Diarmuid had also learned of the assassination attempt on Hiruzen. The event fell well within his expectations; in hindsight, placing his bets on Hiruzen had proven to be the correct choice.
Ultimately, Diarmuid declined Black Zetsu's proposal. Initially, he hadn't overthought the matter; having Obito Uchiha tag along with Kakuzu and Jūzō would certainly have made things more convenient. From an efficiency standpoint alone, it would have been a massive leap forward; after all, travel time was the single greatest drain on their productivity.
Kakuzu surely would have been thrilled. Not having to waste vast amounts of time on the road meant he could rapidly accept, execute, and turn in missions in a perpetual cycle, accumulating the vast sums of wealth that provided him with his unique sense of satisfaction.
However, after a brief exchange with Orochimaru, Diarmuid realized he had overlooked a critical detail: if Obito were to operate openly with Kakuzu and Jūzō, how would they explain the Night of the Nine-Tails once Konoha discovered the connection?
"Sorry, Hiruzen, I was actually an undercover agent all along?" Even Hiruzen wouldn't buy that.
Wouldn't all the goodwill Diarmuid had cultivated go to waste? Consequently, he turned down Black Zetsu's suggestion. Besides, he didn't particularly care for Obito anyway, as the guy was a walking liability.
Black Zetsu was genuinely disappointed. He had hoped to use this arrangement to deepen his ties with Diarmuid, subtly integrating the Yorozuya into his plans while simultaneously training Obito. It was a failed gambit.
Yet, Black Zetsu's disappointment was minor, as he felt his personal relationship with Diarmuid was actually improving. Diarmuid had acquired significant classified data from Tobirama, containing many mysteries even the Second Hokage hadn't fully unraveled; Diarmuid began consulting Black Zetsu directly on these matters.
Black Zetsu proved to be surprisingly generous. As long as the inquiries didn't interfere with his Eye of the Moon Plan, he was willing to answer almost anything Diarmuid asked.
Through this back-and-forth, Diarmuid found Black Zetsu increasingly agreeable. Their relationship grew closer, calling them "good friends" wouldn't be an exaggeration. In truth, Diarmuid never hated the fellow; Black Zetsu might be a villain, but what did that have to do with Diarmuid?
…
Following this, the Yorozuya entered a long period of tranquility.
Five years passed in a flash. While Kakuzu and Jūzō continued to roam the shinobi world, Orochimaru, Diarmuid, and Sasori remained entirely submerged in silence. Occasionally, word would travel that Kakuzu and Jūzō had found temporary teammates to test out on missions. Diarmuid heard such reports from time to time, but not once did anyone pass their scrutiny to become a recognized partner of the Yorozuya.
Most of these candidates died during high-risk assignments. A small number found their personalities clashing with the duo and parted ways after a few missions. In the end, no fresh blood was added to the Yorozuya's core ranks.
Conversely, Kabuto's performance was stellar. He first revitalized the Intelligence Division of Amegakure, leading the village's shinobi to officially bring the entire Land of Rain under their absolute control. He organized multiple joint strikes with the Akatsuki and rain ninjas to purge internal enemies and stabilize the domestic environment.
These "internal enemies" were largely remnants of Hanzo of the Salamander's faction, loyalists whose convictions were tied solely to Hanzo. Even after his death, they refused to surrender, seeking vengeance and causing sporadic chaos. While they were little more than "clownish jump-abouts" posing no existential threat, they were persistently annoying.
Beyond these remnants, there were numerous bandit gangs left over from the war, local rogue ninjas, and criminals fleeing from other nations. Bordering three Great Nations and touching the Land of Birds and the Land of Grass, the Land of Rain was essentially the crossroads of five countries. Consequently, criminals from across the continent flocked there whenever things got too hot at home.
This had historically left the Land of Rain with poor public security, and Diarmuid's group hadn't bothered with such trivialities initially. Once Kabuto took over as Chief of the Intelligence Division, he initiated a wholesale purge. He gathered extensive intel and dispatched Amegakure shinobi, alongside the original Akatsuki members who had joined them, to clear the land.
When Diarmuid first took over Amegakure, the village's shinobi were divided into three tiers:
Tier 1: The Yorozuya core (Diarmuid, Orochimaru, Sasori, Kakuzu, Biwa Jūzō), along with Nohara Rin, Shiramu Ameri. Yakushi Kabuto could now be considered an auxiliary candidate for this group.
Tier 2: The Akatsuki members who followed Diarmuid in the counter-offensive. As victors of the civil war, they held a higher status.
Tier 3: The original Amegakure shinobi previously led by Hanzo.
Now, after a period of integration, the Yorozuya remained high above, effectively receiving the Land of Rain's offerings as guardian deities holding supreme power. However, the previously distinct divide between the original rain ninjas and the Akatsuki members had largely vanished. Most were natives of the Land of Rain anyway; with the civil war over and Hanzo dead, those who stayed weren't necessarily die-hard loyalists. Over time, they naturally fused.
In this process of integration, what gradually faded wasn't the identity of the Amegakure shinobi, but the Akatsuki, the once-glorious organization of pacifists. Nowadays, they almost all simply referred to themselves as "Rain Shinobi."
Once internal stability and order were restored, the Land of Rain finally got back on track. Gradually, following Kabuto's suggestion, the village's isolation began to lift. Entering Amegakure was no longer the ordeal it once was; meticulous vetting was replaced by simple registration and the issuance of transit permits.
The only thing that remained unchanged was the eternal, drizzling rain.
As the "Sixth Great Nation," bordering five lands and second only to the Five Great Nations, the Land of Rain possessed obvious advantages. Once the environment was secured, commerce flourished rapidly. In fact, before the Second Shinobi World War, Hanzo of the Salamander had vigorously developed the nation's trade. That era of commercial prosperity had accumulated the vast funds that gave Hanzo the confidence to declare war on his neighbors in the first place. After all, you can't wage war without money. Shinobi need to eat too, and if you can't pay their wages, who's going to risk their life for you?
Everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction, and not just in the Land of Rain.
As the shadow of the Third Shinobi World War fully dissipated, military confrontation between nations gave way to economic and cultural competition. Consequently, all nations were opening up and developing, creating an era of relative harmony across the continent. Former enemies were enemies no longer, and merchants traveled freely between borders. The population decline caused by incessant warfare began to reverse.
This shift was evident in Konoha's emerging "Konoha 11." While they represented the new generation, the birth rate in Konoha had reached its peak since the village's founding and was consistently breaking records. Most other nations saw similar trends.
Simultaneously, according to Kabuto's intelligence, all the Great Nations were undergoing disarmament. The number of active shinobi was plummeting. Clans like the Kato and Senju, who had been gradually withdrawing from the shinobi profession, were likely not alone; Diarmuid simply hadn't paid them much attention before.
It was said that within three years of the war's end, Konoha disbanded approximately forty percent of its shinobi forces. Every department, including the Anbu, was streamlining its numbers. The graduation rates at the Ninja Academy, which had been high during the war (where reaching the age requirement essentially guaranteed graduation and a trip to the front lines), had dropped significantly. Without genuine talent and skill, one simply wasn't allowed to become a ninja. You couldn't disarm on one hand and conduct mass intake on the other; that would be nonsensical.
This disarmament was expected, as it was the first problem every nation had to solve post-war. During wartime, the Daimyos provided endless support to the villages for the sake of victory. Funds and supplies were ample; they could afford to, and had to, maintain large standing armies. Now that peace had arrived, no sane Daimyo would continue to fund hidden villages at wartime levels.
As village revenues and funding sources shrank, the availability of mission contracts stabilized or even decreased. Many ninjas couldn't even secure a mission to go on. No mission meant no pay, and no pay meant no way to support a family. This was a harsh reality, leading many ninjas to support the disarmament themselves. Not everyone who became a ninja wanted to remain one forever; many felt there was no future in it and chose to change professions.
Only the true elite remained untouched. Thus, while the total number of shinobi fell, the average quality rose significantly.
The population of active shinobi had dropped to a historical low compared to the eras after the first three wars, and it looked to remain that way for a long time. This is clearly visible when comparing the Third War to the Fourth Shinobi World War (the Allied Shinobi Forces).
During the Third War, Iwagakure alone could deploy a massive army to crush Sunagakure, another to battle Konoha in the Land of Rain, and a third to clash with Kumogakure. These three divisions were combat units organized in the tens of thousands. At the start of the war, Iwagakure had already mobilized 30,000 ninjas for external campaigns while keeping defensive forces at home. Onoki himself never even set foot on an external battlefield. Even after the Third Raikage broke into the Land of Earth, Iwagakure could still muster 10,000 ninjas just to intercept him.
One can judge that Iwagakure held a standing army of at least 40,000, and that's a low estimate; 50,000 is a more conservative guess. Because of the arms race leading up to the Third War, Iwagakure wasn't alone. Konoha, always the leader of the Five Great Nations and the perpetual victor, could not have had fewer troops than Iwagakure. Kumogakure, which always vied for the top spot, wouldn't have been far behind.
Conservative estimates suggest these three Great Nations alone possessed at least 150,000 ninjas during the Third War; 200,000 is not out of the question. Even if Sunagakure and Kirigakure were smaller, as Great Nations, they likely contributed another 50,000 between them. Thus, during the Third War, the Five Great Nations could mobilize no fewer than 250,000 ninjas.
In the decade and a half that followed, that number fell off a cliff. By the time of the Fourth Shinobi World War, the entire world, including the Samurai of the Land of Iron, the Five Great Nations, and the smaller villages, mobilized a combined force of only 80,000 combat troops. It didn't even reach 90,000.
One can only imagine how drastic the disarmament had been.