Kumogakure had lost. Their defeat was so fast that it went beyond everyone's imagination. It had only been a month since they declared war and they had already lost.
Based on the previous wars in the ninja world, both sides should be still carrying out various strategies in a month. At most, there would be a small scale battle.
After all, none of the Hidden Village would be crazy enough to launch an all-out attack after just a month. Normally, they would fight for at least a few months.
Therefore, a month was unprecedentedly fast.
Before the start of the war, various Hidden Villages had made their own predictions about this war.
Both Iwagakure and Sunagakure didn't think that Kumogakure could take down Konoha even if Konoha suffered a great loss during the Nine-Tails' attack.
After all Konoha was formidable despite their lossess, and Kumogakure couldn't dispatch all of their men to this war while the other three Great Shinobi Countries were still around!
Therefore, Onoki thought that the war should be in a stalemate for three years. No one could do anything to each other. Kumogakure couldn't defeat Konoha, and Konoha couldn't defeat Kumogakure.
Only if the one or other two Hidden Villages were involved would it be possible to break the stalemate.
Onoki hoped that the one that would break the stalemate was Iwagakure.
Of course, this prediction was only valid if the information about a Konoha Shinobi easily defeating Nine-Tails was false, and Konoha actually suffered a lot of casualty in the incident.
Rasa had the same conclusion as Onoki. He also thought that the war between Konoha and Kumogakure would not yield any result anytime soon. However, the difference between the two was that Onoki wanted to make use of the result, while Rasa didn't.
After all, Sunagakure was at its weakest compared to the other Four Great Shinobi Countries right now. Rasa only wanted Sunagakure to hang on and develop for at least ten more years.
On the other hand, Kirigakure had no time to pay attention to the war between Kumogakure and Konoha.
Because the Fourth Mizukage's new policy was too brutal and radical, many people did not agree with this bloody policy to make Kirigakure stronger.
But the Fourth Mizukage's tyrannical behaviour surprised everyone. It was as if he would kill whoever that disagreed with him.
Most of them chose to obey, but some still chose to go against his policy, so now Kirigakure was very chaotic, and had no time to mind about what happened in the Ninja Realm.
"In a month, Konoha won..." In Tsuchikage's office, Onoki sat on his specially made high chair, completely lost in thought.
"It seems that even the news is not completely true, at least most of it is true. Konoha really has a Shinobi who can easily subdue the Nine-Tails."
Thinking of this, Onoki's face went grim. Let alone having a Shinobi in Madara Uchiha or Hashirama Senju, none of Iwagakure Shinobi could even inherit his Dust Release.
Land of Earth's territory was not smaller than Land of Fire's, how could the gap be so big? Why was Land of Fire so full of talented people?
Onoki was so angry that he wanted to teach Iwagakure's good for nothing Shinobi a lesson, but when he bent down, he accidentally twisted his waist.
This made Onoki even angrier. He was already at this age, but he still could not find an heir.
...
"Tasting the power of God should make your eyes wide open, right?" Pain looked at Musashi who was panting and said slowly.
"Huh, the power of God? If this is all God got, then wouldn't Dad be even stronger than God?" Musashi smiled as he panted.
If he witnessed Pain's unrivaled strength before he met Nagasawa, he might have believed him a little. But after seeing Nagasawa's strength firsthand, the man in front of him didn't seem like a God anymore.
"That man is indeed very powerful." Pain acknowledged Nagasawa's strength but then added,
"But he's nowhere as strong as a God like me. I hold back just now out of pity for mortals. Do you want to see the true strength of a God instead?"
Pain gave his final ultimatum. Although he admitted that Musashi was pretty strong, his patience was running out.
If Musashi didn't want to join, he would just find the next one.
"Haha, Akatsuki, is it? Alright I'll join. However, on one condition! I can challenge you once a month." Musashi laughed and changed his attitude. He agreed to join Akatsuki, but he stated a condition.
Through his questioning, he discovered that the man and woman in front of him were not on the same side as the masked man even though they were in the same organization.
In addition, he did notice that the orange-haired man did not attack his pops back then.
Even if he made a wrong guess, it did not matter. When he became stronger, he could just kill them.
However, the most important thing right now was to survive. Only then would he be qualified to take revenge.
It would be more convenient to inquire about the masked man by joining Pain's organization as well.
"Heh, you want to taste more of God's power? I hope you won't regret it in the future," Pain said indifferently.
Originally, Pain should not have agreed. After all, a god should be high and mighty. How could he fight a mortal once a month?
However, he changed his mind after seeing Musashi, who weren't dejected even after being defeated.
Back then, Yahiko only had him and Konan. The three of them were just war orphans who had learned a little Ninjutsu without anyone to rely on. However, Yahiko had the courage to attempt to end the war and created the peaceful world.
Unfortunately, the real world was not that easy to change. Ordinary methods could not bring peace. Only extreme means could bring true peace.
It was a pity that he realized this a little too late, which led to their tragedy.
'However, don't worry, Yahiko. I will carry on your will and bring peace to the world using your body.' Nagato said silently in his heart.
He wanted to use Yahiko's body to become the God of the new world. He wanted to use power to bring pain to the Five Great Shinobi Countries and guide the world with pain, and then led the world to peace.
Since the moment Yahiko died, Nagato knew how terrible the world was. He wanted the world to feel his pain.
"It's a deal then." Seeing that Pain seemed to have no intention of continuing the fight, Musashi sheathed his katana.
"From now on, your code name will be Seiryuu." Konan replied, then threw a ring to Musashi.
"Ring? Can I not wear it? I don't like wearing this kind of thing. It bothers me when I use my katana." Musashi asked.
"It doesn't matter if you wear it on your hand or not. As long as you carry it, you can use it when necessary." Konan calmly explained.
"How cold. Even though we are from the same organization." Musashi saw the cold look on Konan's face and complained.
He was used to the atmosphere around his pops, and this vibe made him a little uncomfortable.