"...This guy..."
Kitsuchi's mouth twitched as he stared at his old man.
The other guards all wore complicated expressions.
"This Hokage... he looks kind of cute, but why does he talk like that..."
The Kazekage's guard looked at that face that was even prettier than a girl's and didn't know what to say.
"Too bad he was born with a mouth."
Her comrade helpfully said what she didn't dare to.
Ōnoki: Finally, someone who understands me.
"This Hokage's tongue is vicious. The Tsuchikage's self-restraint is impressive — if it were me, I'd have already rushed up there and beaten him to death."
Kumogakure's guard clenched his fists, imagining himself in the Tsuchikage's position — and realizing he could never tolerate such insults.
As for the Hokage's side...
Kakashi, who was busy cracking sunflower seeds while trying not to drop any shells on the meeting table, looked utterly unbothered: he'd long since gotten used to it.
This was nothing new — after all, on their way here, Takeshi had managed to anger Uchiha Hikari so many times that she nearly drew her sword to cut him down, even summoning her Susanoo once.
"Sharp-tongued brat."
Ōnoki's face finally darkened; the elderly composure of the Tsuchikage began to crack.
"All right, Hokage, let's get to business."
Just as Ōnoki was about to tear off his 'Tsuchikage restraint' and unleash his full fiery spirit, Pakura spoke up at the perfect moment — cutting off his chance to vent.
So satisfying — he'd finished his verbal jabs, and the other side couldn't even talk back.
Takeshi nodded in satisfaction, then pulled a scroll from his robe and handed it to Mifune.
After confirming that there were no hidden traps or mechanisms, Mifune returned it to him.
As the sealed documents were taken out from within the scroll, Takeshi first handed them to Yagura.
Then, while everyone was curious about what was written inside, he began to briefly explain the origin of the Ōtsutsuki clan and their connection to the shinobi world.
He emphasized particularly that Uchiha Madara might have been involved in the Ōtsutsuki resurrection plan.
He had no choice — most of the people here didn't know much about the Ōtsutsuki, but everyone knew who Uchiha Madara was.
If Takeshi told Ōnoki, "The Ōtsutsuki are coming straight for your village," the old man would probably just puff his chest and boast about using Dust Release to "meet them properly."
But if Takeshi said, "Uchiha Madara is still alive, far away but returning," Ōnoki would immediately declare his support for a shinobi alliance to resist him.
And just as Takeshi predicted, the furious Ōnoki — whose face had been red to the point of purple — suddenly paled when he heard Madara's name.
"Uchiha Madara..."
He, who had often boasted about fighting Madara one-on-one alongside the previous Tsuchikage, now recalled that terrifying encounter from his youth.
The other Kage also grew visibly grim.
"Do you have any proof...?"
"The group currently active in the shinobi world, known as the Akatsuki, are Madara's proxies. Their true leader is the Konoha missing-nin Uchiha Yōwan. Another key member, Uchiha Setsuna, has already been eliminated by us."
Uchiha again. Always the Uchiha.
Just hearing that name made Ōnoki's teeth itch with hatred.
Why did everything about that clan have to be so damn troublesome?!
"Furthermore, during the Fourth Hokage's attack incident, several Uchiha responded to his call and joined that organization."
A whole group of Uchiha gathering together — what else could they possibly be doing?
Certainly not having dinner.
Knowing just how dangerous the Uchiha were, Ōnoki examined the Ōtsutsuki files and realized Takeshi's words weren't empty.
Though the report was simplified, several key pieces of evidence were clearly presented before them.
"Ōtsutsuki... even the Sage of Six Paths, with all his power, was merely a descendant of that clan..."
Seeing how overwhelming the Ōtsutsuki were, Dodai — who had been silent until now — suddenly felt that Kumogakure's current troubles didn't seem quite as bad anymore.
"This matter concerns the survival of the entire shinobi world," Takeshi said, his tone steady. "I hope that all villages can take this opportunity to suspend conflicts among ourselves and focus on facing the true enemy before us."
That was the real purpose of this meeting.
He had no intention of clashing with old man Madara or brawling with the Ōtsutsuki. The best option was to throw this burning-hot issue into the public spotlight — let those who wanted to be heroes take it up.
What could he do? He was just an Ice Release bloodline user, nowhere near the power of Naruto or Sasuke.
"Easy to say..."
Ōnoki murmured, knowing the matter was urgent but unable to suppress his pride.
"Tsuchikage-sama, this isn't the time for personal grudges."
Yagura's tone grew serious — he hadn't expected that the Akatsuki organization he'd once briefly encountered had such terrifying roots.
The other Kage had also heard of that group, and each had their own past dealings with them.
Their faces were uniformly grim.
"Can we really face both Uchiha Madara and the Ōtsutsuki?"
Dodai muttered under his breath.
"Whether we can or not, we must. Otherwise, only death awaits."
Takeshi's response was blunt.
"Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's resurrection requires gathering all nine tailed beasts. Currently, Konoha holds the Three-Tails, Seven-Tails, and Nine-Tails. I wonder how things stand in your villages..."
To show sincerity, Takeshi openly revealed Konoha's current possession of three tailed beasts.
"Konoha dares!"
Ōnoki slammed the table — or tried to, before Takeshi's calm expression deflated his anger again.
"The Four-Tails' jinchūriki, Rōshi, has gone missing."
Judging from his tone, his old rival was probably long dead.
Realizing that Rōshi was truly gone, Ōnoki found himself missing that stubborn man who'd always argued with him.
"The One-Tail has been lost."
"The Six-Tails' jinchūriki defected."
"The Eight-Tails' jinchūriki is safe."
The other Kage each reported their own situations.
"So, the enemy already has the One-Tail, Two-Tails, and Four-Tails... possibly the Six-Tails as well..."
Things didn't seem too bad...
Yeah, right.
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya might no longer be a concern — but what about Isshiki, who was even worse?
"In that case, why don't we form an alliance to face the Ōtsutsuki together?"
Mifune suddenly spoke.
"I am deeply impressed that the Kage have all met here in honesty and trust. Isn't this the perfect opportunity to bring permanent peace to the shinobi world? Let all villages put aside their differences and strive for a shared goal — is this not the very vision Lord Hashirama wished to see?"
His words were so idealistic that even Takeshi wanted to give him a thumbs-up.
Did Hikari's Mangekyō Sharingan put you under genjutsu or something? Or are you just an idealist by nature?
Still — facing the Ōtsutsuki together was much better than being crushed one by one.
And today's Five Kage were far stronger than the incompetent ones in the Boruto era.
With a group like this behind him, whether it was old man Madara or Momoshiki and Isshiki, Takeshi finally felt a little confident.