The end of the Third Great Ninja War allowed both Konoha and Sunagakure to breathe a sigh of relief. For them, a rare chance to catch their breath had finally arrived.
Throughout the entire war, these two villages that had started it suffered the greatest losses. As for the others, aside from the utterly tragic Amegakure, Iwagakure had joined the battlefield midway through. Although it had now retreated back to the Land of Earth, its losses were not particularly severe.
Kumogakure, meanwhile, was the biggest winner of this war. The Kumogakure higher-ups would probably wake up laughing in their dreams. They had done practically nothing, merely watched the three great villages beat each other up for years, and in the end picked up an enormous bargain for free. Sunagakure had nearly been stripped bare. They would never tire of such good fortune, no matter how many times it came.
As for Kirigakure, everyone seemed to have forgotten it existed, as though saying, "You four go ahead and have fun."
Kirigakure had practically vanished during the Third Great Ninja War, happily keeping itself occupied.
But no matter what, the Third Great Ninja War had finally ended. Though the result left most villages dissatisfied, it was not suitable to immediately begin a Fourth Great Ninja War. The Ninja World welcomed a long-awaited peace.
The main force withdrew from Amegakure. Other than Jiraiya, who remained behind to teach Yahiko and Nagato, not a single ninja stayed.
Amegakure had become ruins in the war between the three great nations. It had even lost its value as a wartime buffer zone, leaving no reason whatsoever to remain.
Tsunade also returned to Konoha with the main force. She was still devastated by Nawaki's death, her will utterly crushed. Yet an even greater blow descended upon her