In this war, Konoha and the Sunagakure suffered the most severe damage, especially the Sunagakure. They were attacked at their doorstep twice. If not for Chiyo's efforts in the second attack, the Sunagakure would have been completely removed from the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Although Hidden Stone Village also participated in the war, overall they were not greatly affected.
The Kirigakure did not even participate in this war; they had been dealing with their own internal matters all along.
Therefore, the ultimate beneficiary of this Second Shinobi World War was definitely the Kumogakure, which gained massive advantages from the war.
Not only did they severely damage their greatest enemy, Konoha, but they also acquired a large number of Kekkei Genkai Ninja, filling the void in the Kumogakure.
Shao Yu knew that the Second Shinobi World War had ended, and for the next several years, the entire Shinobi World would be at peace. The Kumogakure could develop well during this long period.
He also needed to develop himself during this time.
The Ten Shadows Technique still had one last shikigami,
The Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga.
This thing could be said to be extremely overpowered—a mechanical monster, and its stats were not weak either. Tiger Funeral had the strength of a relatively strong Kage-level, let alone him; at the very least, he was super Kage-level. But correspondingly, the difficulty of subduing it was too great.
Even if the Third Raikage helped Shao Yu subdue it together, Shao Yu felt there was a high chance of failure. After all, if this thing wasn't killed in one hit, they would be the ones to die.
He decided that at the very least, he would wait until he learned the 'Hollow' technique of the Six Eyes before attempting to subdue it.
After all, in the original work, Gojo Satoru said that for the first time, as long as he used 'Hollow,' he could defeat Mahoraga. The reason he never took out Mahoraga was because Sukuna had been carefully protecting it, afraid it would be instantly killed by Gojo Satoru.
But having 'Hollow' alone was not safe enough. After all, Gojo Satoru was Gojo Satoru, and he was himself. If the power differed due to the different world, wouldn't he be screwed?
And the possibility that Gojo Satoru was bragging couldn't be ruled out either.
ε=(´ο｀*))) sigh.
Let's not think too much about it for now.
"Mrs. Keiko, please make Sukiyaki today."
When Uchiha Shaoyu's voice came from the corridor, Keiko was bending over to wipe the bamboo water channel at the edge of the courtyard.
She straightened up upon hearing the voice, wiped the fine beads of sweat on her forehead with the crook of her arm, and bowed respectfully toward the source of the voice.
"Yes, Young Master Shao Yu."
Her voice was gentle and soft, with the slightly low tone unique to local women of the Hidden Cloud.
The thin afternoon sunlight filtered through the sparse bamboo leaves in the courtyard, casting dappled light and shadow on her.
She was indeed not old, around twenty or so, wearing a plain but neatly starched light blue domestic Kimono. Her waist was tightly bound by the sash, outlining the slender curves of a young woman not yet eroded by time and excessive labor.
This Mrs. Keiko was a single mother in the Kumogakure.
Not long ago, her husband, who built houses for others, fell from a building while constructing a house and died, leaving behind a wife he had married for less than two years and a child just a few months old.
Shao Yu felt pity for her, and since he and Shisui were both Ninja with tight training schedules, he hired her to work at his home, taking care of their daily lives.
He paid her a generous salary so she could raise her child with peace of mind.
But she was extremely efficient.
Upon receiving the instruction, she immediately put down the rag in her hand and turned toward the kitchen.
The hem of her Kimono swayed gently with her steps, revealing a glimpse of her slender ankles.
Despite her misfortune and hard life, she still retained a clean and tidy charm in her demeanor.
Shao Yu turned and walked toward the inner room, preparing to handle the documents he hadn't finished reading today.
The courtyard returned to silence, with only the crisp sound of bamboo striking stone and the faint noises from the kitchen as Keiko began preparing dinner.
"Hmm... Shisui loves Sukiyaki the most. He should be training now..."
The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the buildings and streets of the Kumogakure in a warm golden-red.
Uchiha Shisui finished his extra training after sparring with Killer Bee and walked home alone.
The fatigue from training still lingered in his limbs, but his heart felt fulfilled from the contest with Killer Bee.
Just as he turned onto a relatively quiet path leading toward the Uchiha Clan Compound, a faint, suppressed sob reached his ears.
Shisui stopped and looked toward the sound. In the shadows of a street corner not far away, a small figure was crouched.
It was a little girl who looked two or three years younger than him.
She had short hair that showed a beautiful honey-gold in the sunset, neatly combed behind her ears. She wore common children's clothing of the Kumogakure, but at the moment, she was hugging her knees with her small arms, her shoulders shaking as she let out kitten-like whimpers.
Shisui was stunned for a moment.
Although his personality was more composed than his peers, he was essentially still a kind child.
Seeing someone, especially a child, crying, he instinctively felt a sense of pity.
He looked around. This small path had few people in the evening, and there was no one who looked like the girl's parent nearby.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Shisui still walked over, stopped a few steps away from the girl, and asked in a slightly softened voice.
"Um... are you okay? Why are you crying here?"
The little girl seemed startled by the sudden voice and jerked her head up.
She had beautiful big blue eyes, and at the moment, her eye rims and nose tip were red, with tears still hanging on her long eyelashes.
She saw that Shisui was just a boy a bit older than her, with clear and gentle eyes. The Uchiha's good looks and Shisui's own temperament added a lot, and he didn't seem like a bad person. Her sobbing slightly subsided, but her voice still carried a thick tearful tone and fear.
"It's... it's getting dark... it's so quiet here, so scary... I... I don't dare go home alone..."
As she spoke, she fearfully glanced around at the deepening twilight, her small mouth puckering as if she was about to cry again.
So it was because she was afraid of the dark and didn't dare go home.
Shisui felt relieved. It wasn't anything more serious.
Looking at the little girl's frightened appearance, he remembered that he too, as a child, occasionally had similar fears of darkness and loneliness.
As a child himself, he could understand that fear.
Walk her home?
The thought popped up.
The Uchiha Clan Compound was not far from here, but the little girl's home might be in another direction.
If he walked her home, he would be late getting back, and his brother might worry...
But leaving her here alone seemed even worse.
The sky was indeed getting darker.
After a brief internal struggle, Shisui made a decision. He tried to make his voice sound reliable.
"Where is your home? I... I'll walk you back."
Advance chapter available on pãtrêon Got1808