Konoha's carnival lasted for several days.
The gloom that had been suppressed for too long was finally completely dispelled by the sunshine of victory. Every household took out their treasured wines, and drunken ninjas arming themselves with each other could be seen everywhere on the streets. They sang tuneless songs and wantonly expressed the joy of the aftermath of the disaster.
However, when the wave of carnival faded away, what was left was a brand new beach with turbulent undercurrents after the entire Shinobi World pattern was completely overturned.
Iwagakure.
The once hard and cold village was now shrouded in an unbreakable cloud. In Tsuchikage's office, there were no more roars and loud noises of things being thrown, only a deathly silence.
Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki, this shadow who was once known for his toughness and stubbornness, now seems to have had all his energy and energy drained away. He is not floating in the air, but is sitting slumped behind the newly replaced desk that still smells of wood. His short body looks more and more stooped in the wide chair.
In front of him, stood his son, Kitsuchi.
"Father..." Kitsuchi's voice was hoarse. This man known for his calmness and tenacity on the battlefield, his face was full of exhaustion and sadness at this moment, "The pensions for the first batch of casualties have been sent out, but... the village's reserves have bottomed out. Konoha sent someone over there to send a preliminary letter of intent for negotiations, and the materials and money required to compensate us... are astronomical figures."
Ōnoki didn't speak, but stretched out his wrinkled hand and picked up the letter of intent tremblingly. His muddy old eyes scanned the terms on it. Each one was like a sharp knife, ruthlessly gouging out his heart.
Cede three mines bordering Land of Rain.
Compensation for Konoha war military expenses of 800 million taels.
Hand over thirty scrolls of Earth Release Ninjutsu that are grade A or above in the village.
Land of Earth's task reception and distribution, etc...
"It's too much to bully others..." Ōnoki squeezed out these words through his teeth, but his voice was no longer an angry roar, but filled with a deep sense of powerlessness.
He lost.
A complete defeat.
Two proud Jinchūrikis, one was captured and the other was captured, and the strategic deterrence that the village relied on for its survival was gone. Thousands of the most elite Iwagakure Ninjas slept in the strange forest spawned by Wood Releases in the northern border of Land of Earths.
The pride and prestige he had built up throughout his life were shattered to pieces with the three "Advent of a World of Trees" strikes on the northern battlefield.
"Father, Council of Elders over there..." Kitsuchi hesitated to speak.
"Those losers who only know how to make noise!" Ōnoki raised his head suddenly, a trace of anger finally bursting out of his eyes, "They didn't contribute half a cent during the war, but now they are jumping out one by one to hold them accountable! Let them go!"
Kitsuchi lowered his head silently. He knew that his father's era might really be passing. This tragic defeat had shaken the foundation of Iwagakure.
In the village, the atmosphere was equally oppressive and breathless.
In an ordinary house, a middle-aged woman held a wooden box and knelt in front of the memorial tablet, crying heartbrokenly. Her husband, a Iwagakure Chunin, died on the battlefield of Land of Rain.
"Asshole! It's all the fault of those high-ranking big shots!" Beside her, a young boy clenched his fists, his eyes full of bloodshot eyes and hatred, "Why start a war! Why provoke Konoha! It's fine now, dad... dad can't come back!"
"Be careful!" The woman covered her son's mouth in horror, her pale face full of fear, "Don't talk nonsense! You will be captured by Police Force ninjas!"
The young man struggled to break free and stared at his father's portrait with his red eyes.
Once the seeds of doubt are planted, they will take root and sprout wildly.
Sunagakure.
The wind and sand are still there, but they can't dissipate the bitterness that hangs over the village.
In the office of Kazekage's agent, Rasa's face was as heavy as water, listening to the report of his subordinates.
"... According to the agreement, we not only have to compensate Konoha for a large amount of supplies and the number of missions that Land of Wind has received, but also open to them some information on Puppet Technique and poison techniques that are unique to our village." A Jonin reported in a low voice, his tone full of unwillingness.
"Bang!"
Rasa punched the table, golden gravel overflowed from the gourd around him, and he forced it back.
"That's enough! I know!" His voice was cold, "Konoha this time, they want to knock our bones and suck out our marrow!"
On the other side of the conference room, Granny Chiyo was leaning on a cane with her eyes closed, as if she was asleep. Ebizo beside her sighed, "Rasa, accept it. We no longer have the capital to challenge Konoha. What we need to do now is to preserve our strength and recuperate."
"Recuperate?" Rasa sneered, scanning everyone present with his sharp eyes, "Then wait for Konoha to squeeze out the last bit of our value, and then throw us away like garbage?"
"Then what else do you want?" Granny Chiyo suddenly opened his eyes, his old eyes flashing with wisdom that could see everything, "Activate Battle of Kikyo Pass again? Then let all the remaining young people in Sunagakure die in Jiraiya's Swamp of the Underworld?"
Rasa's breathing stagnated and his face became extremely ugly.
In the second battle of Juguan Mountain, he went out with full confidence, but ended up running headlong into Jiraiya's seemingly loose, but actually extremely tough defense line. The opponent's endless array of weird Ninjutsus and the huge Toad became a nightmare for all Sunagakure ninjas.
"Konoha...Konoha..., can we Sunagakure always just follow them and eat ashes?" Rasa's voice was full of endless frustration.
Ebizo looked at him and spoke slowly, "Rasa, you have to remember. The failure of the war is not terrible. What is terrible is losing the courage to start a war again. Konoha The sun is in the sky now, but the sun will eventually set."
Granny Chiyo also added faintly, "The mystery of Lord Kazekage's disappearance has not been solved yet. Scorpion... there is no news yet. Our Sunagakure's account has not been settled yet."
Rasa took a deep breath, and the mania in his eyes was gradually replaced by gloom.
That's right, it's not over yet.
Land of Water, Kirigakure.
The situation here is even worse than Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
Third Mizukage died in the battle, and Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist disappeared mysteriously into the hinterland of Land of Earth with a knife. News came from Iwagakure that they had encountered an ambush by Konoha and the entire army was wiped out. But none of the senior officials of Kirigakure were fools. Even if it was an ambush, it would be impossible for everyone to escape, right?
What made them even more crazy was that the village was inexplicably blamed for betraying its allies, and Iwagakure had unilaterally severed all ties with them.
Today's Kirigakure has become a complete joke.
In the gloomy conference room, Genji was leaning on a cane and bearing everyone's anger.
"Genji! You must be responsible for this failure!"
"The traitor who colluded with Konoha! Selling out the interests of the village!"
"Kill him!"
A Kirigakure with a scar on his face Jonin, suddenly pulled out Ninja Blade and pointed at Genji. His name is Kisame Hoshigaki, he is one of the most outstanding ninjas in the new generation, and he is also the direct subordinate of Suikazan Fuguki. He has an almost fanatical worship of Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. The disappearance of Seven Swordsmen made him completely lose his mind.
"That's enough."
A cold, emotionless voice came from the main seat.
The one who opened the mouth was a young man of short stature with a suture scar under his left eye.
Karatachi Yagura.
He is the disciple of Third Mizukage, and the designated Three-Tails Jinchūriki. After Third Mizukage died in battle, he relied on his strong strength and iron-blooded skills to temporarily stabilize the chaotic situation.
He slowly stood up and glanced at everyone present. There was a coldness and violence in his purple eyes that did not match his age.
"Is there any point in arguing about this now? We lost seven Ninja Blades and the sharpest teeth in the village. What we have to do now is not to hold anyone responsible, but how to... grow new, sharper teeth!"
His eyes finally fell on Genji.
"From today on, Kirigakure, we will enter a total lockdown. All ninjas who are outside are required to return to the village within a time limit. Graduation exam rules have been changed."
He paused and said word for word.
"Only the strongest people are qualified to become ninjas of Kirigakure."
Bloody Mist Village, at this moment, kicked off its bloody prelude.