The meeting proceeded unusually smoothly.
All the Kage believed that the war did not need to continue and agreed to stop all hostilities to form an alliance.
Onoki promised to withdraw the Hidden Rock Ninja Squad from the Land of Grass, and the Third Raikage also stated he would immediately halt the Hidden Cloud in the Land of Hot Water and withdraw the troops.
The Fourth Kazekage and the Third Mizukage stated that they would cease all actions against the other Great Ninja Village, enhance friendly exchanges, and promote the joint development and prosperity of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
However, there was still a fierce debate before the compensation was settled.
"History will remember today, a new era of peace is about to arrive," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a smile.
As the second Five Kage Summit and the second Five Villages Alliance, this scene they were witnessing was enough to enter history textbooks.
"Indeed, a new era is coming," Onoki glanced at Mokgetsu and sighed slightly.
The rise of Mokgetsu could no longer be stopped, and the era ahead would be Mokgetsu's era and Konoha's era.
Whether it will truly be peaceful or lead to an unprecedented terrifying war, Onoki couldn't predict.
For it all depended on Mokgetsu's will.
Mokgetsu and Konoha could not be viewed separately; as long as Mokgetsu didn't personally refuse to become Hokage, he would undoubtedly be the Fourth Hokage.
"This might be the best era," the Third Mizukage said with a beaming smile.
He had already resolved to firmly stand by Konoha, clinging to their influential presence for support.
After all, it was impossible to surpass Konoha, so he might as well seize this opportunity to fully align with Konoha and at least benefit from their success.
When opposing Konoha, everything was against Hidden Mist.
After cooperating with Konoha, Hidden Mist quickly improved. Not only did it receive war reparations, but Konoha was also willing to return the five captured Ninja Blades to their original owners.
The Third Mizukage had already planned how to develop relations with Konoha.
Continue to jointly hold the Chunin Examination with Konoha, and they could also mutually dispatch ninja for learning excursions and collaborate on commissions to be completed together with Konoha.
"Hmph," Rasa snorted lightly without speaking.
He was dissatisfied with the Third Mizukage, believing that if not for the Third Mizukage, their encirclement plan might have succeeded.
However, Rasa was clearheaded enough to recognize that he was from a defeated village, so he merely snorted to express his disdain for Hidden Mist.
It's just a matter of having aligned with Konoha's great strength. If it were him, he wouldn't have done worse than Hidden Mist.
"It would be best if that's indeed the case," the Third Raikage said in a deep voice, arms crossed.
He shared similar concerns with Onoki but felt equally powerless.
Mokgetsu's rise was already irrepressible.
"Konoha will strive towards the best era," said Sarutobi Hiruzen as he stood up.
The other four Kage also stood up and walked towards the outside of the conference room.
Thus, the years-long chaotic war of the Five Great Ninja Villages finally ended, and the Five Villages formed an alliance.
After the meeting, Onoki and the other Kage arranged for their forces to withdraw from the Land of Grass and return to their respective Ninja Villages.
As for Onoki and his peers, they were in no hurry to leave; there were still matters to discuss in Konoha.
The outcome of this massive war involving all the Five Great Ninja Villages and all the Five Kage soon spread across the Ninja World.
The various Ninja Villages of small countries were all overjoyed.
This meant they no longer needed to worry about their nation becoming a battlefield for the political games of the great nations.
Not all Ninja Villages felt this way, however, as some ambitious small villages felt it was a pity that the war did not last longer, losing the opportunity to surpass the stronger ones through surprise achievements.
Land of Rain, Ninja Sect.
Yahiko was thrilled upon receiving news of the successful talks of the Five Great Ninja Villages, and he immediately sought out Nagato and the others to express his joy.
"Peace in the Ninja World is truly hopeful. If the Five Great Ninja Villages can maintain a long-term alliance, then there will be no more great wars in the Ninja World," Yahiko said excitedly.
A world without war was difficult to achieve. There would be conflicts not only between the Great Ninja Villages but also among smaller countries and villages. However, wars between smaller countries could not affect the entire Ninja World like the Five Great Ninja Villages could.
"Overall, there is indeed a trend of improvement," Nagato nodded in agreement.
Having followed Mokgetsu in learning for a long time, Nagato was no longer the ninja who only knew combat; he could now analyze the situation of the Ninja World.
"But this peace will be hard to maintain in the long run. If Konoha has any thoughts, it could easily spark another great war, even more terrifying than the one that has just ended," Yahiko said thoughtfully.
Although peace was looming, Yahiko remained rational, contemplating the flaws in the current situation of the Ninja World.
"If our Ninja Sect could take root in other small countries, consolidating their strength, it would further promote peace and also create a force strong enough to deter the great nations, discouraging them from rash actions."
Yahiko believed achieving peace through the Great Ninja Villages alone was nearly impossible; those entities were driven solely by interests. If peace were attainable, the Ninja World would have already been at peace.
Their Ninja Sect needed to become strong enough to supervise the Five Great Ninja Villages.
"Isn't that what Master Sosuke is working on? Minister Kakuzu is currently developing the Ninja Sect in the Bird Country," Konan thought aloud.
Yahiko was slightly taken aback and, upon reflection, indeed realized this was the case.
"The matters of the Bird Country don't matter, someone explain Shimura Danzo's issue to me," Kakuzu said, hearing the three's conversation and cutting to the chase.
The Bird Country had fewer ninja, being in a remote corner of the Ninja World, so information was often delayed. Kakuzu only found out that after his departure, Sosuke had done something significant following Shimura Danzo's death.
Therefore, Kakuzu had hurriedly completed most of his urgent tasks and returned to the Land of Rain.
"Shimura Danzo? Ah, right, he attempted to assassinate Master Sosuke and was subsequently killed by him," Yahiko said, his expression changing slightly.
Because Hanzo died alongside Shimura Danzo, Yahiko's attention was focused entirely on the deceased Hanzo and the Rain Village; also, Konoha had been preoccupied with the war and hadn't troubled the Ninja Sect, leaving Yahiko little impression of Shimura Danzo's affairs.
"Never mind, I'll just go find Sosuke," Kakuzu decided, seeing Yahiko's expression, to speak directly with Sosuke.
Sosuke was a rational person and would not kill Shimura Danzo without reason.
Regarding the assassination and subsequent killing, Kakuzu didn't view it as a sufficient reason.
With Sosuke's strength, sparing Shimura Danzo's life was not an issue; he could have used it to negotiate benefits with Konoha.
Killing Shimura Danzo, however, brought no benefit; instead, it stirred unnecessary trouble.
Yahiko followed, aware that his past self would have found it reasonable for Sosuke to kill Shimura Danzo in self-defense, as Konoha was in the wrong.
But the present Yahiko understood that the world sometimes doesn't care for reason; it often respects power, or in some cases, power is reason.