Danzō left the Hokage's office just like that, swift and brimming with confidence.
His movements were so fast, the negotiation so smooth, that even Koharu, who had been refuting him moments ago, hadn't expected it.
But the next second, cold sweat began to seep down the side of her forehead.
Knowing Danzō all too well, she realized one terrifying possibility.
When Danzō stops arguing with you, it means only one thing—
At the same moment, Mitokado Homura also came to the same realization. A shiver ran down his spine; his knees nearly buckled as he almost dropped to the floor.
Moments later, Shikaku noticed that the two furious advisors no longer demanded any explanations from him—they simply left the office in a daze, as if their souls had flown away.
That night, the two advisors slept especially uneasily.
The Anbu assigned to protect them were utterly baffled as to why, every time the advisors had just drifted off, they would suddenly open their eyes wide and ask if the guards were still on duty.
This strange routine went on the entire night, leaving the Anbu with no chance to relax or slack off even for a moment.
...
Land of Iron.
The samurai messenger, named Chōsuke, finally spotted Takeshi's group approaching.
"Are you the honored Hokage-sama?"
A samurai shouted loudly from a distance.
"Indeed."
Takeshi stopped walking and waited for them to come closer to verify his identity.
"I am Chōsuke, sent under orders from Mifune-sama to escort you into the city."
After confirming everything, Chōsuke led Takeshi toward the fortress where the Five Kage Summit was to be held, sending men ahead to notify the other four Kage.
"Have the other Kage already arrived?"
As they walked, Takeshi asked curiously.
"Yes, Hokage-sama. The Kazekage, Tsuchikage, Raikage, Mizukage, and their respective guards have all safely arrived."
The other Kage moved quickly, huh.
Compared to them, his own journey had been full of trouble—he had been ambushed dozens of times, once even facing eight assassination attempts in a single day.
Damn it, all I did was kill some of your relatives and friends—did you really have to try so hard to get revenge?
He was starting to regret ever organizing this Five Kage Summit.
There had been so many assassins, he couldn't even tell which ones belonged to which village anymore.
Under Chōsuke's lead, Takeshi entered the fortress. Passing through the samurai-guarded corridors, he finally reached the prepared conference chamber.
"Hmph, Hokage-sama, it seems your journey wasn't exactly smooth. Did you encounter assassins on the way?"
Ōnoki was the first to speak, and as expected, his words dripped with mockery.
What he didn't know was that his random guess happened to be the exact reason Takeshi had arrived late.
So... were some of those assassins yours?
Takeshi glanced at Ōnoki with an expression that wasn't exactly friendly.
But then he remembered the purpose of the meeting—to have the five great hidden villages unite against Jigen—so he restrained himself from lashing out on the spot.
"Tsuchikage-sama, you jest."
As he spoke, Takeshi gave a small nod toward Pakura, subtly reminding the others of the cooperative ties between Sunagakure and Konoha.
"Since Hokage-sama is here," said Mifune, "then, as the neutral party appointed by all of you, I hereby declare the Five Kage Summit officially open."
Mifune, being a man who longed for peace, naturally wouldn't just stand by and let two Kage start bickering. He smoothly took control of the situation and began the meeting.
At his announcement, the guards accompanying each Kage immediately leapt up to the upper floors, leaving the main chamber open for the leaders below.
At the same time, they observed the other guards in the shadows.
"That silver-haired man… that's the Fourth Hokage's son, Hatake Kakashi."
Zabuza muttered coldly to Kisame, his eyes fixed on Kakashi's signature silver hair.
"The little girl beside him—I saw her during the Chūnin Exams. She was just a genin, yet now she's traveling with the Hokage..."
Kisame's sharp gaze had already picked up on Uchiha Hikari standing quietly beside Kakashi.
"Well, and that blonde kid over there… heh, the Tsuchikage and Hokage must have plenty to talk about."
Seeing the situation before him, Kisame couldn't help but smirk inwardly. He understood full well what these two Kage were thinking—each scheming in their own way. Compared to them, his own Mizukage seemed downright harmless.
At that moment, the very Mizukage Kisame had just labeled as "harmless"—Yagura—was the first to speak.
"Since this summit was convened by Hokage-sama, please, tell us the reason."
Yagura's words drew a dissatisfied snort from Ōnoki. The old man slightly tilted his head back, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Ah, so it's the era of young people now, huh? Seems like us old relics aren't valued anymore."
"Tsuchikage, perhaps you'd care to make your meaning a bit clearer."
Even after being jabbed like that, Yagura's expression remained calm; he simply feigned ignorance and let Ōnoki continue.
"It's nothing," Ōnoki said with a chuckle, "just an observation. Aside from the Raikage, the rest of you are all still in your youthful prime."
He let out a low laugh, displaying his mastery of subtle provocation.
"Tsuchikage-sama isn't wrong," Takeshi replied mildly. "The Third Hokage once said the same—there were so many virtuous young people in the village that he hesitated for a long time when choosing his successor. Sometimes it's hard to make such decisions."
"Tsuchikage-sama, since you're still sitting in that seat, perhaps you're facing the same dilemma as my teacher Sarutobi-sensei once did?"
Takeshi's tone remained pleasant, his expression disarmingly gentle—but every word pierced right into Ōnoki's lungs.
"Pfft."
Deidara couldn't hold back a laugh. "This Hokage's pretty interesting. I like this guy, yeah."
Every time he'd argued with Ōnoki, Deidara had always been the one losing. Seeing someone finally talk the old man into blushing red made him admire Takeshi even more.
Ōnoki's face flushed visibly, but just as quickly, he composed himself again.
After all, he had survived and thrived in the ninja world for decades. Even if momentarily flustered, he could recover his composure in an instant.
But Takeshi clearly had no intention of letting things end there.
Seeing that Ōnoki was about to speak again to save face, Takeshi jumped right back in:
"Speaking of which, I must admit—Iwagakure truly has no shortage of talent. I remember during the Third Great Ninja War, it took over ten thousand Iwa-nin to finally wear down the Third Raikage."
"And soon after, you used Kusagakure as a bridge to attack Konoha, sending massive forces to battle Namikaze Minato himself. Truly impressive in the art of 'nurturing talent.'"
That line hit even deeper.
Everyone knew what kind of price Iwagakure had paid to bring down the Third Raikage.
And the battle against Minato... had nearly wiped them out entirely.
If someone were to check Ōnoki's blood pressure right now, they'd probably be shocked to see it spiking at an alarming rate.
"It's precisely because of the lessons from the Third Great Ninja War that we now yearn for peace even more," Mifune quickly interjected, sensing Takeshi was about to go for another verbal strike. He cut him off before things could escalate further.
"When the First Hokage first convened the Five Kage Summit, wasn't it for the very same reason—to bring lasting peace to the shinobi world?"
Mifune's words were reasonable, and Takeshi himself had come with that goal in mind.
But when he looked at Ōnoki's smug face, he just couldn't help himself.
"Yes, exactly. When the First Hokage distributed the Tailed Beasts to maintain balance among the villages, he hoped for peace. And yet, some shameless people turned their Jinchūriki into weapons for war. Ah, Tsuchikage-sama, don't get me wrong—I wasn't talking about you."
Mifune nearly drew his sword right there.
For crying out loud—this whole summit was your idea! And yet here you are, relentlessly roasting the Tsuchikage. What, are you trying to kill him with rage on the spot?