Chapter 91

Hui eventually fell asleep, and when he awoke the next day, it was the rising sun that greeted him, not an unexpected disaster.

"Captain, we've received a mission from the village," a member of the Anbu reported, approaching Hui. This was the liaison between the First Unit and Konoha, using a bird summons for communication.

Hui unfolded the slip of paper with the mission details and paused when he saw only four words written on it. His expression softened, and a smile curved his lips.

Turning to his subordinates, who were all watching him closely, Hui spoke.

"The mission is over. We can go back to the village."

His words left everyone stunned for a moment, but then their faces, hidLightning beneath their masks, lit up with joy.

"The mission is over…"

"Back to the village…"

"We're finally going home!"

"Great! The mission is over!"

In an outburst of excitement, one of the Anbu couldn't contain themselves and shouted out loud.

"We're going home, back to the village!"

"Hahaha, the mission is finally done!"

"One year—this mission has finally come to an end!"

The Anbu members, who had become somber and cold over the course of the bloodshed, suddenly felt the warmth of joy, as though sunlight had pierced through the darkness in their hearts. 

For nearly a year, they had been away from Konoha, constantly surrounded by killing and death. Now, the thought of returning home lifted their spirits.

"It's been a long time. We should go home," Lightning said, feeling a sense of longing. He came from a clan and had many family members and friends in the village. After such a long absence, he had missed them dearly.

"Yes, you should go back and continue your blind dates, settle down, and start a family. How wonderful that would be," Hui teased Lightning with a mischievous grin.

Lightning: (▼ヘ▼#)

That damned brat!!!

Amidst the joyful laughter, the long and bloody Cold War finally came to an end.

Spanning a full year, this war had affected the entire ninja world, drastically altering its power dynamics.

According to incomplete reports, over fifty small nations and HidLightningvillages were wiped out, thirty ninja clans were annihilated, and more than 100,000 innocent civilians perished. The number of small nations left in the ninja world had dwindled to fewer than twenty.

This war reshaped the political landscape of the ninja world, bringing it closer to the form it would take decades later. The five great nations expanded their territories and eliminated potential threats.

However, the cost was steep. The Anbu forces of all five great villages suffered severe losses. By the end of the war, the combined death toll of the Anbu units across all five villages had reached over 1,500. 

Had these villages not been continually replenishing their Anbu ranks, the entire initial deployment of Anbu would have been wiped out.

This war had led to a significant turnover within each village's Anbu forces. Over half of those who had first entered the battlefield were now dead. Even in Hui's First Unit, the loss had been substantial.

The First Unit had started with forty-one members, including the unit leader. By the time Hui took command, there were only thirty-two left, including himself. 

Now, at the end of the war, only twenty members remained, meaning more than half of the original team had died, never to return from the smaller hidLightningvillages where they had fallen.

Throughout Konoha's Anbu forces, more than 260 members had perished in this war. It was a brutal and bloody conflict, with a higher death rate than even the Great Ninja Wars.

Yet, in every war, heroes emerge—those who stand out, blazing brightly, becoming legends.

Iwagakure's hero, Ōnoki, with his Dust Release, had crushed countless opponents, earning a fearsome reputation. Many skilled ninjas had been disintegrated into atoms by his jutsu. Ōnoki's name became one that struck fear into the hearts of the Anbu from other villages, as they hoped never to face him.

But even Ōnoki couldn't outshine Mochizuki Hui. This battlefield had been Hui's stage, where no one could stop him from performing. 

His path of invincibility began with the killing of Iwagakure's Anbu commander, Ishigawa, and from there, it was an unstoppable march. By now, Hui's name was known across the entire ninja world.

The titles "Light of Konoha" and "Konoha's Ghost" were enough to make countless Anbu tremble in fear at the mere mention of his name. 

However, Hui's fame was mostly confined to the shadows, discussed among the high-ranking officials and elite ninjas of the major villages.

Given that the Cold War was conducted in secrecy, the events that transpired were hidLightningfrom public knowledge. Even though it was well known that the five great nations had played a role in the upheaval, as long as the great villages didn't acknowledge it, it was as if it hadn't happened.

As for Hui, who had openly revealed his name, he was officially seen as merely carrying out his standard missions, unconnected to the destabilization of the smaller nations.

Regardless, everything was now over. The political landscape of the ninja world had been set, and the likelihood of another ninja war breaking out in the near future was slim. A long period of peace awaited the ninja world.

After receiving news that the war was over, Hui and his team couldn't wait to return to Konoha. They hurried back, eager to finally go home.

Three days later, they arrived in Konoha.

There was no grand ceremony to welcome them back. After all, they were Anbu, people of the shadows, invisible to the light. 

Just as they had silently left Konoha to fight in the shadows, risking their lives countless times to protect the village, they returned just as quietly.

There was no glory or fanfare for them. They simply returned to their dusty homes, as though they had never left at all. For many of them, the only trace of their departure was the knowledge that some of their comrades would never return.

When Hui returned, he went straight to the Senju Clan and headed for Tsunade's home. 

The moment he saw her, he pulled her into a tight embrace, resting his head against her hair as he whispered softly:

"I'm home."

…

The year was Konoha Year 22, and it was the darkest year for the smaller nations in the ninja world. Dozens of small countries were annihilated, and countless ninja clans were wiped out.

This year also set the stage for the geopolitical landscape that would shape the ninja world for decades to come.

And in this year, the twelve-year-old Mochizuki Hui emerged from the shadows, forging a legendary name for himself. To the Anbu of the four other great nations, he was the Reaper—the Ghost, whom they feared so much they were permitted to abandon their missions if they encountered him.

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