Word of what had happened to Iwagakure soon spread like the wind throughout the Shinobi World.
The Tsuchikage's death, in particular, was profoundly shocking!
He was likely the first Kage to fall since the cursed spirits began wreaking havoc.
The special significance of this went without saying.
For a time, the entire Shinobi World was on edge, and everyone feared for their own safety.
Even the mighty Tsuchikage had died at the hands of cursed spirits. Who else dared beat their chest and claim they were stronger than him, and therefore would be fine?
Many small villages without protection simply began fleeing, hoping to gain the protection of the Five Great Nations. Otherwise, sooner or later, they would become food for those monsters.
The pressure on the Five Great Nations surged!
Yet they had no good way to resolve it.
Aside from that, something rather strange also happened.
Given their past grudges, Sunagakure and Kumogakure, both relatively close by, should have found ways to kick Iwagakure while it was down after such a devastating blow, or even used military force to claim a share of the spoils.
Strangely, however, neither made any moves, as though they knew nothing about it.
Sunagakure's inaction was understandable. After all, Konoha had thoroughly crippled it. With no Kage and no Jinchūriki, it was now the weakest of the weak. Being able to protect itself was good enough, so having no strength left to get involved was normal.
But why did Kumogakure also seem so subdued?
Although Kumogakure had previously suffered an attack by cursed spirits as well, its losses had been nowhere near as severe as Iwagakure's, and its strength remained fairly intact.
It was fully capable of causing enormous trouble for Iwagakure in its current state.
Especially given the immense hatred already accumulated