Chapter 341: Calm  

The warriors of the Six Paths no longer needed to exhaust themselves.  

 Now, he had two powerful allies: Uchiha Itsuki and Kaguya.  

 No!  
When they returned to the Shinobi World and reality set in, Naruto and Sasuke would also become his allies.  

 The Sage of Six Paths was confident about this.  

 After silently observing the Shinobi World for so many years, he understood the deeply ingrained flaws of the shinobi's nature.  

 With so many powerful individuals united against the Ōtsutsuki Clan, the odds of success were vastly improved.  

 Compared to facing the Ōtsutsuki Clan alone, the chances of victory were more than doubled!  

 The cost? Merely ceding a small territory to the Fire Hidden Village and twenty years of non-intervention in the Shinobi World.  

 It was like a pie falling from the sky!  
The Sage of Six Paths couldn't help but squint with a grin.  

 Uchiha Itsuki wasn’t entirely useless after all!  
In this matter, Itsuki had handled things exceptionally well.  

 When Itsuki activated his reserved summoning techniqe and brought them all back to the Shinobi World, Naruto and Sasuke were still in a state of bewilderment.  

 **“That's it? The fight’s over?”**  
Too dramatic!   

**Swoosh!**  
Two figures appeared before the group.  

 They were Minato Namikaze and Tobirama Senju.  

 The two looked at everyone with confusion in their eyes.  

 **"What’s going on? Weren’t we in the middle of a battle? Why does it seem like you’re all at peace now?”**  

 **“Alright, it’s settled,”** Itsuki waved his hand and said, **“The war is temporarily over.”**  

**“Temporarily?”**  

**“Yes!”** Itsuki rolled his eyes and replied, **“Tobirama, do you really believe war can be permanently stopped? If so, shouldn’t shinobi destroy all weapons and abolish ninjutsu altogether?”**  

**“Don’t kid yourself. As long as shinobi exist, wars can only pause briefly. The flames of battle will inevitably reignite.”**  

 Tobirama furrowed his brows, refusing to entertain Itsuki’s words.  

 Nonsense.  

 Even without wars, there was no reason to abolish the shinobi profession.  

 Was such extremism necessary?  

 Uchiha Itsuki was proving to be even more dangerous than Uchiha Madara.  

 Fine!   

None of this concerned Tobirama.  
He was just a dead man. These were problems for the living to deal with.  

 At least for now, Uchiha Itsuki was beneficial to the Shinobi World.  

 This time, he had helped out for the sake of Konoha. If he saw trouble again, he might help. If not, so be it.  

 When Itsuki stood atop the tallest peak and dispelled the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the Shinobi World seemed to burst into cheers.  

 The entire world welcomed this moment.  

 The remnants of the Divine Tree gradually disappeared, some vanishing entirely, others transforming into ordinary trees.  

 Under Kaguya’s control, the White Zetsu transformed into trees, adding a touch of green to the war-torn Shinobi World.  

 **“Everyone!”**  

 Itsuki expanded his Sage Mode to its maximum, projecting his voice through clones scattered across the land.  

 He said softly, **“The war is over!”**  

 The shinobi, just awakening from the Infinite Tsukuyomi, were stunned at first. Then, they erupted into cheers.  

 It was over!  
Finally over!  

 This detestable war had finally come to an end.  

 Listening to the joyous cries around him, Itsuki couldn’t help but smile faintly.  

 Who truly enjoyed war, aside from those with ulterior motives?  
Wasn’t peace sweeter?  

 Take Itsuki, for example. Being the leader of a small shinobi village, marrying a dozen wives, running a business, making money, and living comfortably was far better.  

 Unifying the Shinobi World? Just dealing with the paperwork would drive anyone mad.  

 Unless, of course, it was like Naruto’s vision of mutual understanding between all people.  

 But in such an era, would shinobi villages even be necessary? If everyone understood each other, why have shinobi villages, Kage, or shinobi at all? Why have feudal lords or nobles?  

 Such a world was nothing but a pipe dream!  

 **“For now, everything is temporarily over,”** Itsuki chuckled and sighed.  

 ---

 The Six Kage Summit  

 This was a new meeting to decide the fate of the entire Shinobi World.  

 Participants:  
- Fire Hidden Village's Shadow: Uchiha Itsuki  
- Konoha's Hokage: Kakashi Hatake  
- Kumogakure's Raikage: A  
- Iwagakure's Tsuchikage: Ōnoki  
- Sunagakure's Kazekage: Pakura  
- Kirigakure's Mizukage: Mei Terumi  

 Additionally, emissaries from the Land of Iron, the Land of Demons, and other nations attended.  

 The war had ended, and they all needed to sit down together.  

 For peace.  

 And for their respective villages' interests.  

 **“If anyone has something to say, speak freely!”**  

 Itsuki casually lounged in the central seat and said, **“For this meeting, I’m just a mediator. Don’t see me as the Fire Shadow. And don’t look at me like that—my village only wants its current territory. We don’t plan to expand or interfere in outside matters.”**  

 **“Oh?”**  

 The Raikage raised an eyebrow and said flatly, **“What if I decide to wage war on Sunagakure?”**  

 "Fire Hidden Village won’t interfere!" 

 Itsuki declared firmly: “We are just responsible for our business. Understand? Even if the Sand Village goes to war with the Cloud Village, it doesn’t have much to do with us. As long as they don’t provoke us, that’s all that matters.”

 “But…”

 Itsuki sighed softly and continued: “Everyone, peace is hard to come by. This war has already cost everyone dearly. How about we each take a step back and let the villages recover their strength?”

 The Raikage and Tsuchikage exchanged a glance.

 If anyone had cause for concern, it was naturally them. 

 The Sand Village and Mist Village had an unmistakable connection with the Leaf. The ambiguous relationship between Wind Shadow Pakura and Water Shadow Mei Terumi with Uchiha Itsuki was practically written across their foreheads—*“We’re Itsuki’s women.”*

 Their villages had essentially become subsidiaries of the Fire Hidden Village.  

 Even Konoha’s Kakashi, with his lackadaisical attitude, was more obvious than his deadpan fish-eyed gaze.  

 If Uchiha Itsuki truly decided to stay out of external affairs, their villages might still have a chance of survival.  

 Of course!  

 The likelihood of Itsuki ignoring things was slim.  

 If they were in his position, possessing overwhelming strength, would they bother reasoning with ants? Of course not.  

 Reasoning only works among equals.  

 Those with power decide what is reasonable. Ants don’t qualify.  

 And Itsuki? How could he not help his women if they were bullied?  

 Right!  

 To Ōnoki and A’s minds, going up against the Sand and Mist Villages was akin to bullying.  

 Itsuki cast them a sidelong glance, smiling faintly.  

 No matter what they thought, he had come to a realization.  

 Every world, every dynasty, every empire—it's always the same!  

 The Ninja World is no exception. It will always follow the cycle of division and reunification.  

 This is inevitable!  

 Even if he were to unite the entire Ninja World now, how long could peace last?   Eventually, the cycle would repeat, and after a few centuries, another great figure would rise to unify the world again.  

 When Hashirama Senju was alive, there was peace! Even with the five great villages, there was no war. But when he died, the conflicts erupted immediately.   Peace is equivalent to a balance of power!  

 So he decided not to overextend himself.  

 As he had said before: if you don’t want war, give up being a ninja.  

 The ninjas of this world wouldn’t go out of their way to slaughter civilians who relinquished their ninja identity.  

 As a great figure of his time, he had decided not to play this game anymore.  

 “Everyone, peace is not easy to maintain!”  

 Itsuki smiled and said, “If peace can be kept, let it be. I’ll make my position clear first.”  

 “The Fire Hidden Village only wants its current territory. At the same time, we will streamline the number of ninjas in the village. Yes, we will control the growth of our ninja population and focus on business ventures to bring prosperity and development to the village. I hope for your cooperation in this regard.”  

 If not quality, then quantity!  

 “What?! Are you serious, Hokage?”  

 The Tsuchikage was stunned.  

 Based on his understanding of the Uchiha, this guy should be declaring the unification of the Ninja World right about now, forcing everyone to submit to his authority.   

What had caused this change?  

 Something didn’t add up.  

 Pakura and Mei Terumi, however, remained expressionless.  

 They had already discussed this with Itsuki beforehand.  

 Of course, things weren’t as simple as Itsuki had stated. Even if he ignored the other villages, Fire Hidden Village allies had gained plenty of benefits.  

 For instance:  

 A massive number of explosive tags had been delivered to their villages.  

 Not to mention various suitable ninjutsu techniques.  

 With these resources, they were confident they could handle the battered Cloud and Stone Villages.  

 It was well-known that early in the war, Itsuki had given those two villages a severe beating.  

 As the meeting continued, just as Itsuki had said, he refrained from meddling in Ninja World affairs.  

 The respective villages returned to their own territories, leaving each to resolve its own issues.  

 Moreover, Itsuki finalized trade agreements with several villages, mutually beneficial arrangements that fostered economic growth.  

 “Oh, one more thing!”   

Itsuki suddenly added, “How do you all plan to deal with the daimyo?”  

 His words caused a collective headache.  

 Because of the war—and Itsuki’s overwhelming power—they had completely ignored the daimyo, forming a ninja alliance and repeatedly defying their orders.  

 Now that the war was over, this oversight was becoming a problem.  

 One thing was certain:  

 The rift between the villages and the daimyo was irreconcilable.  

 The daimyo undoubtedly wished to eliminate all ninjas.  

 Itsuki looked at everyone with a faint smile and shrugged helplessly: “What are you hesitating for? Do you really think things can go back to the way they were?”   

“You’re wrong!”  

 “The current situation is clear: if given the chance, the daimyo will not hesitate to take down the ninja. They’ll stop at nothing.”  

 “Which means you must strike first!”  

 The Raikage protested: “But they’re the daimyo!”  

 “Even if they were mere 'small-myo,' it doesn’t matter!”  

 Itsuki spread his hands and said, “Raikage, where’s your resolve? Don’t be so weak, okay?”  

 “Eliminate the daimyo and make the Ninja World truly ours. Like Fire Hidden Village, ninjas can enter cities and become their masters.”  

 The Tsuchikage chuckled and remarked, “Lord Mokage, wouldn’t that lead to more casualties in case of war?”  

 This seemingly contradicted Itsuki’s earlier call for peace.  

 Unbothered, Itsuki calmly replied: “Most past wars arose from resource scarcity. If ninjas control the entire world, with abundant resources, there may never be a need for war again.”  

 Hearing this, the Tsuchikage gave Itsuki a long, contemplative look.  

 It made some sense, but he doubted it would be so simple.  

 Under Itsuki’s dominance, the meeting concluded smoothly.  

 The Ninja World maintained its status quo.  

 The Raikage and others agreed to dispatch ninjas to abolish the one-nation-one-village system, transitioning to ninja-led governance.  

 The daimyo and nobles became relics of the past.  

 The Ninja World officially became a world ruled by ninjas, led by six great villages and supported by numerous smaller ones.  

 The ninja villages no longer needed funding or orders from the daimyo, having seized control of the finances themselves.  

 Of course!  

 Among the six great villages, the Hidden Leaf’s status was unparalleled.  

 Besides Uchiha Itsuki, they had numerous strong ninjas.  

 Most notably, the tailed beasts!  

 Unlike Hashirama Senju, who had distributed the tailed beasts to maintain balance, the Hidden Leaf hoarded all of them—including the Eight-Tails!  

 Itsuki had effortlessly extracted the Eight-Tails, sending Killer B back to the Cloud Village.  

 Thus, Fire Hidden Village held ten tailed beasts.  

 The Nine-Tails were even split into Yin and Yang halves.  

 This left the other villages grumbling inwardly.  

 Despite Itsuki’s claim of non-interference, just the presence of ten tailed beasts was enough to ensure compliance with any order he issued.  

 Unlike Hashirama, who had a kind heart, Itsuki was fully capable of wiping out entire clans.  

 In Hashirama’s time, the villages dared not act recklessly. Now, with Itsuki, rebellion was even less of an option.  

 Fine.  

 They would have peace.  

 Because the alternative was obliteration.  

 “Our villages need time to recover as well,” said the Tsuchikage and Raikage.  

 ...  

 Hashirama and Tobirama Senju were released from the Impure World Reincarnation Technique after closely observing the Ninja World’s developments.  

 “Farewell!”  

 Itsuki waved with a grin and said, “If there’s more trouble, I’ll summon you again!”  

 These words instantly darkened the expressions of the two, who had begun to feel sentimental.  

 It seemed they wouldn’t be allowed to rest in peace even in death.  

 “Uchiha Itsuki…”   

“Stop, Tobirama. If you don’t want to come back, I won’t summon you. You weren’t that useful to begin with.”  

 Itsuki dismissed him with a look of disdain.  

 This infuriated Tobirama so much that he vanished immediately.  

 “Heh…”  

 Minato Namikaze chuckled awkwardly.  

 “Sigh, Itsuki-kun, about the Second Hokage—”  

 “Your time here is also limited,” Itsuki interjected. “If you don’t say goodbye to your son now, you might miss the chance.”  

 Minato fell silent, taking Naruto aside to have a private conversation.  

 Meanwhile, Kurenai asked curiously: “By the way, Itsuki, I’ve always wondered—what about Kushina? Why wasn’t Uzumaki Kushina reincarnated?”