After Sesaki escaped from Iwa, numerous Anbu were dispatched to track him down, but none succeeded.
And as time passed, the teams were summoned back to the village.
The Tsuchikage and his closest ally saw the need to expand their military for future plans, so they took out a large loan from the Daimyo in exchange for helping the man get rid of a few enemies.
Meanwhile, in Konoha, the Third Hokage continued his policy of doing nothing, despite the fact that the Hokage is not the best ruler. Konoha remains the most powerful hidden ninja village.
While Hiruzen sits in his office, giving all the dirty work to Danzo, the Raikage is working very hard, expanding the military and economy of his village.
In this time, the leader of the Hand kept a low profile. Having enough money for his plan, he recalled all members of his organization to a secret hideout, except for Hand-1, who was occupied with a special mission.
The leader of the secret organization was the only one with knowledge of what the group was getting ready for.
The Land of Whirlpool is controlled by one clan, the Uzumaki clan, a powerful clan whose members all have abnormal chakra reserves. They are also the clan with the most skilled ninja in fuinjutsu and seals.
The Uzumaki clan has a monopoly on fuinjutsu and seals, which makes them a lot of money but also makes them many enemies. They have a strong relationship with Konoha, but all other nations want their technique.
The situation is tense within the ninja village, with rumors circulating that a coalition of hidden ninja villages will attack the Uzumaki clan.
— Year 54
The Tsuchikage has been ruling over Iwa for about a year; during this period, he has managed to solidify his control, install his ally in the highest position, and marginalize any indication of opposition; the title of Tsuchikage is now secure in his hands.
The good situation for the Tsuchikage did not mean that everything was alright in the village. First, the village was put in a difficult position where they had to borrow money from the Daimyo. Taking huge loans from the Daimyo could potentially diminish Arano's control over Iwa.
Another significant issue was the recovery of the ninja force; following the Second Great Ninja War, Iwa lost a large number of skilled ninja, leaving them with only a limited number of Jonin at their disposal.
The ninja with the rank of Jonin are considered to be the best of the best; losing many of them can be a devastating blow to any village. Recovering from the loss of Jonin ninja is never guaranteed, as it is entirely dependent on each ninja's ability to become Jonin.
In the case of Iwa, the problem is the slow recovery of their elite force.
As the months passed, the situation in each village changed rapidly. The massive losses from the Second Great Ninja War, as well as the slow recovery of the great ninja villages, made the smaller villages more inclined to start small skirmishes; although few people died during these skirmishes, the peace that had been established began to crumble.
Meanwhile, Iwa's Secret Head Scientist has completed the first usable version of a liquid that enhances longevity and regenerative abilities.
The Tsuchikage originally intended to mass-produce this liquid, but he was unable to do so because the liquid had been specially made for Arano; any other person would undoubtedly die; each liquid would have to be made for each person individually while also being specially adjusted; the person must also have a very strong constitution; not everyone can use this liquid.
— The Land of Wind, location Suna
The Third Kazekage was not looking very positively about his village's future. The famine that hit the country since the beginning of the Second Great Ninja War was still causing many deaths even though the war had ended. The once strong army that they had was severely weakened; the recovery of the village was very slow, but there was still hope for Sunagakure. Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, had agreed to form an alliance with them and had also accepted to sell them food at a lower price.
Suna greatly benefited from this treaty, and Konoha agreed to it for the very straightforward reason that the Leaf 🌿 Village needed an ally in the event of war.
— Kirigakure
The Village Hidden by the Mist, ruled by the Third Mizukage, has been following an isolationist policy since the Second Mizukage died in the war against Iwagakure.
From the beginning of his reign, the Mizukage did his best to increase the number of talented Shinobi, already visualizing a conflict where he would emerge victorious. He was also the one who spread rumors about a potential coalition of hidden ninja villages planning to attack the Uzumaki clan.
Forming a coalition would greatly help in easily defeating the Uzumaki clan without sustaining heavy losses, but gaining their seal scrolls is the main reward; obtaining them would surely not be easy as all parties will try to secure the scrolls for themselves.
But as far as I know, the Mizukage is too busy with war preparations and the plan to form a coalition with multiple ninja villages, so thinking about how to get the scrolls first will be for another time.
— Author
So this is an old chapter, like from a few months ago. I changed a few things, by the way, so you can say it's a new one.
Anyway, I know it's been a long time since I uploaded anything, but as I have more time and more will to write, maybe I will write more chapters. Idk, we will see.