Hakushi took a moment from his busy schedule to step out of the lab, temporarily halting his research on a piece of the Divine Tree's deadwood. As the Minister of Military Affairs of the Land of Demons, he needed to personally meet with the envoy jointly dispatched by the Five Great Nations.
Although the morning's talks concluded without satisfactory results for any party, Hakushi had not expected to secure favorable terms for himself in such a short time.
Presumably, the envoys from the Five Great Nations were well aware of this.
Their purpose in collectively visiting the Land of Demons was simple: to impose restrictions on the sale of weapons by the Land of Demons.
Prohibit the Land of Demons from supplying arms to countries or organizations outside the Five Great Nations, and only permit arms sales to the Five Nations. In other respects, they would make certain compromises with the Land of Demons.
It could be said that the result was a win-win for all parties.
This was a necessary approach since the ninja tools developed by the Land of Demons were no longer just ninja tools. The user threshold for these weapons was extremely low; even a child could become familiar with them in a few days and use them for combat.
For example, the Shuriken Shooter only required pulling the trigger to easily take a life.
After the Land of Demons defeated the Land of Wind, they sold those convenient, highly lethal weapons to nearby small countries in large quantities, creating pressure on the major nations.
While it's not to the point of significant harm, should such unrestricted weapon exports continue for a long time, no one can predict what might happen.
Initially, they didn't realize it, but witnessing the civil war in the Land of Rain made them aware of the implications of these convenient ninja tools developed by the Land of Demons.
In the Ninja Realm, there were too many ambitious small countries. Although each time a war occurred in the Ninja Realm, these small countries would suffer greatly, after the war they would vigorously grow back and pose threats to the major nations once again.
The weapons sold by the Land of Demons greatly enhanced the military power of these small countries, leaving them no longer helpless against the major nations.
Wanting to deploy ninja against them, ordinary Chunin and Genin no longer posed an absolute suppressing force.
Only Jonin-level elite ninja could serve as deterrents.
While there are many Jonin in the major nations, their numbers are not overwhelmingly high. Compared to the numbers of Chunin and Genin, Jonin always remains the most scarce ninja tier, often serving as a country's major asset.
Given this situation, imposing restrictions on arms transactions between the Land of Demons and small nations is not considered superfluous behavior.
Hakushi believed that if he didn't agree to these terms set by the Five Great Nations, the next visitors wouldn't be envoys, but united pressure from the ninja villages of the Five Great Nations.
In cases of total alignment of interests, these parties would not hesitate to unite.
Even the Land of Lightning, which maintained a reserved stance at the Five Kage Summit, strongly intervened in this matter, demonstrating the Five Great Nations' heedfulness and vigilance towards small nations at present.
They wouldn't allow a second Land of Demons to emerge.
The exceptional case of the Land of Demons had already left them distressed. Should a second one appear, their prestige and interests would further decline, both directly and indirectly.
"Nagato really knows how to pick his timing..."
Returning to his office, Hakushi glanced at the intelligence from the Land of Rain, feeling somewhat frustrated.
He knew Nagato would use warfare to strongly impact the privileged class in the Land of Rain.
Because if the internal threats aren't resolved, the Land of Rain could never extricate itself from the control of the major nations.
This control wasn't just military; it extended to economic and political spheres.
If the pressure was purely military, Nagato wouldn't be afraid. But economic and political sanctions were the true concerns for Nagato.
No matter how strong his personal abilities were, he couldn't solve the issue of feeding all the people of the Land of Rain. He had to compromise for the peace of the Land of Rain.
Just like Hanzou back in the day, who allowed major nations to ravage the Land of Rain, having no choice but silence and endurance.
And Nagato, who replaced Hanzou, became even more cunning.
Under the alias Pain, he led Hidden Rain, where the internal disorder wasn't a ninja war but rather a civil uprising. It took place out of dissatisfaction with the domestic privileged class, leading to civil war.
If Hidden Rain directly intervened, the nature of the conflict would change.
Even so, the surrounding major nations of Fire, Wind, and Earth were prepared to secretly infiltrate the conflict, intending to exploit the opportunity to eliminate the Hidden Rain, an internal threat.
Only the Land of Wind, due to its connection with the Land of Demons, became extremely sensitive about the war and wouldn't easily intervene.
The Land of Demons began meddling in matters of the Land of Waves, forcing the Land of Fire to be watchful while also paying attention to the Land of Rain, effectively splitting its focus.
The only nation poised to interfere in the civil war of the Land of Rain was the Land of Earth.
This is why Hakushi mentioned Nagato had chosen a very opportune moment.
The major nations of Fire and Wind would not immediately devote all their efforts; it was only necessary to strictly monitor the movements of the Land of Earth.
In terms of shrewdness and strategic anticipation, Hakushi couldn't help but admire Nagato's insight at this moment.
Previously, during the preparation phase for the Five Kage Summit, he discreetly received the Four-tailed Jinchuriki from the Hidden Rock Village, leaving them distressed to this day as they search for Roshi's whereabouts.
Now, using the unrest in the Land of Wind and the distraction of the Land of Fire, Nagato fearlessly spearheaded the occurrence of the civil war in the Land of Rain.