at a port near the Land of Lightning, the Cloud Village ninjas caught up with the Stone Village ninjas, who were preparing to retreat. A fierce battle broke out. On the Stone side, the Third Tsuchikage and the Five-Tails Jinchuriki were involved. On the Cloud side, the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails Jinchuriki fought as well. They battled for a whole day and night with no clear winner, ending with the Stone ninjas retreating. The Cloud ninjas couldn't pursue due to most of their warships being destroyed."

As he reported, Shikaku handed the decrypted intel file to Akimichi Torifu.

"This battle cost both the Cloud and Stone villages dearly. The total number of dead ninjas on both sides may be close to five thousand. According to Lord Hokage's advisor, it is highly likely that neither Cloud nor Stone will have the strength or courage to invade again for the next decade."

"Finally, it's over!"

Akimichi Torifu sighed deeply.

Unlike Hiruzen Sarutobi, who would go to great lengths to avoid war, Torifu didn't shy away from conflict. But since becoming Hokage, he'd grown to dislike war. Every day he watched massive amounts of resources being poured into the bottomless pit of war. Even for a powerful village like Konoha, it was painful to witness such waste.

Fortunately, Uchiha Sōgen's victory over the Cloud ninjas had brought Konoha back to life. Not only did they defeat Cloud, but they also returned with a rare treasure so valuable that just thinking about it made one smile. Torifu had never imagined something as wondrous as Turtle Island could exist.

It could even help Jinchuriki transform into perfect Jinchuriki! Unbelievable!

"Didn't Sōgen mention when he'd be back?" Torifu flipped through the intel three times. Besides details about the battle, it said nothing about when he would lead his army back to Konoha.

"It should be soon. Now that both Cloud and Stone have settled down, Hokage's advisor should be returning shortly," Shikaku speculated.

He wasn't entirely sure when Uchiha Sōgen would return, but since the front lines had calmed down, it was probably time to withdraw the troops. They had remained stationed in the Land of Hot Water to guard against a surprise attack from Cloud, but that was no longer necessary. The border defense forces could now handle the task.

"Hopefully," Torifu responded vaguely.

His feelings towards Uchiha Sōgen, the advisor he had appointed himself, were complicated. Influenced by the teachings of the Second Hokage, the defeats of Sarutobi and Danzo, and the growing strength of the Uchiha clan, his position was difficult.

Despite the Uchiha suffering heavy losses in the war, their overall strength hadn't diminished much. In fact, after Fugaku revealed his Susano'o, the Uchiha clan's standing in Torifu's mind had risen even higher. The Uchiha now had three pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan.

This power—

Was almost overwhelming.

And yet, there was little he could do. The Uchiha clan had grown so powerful that even the Second Hokage, if resurrected, might find it difficult to deal with them.

All Torifu could do was pray that Uchiha Sōgen remained patient and didn't turn into another Madara Uchiha... Of course, this wasn't entirely a bad thing. After all, Torifu hadn't forgotten that Madara might still be alive, hiding in the shadows and plotting who knows what. From that perspective, the strength of the Uchiha clan wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

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