The war with Sunagakure came quickly, and it ended just as quickly. In just over three months, Konohagakure and Sunagakure declared a truce and signed a new peace agreement.
Many people remembered that in the original timeline, Konoha was dragged into a prolonged war by both Iwagakure and Sunagakure. It wasn't until the famous Battle of Kannabi Bridge and the Battle of Mount Kikyo that Konoha managed to defeat the two major villages and bring about a truce with Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
However, in that war, both Konoha and Sunagakure expended a great deal of combat power. As a result, when Sunagakure faced off with Kirigakure, and Konoha confronted Kumogakure, they were both forced to compromise due to an inability to sustain further conflict.
The reason Sunagakure compromised with Kirigakure was due to a separate conflict with Iwagakure. This implies that in the original timeline, Sunagakure and Iwagakure went to war against each other.
Many wondered about the cause of that breakdown. Perhaps during the war with Konoha, Sunagakure was betrayed or outmaneuvered by Iwagakure, fracturing their alliance and leading to hostilities between them.
But now, the war ended prematurely due to the efforts of Chao Yanqian. Both Konoha and Sunagakure preserved much of their fighting strength. As a result, the future of the ongoing war is difficult to predict.
In other words, the course of the Third Great Ninja War has already been altered by Chao Yanqian. Whether this will reshape the future of the ninja world, even Chao Yanqian doesn't yet know. However, it's undeniable that the more actions Chao Yanqian takes, the less advantage he'll have from knowing the future.
Perhaps some major events will remain unchanged, but it's the specific details that matter most.
At the moment, Chao Yanqian had no time to worry about such things. Walking along the path back to the village, watching the silhouette of Konoha become clearer, his heart filled with excitement.
Not being able to fully grasp the future no longer mattered. As long as he had strong power and remained cautious, he would be ready for anything.
This time, Chao Yanqian obtained proof that Sasori of the Red Sand had assassinated the Third Kazekage, and he made a great contribution to Konoha. Because of this, the Konoha leadership personally welcomed Chao Yanqian back, along with several medical-nin and ordinary shinobi who were returning as well.
With the war against Sunagakure over, Konoha could now focus its full efforts on Iwagakure. Chao Yanqian speculated that upon returning, he might be deployed to the Iwagakure front to participate in battle.
And that was exactly what Chao Yanqian hoped for.
The battlefield commander on the Iwagakure front was Jiraiya, and Minato Namikaze was also stationed there. Going to the Iwa front would allow Chao Yanqian to avoid Orochimaru for a while, and also give him a chance to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique from Minato.
Of course, all of that depended on whether Chao Yanqian could even obtain the technique, which was classified by the Third Hokage.
As for the handling of the photos, Konoha's higher-ups chose not to reveal their contents, opting instead to secretly contact the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, and reach a private agreement.
The assassination of the Third Kazekage by a Sunagakure shinobi was a major scandal. If the truth became public, the disgraced Sunagakure would definitely harbor hatred toward Konoha. Even if they declared a temporary truce, war would likely resume soon.
But by making a secret deal with Rasa, Konoha bought time. At least until Rasa resolved Sunagakure's internal conflict, war would be avoided.
And Konoha's leadership might have had another motive.
If Rasa intended to use Sasori's assassination of the Third Kazekage to undermine Chiyo's influence, he would eventually need to publicize the truth within the village. Once that happened, all ninja across the world would likely find out.
For heroes returning from war, Konoha's leadership never hesitated to offer praise.
Another grand welcoming ceremony was held, and as the hero who helped end the war, Chao Yanqian led the procession, greeted by the cheers of the villagers.
To be honest, such a scene was truly stirring. The returning shinobi flushed with excitement, their sense of pride and loyalty toward the village greatly boosted. Even the usually composed Chao Yanqian couldn't suppress the emotions in his heart.
His efforts had been acknowledged. He had fought hard on the frontlines and was now being celebrated by the people.
Returning home as a hero, embraced by the villagers' cheers no one could remain unaffected.
Although everything Chao Yanqian had done wasn't for glory, the ceremony arranged by Konoha's upper echelon was also meant to solidify their control over the village's ninja.
"Chao Yanqian, you did well!" said the Third Hokage kindly, looking at him with a proud smile clearly pleased with the disciple who had made such a significant contribution.
"This was all thanks to Tsunade's teaching and the village's guidance. Without Konoha, I wouldn't be who I am today. It's my honor to serve the village," Chao Yanqian replied humbly, his expression respectful.
After a few pleasantries, the Third Hokage patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "You must be tired from the journey. Rest for now, and come see me tomorrow to report on the frontlines."
"Yes!" Chao Yanqian replied.
A large number of frontline ninjas were returning to the village. The Konoha council would surely convene soon to discuss negotiations with Sunagakure and further strategy against Iwagakure.
Since the truce with Sunagakure, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, had changed his stance and ordered 5,000 reinforcements to the front lines, maintaining pressure on Konoha.
Ōnoki understood that Konoha, now free from conflict with Sunagakure, would likely turn its full attention to Iwagakure and aim to end the war swiftly.
He was cunning. Anticipating Konoha's next move, he advanced his forces toward the border of the Land of Fire.
What Chao Yanqian hoped most was that Kirigakure would open a new front against Konoha. That way, the Konoha high command might send Orochimaru to the Kirigakure front, allowing Chao Yanqian to leverage his connections to transfer to Iwagakure's front and temporarily escape Orochimaru's influence.
Unfortunately, since the Fourth Mizukage came to power, Kirigakure hadn't entered the war. Chao Yanqian couldn't help but grumble, "Madara-sama, you're slacking!"
Perhaps Uchiha Madara's focus wasn't on Kirigakure at all but instead on Obito Uchiha, who was still active on the Iwagakure battlefield. After all, Obito was Madara's chosen successor.