After passing through the mountain pass, Iwagakure finally came into view.
Unlike Kumogakure's towering stone mountains, the mountains surrounding Iwagakure were heavy earthen peaks.
Nestled within the valleys between them stood countless circular buildings.
The people here preferred living in round structures built from packed earth or stacked stone.
There were no Stone ninja forces stationed outside the village.
Yako wasn't worried about any ambushes either.
Over thirteen thousand ninja had died on the frontlines, leaving Iwagakure severely weakened. Even if every remaining Stone ninja gathered together, at most they would only add another insignificant line to Fox's already blood-soaked reputation.
Yako suddenly stopped walking.
Akatsuchi nearly jumped in fright.
After recovering from the shock, he stared nervously at Fox.
Yako asked:
"The Four-Tails returned to the volcanic region in northern Earth Country. What about the Five-Tails? Where did Han go?"
Akatsuchi answered:
"Han believes that, in order to eliminate your concerns, he should not return to Iwagakure.
Until the surrender agreement is signed, Iwagakure should not retain any meaningful ability to resist."
Orochimaru said:
"Han is overthinking things. Even if he stayed inside the village, he still wouldn't count as a resistance force."
Akatsuchi swallowed with difficulty.
It felt as though a blade had scraped across his throat.
He continued leading the Konoha delegation into Iwagakure.
More than thirty Konoha ninja followed behind Lord Fox and Lord Orochimaru. The Konoha ninja restrained their pride as much as possible, avoiding anything that might further provoke the villagers.
On both sides of the streets stood countless Stone ninja and civilians.
Their expressions were strange.
Hatred simmered beneath the surface, yet not a single person dared meet the eyes of the Konoha ninja directly, afraid their resentment might be noticed.
If ordinary people had been stared at by tens of thousands of hostile eyes, they would have been terrified and uneasy.
But the ones leading the procession were Fox and Orochimaru.
To them, such hatred was nothing more than drifting dust.
Akatsuchi noticed the dangerous looks from many villagers, yet he wasn't particularly worried.
Surely monsters like Fox and Orochimaru wouldn't care about such things.
Everyone in Iwagakure knew that surrendering to Konoha had been a unanimous decision made by the entire village.
All they could do now was await Konoha's judgment.
Ōnoki had treated Iwagakure well. He had raised it into one of the strongest ninja villages in the world, and for a time, the people truly believed themselves to stand among the greatest.
But the Third Shinobi World War had utterly shattered Iwagakure's pride.
As they passed the Ninja Academy, Yako glanced to the side and spotted two particularly recognizable students.
Deidara, with mouths on his palms.
And Kurotsuchi, currently crying.
In the original story, both would become important figures, but now they were merely academy students.
To them, Yako was undoubtedly an unforgivable villain.
Deidara's father, Bakura, had been killed by Yako.
Kurotsuchi's father, Kitsuchi, and grandfather, Ōnoki, had also died at Yako's hands.
Hopefully, once they grew older, they wouldn't let hatred drive them into doing something foolish.
Otherwise, Yako would have no choice but to wipe out their entire bloodline.
And that would sound rather unpleasant.
Akatsuchi first brought the Konoha delegation to the Tsuchikage Building.
Upon the raised platform in front of the building, beneath the gaze of the entire village, the surrender ceremony began.
Akatsuchi loudly announced that Iwagakure would surrender unconditionally to Konoha.
The people of Iwagakure watched in anguish as the Fourth Tsuchikage, Akatsuchi, lowered his head and handed the surrender scroll to Orochimaru.
Of course, some wore expressions of grief simply to fit in, while secretly celebrating inside.
It was over.
The war was finally over.
Continuing to fight Konoha would have been madness.
Some people had been fortunate—or unfortunate—enough to witness Fox's Deep Forest Emergence from afar.
If such a technique were unleashed within Iwagakure itself, the village would vanish from the world.
Many ninja liked to boast that their techniques could destroy a city.
Fox was different.
He truly could destroy one.
Even a great city like Iwagakure.
After the surrender ceremony ended, Akatsuchi led the Konoha higher-ups to a courtyard on the western side of the village.
This was the shrine complex Iwagakure had prepared for Fox.
Yako pressed his palms together.
Three trunks grew from the ground within the hall, slowly twisting and reshaping themselves into three faceless divine statues.
Akatsuchi stared blankly.
So those were the statues of the Three Gods.
The statue on the left held a dagger in its mouth.
The one in the center possessed three heads and six arms.
The one on the right appeared cloaked.
Akatsuchi then watched Fox summon three nobles tied together with rope.
Right before the eyes of Iwagakure's leadership, Yako sacrificed the three nobles, sealing their souls into the shrine as coordinate anchors for the Flying Shrine Technique.
From now on, believers of the Three Gods Church would be able to use the souls within the shrine to transport others between shrines.
After the ritual ended, Blossom Deer took out a map of the Land of Earth.
Yako said to Akatsuchi:
"I intend to establish police divisions in every city and town.
The police divisions in the capital and the four major cities will be managed by Konoha ninja.
The police divisions in all other cities and towns will be managed by Iwagakure.
The divisions will remain stationed locally to maintain basic order. Rotations will occur every three years to prevent ninja from colluding with local powers and forming entrenched interest groups.
Fourth Tsuchikage, Iwagakure must also establish regulations protecting the shrines and altars.
With the teleportation shrines, your control over ordinary towns will greatly increase as well."
Akatsuchi nodded.
Since they had surrendered unconditionally, there was no alternative.
The five major cities, including the capital, would belong to Konoha. Everything else would belong to Iwagakure.
It wasn't complete extermination.
Konoha had won the war. Everything they claimed was simply the victor's right.
Under this method of dividing the cake, Iwagakure might even become wealthier than before.
At the very least, once violent incidents disappeared from the villages and towns, there would finally be stable sources of grain and meat.
Looking at the shrine, Akatsuchi felt uneasy.
Now that a shrine existed inside Iwagakure, Fox could appear within the village at any moment.
He could destroy Iwagakure whenever he wished.
What a terrifying enemy.
Why did someone this powerful even exist?
Akatsuchi secretly glanced at Fox.
If Hashirama Senju had been called the God of Shinobi…
Then Fox was the God of Death.
Hashirama had been a compassionate idealist.
Fox was a cold killing machine.
Seeing that Akatsuchi offered no resistance, both Yako and Orochimaru were satisfied.
The police division system Yako wanted to establish was entirely different from Konoha's current Military Police Force controlled by the Uchiha Clan.
Konoha ninja—and rogue ninja hired by Konoha—would be stationed in every city and town to maintain order and prevent violence.
Violence would belong to ninja.
Production and governance would belong to the local joint governments.
This was the most suitable social structure Yako could find for a world ruled by ninja.
"Fourth Tsuchikage, if you have any questions in the future, you may send someone to ask us," Yako said.
"Inside Konoha, Advisor Nara Shikakaku has just been promoted from Head of the Jōnin Command to Hokage Advisor. He will oversee the establishment of the police division system across the entire shinobi world.
The war here is over.
I will head to the Land of Waves and swiftly deal with the Daimyo families of the Land of Water as well, forcing Kirigakure to sign a surrender agreement."
Konoha's people departed Iwagakure through the shrine.
Akatsuchi turned and walked toward the underground archives beneath the Tsuchikage Building.
There, he saw two people.
Uchiha Obito and Zetsu of the Akatsuki were examining a file.
The file contained information on a spy.
That spy's name was Kyoi.