Apart from Konoha, the other ninja villages suffered enormous losses.
Among them, Stone Village and Cloud Village were hit the hardest.
Onoki was injured during his battle with the Second Tsuchikage.
As for Cloud Village, their situation was even more dire.
Their Raikage was barely clinging to life, and the village's advanced medical facilities were completely destroyed.
The returning Cloud Village shinobi, upon seeing the devastation, were utterly shocked.
The entire village was almost completely destroyed, with not a single intact building left.
What they couldn't accept was the disappearance of Killer B.
The absence of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki threw the entire village into panic.
If Killer B had been present, the situation might have been more stable.
But with him missing, his fate looked grim.
The Cloud Village shinobi struggled to accept this devastating reality.
If the destruction had been caused by a battle between the Raikage and previous Raikages, it would have been impossible.
The former Raikages were all taijutsu specialists, and their impact wouldn't have led to such widespread destruction.
There must have been other forces at play, but no one knew who.
The only remaining body was that of the Raikage, and it was heavily damaged, turned to charcoal.
In the village's center, clear signs of an explosion could be seen.
No one in the shinobi world had anticipated such terrible losses.
The four major ninja villages had launched a war against Konoha, but they never expected such catastrophic outcomes.
The Edo Tensei, a technique invented by Konoha's Second Hokage, became the focus of suspicion.
Although Onoki knew that the reanimation of the previous Kages wasn't Konoha's doing, he chose to remain silent.
During his battle with the Second Tsuchikage, he learned that Konoha's Hokage, including the First, Second, Third, and Fourth, had also been revived.
Yet, Konoha didn't suffer significant losses; only the Hokage Rock was damaged.
This minor damage was negligible for Konoha.
The war hadn't ended, but the other ninja villages had lost their will to fight.
Sand Village was in disarray after Elder Chiyo sacrificed herself to fend off the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
With Elder Chiyo gone and the Fifth Kazekage missing, Sand Village lacked anyone to stabilize the situation and faced the risk of disintegration.
Meanwhile, Stone Village, which had just stabilized, faced an unexpected visitor.
This chakra!
Itachi was indeed here!
Sasuke arrived near Stone Village, sensing the familiar chakra, his expression changed.
What was going on?
Itachi... wasn't he already dead?
Despite knowing the truth about Itachi, Sasuke felt a complex mix of emotions.
Could it be Edo Tensei? But that person didn't seem to have revived his brother.
Sasuke infiltrated Stone Village, capturing a ninja from Stone and using Genjutsu to learn what had happened.
Itachi had indeed been there, and he had destroyed the Tsuchikage's office.
What was going on?
Sasuke couldn't understand. He needed to find Itachi to confirm if the truth was as he was told.
Days later, Konoha regained its prosperity, although the war wasn't over.
The other major ninja villages were severely weakened, with Cloud Village suffering the most.
The Raikage was in a coma, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki was missing, and the village was nearly destroyed.
Many Cloud Village shinobi were homeless, and rebuilding would require immense resources.
At this time, the old council members of Konoha, seeing the other villages' reluctance for war, decided to propose peace.
Hearing this, Ryujiro couldn't help but laugh coldly.
"As expected of Elder Koharu, only you could suggest such an idea."
"Konoha is not weaker than them. Konoha is now the strongest ninja village!"
"They attacked us first, and you still want to make peace with them?"
"Naive!"
Koharu's face turned red, and she angrily yelled at Ryujiro.
"Ryujiro, what's wrong with seeking peace? Do you want to disrupt the balance of the shinobi world?"
"War requires resources and manpower! Have you calculated the cost?"
"For your selfish motives, you want to drag Konoha into the flames of war. What are your intentions?"
The people around couldn't help but feel a headache.
No matter the time, these two always argued.
Homura sighed, "Koharu, enough. Sit down."
"Why shouldn't I speak?"
Despite her age, Koharu acted like a little girl throwing a tantrum, making it baffling to everyone.
Homura looked weary, seeming to age ten years in an instant.
"We're old now. It's the era of these young shinobis. We should let them take charge."
He knew well that Konoha no longer needed their guidance.
The current Hokage and Ryujiro were capable of making decisions.
Their constant fear of war had left Konoha passive.
During the Third Hokage's time, they had always compromised to avoid war.
What was the result?
Sand Village caused enormous losses to Konoha, yet they prioritized maintaining relations instead of demanding compensation.
Was Konoha really that weak?
Even without the Third Hokage, Konoha was stronger than Sand Village.
They should have taken a firm stance.
If not for Tsunade and Ryujiro, Konoha might have had to compensate Sand Village for losses.
If that had happened, Konoha would have become a laughingstock.
"Homura, you!"
"Even you don't support me?"
Koharu couldn't believe her old friend's words.
Homura looked at her and said, "We're old. It's time to retire and leave the village to the young."
"This is beyond our control. Let the young generation handle it."
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Koharu's face alternated between shades of green and purple upon hearing these words.
She hadn't expected her longtime friend to advise her to stop interfering in Konoha's affairs at such a critical moment.
Was her remaining power to be stripped from her as well?
In the end, Koharu had grown accustomed to influencing the Hokage.
The overall situation of a village was centered on the Hokage.
Even though Koharu was an elder, she could only offer suggestions, lacking the power to enact change herself.
The reason she wielded such influence during the reigns of the Fourth and Third Hokage was partly because they respected their elders.
Additionally, the Third Hokage's views were similar to Koharu's due to their age.
Tsunade's expression was stormy as she said in a deep voice.
"Elder Mitokado, please take Elder Koharu back. I don't want irrelevant people interrupting our meeting."
Koharu's face turned livid. "Tsunade! Don't forget who supported you in becoming Hokage!"
Instantly, Tsunade's face darkened. Was this a threat?
"Koharu, that's enough!" Homura was also shocked by Koharu's words.
How could a Hokage advisor dare to threaten the Hokage?
With Homura's coaxing, Koharu was taken out of the meeting room.
Tsunade's face remained icy.
She coldly said, "I propose to strip Elder Koharu of her position as Hokage advisor. Does anyone have any objections?"
Strip Elder Koharu of her position?
Everyone in the room, except for Ryujiro, showed expressions of disbelief.
Removing a Hokage advisor was unprecedented in the history of Konoha.
However, Koharu had indeed overstepped her bounds.
A Hokage advisor had no right to threaten the Hokage.
A Hokage advisor's power came from the Hokage.
Although those present also had some authority, none were as audacious as Koharu.
"If no one has any objections, I'll make it official," Tsunade said calmly.
Everyone exchanged glances but said nothing.
They had tacitly agreed to remove Koharu from her position.
Seeing no objections, Tsunade had the decision communicated.
Regardless of whether Koharu accepted it, it was beyond her control.
As a Hokage advisor, she had overstepped her role.
With this farce over, it was time to discuss the main issues.
"Ryujiro, if the other major villages seek peace talks with us, what should we do?" Tsunade asked.
"Peace talks?" Ryujiro sneered. "They aren't in the position to negotiate."
"Unification is inevitable. Those villages have no right to negotiate."
Ryujiro's domineering words left the room silent.
Unification. Could Konoha really unify the shinobi world?
Besides the four major ninja villages, there were other smaller villages.
Even if Konoha demonstrated overwhelming power, those smaller villages might not surrender.
Konoha had always been a peace-loving village, and this sudden shift was difficult to adapt to.
Konoha had never been the aggressor.
Ryujiro continued, "The path to unification is bound to be bloody, but once achieved, the shinobi world will see no more wars."
"The new generation will grow up free from the flames of war."
Hearing this, everyone felt a surge of emotion.
Free from the flames of war.
During the Great Ninja Wars, even children as young as twelve or thirteen were involved.
They, who should have had a perfect childhood, had to face the harsh realities of the shinobi world due to war.
War was a tragedy for everyone.
Tsunade looked at Ryujiro, determination flashing in her eyes.
"I understand."
"For the new era, for lasting peace, we must press forward."
As for how to govern afterwards, Tsunade believed that since Ryujiro had conceived the idea of unification, he likely had a governance plan as well.
Subsequently, since the major villages no longer had the capacity to wage war against Konoha, they sought to end the war.
Due to the Edo Tensei, the shinobi world believed that Konoha had used forbidden techniques to attack the other villages, manipulating the souls of the dead.
This incited widespread dissatisfaction, with public opinion turning against Konoha.
Onoki didn't disclose the truth, intending to leverage the shinobi world's opinion to constrain Konoha and extract compensation.
However, Konoha's response to their peace overtures was unexpected.
"It is not the four major villages waging war against Konoha, but Konoha waging war against the four major villages.
Konoha will soon launch an offensive against them and conquer these villages."
This announcement shocked the entire shinobi world.
Had Konoha gone mad?
One village declaring war on four equally powerful villages was a situation in which no one would benefit.
It could potentially disrupt the balance.
The other major villages were severely weakened and needed time to recover.
Was Konoha planning to take advantage of this to exact revenge?
Had they lost their minds?
In Stone Village, Konoha's response left many stunned, including Onoki, who was at a loss on how to react.
If Konoha was serious, how could their village face Konoha's forces?
Onoki was still recovering from his injuries, with his strength significantly reduced.
Stone Village's ninjas were still healing from the previous attack.
Thinking about Konoha's power filled Onoki with dread.
In hindsight, they shouldn't have listened to the Raikage.
Despite the Akatsuki's invasion, Konoha had suffered minimal losses, indicating that the invasion hadn't caused substantial harm.
Blinded by greed, they coveted the Land of Fire's rich resources.
Now, with Konoha refusing dialogue and even planning to attack, the only option was to seek help from other villages.
If Konoha was serious, only a united front could withstand them.
Besides Mist Village, Cloud Village, and Sand Village, they needed assistance from other places, such as the Land of Iron, a country with considerable strength.
They did not wish for the balance to be disrupted.
A single dominant force was of no benefit to anyone.
They feared that one day, Konoha might turn its attention towards them.
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