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In the Uchiha District of the Pure Land, Uchiha Jin sat in a sunlit courtyard, turning a cup of tea in his hands.
"The latest arrivals say your son started a war in the shinobi world... I never expected that. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I suppose. Your entire family seems determined to leave its mark on history." Jin said.
"..." Tajima showed none of his amusement.
"From what I've heard, the situation isn't going well. A lot of people from Konoha have arrived lately, and the newest ones say the war has lasted two years."
Death had done nothing to dull a father's concern. If he could have reached the living world, Tajima would have demanded that one of his sons summon him back, just to see it for himself.
"We were lucky Sage Hagoromo severed the connection used by Impure World Reincarnation," Jin said, setting down his cup. "Before that, too many souls were being dragged out of the Pure Land. If he hadn't stepped in, that Senju man might have summoned the rest of us to fight too."
Once reports of the repeated summonings reached Ninshū, Hagoromo had moved to prevent further disorder, cutting the technique off from the Pure Land entirely.
Jin picked up a piece of sushi and washed it down with beer. "Come on, Tajima. We're dead—the living world belongs to our descendants now. Let them handle it."
Tajima nodded, though the worry never left his face. "There's still something I don't understand. Why isn't my grandfather anywhere in the Pure Land?"
"That is strange." Jin considered the question. He leaned across the table and lowered his voice.
"Now that you mention it, your grandfather always looked a little like the Sage of Six Paths."
"What?"
Tajima stared at him. "My grandfather looked like the Sage of Six Paths? He was gifted with a brush; I'll give him that. In a fight, he was never more than a chūnin. How could he possibly be the Sage?"
His laughter faded as another thought caught up with him. "Then again, Grandpa lived longer than anyone had a right to..."
Before either man could follow that thought any further, Uchiha Senichi strode into the courtyard.
"You two look comfortable," he said, planting himself beside the table. "We're holding a tug-of-war between the former Senju clan heads and the former Uchiha clan heads. Get up. You're both joining us."
Tajima gave him a tired look. "Lord Senichi, couldn't you find someone who was stronger while he was alive? What about Clan Head Kitsune?"
Senichi's face darkened at the name.
"Don't mention that brat. He doesn't listen to a word I say."
"He spends every day clinging to Senju Uzuki. The two of them are probably traveling somewhere across the Pure Land right now. I send him messages. He doesn't even bother answering."
"I thought Clan Head Kitsune and Senju Uzuki hated each other," Jin said, surprised. "When did that change?"
"You know how young couples are. They spend half their lives fighting and call it romance," Senichi grumbled.
"Must be nice." Tajima rose from his seat with little enthusiasm. "I should have gone traveling too, but my wife refuses to leave the clan district."
Jin stood and stretched until his shoulders cracked. "Think of it as something to do. I'm getting tired of sitting around scrolling through the short-video feed every day."
"A tug-of-war once in a while might be fun."
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At the frontier of the Pure Land, the Shimura clan head found Urashiki hunched over his phone, thumbs working through a game.
"Congratulations, Urashiki. You've done well... The Sage issued his decision. Write a formal apology, and once it's approved, you can leave the frontier and take a job with Ninshū."
After so many years working together, the two had grown familiar enough to speak without ceremony.
Urashiki paused his game, glanced up, and shook his head. "Brother, if I'm being honest, I prefer it out here. I can help expand the frontier on my own schedule, then spend the rest of the day playing games. That suits me better than punching a clock at Ninshū every morning."
The Shimura clan head could only laugh. "Do you have any idea how many of us would kill for an opening like that? You only got the offer because your crimes were relatively minor. Any worse, and you'd be stuck out here with the rest of us forever."
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Elsewhere in the Pure Land, inside Ninshū, Sarutobi marched a bewildered man before Asura.
"Lord Asura, I brought the Fourth Leader of Ninshū," he announced. "He's the one who disbanded the organization. We should make him sweat a little today!"
Asura sighed and rubbed his brow.
Before he could answer, Senju Shūichi hurried forward and dropped to his knees. "Ancestors, my father had no choice. Please forgive him!"
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Back in Konoha, Madara and Tobirama had been stripped of every position they held. All civilian and military authority passed to Hashirama, leaving him in full control of the village.
His first act after returning to power was to draft formal ceasefire proposals and send them to every nation and hidden village involved in the war.
Speaking as Konoha's Hokage, Hashirama asked the other powers to end the conflict before more lives were lost.
News of the proposal raced through the village. After two years of fear and loss, the people poured into the streets, cheering and weeping as they carried word from one neighborhood to the next.
Voices throughout Konoha praised Hashirama for ending the madness, and for the first time in years, the shadow of war began to lift.
The ceasefire documents soon reached the rulers of every major hidden village.
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Inside Iwagakure's council chamber, Mū leaned over a map of the Land of Fire and drove one finger against its border.
"They want a ceasefire now? They're too late. Order the entire army to prepare for battle. I'm sending Ōnoki across the border to invade the Land of Fire."
Not long before, Mū and Iwagakure's forces had used the tailed beasts to drive every Konoha unit out of the Land of Earth. The war had turned in their favor, and Mū saw a perfect chance to pursue the retreating enemy, break Konoha, and seize part of the Land of Fire.
Black Zetsu stopped him before ambition could become an order.
"Mū, Hashirama Senju stands far above Madara Uchiha and Tobirama Senju. No one else in the shinobi world can match him..."
"...We forced Konoha back because the fighting took place inside the Land of Earth, where their expeditionary forces could withdraw whenever the cost became too high."
He pointed toward the Land of Fire on the map. "The moment we invade their homeland, Konoha will commit everything it has to defense. Iwagakure does not have the strength to break through that, much less capture the village. We cannot win that war."
Mū's brow knotted, and his expression turned grim. "Konoha invaded the Land of Earth because it thought it could crush us. It slaughtered our people for two years."
"Now that the war has turned, Hashirama expects one piece of paper to wipe everything clean? They think they can walk away whenever it suits them."
His finger stayed pressed against the border. "No. Konoha will pay for what it did. Anything less would insult every Iwa shinobi who fought and died in this war."
Black Zetsu sighed.
Mū had made up his mind, and another warning would accomplish nothing. He stepped aside and let the Tsuchikage brood over the map. The Grand Sage had demanded balance, and if Mū tried to carry the war any further, Black Zetsu knew the Sage would intervene and force him back into line.
Before Mū could issue his orders, a messenger from the daimyō hurried into the chamber. "Lord Tsuchikage, the daimyō has accepted Konoha's ceasefire proposal. You are to enter negotiations with the Hidden Leaf at once."
"Why would the daimyō agree to that??" Mū shot to his feet.
"..." Black Zetsu fell silent in thought. He had little doubt that one of the sages had intervened from the shadows.
After the messenger left, Mū sank back into his chair, struggling to contain himself.
"What a fool... What a damned fool."
The same scene unfolded across the other hidden villages. None of the Kage wanted to stop while Konoha was retreating.
Once their daimyōs applied pressure, none of them had a choice.
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