"- in the end, our total casualties are low, at 31 Genin, 88 Chuunin, and 17 Jounin." Ryuu stated. "We have identified 689 bodies belonging to either Oto, Suna or Iwa. A possible explanation for the low casualties comes from the inability for the invasion force to breach Konoha's walls, and were thus unable to mobilise the majority of their forces, coupled with the state of preparation in our own Ninja. A possible explanation for the high casualties of our enemies can be drawn to the fact that our shinobi were much more prepared than the invasion force had anticipated."

Hiruzen nodded, then looked towards Ibiki. "We didn't manage to take many prisoners Hokage-sama, though we do have several Suna Shinobi who have surrendered to us. Baki, who has temporarily taken leadership over the Suna Nin, has been cooperative with us thus far. Low-level interrogation reveals that most of them are angry at having been tricked by Orochimaru, and are attempting to make reparations in whatever way they can."

Ibiki stepped back, and another Jounin -who I didn't recognize- stepped forwards. "The village infrastructure is almost entirely unharmed, owed to the fact that they didn't manage to breach the walls. Consequently, the civilian population is almost entirely unharmed, and there have been no casualties that can be directly attributed to the invasion force itself. I'm not going to lie, we got out of this really, really lightly. We could return to normal operations in a few hours if had to. Subsequently, because of the almost complete lack of damage, civilian morale is quite high, and the civilians themselves are unafraid."

The Jounin stepped back, and Shikaku stepped forwards. "All things considered, we're in a much better position that I had expected us to be in post-invasion. We've managed to kill over five times the number of Ninja we lost, we have gained political hostages against Suna, we have no civilian casualties, our infrastructure is entirely unharmed, Orochimaru is dead, and one of the three factions that attacked us is now desperately trying to get back into our good graces after being tricked. We are quite literally in one of the best possible positions we could be in after an invasion."

Shikaku stepped back, and Hiruzen nodded. "Good. Shikaku, Jiraiya, Drich, stay here, everybody else is dismissed."

The ninja in the room nodded, many saying something to the effect of "Yes, Hokage-sama." before leaving the room.

Hiruzen sighed, sinking back into his chair. "I am getting far too old for this. Jiraiya, tell me about Gaara."

"Well," Jiraiya started. "there isn't actually that much to say. He was on the verge of psychological breakdown, his Seal was shot to hell, and he was slowly being driven insane by the voice of the Ichibi. I did what I could to fix up his Seal -which was already incredibly shoddy work-, and he seemingly became much more stable in a matter of days. I am seriously wondering how much of that was his Seal, though. Naruto and his friend-"

"Sasuke."

"- Sasuke actually came by and visited the kid. No idea what the hell went on in that conversation, but Gaara's barely spoken a word since. Not that he was very talkative beforehand, if his profile was any indication. He hasn't attempted to kill anybody yet, so..." Jiraiya shrugged.

"He's not in danger of releasing his Bijuu then?"

"From what I've seen so far? No." Jiraiya stated, confident.

"I've been keeping an eye on him." I admitted. "Mostly, he's been feeling guilt and regret, as well as small amounts of anger and fear. He has also been spending most of his time around his siblings, who are generally feeling love and relief, but also small amounts of fear, which has been diminishing over time."

"And do you believe he's stable?"

"For the moment, yes. Personally, I'm much more concerned about his Bijuu, who has been alternating between fear and anger fairly regularly."

"Anger, I can understand." Shikaku stated. "But what the hell does something like that fear?"

The end of its existence. I turned to him. "Me."

Jiraiya chuckled. "You have a flair for the dramatic, don't you?"

"Jiraiya? You see that giant wall of glass several kilometers away from here? That came about when I incinerated the Ichibi's body after I cut off its arms and tail."

"Like I said, a flair for the dramatic." He nodded.

"You're not going to tell us, are you?"

"Hmm?"

"What it is the Ichibi fears."

I looked at him. "Shikaku, I wasn't kidding, joking, or even exaggerating when I told you that it fears me."

Jiraiya sobered up quickly. "Why? Why does it fear you?"

"Imagine, if you will, what it's like to be the Ichibi for a moment. The Ichibi possesses a Body made entirely out of sand, with its Soul and Chakra animating that sand. Because of the nature of its Body, it doesn't, and is in fact completely incapable of feeling pain. Jiraiya, you should already be able to figure out why it fears me."

"Soul." He muttered. "You can attack its Soul."

"Correct. It has rarely felt pain in its life, but I can attack it where it has no defense, and where even the most minor of attacks would cause immense amounts of pain. The Ichibi fears me for my capabilities, and for the pain I caused it."

He sucked in a breath, leaning against the wall, as he stopped to consider my words, and their consequences.

"You could kill it, couldn't you?" He spoke. "I saw what you did to those things you pulled out of Sasuke's and Anko's cursed seals. You burned them. You could have done the same to the Ichibi, couldn't you?"

"I could have tried, yes. I likely would have succeeded, too. But I have never destroyed a full Soul, before, and I am not exactly looking for the opportunity to do so. I burned those fragments of Orochimaru's Soul because they were disgusting, corrupting influences, and I had no idea what would have happened if I had just let them be."

Kind of like Orochimaru himself, actually.

I know exactly what I would have done with him if I could, and that would have been to rip his soul out of his body and disintegrate it.

"As enlightening as this conversation has been, there are other matters at hand." Hiruzen finally interrupted.

"First, I would like to thank you, Drich." He nodded at me. "If it were not for you, I would not have been prepared for my old student's treachery, and for that, I thank you."

"It wasn't any problem."

I am so glad I can't blush.