"What the hell? These guys are looking at me like I'm some kind of freak!" Ruiga felt a chill down his spine under the greedy gazes of so many people.
"At least I've still got my dependable comrades!" Thinking this, Ruiga turned his head, only to meet Kakuzu's piercing green eyes filled with hunger.
He actually wants to sell me... Ruiga's neck prickled. What kind of teammates were these? They couldn't hold a candle to Boss Aizen.
Ruiga couldn't help but growl, "Stop looking at me like that! Are you planning to charge Master Aizen again or something?"
"Don't worry, it's just that my eyes can't help themselves!" Although saying that, Kakuzu was secretly thinking, Selling him straight to Aizen wouldn't work, but I could play middleman and make a tidy profit by selling him to the other hidden villages!
At this moment, Terumi asked hesitantly, "Um... before letting him go, can we return his Lightning Sword to Mist?"
Though somewhat embarrassed, Samehada had already been taken away by Kisame Hoshigaki—Mist had now lost its last Ninja Blade. The Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist, along with their wielders, were now completely gone!
Just for Mist to have something to cover its shame, she had no choice but to ask.
Hearing this, Seiki glanced at Aizen, who gave no reaction, then turned to Ruiga and asked, "Do you have any objection?"
"I think..." Ruiga had barely opened his mouth when the Wood Dragon restraining him suddenly brought its large head close, giving him a very intimate "face-to-face" interaction.
Ruiga shivered involuntarily and forced a smile, "I think this suggestion is great! As a former member of Mist, I also hope to see Mist grow strong again!"
Nodding in satisfaction, Seiki turned to Terumi and said, "I hope these two Lightning Swords will become a symbol of the renewed friendship between Konoha and Mist!"
Terumi beamed, "They definitely will!"
Everyone in Mist smiled happily—having witnessed the power of Seiki Shimaseki firsthand, they all shared the same thought: peace must be maintained. Anyone who dares to disturb it will be run out on a rail!
While everyone was laughing, Ruiga was wailing inwardly, "My precious swords!"
Great! His standing within the group just dropped again!
"Wait, wasn't I already at the bottom of the hierarchy? Losing my Lightning Swords probably won't lower my status any further anyway!" Thinking of this, Ruiga found slight comfort.
Other than Ruiga, there was now another heartbroken person within Mist Village.
"Damn it! All my years of planning—just gone!" Obito clenched his fist, letting out a pained low growl.
"Whose fault is that? You had a sure win, but had to get reckless. If you had sealed him earlier, none of this would've happened?" Though thinking this, Black Zetsu had no intention of pushing further, "It's not a big deal—after all, it's just one Mist Village... Besides, didn't you gain a capable subordinate?"
Thinking about Kisame, Obito felt slightly better.
That man was someone he had greatly anticipated. He had even risked exposing his identity and plans just to win his allegiance.
Seeing Obito calming down, Black Zetsu started considering his own concern.
"How did that guy, Seiki Shimaseki, become even stronger again? How can an ordinary human keep getting stronger without limit? That's completely unreasonable!"
He had always been cautious around Seiki Shimaseki—not out of fear, but because he worried the man might interfere with his plans. As for the final outcome, he hadn't felt much concern.
Once Madara was revived, with the Rinnegan and Hashirama Senju's physical constitution, defeating Seiki Shimaseki and seizing the Tailed Beasts shouldn't be too difficult.
But now, Seiki Shimaseki had grown so powerful that even he couldn't comprehend his strength!
In his opinion, humans had limits—maximum strength being like Hashirama Senju's. Seiki should have already hit his peak and couldn't grow stronger any further.
But reality proved otherwise—the man was like he had no limits at all!
Therefore, he began feeling a sense of crisis, thinking, "If I continue at this steady pace without speeding up, with Seiki's rate of improvement, by the time Madara revives, he might just pin me to the ground and beat me senseless!"
...
After the deal went smoothly, Aizen released the genjutsu on Ao, dodged the greedy stares of the crowd, and rejoined Kakuzu and his "original body."
Seeing the two people Aizen brought back, Kimimaro and Haku felt somewhat puzzled, thinking, "Were they also taken in by Lord Aizen?"
Seeing Aizen had found two children, Ruiga and Kakuzu felt confused but didn't dwell too much on it, instead sincerely thanking him, "Senior Aizen, thank you so much for this! I will definitely work hard to earn back those one thousand Greer Stones!"
Looking at Ruiga and Kakuzu, Aizen almost wanted to laugh.
The main reason for rescuing them was simply to have a legitimate reason to give the Greer Stones to his original body—after all, in Yahiko's eyes and others, the Greer Stones were his personal possession. Having a few appear here and there was fine, but a large quantity appearing at once would cause issues.
"So, what are you two doing getting all sentimental over nothing?" Aizen secretly sighed to himself, yet outwardly said, "Just some stones—don't worry about it! As long as you're both safe, that's all that matters!"
Hearing Aizen's words, both men felt deeply moved.
Of course, Ruiga was grateful for being saved, while Kakuzu was moved by Aizen's wealth—once realizing Aizen's riches, he knew he had definitely made a valuable friend!
After thanking him, Ruiga asked somewhat doubtfully, "Was the Mizukage really controlled? Could the person controlling him be Senior Tobi?"
Kakuzu succinctly replied, "Possible!"
Aizen smiled and said, "Then in a few days when we hold the meeting, we can just ask him directly, right?"
"A meeting?" Ruiga asked. "Has the leader announced it yet?"
"Not yet, but..." Aizen said. "I received word from the Cloud Village side. The Raikage plans to convene a Kage Summit [a high-level meeting of the village leaders] regarding our activities in the Small Countries. Once this news spreads, it's only natural your leader will hold a meeting too!"
"What? A Kage Summit!" both Ruiga and Kakuzu exclaimed in shock.
...
"What? A Kage Summit!" Asuma and the others exclaimed in shock. [a high-level meeting of the village leaders]
After the battle ended, the Mist Village ninja warmly invited Shimaseki and others to visit their village as guests.
Because they had much to discuss with Shimaseki and Kakashi needed a few days of rest to recover, everyone agreed.
At that moment, they all gathered around Shimaseki, shocked by the major event he had mentioned.
Seiki gave a slight nod. "That's also the reason I'm staying in Mist. Once the matter with the Mizukage is settled, I'll officially inform them."
"If we don't count the ceasefire agreement after the Great Ninja World War, this will be the first Kage Summit meeting since the time of the First Hokage!" Asuma said longingly. "I really wish I could go and see it!"
Shizune shot him a skeptical look. "Just think carefully about who will be representing Konoha at the summit before saying something like that!"
Asuma's thoughts immediately went to that Old Man Hiruzen covered in bandages—and his spirits sank. "Well then, I don't feel like looking forward to it at all anymore."
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
Want to read the subsequent content in advance?
Please follow my Patreon:patreon/Tansnovel
Tans Novel - The Fastest-Updating Naruto Fanfiction Account
Read 100+ chapters in advance, with at least 3 new chapters updated every day! More free chapters! 20+ Naruto fanfictions!
Just three steps:
1. Download and open the "Patreon" app
2. Search for "Tans Novel"
3. Click on the collection and enjoy to your heart's content
<><><><><><><><>