The Kage Summit officially began in the meeting room within the fortress located in the Land of Iron.
Onoki swept his gaze across Minato Namikaze, Raikage A, Baki, and Mei Terumi before speaking. "The Five Kages have really changed these days—aside from me, you're all so young. Well then, who shall speak first?"
Baki spoke up first. "Our village's Jinchuriki was recently captured by Akatsuki. I believe Akatsuki poses an extreme danger and immediate action must be taken against them. If we delay any further and Akatsuki captures all the Jinchuriki, it will be too late."
Onoki snorted. "When a village loses its Jinchuriki, it can no longer serve as an example to other nations—it's an utter disgrace! Normally, recovery operations are conducted covertly. No one would seek help from other nations so soon after such a loss."
Baki's face darkened. "That's just outdated thinking. According to your logic, your own Iwagakure lost two Jinchuriki as well. If they were truly capable, they wouldn't have lost both of them!"
Onoki's expression also turned grim.
Although Iwagakure's Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Roshi, left the village due to disagreements with Onoki and was captured while isolated, the fact remains that Iwagakure has indeed lost two Jinchuriki.
At this moment, Mei Terumi spoke. "Setting aside whether or not that view is outdated, as Mizukage, I admit our approach has been overly passive. However, even if someone loses their Tailed Beast, we shouldn't immediately consider it threatening. Controlling a Tailed Beast requires techniques, knowledge, and time."
Onoki nodded in agreement. "A Jinchuriki must grow together with their Tailed Beast, gradually adapting to one another. Even then, controlling them remains extremely difficult."
Minato Namikaze said solemnly, "With all due respect, Mizukage, I cannot agree with your words. How can we be sure that Akatsuki didn't already possess the necessary techniques and knowledge before capturing the Tailed Beasts?
Akatsuki attacked each Jinchuriki nearly simultaneously and captured them all. In my opinion, they fully prepared themselves before beginning their large-scale Jinchuriki capture operation. Therefore, I believe Akatsuki must now be considered the greatest threat to the ninja world since they've already obtained all Tailed Beasts except for the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails!"
Facing Minato's response, Onoki suddenly changed the subject, glancing toward Raikage A. "Come to think of it, Raikage, your brother B is that perfect Jinchuriki who can control his Tailed Beast, right? Even he nearly got captured—Akatsuki's strength really cannot be underestimated~"
Raikage A suddenly clenched his fist tightly. The guards of each Kage noticed Raikage's movement and rushed protectively toward their respective leaders at once.
Raikage A abruptly stood up, smashing the table in front of him with a punch. All the Kage's personal guards positioned themselves before their masters, watching Raikage A warily.
The situation instantly became extremely tense. Shindai awaited Minato Namikaze's single command—he was ready to act immediately!
Mifune, who was serving as the summit moderator, sighed deeply and said, "This is a place for discussion—please behave appropriately and maintain decorum!"
Minato Namikaze addressed Shindai and the others, "Shindai, Obito, Kakashi, Shisui, step down."
The other Kages also dismissed their guards.
Shindai placed his hands behind his head and walked toward the spectators' stands, grumbling along the way, "Cloud picked such a hot-tempered guy to be their Kage. That's quite the burden to carry."
Raikage A snorted angrily through his nose and sat back down, suppressing his anger.
Seeing that things had calmed down, Mifune continued, "Let's resume the discussion."
Raikage A started accusing, "Konoha, Suna, Kiri, Iwa—the Akatsuki was formed by rogue ninja from your villages. Furthermore, my investigations revealed that some among you—including former Village Headmen—have employed Akatsuki before! I don't trust you and have no desire to negotiate with you. The only reason I came to this Kage Summit is to hold you accountable!"
Baki frowned and asked, "What do you mean 'employed'?"
Raikage pointed directly at Baki, bluntly saying, "You don't even know this, being the Wind Daimyo? Then go ask those old men in your village! You've deployed Akatsuki operatives during past wars yourselves!"
Onoki said solemnly, "Now the great nations have stabilized, shifting military expansion into reduction as tensions eased between countries, thus reducing threats of war. In peacetime, maintaining ninja village forces has become a heavy financial burden for each nation.
Still, drastically downsizing shinobi villages poses certain risks. If war breaks out again, relying purely on untested young ninjas could lead to defeat.
Training excellent shinobi takes time and money within one's own village. Akatsuki, on the other hand, are elite war contractors who thrive in conflict, delivering highly effective results at a fraction of the cost."
Raikage snapped, "Don't try to sugarcoat it, Wind Daimyo! Back then, during Sunagakure's invasion of Konoha, they deployed Akatsuki operatives too!"
Baki remained speechless. Indeed, years ago when they launched the invasion against Konoha, it was to prevent the Land of Wind's Daimyo from cutting Sunagakure's military funding.
But hiring Akatsuki—this he truly hadn't known. That matter had been orchestrated secretly by Danzo back then.
Raikage then turned his accusations toward Mei Terumi, "Moreover, the most suspicious party is Kirigakure. Your village never engaged in diplomacy before—we suspect Akatsuki actually originated there!"
Mei Terumi stayed silent briefly before finally replying, "Since you're bringing it up, I'll be honest too. Our previous leader—the Fourth Mizukage Yagura Karatachi—we suspect was manipulated, possibly even under Akatsuki's control. We didn't want to make the situation public..."
Raikage snorted coldly, "All of you scumbags are the same!"
Onoki shot Raikage a sidelong glance, "Watch your tone, Raikage! Speaking of which, during these times of reduced armaments, your Cloud keeps desperately seeking power, recklessly collecting jutsu. Long ago, you even sought the Byakugan aggressively—attempting to steal Konoha's Byakugan, weren't you?"
"To maintain a balance of power, we had no choice but to enlist the help of Akatsuki."
Onoki bluntly admitted that they had previously hired Akatsuki as well.
Raikage A shot to his feet in anger: "What did you just say?"
Minato Namikaze, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up: "Now that we've reached this point, it's too late to start pointing fingers. As for assigning responsibility, every member of Akatsuki is a rogue ninja and no longer represents their former village. Our priority now should be figuring out how to deal with the Akatsuki organization, rather than arguing over whose fault it is here.
If we're truly focusing on accountability, Kumogakure has repeatedly attempted to steal Konoha's Kekkei Genkai and secret techniques, deliberately provoking conflict. And as the Tsuchikage pointed out, Raikage, you bear some responsibility as well."
Raikage A glared daggers at Minato Namikaze.
Mifune cleared his throat slightly, stepping in as mediator to break the deadlock: "As a neutral party, allow me to speak."
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ **4 bonus chapters** this weekend if I get kind comments.
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>