Chapter 79
EPILOGUE
~~FIVE YEARS LATER~~
MIFUNE—GENERAL OF THE LAND OF IRON
The Fourth Great Ninja War lasted for approximately half a decade and resulted in the demise of nearly twenty thousand men, along with the deaths of three Kages. It was one of the most brutal wars, and saw the global order shift from the one established by the mighty Hashirama Senju.
Within but a few days of the war, Konoha had landed major blows against Iwa and Kumo, as the young Godaime Hokage slew the fence sitter Ohnoki and changed the tides of war before it had even begun.
On the Northern front, the Yondaime Raikage was defeated by a jounin named Might Duy at the cost of his own life. With that, the little advantage that Kumo and Iwa had possessed was lost. Now, each village was forced to appoint a new and inexperienced Kage.
The ministers and the daimyo attempted to intervene to cool the hostilities, so that peace might be restored. Still, for the first time since its inception, it was Konohagakure that rejected the peace offerings and continued the war.
In the end, the war continued, and even without the support from Suna and Kiri, Konoha pushed and pushed until its forces entrenched themselves along the borders of Iwa and Kumo.
The Godaime Hokage took to the field many a time, fighting against Iwa's two jinchuriki as he slew Han, the yondaime Tsuchikage, while injuring Roshi gravely, cementing his place amongst the greats of his age.
He became only the third shinobi ever to gain an SS-ranked bounty. In the end, Iwa's forces had a full-on collapse as Iwa surrendered in full to Konoha's might.
Kumo followed soon after, as they tried to use the Nibi and its jinchuriki as a Trojan horse, loosening its seal and letting it get captured by the Konoha forces, but they had forgotten that thought it was often forgotten, but the Godaime Hokage was a fuinjutsu master himself and foiled Iwa's plan and captured the two tails and its jinchuriki.
It was the most assertive Konoha had ever been since its inception. In the end, Kumo made one last desperate attempt to turn the tides of war as they sent their most powerful and lethal weapon, the Hachibi's jinchuriki, to the front to counter Konoha's rapidly advancing lines.
The Hachibi was amongst the most powerful bijuu alive, and was a menace to deal with given its sheer size and chakra. Still, in the end, even that plan was foiled as Konoha unveiled to the world their own jinchuriki, the wife of the late Yondaime Hokage, Kushina Uzumaki.
It was the first appearance for the kyuubi's jinchuriki in a long time, and the woman fought against Killer Bee and neutralized that threat as Konoha's forces entrenched themselves just outside the Kumo village.
And as it held a kunai to the throats of its most dangerous enemies, Konoha finally accepted the offers of a parlay, and so a Five Kage Summit was called, and the five were to gather in the very place from where this era had begun.
Mifune had witnessed the beginning of this era and had been an apprentice when the First Hokage had gathered in this very place along with his peers at the start of this new age. Now, as a general, he was set to witness the end of this era, ushered in by the long-lost Senju clan leader.
"They are here," one of his own apprentices whispered, as a retinue emerged in the distance, as three dots gradually grew bigger and bigger as the last retinue arrived at his castle.
The three faces became clear as they drew near, and one of the men behind him gasped as they glanced at the man wearing the haori and hat of the hokage.
"Is that him?" "I thought he would look different."
"He looks like a normal young man!" "SHHH! Are you really calling him normal?"
And their apprehension was justified, for in front of them stood the only shinobi whose prowess could rival Hashirama and Madara Uchiha, yet as he remembered the Senju clan head and how he seemed like a harmless and joyful man as well.
"Welcome to the Land of Iron, Lord Hokage," Mifune gave the young Hokage a small bow, which was returned with a nod as the man eyed the castle in front of him.
"Well, it seems like the others are already here," and despite his castle being laden with seals and arrays to stop sensors, the Hokage broke past them all as he sensed the other four parties resting inside.
"Yes, they are," Mifune answered, and the man nodded.
"Good, then we can get started immediately," and with that, he walked past him, and it was his apprentice who spoke up.
"Mifune-sama," he asked as he led them to their quarters before the final Five Kage Council.
"Who is that man?" and he was pointing towards the guard for the Hokage.
And the Godaime's Guards were nearly as fearsome as himself, and the young Hokage was flanked on one side by the Konan of Ame, the Angel of Death herself.
But unlike her, the man on the other side was relatively less known.
"His name is Might Guy," and his apprentice's sole eye widened at the mention of the man's name.
"Mighty Guy, then that means..." and Mifune nodded, for who in the Five Nations did not know of the man who had defeated the Third Raikage.
"Yes, he is the son of that man..."
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TERUMI MEI
The world of today is much different than the world of five years ago. Ever since the inception of the Hidden Villages, the five great nations had maintained an intricate balance of power due to the actions of the First Hokage, who had distributed the Tailed Beasts among the five Great Villages as a countermeasure against war.
It had been a noble effort from the man, but it had yielded no results, and within a few years of his demise, the Five Great Nations had started a war amongst one another, and so the cycle had continued.
But it won't continue any longer.
Today, the Fiva Kage gathered in the Land of Iron, just as they had nearly half a century ago. Now, they sat at the end of the era brought in by Hashirama Senju and were here to witness the era of Izuna Uchiha.
"I cannot speak for all of you, but I am certain that my predecessors would be devastated by how all of us have gathered here once more," and that was rich coming from him, the very shinobi who had pushed for this council.
"Are you going to continue gloating?" the new Raikage, Dodai of the Rubber Release, cut in sharply, for unlike the previous Great Wars, the Fourth Great Ninja War had a clear and obvious winner.
"Or are we going to discuss the terms?" he finished with pursed lips, and Mei saw Izuna raise a brow.
"I am gloating, I am lamenting over this unnecessary war that you started," and the Kumo ninja had little counter to that.
"For the history is clear that it was Kumo and Iwa," and at that, Izuna turned towards the Fifth Tsuchikage, Kitsuchi the Mountain, as he admonished the role of both Iwa and Kumo in plunging the continent into the war.
And when the war had at first started, many voices within her own village had sprung up, inciting action against Konoha to avenge their humiliation. But in the end, Mei had clamped down on such voices, for she knew that Konoha was far better off as an ally than both Kumo and Iwa.
"I believe we must forego the mistakes of the past," the Fifth Kazekage added, and that was quite an unexpected, strange thing, for four years ago, Rasa of the Golden Sand had resigned rather suddenly without any explanation. In his place, Pakura of the Scorch Style had taken over the mantle.
"Indeed, but the truth is that we live in a far different world than the one five years ago," Izuna added, and none could deny that.
"Konoha holds a kunai to your necks, and if we so wanted, I could have my forces decimate your villages and put into jeopardy your very existence," and now the young Hokage's voice was far colder than it had ever been.
"You da...."
"Yes, I dare!" he thundered, as the Tsuchikage tried to rise up.
"Decades ago, my predecessor, the First Hokage, gathered your predecessors and offered them a peaceful way forward, a way of coexistence, yet your envy and hatred blinded you to that path," and that was simply human nature.
"Now, it is time to rectify that mistake," and with that, the servants stepped forward as each of them was presented with scrolls holding Konoha's terms.
And as Mei unfurled the scroll, her eyes widened as she saw the terms herself, and just like her, others were aghast as well.
"This has to be a joke!" Dodai screamed, but the Hokage neither laughed nor smirked.
"No! These are the terms of peace," and it was the Tsuchikage who added.
"Peace! You want us to hand over our bijuu to you! Have you lost your mind?" the Raikage raged as well, but the Hokage remained firm.
"And who was it that gave you those bijuu in the first place?" and that was true, for they wouldn't have them if it were not for the First Hokage.
"My predecessor gave you the Bijuu as a counterweight to his own prowess. A grave mistake for all of you here turned them into weapons, while you forgot to consider that the bijuu were not simple, mindless creatures," and that was the truth that rocked the room.
But not her and the Kazekage, for unlike the Iwa and Kumo, they already knew of the Hokage's intentions.
"What do you mean by that?" Kitsuchi whispered.
"I meant exactly what you heard! The Bijuu are not mindless creatures, they are sentient beings, more ancient than all of us here," and Mei herself had been quite shocked when she had first heard that, but in the end she had stood in front of the Six Tails itself and had spoken with the might Saiken, and realsied the truth for herself.
"Capturing them and treating them like cattle was a grave mistake of my predecessor, one I intend to rectify," and so the terms were simple, for both Iwa and Kumo would need to reduce the size of their shinobi forces. At the same time, all of the Five Nations would free their bijuu, as soon as the current jinchuriki of the beasts were to die.
"What if we refuse?" Dodai, the Raikage, questioned, and the young Hokage leaned back in his chair.
"I offer you peace at the cost of your bijuu, but if you refuse, then there will be no peace," and those words forced the two kage to ground their teeth.
"Konoha's forces will begin to move in, and I will decimate your villages and capture the beasts myself," and so their hands were tied, and the Raikage turned towards her, seeking an ally.
"And do you support this overture, Mizukage, Kazekage?" he tried, but both of their villages had already concluded their own separate negotiations regarding that, and so they answered in unison.
"Suna has no problems with these terms," the Kazekage answered, and she parroted those words.
"Neither does Kiri..." and with that, Kumo and Iwa found themselves on an island once more, for Konoha had their lands surrounded, and everyone knew that if the war were to continue, it would mean the end of Kumo and Iwa.
"If the Bijuu really are sentient creatures as you say, then what do you intend to do with them...."
"I intend to free them...."
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