The principle Naruto used remained the same as before: Whoever refused to submit would be beaten, whoever dared to rise up would be crushed, until they yielded completely.
As for the neutral Land of Iron, Naruto had no reason to bother with it. After all, to avoid conflict, the Land of Iron had even abandoned the path of Shinobi, choosing instead the way of the Samurai.
It was as if, in a world where everyone cultivated immortality, the Land of Iron feared provoking the wrath of the great immortals and opted instead for physical transcendence. And in essence, they still used Chakra to temper their bodies.
But this isolationist attitude only worked if the larger world remained stable. In other words, the endless wars between Shinobi required a mediator.
When a nation was on the verge of defeat but didn't want annihilation, they'd call for a mediator to slowly negotiate war reparations.
The winning party wouldn't refuse either, after all, wiping out a country came with too heavy a price.
The power gap between the Five Great Countries is not too obvious. Even in war, they have to be wary of whether the other great countries will pounce on them and take a piece of their meat.
But now, the situation had changed. The Shinobi World was no longer just a free-for-all. The extraterrestrial Otsutsuki has invaded the Shinobi World, and their intention is to suck all the life out of it.
The Otsutsuki radiated an infuriating 'come and bite me if you dare' aura that pissed Naruto off to no end. They had to be exterminated from the root.
But trying to persuade the Five Great Countries to unite was impossible. The last one who attempted that was Hashirama, but Naruto lacked that kind of magnanimity. He preferred holding a gun to their heads instead.
Don't ask why, don't talk, just do as you're told. Complain, and you'll be beaten. Disobey, and you'll be killed. The Shinobi World had no shortage of people.
The Land of Rain would be the nail driven into the feet of the three great countries. It was originally a piece of fat meat that the three great countries coveted and a place that military strategists must fight for, but it would now turn the tables and become a spiky porcupine.
From now on, even if the three great countries didn't provoke the Land of Rain, it wouldn't matter. If Amegakure didn't like any of the three, it could sting them right back.
These plans flashed through Naruto's mind, but he had no intention of sharing them with Konan yet. For now, he just sent her back to Amegakure to reorganize their forces and rebuild the village.
Konan naturally had no complaints and obediently returned to Amegakure.
After sending Konan back to Amegakure, Naruto also went straight back to Konoha using the Gate of the Underworld.
There was no point in staying there. Konan understood village operations far better than he did, and as long as she stood there, the people of Amegakure would follow her.
Every villager was like a breath exhaled by this great beast, each inhale and exhale vivid beneath the misty rain, as if the village itself were on the verge of coming alive.
On a whim, before leaving, Naruto sneaked into the village to eat a bowl of ramen. He doesn't know if the owner was Ichiraku's illegitimate child, but the taste was almost identical.
…
Naruto didn't return to Konoha Village immediately. Instead, he hid in the Konoha Forest, racking his brain over how to explain Rin's sudden reappearance.
'If I just bring her back like this, won't it seem too abrupt?'
'Would it be too obvious if I leave her here and deliberately attract the attention of the Anbu?'
Although Rin was sucked into his seal space before she opened her eyes, and she was not conscious and had never seen the world twenty years later, she still had to be released eventually. And the sooner, the better.
This matter cannot be delayed. What kind of explanation would there be if he dragged it out too long?
At that time, Rin would just remember being stuck in a cluttered space for who knows how long before suddenly appearing again.
It is better to have less trouble than more, so it needs to be resolved as soon as possible.
So, what was the solution? What kind of reasonable excuse could he come up with to downplay his own involvement in Rin's return?
And, more importantly…
'How the hell do I explain someone who's been dead for twenty years suddenly coming back to life?'
'Damn it, that last part is the real issue!'
Naruto scratched his head. Back when he was dealing with the crisis brought by the Otsutsuki Clan, even with all the chaos, he hadn't felt this stumped.
'How the hell am I supposed to bring a girl who died twenty years ago back to the village now?'
Suddenly, he missed Choji. Naruto felt that it would be great if he was here at this time. Not that Choji would be much help, but at least Naruto wouldn't feel like he was drowning alone.
Now, without Choji around, Naruto felt like SpongeBob without Patrick. He desperately wished he could scour the world for that pink, star-shaped idiot.
'This is bad. I can't handle this alone. If we're really brothers, then come out and suffer with me!'
Back when Obito said he wanted to revive Rin, Naruto agreed without even thinking about it. At the time, his mind had been entirely focused on revenge, and he hadn't even considered whether the resurrection would actually work.
What if it failed?
Well, if it failed, then it failed. Anyway, Rin was already dead, so how much worse could it get?
But now, crouched on a tree branch with a constipated expression, Naruto realized he was stuck. After much deliberation, he decided that the first hurdle was Kakashi.
After all, the Nohara Clan had long since scattered, and Kakashi was the only person in the village who was close to Rin.
No matter how much he thought about it, night was falling fast, and he still had no solution. Naruto didn't want to wait any longer, and if he delayed any further, he'd be spending the night in the forest as mosquito bait .
'Screw it. I'll just go straight to Kakashi.'
'As long as I don't mention Obito… just pretend he doesn't exist. Yeah, just say it was some Missing-nin organization's villain. Make up a name, slap it on the Rinnegan, and the logic fits perfectly.'
'Anyway, Obito never took off his mask, and no one would associate him with a Chunin who died on the battlefield 20 years ago.'
…
Hokage Tower.
It was already completely dark at this time, and only the top floor of the building remained brightly lit. Kakashi, or to be exact, Shikamaru, was still working overtime, while Kakashi was slacking off on the side.
The scene was eerily familiar.
A couple of years ago, Kakashi had been the one sitting in Shikamaru's seat, while the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade, lounged in the spot he was in now.
Outside, snow fell heavily, while inside, a small stove kept the room warm.
Tsunade had lazily sipped sake while flipping through outdated manga to pass the time.
Compared to her, Kakashi liked to think he was at least somewhat more responsible. When Shikamaru hesitated over documents, he'd step in and handle them himself. If it had been Tsunade…
"Ugh, just deal with it yourself!" She would probably say that in half-drunken state, waving her hand impatiently.
Kakashi sighed and actually missed the Godaime Hokage a little. Of course, the premise is that he doesn't have to pull all-nighters processing documents.
The village is a circle, and once you leave, it's hard to come back.
Just as Kakashi's eye began to droop, he suddenly felt an inexplicable headache.
He abruptly opened his eye again, 'Damn it, why had I been feeling this unsettling palpitation so often lately?'
He straightened up in his chair, and Shikamaru, hearing the movement, raised his head from the pile of documents to glance at him, frowning slightly in confusion.
"Kakashi-sensei, what's wrong?"
"Cough… nothing." Kakashi shifted uncomfortably in his seat. For some reason, he couldn't shake the unease.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door of the Hokage's Office.
Kakashi abruptly looked up and stared the familiar vermilion double doors as they trembled slightly from the impact.
He hesitated for a moment. It was until Shikamaru reminded him that he finally came to his senses.
"Come in."
For some reason, the moment Kakashi uttered that 'Come in', his heart suddenly skipped a beat. He had been a Shinobi for so many years, and had experienced countless life-and-death battles, but he had never felt anything like this before.
It was as if... as if he had unwillingly opened a Pandora's box, and all sorts of unknown things were about to come pouring out.
He swallowed his saliva, his heart pounding like a drum.
The door creaked open, revealing a round, chubby face.
Choji's forehead was beaded with sweat, and his mind was filled with a stream of curses. He hadn't even eaten yet when Naruto pulled him over to join in the meal, saying there was something important to discuss and that he couldn't do it alone.
No matter how Choji asked, Naruto kept dodging the question and would only say that it is a good thing.
'Damn it, if it's such good news, why the hell would you think of me?' Choji scoffed internally, but based on the principle of helping whenever possible, he still agreed with reluctance.
As the door opened, Choji noticed that Kakashi's expression looked a little unusual, which only made him even more nervous.
"Choji? What brings you here?" Shikamaru was even more surprised upon seeing Choji.
"Uh... well..." Choji fumbled for words, awkwardly wringing his chubby hands as he looked at Kakashi s, "Kakashi-sensei... do you want a wife or not?"