Chapter 651: End of the Ninja World War
Ōnoki was not surprised by Hiruzen's answer.
Konoha currently held the advantage, and if the battle continued, Iwagakure's losses would only become greater than Konoha's.
"Iwagakure is willing to compensate Konoha for the losses suffered during the war, and we are also willing to form an alliance with Konoha, advancing and retreating together," Ōnoki quickly said.
With Mugetsu present, no Ninja Village would be able to compete with Konoha for the next few decades. Because of that, Ōnoki considered this money a protection fee paid to Konoha.
"Before the compensation is determined and fulfilled, you will need to be a guest in Konoha," Hiruzen said after thinking for a moment.
What was the Shinobi World War fought for?
Profit.
Now that they were negotiating peace with Iwagakure, they could both reduce losses and gain benefits. Hiruzen had no reason not to agree.
Fighting and killing were not the goal. They were merely means to achieve the goal.
"If the Hokage invites me, I will naturally go," Ōnoki agreed.
It was very dangerous for him, a Tsuchikage, to stay in Konoha, but to minimize Iwagakure's losses, Ōnoki was willing to take that risk.
Ōnoki believed that Konoha would not do anything to him, because it was not in Konoha's interest.
If Konoha truly seized this opportunity to keep him in Konoha permanently, it would create mortal enmity between Iwagakure and Konoha, while also making the other three Great Ninja Villages wary.
Konoha did not need to take such a risk. They only needed to let Mugetsu cultivate peacefully for a few more years, and they would naturally become the hegemon.
After reaching a verbal agreement, Ōnoki immediately flew above the main battle force and shouted:
"Iwagakure Ninja, stop fighting and retreat! We are going to negotiate peace with Konoha. We are no longer enemies!"
To minimize Iwagakure's losses as much as possible, Ōnoki sent out Earth Clones to quickly make all Iwagakure Ninja on the battlefield cease fighting.
When the Third Raikage heard Ōnoki's voice, his face darkened.
You organized the alliance, and you were the quickest to surrender.
"Kumogakure also wants to negotiate peace with Konoha! All Kumogakure Ninja, gather by my side! Stop fighting!"
Most of the Ninja in their alliance were Iwagakure Ninja. The other Ninja Villages had only brought some elite teams. Once Iwagakure surrendered, how could they withstand Konoha's main force?
With so many strong individuals present, even the Third Raikage could at most ensure that he alone could break through. He had no confidence in bringing his subordinates out with him.
But the Third Raikage was reluctant to part with Kumogakure's elite teams. These were the mainstays of Hidden Cloud Village.
In fact, before the Third Raikage spoke, Rasa had already wanted to say that Sunagakure would also negotiate peace. However, he was severely injured, and in every aspect, he could not compare with the Third Raikage's booming voice.
"Quickly say loudly that Sunagakure is negotiating peace," Rasa urgently ordered the Sunagakure Ninja beside him.
He was severely injured and urgently needed treatment. If the fighting continued, even if he was not killed by Konoha's strong individuals, he might die because his severe injuries were not treated in time.
With Sunagakure announcing its intention to negotiate peace, this grand melee ended with the victory of Konoha and Hidden Mist.
"We won!"
"We are the victors!"
Some Konoha Ninja shouted excitedly.
Although this battle had not lasted long, it was undoubtedly a great victory, one with far-reaching significance.
Its meaning was far greater than previous battles where more than a thousand enemies had been eliminated.
Because this battle involved all the Great Ninja Villages, with all Five Kage participating.
Even in the entire history of wars during the Ninja Village era, this was a battle of considerable weight.
"Haha, finally I can rest and gather material," Jiraiya said, showing a heartfelt smile.
He believed that this battle would end the grand melee that had lasted for several years in the Ninja World and usher in a temporary period of peace.
Before the war began, things had been fine. Konoha was a large organization and did not lack a strong individual like Jiraiya.
Later, after being challenged by Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Hidden Mist, Jiraiya's good days ended, and he spent most of his time on the battlefield.
Such a life was torture for Jiraiya, and he had only endured it through the spirit of protecting Konoha in his heart.
"The future should be completely changed now, right?" Kakashi also relaxed inwardly.
This battle had truly been terrifying at first. Kakashi had almost thought this was Mugetsu's unavoidable death trap.
Three Kage had appeared one after another. These were Kage, not ordinary people. There were only five in the entire Ninja World.
"Ninja Master Mugetsu is invincible!" Obito cheered wildly for Mugetsu in his heart.
Mugetsu was definitely the most dazzling person in this war. The attacks of multiple Kage were ineffective against him, and he had severely injured the Kazekage with a single move.
"This kid is truly wicked," Yagura thought with his arms crossed, holding an iron rod as he could not help complaining inwardly.
Hidden Mist's campaigns against Konoha had all been his responsibility, and because of that, he had dealt with Mugetsu many times.
Upon reflection, Yagura realized that whenever Mugetsu stood on the opposing side, he never had a good outcome.
The first time, he had not only lost five Ninja swords and some elites, but had also sacrificed a Jinchuriki.
The second time had been even worse. Not only had the Ninja force he led been utterly defeated, but he himself had also been captured.
And before that, he had defeated the Konoha high-level Ninja force.
"It's better to avoid confronting him as much as possible."
Yagura was truly honest this time.
He had never been so humiliated in his life, captured alive by an enemy.
If given a choice, Yagura would rather face a Ninja force alone than fight Mugetsu.
Because when facing a Ninja force, even if he could not escape, his life or death was still in his own hands.
"Konoha is about to become great again, in my hands and in Mugetsu's hands!"
Looking at the enemy Ninja Villages laying down their weapons on the battlefield, Hiruzen felt a surge of heroic pride in his heart.
He believed that under Mugetsu's leadership, Konoha would reach a peak, and his deeds of discovering Mugetsu from the Ninja Academy and Root would be passed down through the ages.
The world might forget that he trained the Three Sannin, but they should not forget that he discovered the second God of Shinobi.
Mugetsu's current achievements were mainly due to his own talent and effort, but Hiruzen felt that he also had a part in it.
If he had not brought Mugetsu out of Root, boldly nurtured him, and given him more resources, even if Mugetsu would eventually have become incredibly powerful, his growth would not have been as fast as it was now.
Hiruzen knew his old friend too well.
Even toward a subordinate, Danzo would first question, then doubt.
In such an environment, Mugetsu would not have received good resources, nor would he have been able to train peacefully.
Otherwise, with Mugetsu's talent, Hiruzen felt that he should have become famous much earlier, instead of only beginning to emerge after leaving Root.
"Danzo, I will avenge you."
Thinking of this, Hiruzen could not help recalling Danzo's remains.
Danzo was, after all, Konoha's Hokage Assistant. He could not die so inexplicably.
Hiruzen had already planned two directions for the investigation, but Konoha's busy wartime situation had delayed them.
The first was to begin the investigation from Ninja Master Sōsuke.
He did not know what role Uchiha Madara had played in Danzo's death, but one piece of intelligence was certain: the person who killed Danzo was Sōsuke. This was a fact witnessed by Mugetsu and many Rain Ninja.
The second was Uchiha Madara. Hiruzen did not intend to spend too much effort on this.
First, Uchiha Madara was suspected to have already been killed by Mugetsu. Second, there was no starting point. He did not know where to begin the investigation.
Danzo, who knew the intelligence, was dead, and Uchiha Madara himself was also dead. Where could he investigate?
The Uchiha Clan?
Seeing the war end, Mugetsu canceled the Wood Human Technique and returned to the ground.
"Mugetsu, are you injured?" Hiruzen stopped thinking, showed a caring expression, walked to Mugetsu's side, and asked.
In fact, he had many things he wanted to talk about with Mugetsu.
For example, Uchiha Madara, whom Mugetsu had killed, and also the matter of serving as Hokage Assistant.
"Thank you for your concern, Lord Third. I'm fine," Mugetsu said with a smile, shaking his head.
This battle was much easier than fighting Uchiha Madara.
Although the combined strength of the enemies was stronger than Uchiha Madara, his teammates had been fierce this time.
Not only were there various Ninja Clan elites, even Hiruzen himself had rushed to the battlefield to support them.
"That's good. You have the greatest merit in this battle," Hiruzen said with a chuckle.
Although Mugetsu had not killed many enemies in this battle, a detailed count of his merits would reveal them to be astonishingly numerous.
The first major merit was capturing a large number of Hidden Mist prisoners, causing Hidden Mist Village to betray the alliance and stand on Konoha's side in the war.
The second major merit was Mugetsu risking his life to act as bait.
After Hidden Mist betrayed the alliance, Hiruzen had given Mugetsu two choices.
One was to use the enemy's strategy against them and have a decisive battle with Iwagakure and the others.
The other was for Mugetsu to return to Konoha and receive the best protection.
And Mugetsu, in order to help Konoha win as quickly as possible, had resolutely chosen to act as bait, laying the foundation for the later great victory.
Then there were merits like quickly finding a breakthrough point and defeating the Kazekage.
"Lord Third and Lord Mizukage also have great merits," Mugetsu said, not belittling himself, choosing instead to emphasize the merits of others.
There was no need to be too modest this time. After all, he truly did have great merit in the victory, and being overly modest would seem too deliberate.
"You are truly young and promising. When I was your age, Mugetsu, I was still worrying about whether I had the ability to be a qualified Mizukage guard. But you already have the strength to defeat a Kage," the Third Mizukage said with a smile.
Since he had already betrayed the Three Great Ninja Villages, and Konoha also had visible prospects for development, the Third Mizukage did not mind associating with Konoha for the next few decades.
Rasa, who was lying nearby receiving treatment, happened to hear this sentence, and his face instantly darkened even more than the Third Raikage's.
If he had not been injured and unable to defeat the Third Mizukage, he would have truly wanted to fight him.
He could already foresee the newspapers of the major news agencies in the Ninja World after today.
The headline would definitely be about the Konoha and Hidden Mist alliance greatly defeating Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure, and the Five Great Ninja Villages negotiating peace.
The following content would probably be about Mugetsu defeating him.
Rasa knew what titles those editors would choose.
[Shock! Fourth Kazekage Defeated by One Punch!]
[Konoha's New Talent Defeats Sunagakure's Kazekage! Are There Differences Among the Five Great Ninja Villages?]
The more Rasa thought about it, the worse his expression became.
He thought of Hanzō, who had been defeated by Sōsuke.
Hanzō had dominated the Ninja World for half his life and had been revered as the Demigod of the Ninja World.
But after losing to Sōsuke only once, his reputation was completely ruined. Rumors spread everywhere that Hanzō had been defeated by Sōsuke, and that Hanzō's Water Release could not suppress Sōsuke's Fire Release.
Rasa worried that he would also fall to Hanzō's level, then earn the title of the Weakest Kazekage.
That would truly make Rasa vomit blood in anger. His teacher, the Third Kazekage, had been known as the Strongest Kazekage.
"This junior's talent is indeed something seen only once in a century," the Third Raikage said with a nod, admitting Mugetsu's excellence.
Mugetsu's performance on the battlefield had truly shocked him.
To be able to clash directly with his full-power Lightning Release Chakra Mode in Taijutsu was unique in the entire Ninja World.
The only thing the Third Raikage regretted was that Mugetsu later used the Wood Human Technique and did not continue using Taijutsu to compete with his Hell Stab.
The Third Raikage had always thought that his Taijutsu had no match, but he had been taught a lesson by Mugetsu today.
Even the most talented Taijutsu Ninja needed arduous training. Mugetsu's current Taijutsu strength must have come from unimaginable training.
So, even though Mugetsu was an enemy, the Third Raikage could not help feeling admiration for him.
Of course, admiration was admiration. The Third Raikage still wanted Mugetsu dead.
A non-Kumogakure Ninja who was this excellent was truly terrifying.
Seeing even the Third Raikage praise Mugetsu, Hiruzen's smile grew even wider.
Mugetsu was also half his disciple. He had often come to him before with various training questions.
However, Hiruzen was not planning to take Mugetsu as a disciple now.
There was no longer any need. Even without the added status of being his disciple, Mugetsu was still unrivaled on the path to becoming Hokage.
If he took Mugetsu as a disciple now, it would make him seem a bit opportunistic, as though he was seeking the fame of being Mugetsu's teacher. That was unnecessary.
"Father, I'm sorry," Kitsuchi said, walking to Ōnoki's side with his head lowered.
As a high-ranking officer of the defeated force, he was largely responsible for the battle's failure.
Listening to the Kage praise Mugetsu, then looking at his own son, who was disheveled and did not dare speak loudly, Ōnoki was fuming.
Why was the gap between people so great?
Not to mention that Kitsuchi's strength was inferior to Mugetsu's, even his personality and bearing could not compare to Mugetsu's.
"Address me by my title during work!" Ōnoki said with a dark face.
"Lord Tsuchikage, I'm sorry."
Looking at his honest-looking son, Ōnoki rubbed his brow and sighed, finally choosing to offer a word of comfort.
The failure of this battle was due to Hidden Mist's betrayal and their inability to gather all of Mugetsu's intelligence. It had nothing to do with Kitsuchi.
With Kitsuchi's strength and reputation, he was not qualified to take the blame for this defeat.
After the miscellaneous matters were handled, Hiruzen had Mugetsu create a conference room using Wood Release for a meeting to discuss the specific peace treaty terms.
Strictly speaking, this could be considered the Second Five Kage Summit, the second time the Five Kage had gathered in one place for a meeting.
However, unlike the first time, the Five Kage were not meeting as equals this time. They were divided into two factions: victorious villages and defeated villages.
As defeated villages, Ōnoki and the others did not even bring guards into the conference room this time.
After all, they had just been defeated and were still on the battlefield. Bringing guards was meaningless, and they had no right to do so.
Hiruzen had Mugetsu act as his guard and attend the meeting with him, while the Third Mizukage brought Yagura to the meeting.
.....
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