Book One: The Rise of the Blue-Haired Devil.

      After Michiko went to the dream world, plunging into the water, Madara's body disintegrated... it literally evaporated, as if it were an illusion... A few seconds later, the silhouette of the Shinobi God appeared in the same place, but it no longer had such serious wounds, like before.       - Ahem... ahem... this guy almost killed me, if I hadn’t protected myself, I would have died from my wounds... I don’t know what kind of technique he used, but this ninja deserves respect... he is strong... incredibly strong... perhaps even stronger than Hashirama... - The Uchiha said, spitting out several clots of blood. He carefully lifted the sleeve on his right arm, revealing that one of the Sharingan he had implanted in himself had closed forever. - It's a pity that he died. I would like to dance with him again. – smiling sadly, Madara disappeared from the battlefield, beginning to feel pockets of chakra in the distance that began to approach him.       Three days after the battle, which historians of the shinobi world called the Bloody Massacre, news of the absurd defeat spread to all countries. This information radically changed the entire mood of the village of hidden Stone, hidden Sand and hidden Cloud to continue the war. The village of long life was now located in a new place. The Uzumaki clan's new home was on an island whose border was close to the Fire Nation, which was currently its only ally. Now Uzushio was the bridge between Konoha and Kiri. And it was in it that they decided to hold a meeting of the five kage.       - Is there any news? – Tobirama asked, looking at his temporary subordinate.       - We looked several hundred kilometers. There are no traces, but he could have been carried away by the current. It's hard to say where his body is now. - Moku answered him, whose face remained calm, although inside the man was disappointed. It's been a week since the Uzumaki migration. When they learned a day ago about the battle between Michiko and the army of the Mist, they were surprised, but they were never able to find traces of one of the strongest shinobi of the current time... four days of searching led to nothing, which greatly upset everyone. Mito tried to escape from Konoha to help in the search, but the Second Hokage dissuaded her. Now Ashina's daughter was the only shinobi in the hidden leaf village whose level could be brought closer to that of a kage. If she left the village, it would be tantamount to inviting the other hidden villages to visit. What about Yumiko? The young kunoichi was also eager to search, but she was already stopped by Izao, who accidentally found out about the girl’s pregnancy. Sensei literally forced Yuki to stay, because her death could have catastrophic consequences, and the kunoichi became very weak during pregnancy, which would cause unnecessary trouble for her comrade on the mission.       Another week has passed since the end of the war. The five kage were now sitting at a round negotiating table. In the center of this table sat Ashina, who was the third party. He had no voice at the meeting. His main task was to protect the place where the meeting was held, and he was also the one who kept order at the place where the meeting was held. Unlike the last meeting of the five kage, this time a separate place was allocated for the kage's bodyguards behind the blinds in the same hall. This was done so that the bodyguards would not distract the heads of other villages with their presence.       - I announce the beginning of the meeting of the five kage. – Ashina said in a calm and even voice, getting up from his seat. The Kage followed suit, showing their respect for each other with this action. When the head of the Uzumaki took his place, the rest followed his example.       - We have gathered here to discuss a peace treaty. My conditions are very simple. You return to the land of fire the lands that you occupied during the war, and in return we conclude a trade and peace treaty. – Tobirama put forward his demands, immediately showing his position.       - The territory where Uzushio was located before will remain with the Country of Water. We did not occupy the lands of the Fire Country, but I will have a counterclaim to the Uzumaki. – Gengetsu, who was grieving the last defeat, answered with a sly smile. For him, such a quick loss of the war meant only one thing - Kiri needed a force that could repel Konoha.       - And what is your demand for me and my clan? – asked Ashina, while the second hokage was thinking about the words of the head of the village hidden in the Mist.       - I demand the return of Kiri to the two tailed creatures that you stole from us. They are the military power of the Mist. We paid a lot of money for them at one time. – Hozuki put forward his demands. He was confident in his words, however, when Uzumaki turned his penetrating gaze on him, the Mizukage became wary. He felt uneasy from such a calm and reasonable look. Ashini was the only person who remained from the previous era. Deep down, each of the ninja present here respected this seasoned warrior. Yes, he did not enter the battle himself, but everyone knew that if the gray-haired devil had appeared at one of the battles, he could have confidently turned it in his favor.       For other kages it was not clear why he did not go to war, but for any Uzumaki the reason was more than obvious. Ashina defended his relatives to the very end. He sent only the most experienced to the lightning front during the war to increase not only the chances of victory, but also the percentage of surviving Uzumaki. Uzukage valued his relatives very much, even if he was very strict with them at times.       - The spoils of war should remain with the victors. – Ashina calmly noted, a sarcastic smile appearing on his lips. The Raikage and Mizukage have veins on their faces. They were filled with only two emotions - anger and rage. However, before they could say anything, Uzukage continued. - However, I will still return the two bijuu to you. My village has no right to them, because Uzushio is not a great shinobi village. – the gray-haired devil finished his answer.       - It’s good that you understand this, Uzukage-Dono. – somehow holding back his anger, Gengetsu squeezed out.       - Keep these islands for yourself. – Tobirama intervened in the conversation, having finally made a decision. Why didn't he fight for those lands? The answer lies on the surface. First of all, these are the Uzumaki Islands, not his. Secondly, these islands are very difficult to protect from attacks by pirates and wandering shinobi or nukenin. Thirdly, on these islands, according to the information of the second hokage, there was nothing that was necessary for the Country of Fire. This is not something that makes sense to fight for. After his words, the albino turned his gaze to the other kages, waiting for an answer from them. We didn't have to wait long.       - Sand will not claim Konoha's lands. – the Kazekage stated confidently. This man became famous in many battles in the land of Rivers. Perhaps, his achievements and ideas in puppetry became a strong support for attacks on the village hidden in the Sand. The second kazekage himself was named Shamon. He had exceptional skills in puppet making. Many ninjas who met him on the battlefield survived the first time, but there were only a few who were able to survive the second battle with him. The peculiarity of this shinobi was his versatility. Not only was he able to make good plans to fight multiple enemies, but he could also upgrade his puppets solely for fighting powerful ninjas. On the battlefield, he earned the nickname “The Adaptive Scorpion.” Scorpio because he used scorpion poison which killed ninjas very quickly. Even for So, this was a very difficult opponent. What influenced Shamon to make such a decision? The Second Kazekage was a man with an objective assessment of the world. This war very well showed all the problems that the village hidden in the Sand has, so in the coming years he, as the head of the great ninja village, will have to carry out many reforms, aimed primarily at increasing the military power of the Sand. – However, I have a requirement. – a few seconds later the second Kazekage added, suddenly remembering one important detail. Chamon was a bald man, although he still had brown curls at the back of his head. His main distinguishing feature was an ornate green dragon tattoo that was inked around the top of his head, with a black dragon claw covering his right eye. Shamon's clothing consisted of a dark kimono, belted with a light sash, over which he wore a single-colored long-sleeved haori.       - I'm listening to you. – responded Tobirama, who was already starting to get tired of the fact that he had to put up with the demands of the peace treaty, although he was the strongest party.       - Our jinchuriki died near the village of hidden leaves. I would like you to catch him, and then help him seal him in our ninja. – the Kazekage put forward his conditions, looking with a confident look at the Hokage.       - This is a fair condition. I agree. – Senju agreed, cursing this Shamon to himself. – This asshole understands that Konoha cannot attack one of the villages, because then an attack will be launched from other villages. – the albino frowned. Yes, most of the jounin and chunin died in the war, but the genin, of which there are a huge number, are still alive. Each village treasures them like the apple of their eye, because they are the future of their village.       - I’m afraid that I can’t just give up Osako Castle. This is a very important point. – the second raikage noted gloomily. Ashina's words were still unpleasant to him, but he tried to quickly forget about them.       - I propose to make Osako Castle a neutral territory so that we do not have conflicts about it. – Tobirama put forward his proposal. He really didn’t want to give this fortress to the future enemy... yes, exactly the enemy, because the albino understood perfectly well that this truce was just the calm before the storm. The villages showed their treasures, but they were not yet restored to their ideal condition. There were many shortcomings that the war revealed. Few of the new generation took part in the battles. In many villages there was even a ban on participation in military operations for ninjas who were under eighteen years of age.       - Hmm... okay. Let it be. – Aretha answered with a cold snort. Areta became the second raikage. This was the brother of the first raikage, Sanshi. The head of the village hidden in the Cloud looked like a beast. He had a goatee that hung neatly down, and also had two stripes running down the man's cheeks. They were smooth and had sharp corners, which indicated how much the man took care of his appearance. His right arm was covered up to his shoulder with a special type of armor. Only those ninjas who fought with him knew why this armor was needed. Areta possessed an improved storm element genome, but the level that he managed to achieve towered over all previous users of this genome. From his right hand, this ninja released almost all of his ninjutsu, while his other hand was protective. It contained a tanto. The Second Raikage did not manage to gain enormous popularity, but many opponents did not want to fight him, seeing his incredible speed and power of techniques.       - I would like to demand temporary compensation for the killed jinchuriki. The Four-Tails died in the Hidden Leaf Ninja technique. I would like to receive either half of the tailed man's money, or a third of the land that we captured. – Muu drawled in a fairly confident voice. His demands were quite clear. The balance of the tailed beasts that Hashirama once established has been disrupted. This will greatly affect the pressure not only from other Great Villages on Stone, but will also give small ninja settlements a chance to invade the country of Earth, which was unacceptable.       - Damn, this guy is smart... What should I do? We still have an army, but other villages do not. Now they are in danger in front of small villages. If I try to protect them, Konoha might weaken. Damn, if only Michiko were here... everything would be so much easier. – the second hokage thought sadly.       - We are all under threat. Only recently I learned about the formation of two new ninja villages. Yes, they are not as strong as us, but they can take advantage of our position to change the world order. – Shamon emphasized an important detail, whose facial expression remained serene.       - Demon Village and Sky Village. One is rumored to have a demon that is not inferior to the tailed ones in strength, and the other has come out ahead due to its advanced technologies. – Areta noted, becoming more animated. Everyone noticed this change in mood. Areta was a warrior to the core, and not a politician, which is why he gave up the place of head of the village to his brother, although everyone in the Cloud knew that he was the strongest. Together, the two brothers could bring a huge amount of problems to any enemy, but Sanshi decided that they should separate two fronts. This seemed like the right decision for the first raikage, but the second criticized this decision. Yes, at sea he was quite good with his storm techniques, but he was greatly held back by the Uzumaki barriers. He could try to break through this front with one assault, but then there would be nothing left of the army, so he had to slowly and gradually probe the weak points in the defense on this front. And when he was already one step away from a breakthrough, Sanshi recalled him, sending him to the front with Fire. While he was on his way, he learned of his brother's death, but this did not break his fighting spirit. There was no point in being angry. Sanshi made a mistake for which he himself paid. Of course, purely on principle, he would take revenge on the Mist. Having reached Konoha itself, he discovered an absurd picture... many ice statues stood on a vast territory. He did not make any rash decisions. It took him three days to fully understand everything that was happening. Then news came to him about the loss of the Fog. He was happy and sad about this. Now he will not see the continuation of the war, because if the country of Lightning continues the war, then other villages will come to Konoha in order to calm down one arrogant great ninja village. The second did not want such a fate for his village.       - I have suggestions for all of you then. - Tobirama spoke, drawing attention to himself. - We can conclude a mutual aid agreement, according to which, if any of the five great villages is attacked, then the other four great villages will be obliged to come to its aid. – the albino put forward his proposal, looking at everyone with a peaceful look. -        Raise your hand if you agree with this proposal. Ashina said, nodding in approval to Hashirama's brother. It was no surprise to the Senju that all the other kage raised their hands.       - Then we can… - Tobirama was about to continue, but a voice from behind the door interrupted him.       - But I’m against it! – a male voice said with growling notes in his voice, after which the door to the meeting hall of the five kage was knocked down...