Tension rose at the meeting due to Raikage A, so Mifune, as the moderator, broke the silence to address the assembly.
Mifune began speaking. "The Akatsuki leader has grasped the spirit of the age, exploiting the hidden suspicions that lie beneath the seemingly peaceful relations between nations to expand his power."
Raikage A snapped, "What exactly are you trying to say?"
Mifune seriously proposed, "What seems like a loss could become an unexpected advantage… It's rare for all five Kage to gather together like this. How about this—while we deal with Akatsuki, why not form an unprecedented alliance among the Five Great Shinobi Villages?"
Raikage A frowned tightly. "An alliance?"
Mifune nodded. "This way, we can ensure unified command and prevent the situation from spiraling into chaos."
Minato Namikaze agreed. "I think that's feasible. Right now, Akatsuki has obtained seven Tailed Beasts. This level of power is no longer something any single village can resist alone."
Onoki raised a question. "But who will be entrusted with the command authority of this alliance?"
Mifune responded, "If you're the ones deciding, arguments would never end. Therefore, I hope you'll respect the neutral party's stance. I'd like to propose that from among the five Kage, Hokage seems most suitable to lead the Allied Ninja Forces. So how about entrusting the command of the allied forces to the Hokage?"
Raikage A protested indignantly, "Why the Hokage? Our village hasn't produced even one member of Akatsuki! Someone lacking credibility shouldn't take on such important responsibility! This duty should fall to me!"
Mifune shook his head. "You, Raikage, simply aren't suited for such a heavy burden."
"What did you say?!"
Mifune pointed his finger toward the broken table ruined by Raikage. "To lead strong individuals naturally requires both the right temperament and strength—I understand this well enough. However, someone who acts purely on impulse and brute force will only cause the alliance to shatter apart just like this very table.
From the Third Great Ninja War, the Hokage emerged triumphant, possessing remarkable battle achievements and excellent command skills. He also believes in peace and actively fosters friendly relations with other ninja villages, having powerful personal charisma capable of earning others' trust and submission.
This is my proposal, reached after calm consideration as a representative of the neutral party. Do each of you agree with my suggestion?"
Since Sunagakure is currently closely allied with Konoha, Baki immediately spoke up. "As Kazekage, I support the Hokage being the commander of the Allied Ninja Forces."
Because Kirigakure is now in alliance with Konoha and needs to rely on Konoha's resources for development, Mei Terumi quickly followed. "As Mizukage, I also support the Hokage taking the position of commander."
Onoki felt some regret—he wished he hadn't revealed that he had once allied with Akatsuki members.
Comparatively though, he still preferred Minato Namikaze over Raikage.
Onoki then added, "I also support the Hokage assuming the role of commander."
Raikage A's expression kept changing—he hadn't expected that three of the Kage would actually support Minato Namikaze as the commander of the Allied Ninja Forces.
Raikage A stormed back to his seat, clearly still fuming.
There was no choice. If he kept pushing, what if the Five Great Shinobi Villages decided not to include Kumogakure? If the other Four Villages formed the Allied Ninja Forces without Kumogakure, they would isolate the Cloud Village and likely cause serious damage.
Seeing Raikage A sit down, which was practically an agreement, Mifune turned his gaze toward Minato Namikaze. He spoke solemnly, "Hokage, all the Kage trust you. Please, for the sake of the ninja world, take up the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Ninja Forces!"
Minato took a deep breath before replying, "Honored by your trust, I, Minato Namikaze, as Hokage, will accept this role as the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Ninja Forces and will not fail in this mission."
Shindai and Obito, sitting in the spectator stands, were practically grinning from ear to ear. Kakashi and Shisui smirked as well. In their eyes, no one else was more worthy of becoming Commander-in-Chief than Minato Namikaze!
At that moment, everyone sensed a disturbance within the fortress.
Several samurai from the Land of Iron burst into the chamber.
"General Mifune, an unidentified ninja has infiltrated the fortress and summoned a monster that is now wreaking havoc inside. Our warriors cannot stop this creature—it's causing heavy casualties!"
Mifune's expression changed instantly, and he quickly left the arena.
Onoki suggested, "Who dares intrude when all Five Kage are present? It's possible their target is us. Let's go check it out too!"
Everyone in the meeting room immediately rushed to investigate.
Inside the fortress, there was an unidentifiable creature with the face of a monkey, the body of a raccoon dog, the limbs of a tiger, and the tail of a snake. It was wildly destroying everything around it.
This monstrous creature was created by Danzo using Hashirama cells—a beast called Nue designed to absorb chakra until reaching a limit where it would explode.
Nue was rampaging, destroying everything around it while constantly absorbing chakra.
The samurai inside the fortress were attacking Nue but achieving nothing. Instead, they were being killed one after another.
Mifune gripped the hilt of his sword and snarled, "How dare you cause chaos here!"
[Sword Technique: Sundering Slash!]
Mifune concentrated chakra onto the blade and swung powerfully forward, severing Nue's hind leg.
To Mifune's shock, however, the severed hind leg rapidly regenerated before his very eyes.
[Lightning Cutter: Horizontal!]
Raikage A gathered Lightning Release chakra in his hand and struck powerfully, cleaving through Nue's body.
Yet again, the wound healed instantly, as though it had never existed at all.
And Nue was growing larger by the second.
Mei Terumi tried attacking Nue with both Boil Release and Boil Release, but it had no effect.
"In that case, let me reduce it directly to dust."
Onoki rose into the air, forming hand seals with both hands.
[Dust Release!]
[Reality Severance Jutsu!]
Onoki clasped his hands in prayer-like fashion, then spread them apart to form a cube-shaped transparent barrier, ensnaring the Nue within.
Just as the Nue was about to disintegrate into atoms, a spatial and temporal domain enveloped its body. The Nue vanished from within the barrier, narrowly escaping Onoki's Reality Severance Jutsu.
Then the spatial and temporal rift reappeared at another part of the fortress. The Nue materialized again, now much larger. It expanded to the size of a small mountain, smashing through the fortress walls and taking on an appearance similar to that of a Tailed Beast.
Minato Namikaze stared grimly at the Nue. Was what it used just now a spatial and temporal technique?
Meanwhile, hidden Root ninja made hand seals, preparing to trigger the Nue's Self-Destruction.
The Nue's entire body began to swell. At the moment of self-destruction, Minato hurled a Flying Thunder God Kunai toward it, and using the kunai as a marker, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport himself onto the Nue's body.
In an instant, both Minato and the Nue vanished.
Immediately afterward, an ear-splitting explosion echoed from a faraway place.
As soon as the explosion occurred, Minato returned again using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Wiping cold sweat from his brow, Minato muttered, "That was way too close."
When the Root ninja realized their attempt to kill the Five Kage alongside the Nue had failed and prepared to retreat, Shindai's voice rang out from behind them.
"I found you."
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