About a week into the campaign, the situation in the Land of Grass finally eased. Konoha had pushed the invading Iwagakure forces out of the Land of Grass, giving Kusagakure some breathing room.
With this, the village could at least offer an explanation to their daimyo.
The outcome of the war had exceeded many people's expectations. Without the Tsuchikage stepping onto the battlefield and no Kage-level ninja to shift the balance, Konoha slowly but steadily crushed the opposition.
In truth, Aoba believed this war had come too soon. Konoha had not yet fully broken free from the daimyo's control, the reforms were still in their early stages, and the war resources were far from adequate.
But with the enemy making the first move, Konoha had no choice but to respond with full force. And once they did, the results were decisive.
Even after only two years of reforms, Konoha's progress far outpaced what could be expected in reality.
At its core, Konoha had already changed.
Traditional shinobi villages focused on small, elite teams to train their ninja. This was a natural evolution of the ninja profession. Even in wars, battles were often just clusters of small teams attacking in waves.
Aoba, however, had different plans. He had aimed from the start to train specialized shinobi tailored for war.
The ninja artillery corps was the first experimental product of this vision. These ninjas were trained in secret and did not undergo much traditional ninja training. Their focus was entirely on mastering large-scale area-of-effect ninjutsu, coupled with loyalty-instilling brainwashing.
On the battlefield, these ninjas demonstrated immense suppressive power.
Shinobi were inherently glass cannons, high offense but low defense. Except for freaks like Hashirama, even Kage-level shinobi could be killed with a well-placed kunai.
Large-scale firepower coverage was an unsolvable problem for any conventional ninja.
Just as Kakashi prepared to push forward and teach Iwagakure a harsh lesson, a piece of news spread across the ninja world.
Kumogakure's advance forces had been completely annihilated. A delegation from Kumogakure was already on its way to Konoha to negotiate peace.
Kumogakure had lost.
Kakashi wasn't surprised that they had been defeated, but the claim of a complete annihilation left him puzzled. Could Aoba have personally intervened and executed a massacre?
But that was beside the point now. What mattered was that, following Kumogakure's defeat, Iwagakure immediately sent out their own signals for peace.
At that moment, Kakashi realized the war was over.
A war that ended as abruptly as it began.
Countless smaller nations had been waiting for the three major villages to fight a bloody, drawn-out conflict. But it didn't happen. Konoha stepped in and crushed both opponents outright, with barely any turbulence in the process.
No turbulence, well, almost none.
There was, of course, the matter of the rumors coming from the Land of Hot Water.
It was said that Konoha's Aoba Kamikawa, had faced off against a mysterious powerhouse on the battlefield.
Both sides had demonstrated power that defied all comprehension.
One side had even summoned a celestial body to hurl at the Konoha forces. In response, Kamikawa Aoba had swung his sword and split the star in half, single-handedly saving the Konoha forces.
At first, this bizarre rumor didn't gain much traction. But as more Konoha ninjas began recounting the event firsthand, people started piecing together the truth.
A blue and green colossus standing hundreds of meters tall. A falling star. And a sword that shattered the heavens.
It was all real!!!
For a time, the entire ninja world didn't know how to process this. They weren't prepared to accept that such power could exist in their world.
Well, not everyone struggled to accept it.
In Iwagakure, the bedridden Ōnoki listened to his subordinates' report.
"Bring me that sketch," Ōnoki said.
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage." A subordinate hurried forward and handed him an image.
Ōnoki took one look, and his already pale face turned even paler.
"It really is him."
"Lord Tsuchikage, the rumors say this person is Uchiha Madara. But how is that possible? Uchiha Madara has long since—"
"It is him," Ōnoki interrupted in a defeated tone.
"This is Madara Uchiha. I wouldn't mistake him—I've seen him many times."
"!!!!!!"
"But how could that be?"
"There's no such thing as impossible. He must have been revived through some forbidden jutsu. But there's something off about this. According to the information we have, Madara was fighting Aoba Kamikawa."
"Yet now Kumogakure has been defeated. This means his appearance wasn't orchestrated by Kumogakure. This must be the work of that rumored hidden mastermind of the ninja world."
Ōnoki, as an experienced and cunning leader, had pieced it all together during his time recovering. He realized that both Iwagakure and Kumogakure had been pawns in someone else's scheme.
Ōnoki's decision to avoid an all-out clash with Konoha, opting instead for tactical retreats and limited engagements, had been intentional. While they were officially at war, the extent of the conflict was dictated by his orders.
And he was right. The current Konoha was not a force they could contend with.
"Inform the diplomatic department to prepare a delegation."
"Understood. Do you want us to finalize the envoy team, Lord Tsuchikage?"
"No need. I will go myself."
.....
The Land of Rain
Thanks to Nagato, the recent war had spared the Land of Rain entirely.
But this did nothing to improve Nagato's mood, as Konoha had grown even stronger.
Konoha was one of the few great shinobi villages with a semblance of conscience, but unfortunately, that conscience had never extended to the Land of Rain.
The chaos caused by Danzo and Hanzo's foolish actions all those years ago continued to plague the small nation. Every time Nagato saw Konoha prosper or win another victory, it left a bitter taste in his mouth.
He despised Konoha, despised the Land of Fire. He longed to see that oppressive shinobi village fall. Yet, instead of collapsing, it had only grown more powerful.
"Enough, Nagato. It's not as if we came away empty-handed. Get ready; the ritual is about to begin."
In the Land of Rain's core, within a secret laboratory, all remaining members of the Akatsuki were gathered. Today marked a monumental occasion: the Akatsuki would begin the ritual to extract the Eight-Tails.
With Konoha's rise to prominence, the Akatsuki, after years of lurking in the shadows, had finally decided to step into the fray. They were ready to join this high-stakes game, with the entire ninja world as their battleground.
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Currently on Chapter 240 - The Mangekyō and Kushina