Terumi Mei took a deep breath, suppressing the unease and doubt in her heart.
Though she still wasn't sure whether those Iwa ninjas had truly volunteered willingly or not,
whether Homura Hidden Village really treated its people this well—
at the very least,
she believed the Homura Uchiha wouldn't make things too difficult for herself and her companions.
After all, she still had some charm of her own.
And judging from that bastard Zabuza's earlier reply,
Homura Hidden Village hadn't mistreated him at all.
They even set up a few "punching bags" every day for him to take out his frustrations on.
It was actually quite comfortable…
In any case, before coming here this time,
Mei had already made up her mind—beauty was one of her strongest weapons, maybe even her best.
A weapon someone like Zabuza could never hope to possess, no matter how hard he tried.
So this time,
for the sake of her village, she would definitely show off her charm,
making Shimoku Uchiha, that little perv, fall head over heels for her!
Mei focused her thoughts.
While silently making her resolve, she waited patiently.
In her mind, that little runt Shimoku should've been itching to greet her in person.
But unfortunately, after waiting for a long time…
there was still no sign of that brat appearing.
Instead, a tall, coldly attractive kunoichi approached, flanked by two other Uchiha ninja.
"Riyō Uchiha."
"Uchiha Gin."
"We are Riyō Uchiha. Greetings, allies from Kirigakure! We represent the Young Master in welcoming you—we thank you for your visit!"
Riyō Uchiha introduced them with polite decorum.
"From Kirigakure—Terumi Mei…"
"Forgive our sudden arrival; we're deeply grateful for your hospitality."
"Oh, by the way… May I ask where your clan's Young Master is? It's been a while since we last met—I do miss him somewhat…"
Mei asked softly with a smile.
Yet behind that gentle tone, her fists clenched tightly, teeth gritted as well—remembering clearly how that little perv had teased her back in Kirigakure, bitterness rising anew.
"That brat didn't even come out to greet me—is he scared I'll swallow him whole?"
"Hmph! This time, I'll make him pay!"
Mei fumed inwardly.
Riyō Uchiha responded, "Apologies. Our Young Master had urgent business and just left moments ago…"
"…thus he dispatched us to welcome you all instead."
Mei blinked in surprise. "Left because of urgent matters?"
That shouldn't happen!
Could that lecher actually have so much self-control?
And what kind of emergency could possibly outweigh basic human instinct?
Impossible!
If Riyō Uchiha knew exactly what Mei was thinking right now,
he would surely answer her truthfully.
Yes!
There absolutely exists a force stronger than primal instincts!
Namely—the [Eight Trigrams Power] — a mysterious force rooted in ancient Chinese metaphysics!
The reason why Shimoku had suddenly departed in such haste was precisely to pursue that legendary power!
Because just a minute earlier,
the Clone Technique of Shimoku left in Konoha sent an unexpected report.
Konoha was suddenly struck by another shocking crisis!
The resurrected Madara Uchiha had appeared at [Konoha Village], paying Hashirama Senju an unwelcome 'visit' of sorts!
Oh!
That was another passionate encounter between the Two Great Rivals, decades after their last meeting!
Such an exciting and BBS-worthy moment.
How could Shimoku possibly miss this?
In comparison, Terumi Mei's "advanced techniques" could wait.
After all, he could always witness them again after satisfying his curiosity.
The passionate reunion between Lord Madara and Lord Hashirama—
missing that would be a once-in-a-lifetime regret.
Who knows, if they actually ended up fighting, he might even get a chance to be the oriole behind the mantis stalking the cicada.
Why not take the opportunity?
Therefore, despite the differences in importance, Shimoku clearly knew what mattered more.
That's why he sent Riyō to welcome Terumi Mei and the others.
As for himself, he simply activated the Flying Thunder God Technique,
instantly teleporting from within Homuragakure straight outside Konoha Village.
Then he quickly concealed his presence and began secretly observing...
[Reconstruction Begins] At this moment,
five days had passed since the great battle.
Although Konoha still remained in ruins,
under Tobirama's capable leadership and with everyone's united efforts,
the work of treating the injured and completing post-battle statistics had been mostly completed.
Now, they had begun clearing debris and rebuilding houses...
One couldn't help but admit:
during this time, the return of both the First Hokage and the Second had indeed significantly boosted Konoha's morale.
Combined with Tobirama's decisive removal of Danzō and Homura Mitokado from their high positions,
the village had finally become united as one.
Otherwise, just dealing with the countless post-war troubles alone
would have kept Konoha stuck in this quagmire for several more weeks, maybe even months...
Nevertheless, even with these improvements,
such a devastating war couldn't simply be overcome in just a few short days.
For many of Konoha's prominent clans, especially,
this situation proved particularly difficult.
And the most obvious example was the Hyūga Clan.
They had already lost many Branch House ninja through defection, greatly weakening their strength.
Now, their Main House head, Hiashi Hyūga, had also died suddenly,
leaving the already struggling Hyūga Clan nearly impossible to sustain.
After all, Hinata, the eldest daughter of the Main House, was only seven years old—far too young to shoulder such responsibility.
Were it not for the two Hokage watching over them,
perhaps the remaining Branch House members would've already revealed their fangs and devoured the pitiful sisters, Hinata and Hanabi.
Of course, other clans were also facing similar difficulties.
Other powerful families like the Aburame and Inuzuka Clans had likewise suffered heavy losses among their core members during the war.
Right now, none of them were in a healthy state...
In contrast, the Sarutobi Clan came out relatively unscathed.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's sons, Shin'nosuke Sarutobi and Asuma Sarutobi, had both survived and still held considerable authority.
Other clan members had suffered minimal losses as well, making them arguably Konoha's strongest clan at this stage.
However,
after witnessing Hashirama's terrifying power,
all the clans now behaved properly before these two Hokage figures.
Hardly anyone dared to cause trouble anymore, and all diligently cooperated with the reconstruction efforts.
Unfortunately,
at this very moment, at noon.
Just as all the villagers of Konoha were orderly rebuilding their homes,
a figure arrived from the north.
He suddenly crashed into the tall wooden wall surrounding Konoha.
The next moment,
a tremendous sonic wave spread out like rolling thunder, engulfing the entire village and shaking the surrounding areas in all directions.
"Hexilama, I'm here!"
"Come out and face me!"
Lord Madara roared with excitement, gripping his Uchiha war fan as his aura soared skyward, filled with pure exhilaration.
No scheming, no hiding!
He had arrived openly at Konoha, openly and fearlessly,
because he was the War God of the Ninja World! He was known as Madara Uchiha!
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