Escape from Konoha.

"To be precise, I'm the one who was 'let go'."

Shiraishi chuckled softly, staring directly into Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke frowned, somewhat puzzled.

"What, are you worried about your friend's safety?"

Shiraishi asked this question.

Sasuke also looked at Shiraishi, staring into his eyes, without saying a word. No one knew what he was thinking.

After a long while, Shiraishi turned his gaze and said, "Don't worry, he's fine. He's in the best condition among those on the Rain Country battlefield. He's already been taken away by the guards and should be on his way to the Demon Country now."

"You didn't kill him? After all, pushing you to this point was already a very serious threat."

Sasuke said this.

Shiraishi found Sasuke's words extremely grating and gave a soft snort.

"Since he has given up resistance, he is a prisoner. Not killing prisoners who have surrendered their weapons is a rule I set myself. If even I, the one who set the rule, don't abide by it, then who will take the rule seriously? Sasuke, our goal is to completely eliminate the enemy, turn the wavering into neutrals, then turn the neutrals into friends, and finally strive to turn the friends into our own people. Relying solely on violence and terror to deter will only make the enemy grow in number."

With that, Shiraishi broke free from Hanabi's support, turned around, picked up a white coat, casually draped it over his shoulders, and then slowly stepped forward.

"Let's go. I'll tell you about the battle with Nagato on the way back. Besides, the war of the ninjas is over, but the war for the world has only just begun. It's not time for us to relax completely yet."

Main Story, Part Two

A full week has passed since the end of the war in the Land of Rain.

People who were originally in the safe zone began to slowly return to their original homes.

The most difficult issue is the return of population to the three countries of Bird Country, Rain Country, and Grass Country.

Due to the initial war, the Land of Demons used a large-scale carpet bombing attack to suppress the White Zetsu army, causing many parts of the Land of Birds to be ravaged. Many towns were also affected and left in ruins. Although they could be resettled, the resettlement of the population remained an urgent and critical issue.

In addition, the same applies to the Land of Grass, which was also affected by the war. Many areas of the land are in a state of decay, and it is impossible to restore production in a short period of time.

The situation is even more dire in the Land of Rain. Nearly 80% of the country's land is no longer habitable or suitable for agricultural production. Furthermore, the changing celestial phenomena have caused severe droughts in many areas due to the intense heat. This means that the people of the Land of Rain, who were originally located in the Land of Rivers, have lost their country... and in a physical sense at that.

For at least the next ten years or so, the Land of Rain will no longer be suitable for habitation and survival.

While other countries were also affected to some extent, the problems were not significant. Some, like the Five Great Nations, possessed vast territories and abundant exploitable land resources, more than enough to resettle their populations. Others were untouched by the attack, not severely affected areas, and didn't even establish safe zones, thus surviving the Shinobi World War that broke out this year without incident.

Therefore, the Bird Country, the Rain Country, and the Grass Country are the countries that urgently need to resume production. The focus is on the Bird Country and the Grass Country, while the people of the Rain Country can only temporarily relocate elsewhere.

Or perhaps temporarily lease land from another country, or join another country… No, that seems rather difficult. Although the Land of Rain has physically disappeared, it remains a nation with a formidable military.

This time, Nagato only deployed himself; the entire Amegakure ninja did not participate, meaning the Land of Rain has retained a significant military force, sufficient to protect a small country. If such an armed group wanted to join any nation, everyone would feel uneasy about Amegakure's powerful military. Unless the Amegakure ninja willingly compromise, which is unlikely.

Therefore, in this matter, the existence of Amegakure and the Land of Rain seems to have become an extremely irritating obstacle.

Some countries have even begun to spread the theory of Amegakure's reign of terror, claiming that the Fifth Shinobi World War was a sinful war instigated by Amegakure on its own initiative, and that such an armed group should be eliminated.

However, no one did so, and the alliance of the five great nations was almost wiped out. Although some alliance ninjas remained, they began to go underground after the defeat, but they were clearly no longer a threat.

The Land of Demons, the only one still possessing significant military power, and its ally, Kirigakure, seem to have no intention of continuing to target Amegakure.

On the seventh day of the war in the Land of Rain, a newspaper, propelled by unseen forces, spread to every corner of the ninja world.

At the very top of the newspaper, a huge headline appeared: "Deeply moved by the cruelty of war, the Land of Rain will form an alliance with the Land of Demons, turning enemies into friends."

Below the title are a few very short sentences, not a single word of nonsense.

The gist of the matter is that Chiba Shiraishi, the Minister of Military Affairs of the Land of Demons, represented the Land of Demons on a diplomatic mission to the Land of Rain, and established a friendly alliance with Ms. Konan, the third leader of Amegakure. Ms. Konan stated that the Land of Rain would also become a banner of the Grand Alliance of the Land of Demons.

Below that is a color photo of a man and his girlfriend shaking hands.

He was the Minister of Military Affairs of the Land of Demons and the third leader of Amegakure.

This also signifies that the Land of Rain will end its hostility with the Land of Demons and join them, contributing to the peace of the ninja world.

At the same time as this newspaper went on sale, the Land of Demons also dispatched a large number of military soldiers to the Land of Birds and the Land of Grass to maintain order, and mixed ninja troops among them to prevent possible banditry problems in the two places.

Furthermore, by using these two locations as centers, they can radiate outwards to the surrounding areas and increase their monitoring authority.

After all, the war among ninjas ended, but the war across the entire ninja world did not.

The Allied forces were defeated, but the five great powers, and their respective names, did not surrender.

At the moment of the Allied defeat, undercurrents were also surging within the five major powers. They began to arm themselves as much as possible, attempting to resist to the last moment.

As a result, riots broke out in the five major countries from the borders, and coincidentally, large-scale uprisings also broke out in some remote towns in the interior.

The civil war among the five major powers is also beginning step by step, and it is spreading like wildfire, with the flames of war growing ever larger.

On the surface, the Land of Demons and the Hidden Mist, having won the Fourth Shinobi World War, began to consolidate their forces, focusing on stabilizing their internal environment and restoring the production of their allied forces. They did not rush to take further action against the Five Great Nations, proceeding steadily and unhurriedly.

Even Kirigakure, located in the heart of the Land of Water, remained unmoved, only temporarily controlling a portion of the surrounding area and not rushing to occupy the Daimyo's capital. Perhaps the flames were not burning brightly or intensely enough.

As two of the heroes of the war in the Land of Rain, Ruri and Ayane were also successfully 'resurrected'. They did not go out to fight, but due to the disharmony between their souls and bodies, they were temporarily not suitable to move. They needed to wait for their soul energy to recover before they could regain their full strength.

"How weak he is! His strength has actually dropped to the same level as the Fourth Raikage."

Sitting on a lounge chair on the second-floor open-air balcony of the villa, Ayane raised her arm, which wasn't her usual arm, and made a sarcastic remark.

Ruri was also sitting on a lounge chair. Unlike Ayane, she was wearing a one-piece black swimsuit, revealing her snow-white arms and legs. She seemed to have just come out of the pool below, as her skin and hair were still wet.

He lay lazily on the recliner, reading a newly published financial newspaper.

As the richest person in the Land of Demons and even the entire ninja world, she also manages the world's leading super-large business guild. A quarter of the enormous military expenses for the Fifth Shinobi World War in the Land of Demons were provided by her Uchiha clan. Now that the ninja war is over, her only concern is the complicated matters in the business world.

As for fighting, she wasn't thinking about it for the time being. At least she had dealt with most of the enemies that needed to be dealt with, and even if there were still resistance forces, they didn't need to take action themselves.

After all, the upcoming all-out war with the five great nations, and how to advance it, will depend on Ichihime, Kakashi, Sasuke, Obito, and others.

"Speaking of which, what about the Fourth Raikage? I heard from Shiraishi that he and Tsuchi-shogun came out of the Pure Land and fell to another place. Although Tsuchi-shogun returned, it seems he didn't bring back his body."

Liuli suddenly turned her head and said something.

On the table between the two recliners, there were carefully prepared tea snacks, and at this moment, they began their family tea party again.

Ayane tilted her head, casually scooped a piece of cake into her mouth, and said, "I heard from General Tsuchi that when the Fourth Raikage came out of the Pure Land, he fell off a cliff with it. His brain was damaged by a rock, causing him to become mentally unstable and talk nonsense. Now he is missing and we don't know where he went."

"Has he gone mad?"

Liuli felt a little emotional.

"It's better than them being dead. But it's none of our business anymore; we don't need to go and capture them ourselves."

Ayane said it without much concern.

"There's no point in capturing him. Take Rasa, for example. I heard that the day after he woke up and regained consciousness, he took advantage of the nurses' inattention in his hospital room and cut his own throat with a wind blade, committing suicide. Even in death, he refused to accept being a prisoner. We can just give this Raikage a dignified death then."

Liuli said this.

No matter what, they are still the Five Kage.

Anyone can surrender, but those who are Shadows will not surrender; the word "surrender" doesn't exist in their dictionary.

Regardless of their mistakes or flaws in life, they will not compromise with anyone on this matter.