After Madara Uchiha's defeat at the hands of the Shinobi Alliance, the villages went into a brief time of piece, albeit shaky peace. As the years passed, one issue would arise, and then so would another, and another. The Shinobi Alliance that defeated Madara so many years ago has since crumbled, and there are now no true allies between villages. With no greater threat for the ninja villages to ally themselves against, they view each other as potential threats, and as such are always on guard. Each village focuses on their own safety and economy as top priority. However, deep within the shadows, there may be a true great threat to the ninja world once again. This threat, currently known only by its members as the Shounin, operate behind the scenes, and seek to take advantage of these uneasy times.
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Kiri, ever since the breaking of the Shinobi Alliance, has kept to itself, secluded on the island of Water Country and making no contact with the rest of the ninja world. With the resources to maintain itself self sufficiently within the Land of Water, The Village Hidden in the Mist has remained stable and continued to advance its power. In these times, more and more young candidates are being brought through the academy as future shinobi. Headed by who the people believe to be one of the most efficient Mizukages to date, Kirigakure is currently on the high road to being a top contender in terms of overall power in the shinobi world, even if they very rarely have contact with the other four villages on the mainland.
Konoha is experiencing a time of peace, following a civil war brought about by the death of one of its most famed Hokages, Uzumaki Naruto. In the years following his death, a replacement for him could not be decided upon. This eventually led to conflicting sides butting heads against each other over who the best choice would be. Even the village council could do nothing to calm the heated conflict. It wasn't until one man rose above the others in their time of civil war that the fighting would cease. This man, known as Naya, single handedly stopped both sides from competing with each other, showing great leadership and wisdom. It was eventually decided that he should be their new Hokage, a position he accepted and fulfilled until the day of his own death. Now, years and several Hokages later, Konoha has found true peace with itself and is booming once again.
Suna is enjoying quite the recovery from the plague and economic breakdown. A boom in society has occoured with the economic restoration to the villages present standing. And there seems to be little stopping the village besides the lack of high ranking shinobi like those that died during the plague, leaving most of the younger Shinobi to take the place of the lost ones demanding that the younger Shinobi become skilled more quickly. This was facilitated by the Kazekage's mandate for higher standards of Training. As a whole Sunagakure no Sato is at a stronger point than it was before the plague hit.
Iwa, while once a greatly populated and powerful village, it has now had it’s time recently come to an end. While never considered the most powerful of all the villages, it always had use of its terrain, numbers, and skill on its side. No one dared to ever mount a full scale attack on Iwa. However, in the past few years the village has come under extreme danger. An earthquake has recently devastated the entire city, leaving the village as nothing more than a barren ruin. While the people and culture still survive to this day, they have become a much more humble and tribal like group of individuals. They all go out to hunt and collect materials and food for every day needs. Their Tsuchikage will still go to any meeting he is called to, but otherwise he stays in the village to help the rebuilding process as they work on their new underground village. Their leader doesn’t want anyone knowing of Iwa’s weakness and vulnerability, so leaving the village or letting anyone in is strictly forbidden.
Kumo existed in relative peace following the years after the Great Shinobi War. With its strong hold on inter-village commerce, it soon rose to a position of extreme wealth and affluence. This, however, proved to be it's downfall as it quickly became overrun with greed and lust; a New Age Sodom. The subsequent Raikages after Ei was evidence of this, as the position of Raikage disintegrated from a position of pride and power to a position of greed and arrogance. The Raikage position instantly became a puppet of local gangs, and soon, the Raikage (Z) felt so powerful as to tempt the Lightning Daimyo and unite the Lightning Country under his power. The attempt essentially failed, as the Daimyo was eager to rid the Village of its sinful aura. In a war known as the War of the Clouds, the Lightning Country was disbanded into numerous sects, and was thrown into anarchy when both the Raikage and the Daimyo were killed in battle. In this midst of this chaos, a devout Buddhist warrior named as Aosagibi arose, who quickly conquered each of the Lightning Tribes (one by one) until the Lightning Country, for the most part, was united. He now sits as the head deity of the Lightning Country in a practically militaristic state with all outside influences having been cut out. Although his plans for the Lightning Country are obscure, it is clear that he will have no one interfere in his divine judgment.
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The Shounin are a cult that has been around for hundreds of years, the followers of this group worship the one known as “The Beloved”. The highest members of this order have been spoken to by The Beloved and know of his existence and desire for them to help purify this world. While currently lacking in numbers, they are not afraid to begin taking the shinobi world into their own hands. While they encourage all to follow the voice of The Beloved, they know that they must wipe out those that would stand in the way of his will. Their leader, Itami Chishio, has recently seen an extremely haunting vision, one that will change the course of the future for everyone.
The time of the cleansing is at hand.
