Mafui spoke with a worried expression.
To be honest, this is only human nature.
Every Kage is extremely protective of their own village. Seeing so many 'family members' turn to dust before their eyes, the immediate psychological impact, without any buffer, might drive an ordinary person mad.
Perhaps here in the Hidden Cloud, thousands of Hidden Sand Ninja are just a number, like the civilians who unfortunately perished in previous Ninja Realm wars, they are merely numbers.
But for the Hidden Sand, it's not that simple.
The power restored after the Third Ninja War vanished overnight.
"So you mean, there's no one left in Hidden Sand who can make decisions now?"
The Fourth Raikage raised his eyebrow.
Mafui replied, "Now in Hidden Sand, the one making decisions is the former advisor and elder of Hidden Sand, Elder Chiyo."
"That old puppet-playing woman, huh."
The Fourth Raikage's expression turned more serious.
Mafui took out a letter from her bosom and said, "Furthermore, this is a letter sent by Elder Chiyo from Hidden Sand Village, regarding the convening of the Five Kage Summit. Similar letters, I assume, have also been sent to the Hokage, Tsuchikage, and Mizukage."
"The Five Kage Summit?"
The Fourth Raikage stepped forward quickly, taking the letter from Mafui's hand. The exterior was inscribed with 'To the Honorable Raikage Only.'
After opening it, he glanced at the contents.
The Fourth Raikage sneered, a look of mockery on his face.
"What Five Kage Summit, it's obviously a plea for help. Looks like Hidden Sand has been scared stiff by the Land of Demons."
Mafui asked, "So, Raikage-sama, are you going to attend? The Land of Demons, as the victorious nation, wants the Land of Wind to cede the northwestern region as a price to end the war. Hidden Sand is now caught in a dilemma and can only rely on the joint pressure of the Five Kage Summit on the Land of Demons, and then there's the issue of the three renegade ninjas..."
"Yes! Why not! This time at the Five Kage Summit, the military representatives of the Land of Demons will also be invited, right? If that woman with the Byakugan is there too, it'll be the perfect opportunity to wash away my past humiliation and show her the power of my fist!"
In his life, he faced two formidable opponents.
One was Hyuga Ayane, possessing the Byakugan kekkeigenkai, able to use Gentle Fist to suppress his Lightning Style Armor.
The other was the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, Namikaze Minato, known throughout the Ninja Realm as the Yellow Flash, winning with speed.
Now, the Yellow Flash is only a legend, which means Hyuga Ayane is his lifelong enemy, a rival who must be defeated!
The Fourth Raikage was full of confidence in this trip.
Mafui sighed; he really doesn't think before he speaks.
Although she knew the Fourth Raikage must not be going solely to resolve personal grievances, he just wanted a stepping stone to attend the Five Kage Summit, hoping nothing went wrong then.
Besides, it's also a good opportunity to understand the situation of the other nations.
Especially the Hidden Mist Village.
Ever since Karatachi Yagura initiated a coup eight years ago and took the position of the Fourth Mizukage, the situation there has always been a mystery.
◎
Hidden Mist.
"Three thousand seven hundred dead, one thousand two hundred injured? Only such a small number of deaths?"
Through secret channels, they obtained intelligence sent from the Land of Demons. The Fourth Mizukage Yagura glanced at the outcome of the battles between the Land of Demons and the Land of Wind, and after some contemplation, expressed regret.
In front of him was the next Mizukage candidate, a Hidden Mist Jonin possessing two kekkeigenkai, Terumi Mei.
Upon hearing Yagura's words, she was a bit speechless.
Three thousand seven hundred ninjas are not a small number.
Especially considering the casualty rate within only a month or two; this is already a rather extravagant result.
The direct loss of Hidden Sand's military power lies within the range of one-quarter to one-third.
Counting the injured, Hidden Sand probably can barely gather up to ten thousand ninjas now.
"You can't calculate it this way because there is also a batch of Konoha's elite Jonin mixed in Hidden Sand's troops, and even one of the Sannin, Jiraiya, was captured and imprisoned. The power that Hidden Sand and Konoha invested is greater than what is on paper."
Considering that many Jonin died in the war, this is the source of Hidden Sand and Konoha's significant losses.
The training of each Jonin is not easy; it requires immense resources and time.
Let's put it this way, disregarding Konoha, Hidden Sand's Jonin might be relatively insufficient in the next seven or eight years. Compared to the other great Ninja Villages, their high-end strength in Jonin will clearly be at a disadvantage.
The massive loss of Jonin is far heavier than what's presented by superficial numbers.
This is the fundamental reason why Hidden Sand suffered heavy damage.
It's also a harsh reality.
The Genin who sacrificed in war are cannon fodder, and the Chunin are considered the backbone. These two ranks of ninjas aren't too troublesome to train.
It's only the cost of training Jonin that is exceptionally high. Because even among the Five Kage, they are those who emerged among Jonin.
This isn't a number that can be glossed over.
"So he did hold back. If the direct war losses in Hidden Sand Village could be increased to five thousand, it would be better."
Yagura reclined on an automatic swivel chair, leisurely sipping a cup of hot tea.
Terumi Mei glanced at Yagura, perhaps for this Mizukage, it is like that.
After all, when he launched the coup, the internal casualties of Hidden Mist were not much less than those of Hidden Sand this time.
Moreover, with the strained relationship with the Daimyo of the Land of Water, the 'contract' relationship disintegrated, leading to severe mistrust between the Ninja Village and the Daimyo's aristocratic system, basically going separate ways.