Since Onoki had already made it clear that there would be no Five Kage Summit, Takuya couldn't be bothered to argue.
Whatever they decided was up to them.
It wasn't Konoha's problem, after all.
Hopefully, they could keep the Rinnegan well hidden. Otherwise, if it got stolen, things would get interesting.
After a thorough sweep, Iwagakure finally settled down.
Onoki, exhausted from days without proper rest, suggested they all take the night off and mentally prepare for the next discussion tomorrow.
Everyone used the time to make necessary arrangements.
Takuya sent a message to Konoha through Iwagakure's intelligence division, informing Tsunade that the problem had been resolved. She could stay in Konoha and focus on handling administrative affairs without worrying about anything else.
Sitting by the window, gazing at a nighttime view vastly different from Konoha's, Kushina chuckled as she recalled the events of the day.
"Iwagakure's people seem so dumb. They were terrified by just a few White Zetsu. At least they can finally get a good night's sleep."
"You just haven't seen enough of the world," Pakura countered.
Iwagakure's people weren't stupid.
A five-man squad rule—no one moving alone—wasn't exactly a brilliant strategy, but it was the best they could manage under the circumstances.
Under such precautions, the hidden White Zetsu wouldn't dare to act recklessly.
It effectively prevented further chaos.
Of course, it also helped that there weren't too many White Zetsu hiding in the first place. Otherwise, no strategy would have worked.
If it had been like the original events, everyone would have just stood frozen in place, afraid to make a move, since no one could be trusted.
Leaning against the balcony, Pakura sighed.
"I used to think Sunagakure was in a league of its own. Turns out, Iwagakure isn't much better."
"I have no idea how they managed to gather so much money and resources to develop their military over the years."
Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Kumogakure stood alone at the top in terms of military power.
They were the wealthiest, so they never hesitated to spend.
Since the end of the First Shinobi War, they had focused solely on development, leading to their current terrifying strength.
Iwagakure, however, had surprised everyone. Their military power was on par with Konoha, despite not having the vast resources of Kumogakure or Konoha's economic advantages.
Yet somehow, they had grown to this level.
"Because of war," Takuya remarked, sipping a cold drink in the living room.
"Sunagakure kept fighting and got poorer with every war, while Iwagakure, like Kumogakure, kept expanding. That's how they got here. Their military spending is also massive."
"Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Sunagakure is by far the biggest loser in war.
Though to be fair, Konoha hasn't had it easy either. Always getting dragged into conflicts—wanting peaceful development is nearly impossible. If Konoha could grow uninterrupted, our financial strength wouldn't be any worse than Kumogakure's. The Land of Fire is wealthy, after all."
But war wasn't something you could just opt out of.
Sometimes, you were forced into it.
Sometimes, war was declared on you, and you had no choice but to fight.
And once the fighting started, the more you fought, the poorer you got—but you had no alternative.
"Beyond money, the biggest challenge in developing a village is population. The more people, the larger the pool of potential shinobi. That's the real long-term issue."
Pakura shot Takuya a look, unwilling to continue the conversation.
Other villages wished they had more shinobi.
But in Sunagakure's case, they had no choice but to cut down on the number of shinobi, forcing some to become civilians.
The village simply couldn't afford to sustain them all.
Resources were scarce.
They had no choice but to prioritize their limited funds and supplies on nurturing the most talented shinobi.
If it weren't for the fact that every Kazekage had been an expert at mining, Sunagakure would have been in an even worse state.
"Is that really how it is?"
Kushina had never really been exposed to such things.
It wasn't that she was uninterested—she simply never had access to this kind of information.
Now that she could, she had no desire to study it.
Might as well just go with the flow.
"In a while, we'll be visiting Kumogakure. You'll see for yourself just how important money is."
"We're going to Kumogakure?"
Kushina immediately latched onto the key point.
Money? Whatever.
She had more than enough.
Konoha's richest little lady wasn't a title for nothing. Money, to her, was just a number.
Takuya: …
Pakura: …
Was this really the time to think about that?
Takuya and Pakura felt a little offended.
Pakura had a fixed salary, supplemented by mission bonuses.
She wasn't exactly poor, but she wasn't rolling in wealth either.
And having a rich friend like Kushina didn't help.
Even though Kushina was always happy to pay, Pakura had her pride—she wasn't about to rely on Kushina to cover for her all the time.
She still paid her share, bought gifts occasionally, treated others to meals.
All in all, her finances weren't particularly stable.
As for Takuya, he wasn't lacking money.
In fact, he had more than most shinobi.
But compared to Kushina, it was like a drop in the ocean.
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
Seeing Takuya and Pakura go silent, Kushina looked back at them, confused.
"Not at all…"
Considering that, apart from when she had rushed to find Takuya during the war, Kushina had barely ever left Konoha, it wasn't surprising that she was focused on enjoying herself now.
And honestly, if Takuya had been locked in the village for years and suddenly got the chance to leave, he'd probably go crazy with excitement too.
"Then let's make the most of it and enjoy ourselves."
They rarely had the chance to travel.
Takuya figured he'd make sure Kushina had a blast.
The village was in good hands with Tsunade.
If needed, Jiraiya and Sakumo could step in.
Even Orochimaru could be roped into handling some affairs.
He couldn't be trusted with major decisions, but for smaller matters, he'd do fine.
And if worse came to worst, Hiruzen could step in for appearances.
Unless a major enemy attacked Konoha, there was nothing to worry about.
"I've heard that Kumogakure is the best in trade among the Five Great Shinobi Villages. There must be a lot of things there that you can't buy in Konoha. We have to explore properly."
Just thinking about the exclusive items in Kumogakure had Kushina buzzing with excitement.
Pakura sighed and rubbed her forehead, trying to snap Kushina out of it.
"Kushina, technically speaking, Kumogakure doesn't forbid outsiders from visiting. But with the current situation, going there as tourists would be pretty difficult."
They'd be under surveillance everywhere they went.
That kind of trip wouldn't be fun at all.
"Oh…"
Kushina deflated.
And considering that Takuya had just completely humiliated A earlier, even cursing him out in front of everyone…
Kushina's cheeks flushed red.
They had absolutely shredded the future Fourth Raikage—how could they still expect to visit his village?
Takuya burst out laughing at her expression.
Pulling her into his arms, he grinned.
"Don't worry. We'll be free to do whatever we want. In fact… I bet the Third Raikage himself will personally invite us to Kumogakure and give us the best treatment."
The chaos in Iwagakure had ended.
But Kumogakure?
Their troubles were only just beginning.
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read the rest of the Chapter at Patreon com/ Emik01.
DO NOT FORGET POWER STONE AND CHATTING