Tsunade's words were t with unanimous agreent.
But for the most part, it was all polite, surface-level talk—plenty of important details still left unsaid.
Fortunately, Gaara, as Supre Commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces, spoke next and went through everything in concrete terms: prewar preparations, troop organization, the battles themselves, the strengths and flaws revealed during combat, and even the most ticulous statistics on casualties and losses.
It could be said that Gaara had done an excellent job as Supre Commander.
Ōnoki, the Tsuchikage, and i, the Mizukage, also gave speeches of their own, affirming the shinobi's performance in the war and praising the outstanding achievents of certain heroic shinobi.
For example, Shikamaru—though not particularly strong—was exceptionally sharp, and he perford very well in areas like tactical planning and coordination.
For example, Shino—whether it was surprise attacks, capturing objectives, defense, or support—excelled across the board, repeatedly remaining active on the main battlefield. No one could deny that.
Especially Tenten. With the Six Paths tools in hand, she slaughtered enemies left and right. You could honestly say that she alone wiped out most of the Edo Tensei army, driving Allied casualties down to the lowest possible level. After that, she even joined the campaign against Madara, and at one point she actually managed to seal Madara. That kind of rit was truly astonishing.
As for Natsuki, Sasuke, Naruto, and Neji—there was no need to say more. They were the great heroes who defeated the final boss. Their power was overwhelming, and no one could deny their contributions.
And the aning of this war was obvious: it forced shinobi to set aside prejudice, unite, and work together against a powerful enemy. For the peace of the shinobi world, it was a massive step forward.
After that, others continued to speak.
Sasuke and Naruto naturally brought up the Sage of Six Paths' final charge: the tailed beasts' wishes must be respected—humans were not permitted to force them.
Even if so people disliked it, under the pressure of two Six Paths–level powerhouses, they had no choice but to nod.
At least on that front, the issue seed like it could be resolved perfectly.
And yet, by the ti the eting reached this point, the atmosphere started to feel… wrong.
A, Ōnoki, i—several of the Kage looked hesitant, as if they wanted to say sothing but couldn't bring themselves to voice it.
So much so that, afraid of the awkwardness, A had soone prepare tea, then lifted the lid to cover his mouth as he drank.
Naruto probably didn't fully understand what was going on. He only sensed the strange mood, so he didn't dare speak.
Sasuke and Neji seed to notice sothing too, but they weren't certain.
Seeing this, Natsuki more or less understood what it was about. He took the initiative and said, "What's with all the hemming and hawing? If you've got sothing to say, just say it. We're comrades now—partners. If you miss today, you won't be able to bring it up later. I'll spell it out first: you're worried that Konoha is a threat, right?"
That single sentence made quite a few faces change.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji also ca to a sudden realization—so that was it!
anwhile, Hashirama, Tobirama, Minato, and Tsunade—the four Hokage—didn't change expression at all. It was obvious they'd already guessed.
Gaara reacted too, finally understanding what was going on.
No wonder the other Kage had been acting strange—he'd felt sothing was off, but he couldn't see what it was. He hadn't expected it to be this.
As for why he hadn't felt that kind of threat—this wasn't about him lacking political instincts. It was that he was on good terms with Naruto, Natsuki, and the others. He'd even lived in Konoha for a fair length of ti, and he genuinely believed Konoha was friendly and peace-loving. And with Sunagakure allied to Konoha, it never occurred to him that Konoha's strength would threaten the Sand.
But the other villages were different.
The mood grew even stranger, like Natsuki's words had brought the water to a full boil.
In the end, it was Mifune, the leader of the Land of Iron, who spoke first. "As things stand, Konoha now has four Six Paths–level powerhouses—Natsuki, Neji, Sasuke, and Naruto. And three Hokage have also been revived. You could say Konoha's strength has reached an unprecedented peak. So I want to ask: what are Konoha's plans going forward?"
Everyone else humd in agreent, all of them silently letting out a breath of relief. Thank goodness Mifune had said it.
And besides, they really were curious about Konoha's intentions.
By all logic, with power like this, Konoha could simply force a complete unification of the shinobi world. But if it ca to that, every nation and every village would resist—so would Konoha crush them into extinction, or threaten them into surrender? It would all co down to a single decision from Konoha.
Four Six Paths–level fighters… just thinking about it was terrifying.
Who could possibly resist?
Natsuki didn't answer right away. Instead, he looked to Tsunade and the others. "If you want peace in the shinobi world, there are only two choices. One: unify the shinobi world. After that, everyone becos part of the sa country, and war naturally won't happen anymore—and Konoha could do it right now. Two: form a grand alliance, unite everyone together, and in the short term, war shouldn't break out either. What do you think?"
The four Hokage exchanged looks.
Tsunade hesitated. "Unifying the shinobi world… that doesn't feel right."
Hashirama shook his head. "Tsuna's right. There's no need to unify the shinobi world. Things are fine as they are, aren't they? If everyone works together to build peace, that's already wonderful."
Minato analyzed calmly, "Different countries have different circumstances. Even if you forced unification, internal conflicts would keep erupting. And one day it could split again, leading to even worse chaos and war. So the First Hokage-sama is right. This is fine as it is. Everyone working toward peace together is enough."
As expected, those three were naïve.
They didn't understand the benefits of unification at all.
If the shinobi world were fully unified, with the sheer strength of Natsuki, Sasuke, Naruto, and Neji, decades of unified peace would absolutely be possible. Govern well, and the people would co to support it—over ti, the concept of unity would naturally sink into everyone's hearts.
…Forget it.
In the end, they weren't people from China. Of course they wouldn't understand. Talking about it would just be a waste of breath.
And because of what those three Hokage said, everyone else finally relaxed.
So they definitely weren't going to do it.
Only Tobirama said, "Actually, unification might be a very good idea. If everyone becos part of one country, war naturally disappears. As for splitting in the future—if it's governed properly, why would it split?"
See? Tobirama really was the political one.
But he was imdiately t with glares from his older brother and his granddaughter—clearly, they didn't agree.
Then, under everyone's tense stares, Tobirama spoke again. "But peace has finally been achieved with great difficulty. Forcing unification right now really would cause turmoil. So we'll go with what my brother said—this is fine as it is."
Natsuki shrugged.
He wasn't surprised by that answer.
The shinobi world's way of thinking was strange anyway—like letting those useless daimyō rule the countries and all that. So whatever their final decision was, it wasn't exactly shocking.
In truth, Natsuki supported unification more. But if everyone else refused, he couldn't be bothered to throw himself into pointless work.
The people from the other villages finally breathed out in relief.
Konoha had no intention of forcing unification, choosing peaceful coexistence instead—and that was the best possible outco. And from here on, every village would be even less likely to provoke anything out of fear of Konoha's overwhelming strength. The shinobi world's turmoil would be delayed, and peace would last for a good long while.
(End of Chapter)
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