Time flew by, and soon it was Konoha 26.
Perhaps it was a baby boom in retaliation after the Ninja World War, but in these five years, the entire Ninja World experienced a surge in births, with many individuals who would stir up trouble in the future coming into the world.
The eldest sons of Third Raikage Ai and Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki were born successively. Both had reached the pinnacle of their careers, succeeding as the Kage of their respective Villages, and now their families were complete.
Raikage Ai named his eldest son "Ai," who would become the future Fourth Raikage.
The name "Ai" signifies a wild, fierce, and aggressive beast, perhaps a special hope and blessing from the tough people of the Land of Lightning for their children.
In addition, Raikage Ai also selected a young man named "B" from his clan and sealed the Eight-Tails Gyūki, which had brought great disaster to Hidden Cloud Village, inside his body.
Ōnoki, on the other hand, named his son Kitsuchi, a seemingly ordinary name, probably signifying an earnest hope for admirable qualities like "steadiness and reliability."
The two Kage, now fathers, completely settled down, each dedicating themselves to the internal governance and development of their Village.
It must be said that Third Raikage and Ōnoki were both exceptionally outstanding Village leaders.
Iwagakure and Kumogakure rapidly developed under their rule. The only thing that gave Raikage Ai a headache was the heavy shackles on Hidden Cloud Village: the reparations treaty signed with Konoha.
Because of this, Iwagakure quickly replaced Kumogakure's former position, becoming the second largest Ninja Village in the entire Ninja World, second only to Konohagakure.
The last of the Second Kage, the Second Kazekage of Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, Shamon, finally couldn't hold on any longer and peacefully passed away from illness during these five years.
This bald man, who looked quite fierce, left behind an extremely rich legacy for Sunagakure.
Although Sunagakure was the poorest of the Five Great Ninja Villages, its strength was well preserved because it did not participate in the brutal First Ninja World War.
During his tenure as the Second Kazekage, Shamon thoroughly consolidated the situation left by the First Kazekage, Retto, and launched a series of innovative measures based on that foundation.
He was the first to propose the weaponization of Ichibi Shukaku, which was sealed in a temple, sealing this monster tanuki made of Chakra inside a monk named Bunpuku.
However, in the end, his Tailed Beast weapon plan did not achieve true success.
Sunagakure's immature Sealing Jutsu could not completely suppress Shukaku's power, leading to frequent uncontrolled rampages of Ichibi within the Village, ultimately resulting in its imprisonment along with Bunpuku himself.
Fortunately, although he failed to create a truly mature Jinchuriki, Shamon still developed a special secret jutsu, "Sand Manipulation Jutsu," through continuous research on Shukaku.
His disciple, who inherited this secret jutsu, Iron, took over the position of Third Kazekage with his powerful strength.
At the same time, the "Puppet Jutsu" he developed was also well passed down, inherited by another disciple, Sasori's grandfather, Chiyo's father, an elite Jonin in the Village with great talent in puppetry.
Compared to these two highly anticipated individuals, a child named Rasa was also quietly born in Sunagakure.
If nothing unexpected happened, this child would become the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure in the future, but at this time, people were not yet aware of his potential and unique talents.
Five years passed, and Konoha Village also underwent considerable changes.
The Advisor Hyuga Sogo's lineage finally had successors; his daughter-in-law gave birth to a pair of healthy twins in Konoha 22.
The first child brought out was named Hyuga Hiashi. As Hyuga Sogo's eldest grandson, he successfully inherited the noble status of the new generation of the Hyuga Main House.
The other child, brought out a few minutes later, was named Hizashi, becoming part of the Hyuga Branch House with the lifelong mission of protecting his brother, and this year he just received the Caged Bird Seal.
The new generation of Ino–Shika–Chō was also born. Advisor Nara Shikatsune named his eldest son "Nara Shikaku," and the children of the other two clans were named "Inoichi Yamanaka" and "Akimichi Choza" respectively.
Uchiha Fugaku, the eldest son of Uchiha Isshin, the head of the Uchiha Clan, also successfully completed his studies at the Ninja Academy, becoming the top student of his class with his excellent talent.
He graduated early from the Ninja Academy at the age of six and was taken as a disciple by Third Hokage Senju Mori, which has been two years ago now.
At the same time, the relationship between Konoha and Kumogakure became increasingly tense.
By this year, Konoha 26, only six years had passed since the peace treaty signed after Kumogakure's defeat.
But under the governance of Third Raikage Ai, the entire Hidden Cloud Village was gradually recovering from internal strife and the post-war slump, and the population base and Ninja numbers of Hidden Cloud Village were also rapidly increasing.
Many young Cloud Hidden Ninjas of the new generation regarded the annual payment of reparations to Konoha as a great humiliation, and a more radical militaristic ideology began to prevail in Hidden Cloud Village.
Kumogakure was like a beast constantly licking its wounds, its crimson eyes constantly fixed on Konoha. The entire Ninja World was speculating when the new war would finally break out... During these five years of calm, all countries were recuperating and developing rapidly, but the only one still shrouded in gloom was Hidden Mist Village in the Land of Water, isolated over the sea.
The internal strife in Hidden Mist Village showed no signs of abating during these five years; on the contrary, it became even more intense, with the Ninjas in the Village almost clearly divided into two factions.
At the instigation of the new Mizukage, Kiyomi, many "Ninja Clans preferential policies" from the time of Second Mizukage Hōzuki Gengetsu were all abolished, causing strong dissatisfaction among major Ninja Clans like the Hozuki Clan.
The Kaguya Clan, Yuki Clan, and other major Ninja Clans firmly rallied around the Hozuki Clan, attempting to exert pressure on the new Mizukage and the entire Village through this collective approach, forcing them to compromise.
While suppressing the major bloodline clans, Third Mizukage Kiyomi vigorously promoted small and medium-sized Ninja Clans and civilian Ninjas within the Village, quickly forming a Mizukage faction centered around himself.
To better counter the major Ninja Clans, he even brought out the special Ninja tools inherited from the First Mizukage's era, the "Seven Ninja Swords," preparing to form an elite Ninja unit completely loyal to him.
He named it the "Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist"... "Hokage-sama."
An Anbu pushed open the door of the Hokage Office, and Senju Mori's figure, seated at the desk, immediately came into view.
Five years had passed, and the twenty-eight-year-old Senju Mori had gradually shed his former youthfulness. Dressed in the white Hokage robe, he appeared increasingly mature and dignified.
"This is intelligence from the Land of Water."
The Anbu knelt on one knee and handed over the intelligence scroll with both hands.