January 15, Konoha Year 41.
Five months had passed since Konoha's Akaseki had taken on Hanzō single-handedly-with assistance from Jiraiya's team-and buried Amegakure.
Over those five months, there had been no major battles in the southeastern Land of Wind.
The last attack Konoha had suffered there had occurred on the day Akaseki buried Amegakure. Hanzō had summoned the Great Salamander King and attacked a Konoha outpost, killing more than a dozen Konoha ninja...
After that, Akaseki had forced Hanzō and the Great Salamander King back to Amegakure and severely injured them!
Amegakure had made no further moves since then.
The village's "disappearance" and the devastating losses among the giant salamander population had not only weakened Amegakure. More directly... Hanzō's ambitions had been extinguished as well.
Two months earlier, the Rain Ninja had officially returned to Lingering Rain Mountain. They had established a new ninja village deeper within it, near Black Pool, and declared "permanent neutrality," that they would "no longer leave Lingering Rain Mountain during hostilities," and that they would "close all routes through Lingering Rain Mountain."
This meant more than just the Rain Ninja withdrawing from the battlefield...
With Konoha maintaining a stranglehold on Kannabi Bridge and Lingering Rain Mountain no longer open, entering the Land of Rain had become difficult for the Stone Ninja as well. The pressure on Konoha's logistics had noticeably eased.
Meanwhile, the southeastern Land of Wind had also settled down, and could even provide Konoha with a steady income. In the final quarter of Konoha Year 40, Konoha had turned a profit there by helping the Land of Wind collect taxes, accepting crowdfunded commissions from local residents, and taking missions from wealthy families and powerful clans, further easing the logistical strain.
All Sunagakure had left now was its "indomitable" spirit. There was no hope