How long Akatsuki could remain hidden depended on how long Nagato could hold out.
As long as Nagato's body showed no problems, Akatsuki would certainly remain in hiding, because they were not yet ready to make their move.
The moment Nagato's body showed even the slightest problem, Akatsuki would have to emerge from hiding next year and begin capturing the tailed beasts.
After all, once they captured the tailed beasts, they still had to find a way to seal them.
Without Nagato controlling the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, there was no way to seal the tailed beasts.
"I'll make preparations in advance."
A said gravely,
"Kumogakure will definitely go into battle in its best condition. I believe Konoha will be the same, but as for the other villages..."
Compared with powerful Konoha and Kumogakure, which had not suffered too many lingering effects from the war, the other three villages were somewhat lacking in both resolve and resources.
Especially Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
"All Five Great Shinobi Villages went through war. Kirigakure should not have too much of a problem. Iwagakure and Sunagakure may not seem to have much potential for war, but with us backing them, it shouldn't be much of an issue."
Did Iwagakure and Sunagakure lack the ability to start another war?
Obviously not. It was simply that the war had driven the economies of those two villages to rock bottom, and they were short on all kinds of supplies.
As for Kirigakure, it was barely average. After all, Kirigakure's economy was better than Iwagakure's and Sunagakure's.
If a major war broke out and Konoha and Kumogakure handled the war supplies, Iwagakure and Sunagakure could likewise field armies of shinobi.
But that would put Konoha and Kumogakure at a disadvantage.
Sunagakure, Kirigakure, and Iwagakure only needed to