The Second Raikage ordered his men to quickly clear the scene and confiscated the four treasures from the corpses of Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Upon seeing the state of Ginkaku's death, he couldn't help but glance at Fūmori Masaki. It was said that this young man had taken down Ginkaku single-handedly. To possess such strength at such a young age—no wonder Sora had lost.
Tobirama said nothing about the Second Raikage taking the four treasures. They were the other party's belongings to begin with, and it was better not to be too greedy during this time of alliance. Of course, the basho fan, which had been taken beforehand, was a different matter. As a spoil of war, it was naturally impossible to return it, and the Second Raikage knew this, so he never mentioned the basho fan.
At this moment, a Kumogakure Ninja Squad appeared from not far away. They were from the Kumogakure Ninja Squad, arriving to provide support, and happened to run into the Second Raikage's personal guards who were being pursued by the Kinkaku and Ginkakus Squad. They promptly intercepted the Kinkaku and Ginkakus Squad and ordered men to search for the status of Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
"Lord Raikage, it is wonderful that you are safe!" The Kumogakure Ninja captain looked at the Second Raikage in pleasant surprise. Seeing the Konoha Ninja and the captured comrades nearby, he was somewhat surprised but did not treat them as enemies.
"The Village must be in a complete mess; we must return immediately," the Second Raikage said. He then turned to Tobirama and added, "Hokage, please help us by dealing with Iwagakure. Kumogakure will remember this favor."
Just as Tobirama had expected, the Second Raikage would not allow Konoha Ninja to enter the Land of Lightning to quell the rebellion; even as allies, their relationship was not that close. What he worried about most was that Iwagakure might harbor ulterior motives. At this time, a Kumogakure caught in a civil war was too fragile and could truly face the crisis of annihilation.
Tobirama knew that if he wanted to destroy Kumogakure, now was the best opportunity to turn against them. However, on one hand, he did not want the losses to continue to escalate, and on the other hand, he did not want to destroy Kumogakure only to let Iwagakure grow stronger, which might cause Konohagakure to suffer later. Therefore, he agreed to the Second Raikage's request.
The Second Raikage had no choice but to choose to trust Tobirama's character. As the younger brother of the First Hokage, he should not violate the principles his brother had always upheld. After expressing his thanks, he took the Kumogakure Ninja and left, along with the Kumogakure captives.
Tobirama was not worried that Kumogakure would break the agreement. They were already overwhelmed and had no confidence to turn against Konohagakure. Even if the Kumogakure captives were released early, they would certainly return the captured Konoha Ninja.
Now, Konohagakure only needed to wait for the civil war in Kumogakure to end. However, Tobirama still had to negotiate with Iwagakure to prevent them from planning a sneak attack on Kumogakure, as the Lightning Release-proficient Kumogakure was Iwagakure's greatest enemy.
After a bitter battle, Tobirama and his guard squad were very exhausted. Under the protection of the Konoha Ninja Forces, they returned to camp to rest. Once they had recovered some strength, Tobirama made new arrangements, adjusting the positioning of the troops to block any path Iwagakure might use to break into the Land of Lightning.
Although the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning had made peace, the Hidden Mist had not given up. Because of an obsession remaining from the Warring States Period, Hōzuki Gengetsu had been chasing the Second Tsuchikage. Also, because Earth Release was adept at countering Water Release, the battlefield for Iwagakure was generally on the other side near the coast, while other troops were near the Land of Wind. The distribution was clear, so the Konoha Ninja could easily guard the key routes to prevent Iwagakure from passing through.
Although Iwagakure could still get through if they were serious, turning against Konohagakure while facing the fierce offensive of the Hidden Mist would be counterproductive. The Second Tsuchikage knew Konohagakure's intentions and abandoned the idea of a sneak attack on Kumogakure once again, focusing wholeheartedly on dealing with the Hidden Mist.
Without external interference, the speed at which Kumogakure quelled the rebellion was very fast. In normal history, if the Second Raikage had died unexpectedly, the succession of the new Third Raikage would have taken some time, and they would have needed to use the name of righteousness to quell the rebellion, which would likely have taken quite a while.
Now, the Second Raikage had not died. Upon returning to Kumogakure, his status as the legitimate Raikage allowed him to gain the support of a large portion of the Kumogakure Ninja. Meanwhile, those members of the Kinkaku and Ginkakus Squad and the incited pro-war faction appeared somewhat panicked after learning of the deaths of Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
Initially, the pro-peace faction lacked the Raikage's leadership and was suppressed by the pro-war faction led by Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Now, the positions of both sides had reversed, and there was no longer any suspense.
Within three days, the internal rebellion in Kumogakure had ceased. Although some members of the Kinkaku and Ginkakus Squad escaped, it was of no major consequence; the Village had stabilized, though too many people had died.
To stabilize the situation in the Village as quickly as possible, the Second Raikage adopted ruthless measures. Although the masterminds, Kinkaku and Ginkaku, were dead, their supporters clearly had to be purged. All captured members of the Kinkaku and Ginkakus Squad were executed, and some of the more boisterous pro-war faction members also met their end. Furthermore, those who might have had blood relations with Kinkaku and Ginkaku, or those who might have been carrying their descendants, were all executed.
In the history of Kumogakure, this civil war and purge would be written about in heavy strokes. The number of criminals and innocent people implicated was countless. At this time, Kumogakure bore a strong resemblance to the Bloody Mist Village. Although cruel, there was no other way; this was the fate of traitors. As long as there was a connection, even ordinary people without combat ability had only a dead end.
Since Kinkaku and Ginkaku had failed, their subordinates, relatives, and even women who might be carrying their descendants had to die. Just like the Uchiha Clan massacre that had yet to occur, this method of cutting off the roots was considered a matter of course for people of this era.
The Second Raikage looked at the ruins littering Kumogakure after the civil war. Although it was clean, he could still smell the stench of blood in the air. For a long time, he sighed deeply. If possible, he really did not want to take action against these people, but he could not leave behind those who harbored ulterior motives or those who might hate the Village due to their connection to Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
The Second Raikage could not help but reflect on why things had turned out this way. Soon, he thought of war and military conquest. Ultimately, it was because Kinkaku and Ginkaku enjoyed war and could not accept peace. This mindset was not only due to the cruelty in their bloodline but also because of Kumogakure's tradition of believing that everything could be solved by force.
Thinking about it now, the Second Raikage felt some disgust toward war. At first, he only insisted on seeking peace due to the situation, but now he felt that Konohagakure's policy of peace was truly good. If it were Konohagakure, a civil war of this scale should not have happened.
Perhaps he should think of a way to reverse Kumogakure's martial atmosphere to avoid the appearance of zealots like Kinkaku and Ginkaku again, the Second Raikage thought to himself.
In the days that followed, those members of the Kinkaku and Ginkakus Squad who were fleeing everywhere were arrested and executed one by one. Perhaps there were still some fish that slipped through the net, but it was only a few people, and they could not stir up any major trouble. After the bloody purge, Kumogakure's will was completely unified; this time, no one would violate the Raikage's will.
The Second Raikage sent envoys to Konohagakure again to discuss re-establishing peace. Although the reality of peace existed, the agreement had not been signed yet, and such written documents were a formal proof; it still had to be signed.
As for those Konoha captives, after the rebellion within Kumogakure was completely suppressed, they would be received by Konohagakure. The Second Raikage sent Sora to handle it, while Konohagakure sent Fūmori Masaki.