Mei Terumī ultimately did not leave Konoha. Moreover, she knew in her heart that if she didn't leave this time, it would be even less likely that she would leave in the future.
Konoha was like an abyss, slowly swallowing them, the fugitives from Kirigakure. Most terrifyingly, she felt no resistance deep down.
She even knew that many of her subordinates were considering settling down in Konoha.
As Konoha's various reforms escalated, their ninja roster became increasingly outrageous.
Nowadays, when Konoha Ninja go on field missions, they are covered in all sorts of bladed weapons.
From Kunai and Shuriken to Explosive Tag, and then to specialized bladed weapons that enhance perception and resist Genjutsu, and so on.
It's no exaggeration to say that a Konoha Genin, with the aid of these matching weapons, would have an overall strength that would reach the level of Chunin another ninja village.
The key point is that these are only Mei Terumī and others can access. It is said that high-ranking ninjas also possess various specially customized high-end bladed weapons. However, those are all subject to strict secrecy measures, and outsiders like them cannot see them.
However, Mei Terumī, as a leader, knew what was going on. If the treatment of lower-ranking ninjas was like this, the treatment of higher-ranking ninjas would only be more outrageous.
It is no exaggeration to say that the overall treatment of Konoha ninjas is on a completely different level compared to other ninja villages.
As for raw power, just look at their Advanced Ninja School. With just a few points, you can learn a multitude of high-level ninjutsu at will. Mei Terumī herself even learned an A-rank Water Release Ninjutsu there.
When she finally mastered the skills, she could hardly believe it herself. She was Kirigakure Ninja, Konoha actually let her take advantage of her like this.
It's important to understand that in the Shinobi World, A-rank ninjutsu may seem ordinary among the main characters, but within the entire ninja community, even Jonin use it as a trump card. Ordinary ninjas, without extraordinary opportunities, have no chance of learning it.
In fact, aside from those S-rank ninjutsu and forbidden techniques, Aoba opened up almost all of the Five Element Ninjutsu to advanced Ninja Academy.
The overall level of ninjutsu skill in Konoha has made a leap forward. Mei Terumī and the others are able to clearly perceive this.
Mei Terumī herself is a top-tier expert; even if she hasn't reached Kage Level yet, she's still a top-tier Elite Jonin.
However, she encountered countless Konoha Ninja within the village who posed a deadly threat to her.
The key point is that those people were not the famous genius ninjas of Konoha, but just a group of unknown ninjas who were not included in the intelligence.
Mei Terumī herself was also very curious about how Aoba Kamikawa had transformed Konoha into what it was today in just a few years.
In Kirigakure, Ōnoki stared at the young Madara Uchiha before him, forcibly suppressing his inner fear.
" Lord Madara, we've come to seek cooperation to jointly combat the threat posed by Konoha."
" Ōnoki, you should know my personality well. Do you think you're qualified to talk to me about cooperation?"
Madara's tone was very impolite. However, Ōnoki was not angry. As the eldest of the Five Kage, he was just a junior who could barely be regarded by Madara Uchiha.
"Excuse my bluntness, Lord Madara. These are no longer the times we know. As far as I know, you did not defeat Aoba Kamikawa in the battle in the Land of Rain."
"Yes, strictly speaking, I'm actually at a disadvantage. But do you think that with you added to the mix, we can win?"
Ōnoki was stumped by the question. He had also wondered what Aoba Kamikawa's current strength was.
According to information from Iwagakure, Aoba Kamikawa has mastered the transformations of the five chakra natures almost perfectly, enabling him to quickly unleash ninjutsu of any nature.
At the same time, his Taijutsu and swordsmanship are top-notch. He's the kind of person who can go toe-to-toe with the Raikage.
Furthermore, the opponent also possesses a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan. Their abilities are unknown, but are suspected to Genjutsu (illusionary techniques). However, in their previous encounter with Madara Uchiha, they demonstrated formidable physical destructive power.
To this day, no one outside has truly mastered Aoba Kamikawa's Mangekyō Sharingan.
Most importantly, Aoba Kamikawa also mastered the Flying Thunder God. In this respect, he can be considered the perfect template for a ninja.
His ninjutsu, taijutsu, and Mangekyō are all unbeatable. At the same time, his chakra reserves are off the charts. Add to that the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Mangekyou Sharingan, Ōnoki can't even imagine who in the current Shinobi World could defeat Aoba Kamikawa.
"It seems you've figured it out too. Even I have to admit that that junior is indeed an exceptionally talented individual. If he were born in my era, he might be able to stand Hashirama, as a number one figure."
But that doesn't mean I'm no match for him. In fact, due to some accident, I lost my eyes. They were stolen by another brat.
"Ōnoki, if you want to cooperate, help me find that guy's location. I'll get what I want, and then you can get what you want."
The previous defeat wasn't a major blow to someone like Madara. But after that battle, Obito disappeared without a trace.
He mobilized the Kirigakure Village's forces to search. However, the Kirigakure Village was currently small and insignificant, lacking the resources of the Five Greats. They couldn't find any trace of Obito.
Therefore, Ōnoki did not directly refuse Ōnoki's visit. He firmly believed that as long as he retrieved the Rinnegan, Aoba Kamikawa would be no match for him.
Now that he has been resurrected, the plan must naturally continue. Retrieving the Rinnegan is the primary issue. The second is the problem of the Tailed Beast.
According to Black Zetsu's intelligence, Sand Ninja has submitted to Konoha, so strictly speaking, Konoha already possessed both the One-Tail and the Nine-Tails- Tailed Beast.
They then captured the Two-Tails from the Cloud Shinobi in the Land of Rain. Thus, Konoha now possesses three Tailed Beast.
The Iwagakure Village possesses two. The Eight-Tails has already been absorbed by the Ten-Tails. A small ninja village called Takigakure Shinobi possesses one. The Kirigakure Village has Black Zetsu, who has already acquired the Three-Tails.
This is the current distribution of Tailed Beast in the Shinobi World.
Without a doubt, Konoha is currently in the lead. This forces Madara Uchiha to consider this issue ahead of time.
Although he was confident that he could sweep across the Shinobi World after regaining the Rinnegan, he felt a rare sense of uncertainty when facing Aoba Kamikawa, who had suppressed him twice.
Madara Uchiha was a very realistic person. He was an Uchiha, but unlike later Uchiha, he didn't constantly talk about the glory of the Uchiha, or claim that everything about him was seen through by his eyes, or that the Sharingan was invincible.
After studying and analyzing various information about Aoba Kamikawa, he realized a problem.
That is, Aoba Kamikawa's strength does not only come from himself, but also from the entire Konoha behind him.
During the previous Rain Country War, the other two ninjas who knew the Flying Thunder God Technique, and the ninja who knew the Five Element Ninjutsu, were enough to make Madara take them seriously.
Looking at their own side, Black Zetsu had awakened a few high-ranking White Zetsu, barely managing to hold things together. However, the overall strength of Kirigakure was now on a completely different level from that of Konoha.
"It seems I need to find a way to improve Kirigakure," Madara Uchiha thought to himself.