Half a month passed quickly.
The five great ninja villages—and even smaller nations like the Land of Iron and the Land of Snow—received a notice from Konoha about a global gathering.
The meeting's name had been changed.
Instead of the Five Kage Summit, it was now called the Ninja World Conference.
The location was a vast rocky plain in the Land of Fire—a barren landscape filled with jagged stone and endless open ground.
Naruto personally took time to build a large platform there, turning it into the stage for the conference.
Meanwhile, Konoha ninja were busy preparing everything.
Facilities for the meeting.
Rest areas.
Accommodation zones.
Security checkpoints.
Everything was prepared.
Now they were simply waiting for everyone to arrive.
"Akatsuki wants to challenge the entire ninja world openly? They really don't know their place!"
"Our Cloud Village accepts their challenge!"
"The revenge for the Wooden Golem must be taken!"
"The death of Yugao must be repaid as well!"
"Our Hidden Mist Village will definitely attend this conference!"
Some villages were furious.
Others were suspicious.
"This conference is being organized by Konoha, but the invitation came from Akatsuki… and Konoha delivered it. Could there be some conspiracy behind this?"
Another leader frowned.
"But if the entire ninja world gathers together, even if Konoha has some hidden scheme, they won't be able to do anything."
Others were curious.
"Akatsuki's challenge is only a cover."
"According to intelligence from Konoha, the real organizer of this conference is someone else."
"I wonder what kind of major event will happen there."
One after another, the great ninja villages sent their elite forces.
Many villages almost mobilized their entire military strength.
Although they hated Akatsuki deeply, they also feared the organization's power.
Every village had suffered during the recent turmoil.
Of the nine tailed beasts, only two remained free.
The Eight-Tails of Kumogakure.
And the Nine-Tails of Konoha.
The other seven tailed beasts had already been captured by Akatsuki.
Their Jinchūriki were dead.
Hatred ran deep across the ninja world.
That was exactly why Konoha's message—framed as Akatsuki's declaration of war—had succeeded in gathering everyone.
If it had been called simply a Five Kage Summit, many villages might not have attended at all.
Soon, countless ninja poured into the Land of Fire.
The once-desolate rocky plains became crowded with shinobi from every village.
Elite Jōnin could be seen everywhere.
And friction between villages began almost immediately.
"Lord Hokage… the conference hasn't even started yet."
"But the daily conflicts are exhausting our personnel."
A ninja reported anxiously.
Tsunade rubbed her temples.
"I know."
She pulled out a small object and handed it over.
"Place this in the center of the platform."
"Announce to everyone that personal grudges must be resolved inside the arena."
"Private fighting anywhere else is forbidden."
"Violators will be executed immediately."
"The… arena of grudges?"
The ninja looked confused.
The object in Tsunade's hand was tiny.
A delicate square arena model no larger than a palm.
It looked more like a toy than anything serious.
Tsunade sighed.
She also had doubts.
Naruto had handed it to her confidently.
So she had no choice but to follow his instructions.
Nara Shikaku accepted the item with a bitter smile.
He understood Tsunade's dilemma perfectly.
Looking at the tiny object in his hand, he sighed.
Still, he carried out the order.
Truthfully, he felt uneasy.
If anything went wrong, Konoha could easily become the enemy of the entire ninja world.
After all, Akatsuki was currently stationed inside Konoha Village.
Spies from every village had already noticed.
And Konoha itself was unstable.
Danzo had been arrested.
Two elder advisors had stepped down.
The Root organization had been dissolved.
Internal and external problems surrounded the village.
Shikaku stepped onto the central platform.
ANBU agents surrounded him.
He followed Tsunade's instructions and poured a bit of chakra into the small model.
Immediately—
A ripple of invisible energy spread across the plains.
Everyone looked toward the platform.
The small arena began to float into the air.
Then it started expanding.
Rapidly.
The surrounding crowd instinctively stepped back.
Soon—
A massive arena formed before everyone's eyes.
Seeing this scene, Shikaku felt relief.
Perhaps Konoha didn't need to worry so much after all.
After all, the person behind this was Konoha's Fifth Hokage.
Even if he came from another world.
Perhaps he still held some affection for Konoha.
Shikaku raised his voice.
"Everyone!"
"In recent days, more and more people have gathered here."
"Conflicts and disputes are inevitable."
"By order of the Hokage, this Grudge Arena has been established."
"If you have personal grievances—"
"You may settle them inside the arena."
"But outside this arena, private fighting is strictly forbidden."
"Violators will be executed immediately!"
He repeated the rules three times.
His tone carried unmistakable killing intent.
For days, Konoha ninja had been exhausted trying to maintain order.
This arena finally gave everyone a place to release their hatred.
Almost immediately—
People began stepping forward.
"Kazuo Miki from Iwagakure!"
"You killed my teammate during that mission years ago!"
"I've been waiting for this chance!"
"Come settle it now!"
"Hmph. If you want revenge, come try."
"Marco of Sunagakure!"
"Do you still remember me?"
"If you're a man, come up here!"
"I'll send you straight to King Yama!"
"Arrogant fool. Since you want to die, I won't stop you."
With a place to vent their grudges, ninja from every village rushed into the arena.
Although the ninja world appeared peaceful on the surface—
Countless blood feuds had accumulated beneath it.
Normally, strict rules suppressed these grudges.
Now they exploded all at once.
Battle.
Blood.
Madness.
Brutal fights unfolded continuously on the arena.
The conference hadn't even started yet.
But the crowd below watched the fights with excitement.
"This… is the chain of hatred."
Nagato floated silently in the air.
His expression was lonely.
"It can't be solved."
"It's impossible."
Even though Naruto had convinced him to abandon his old plan—
Nagato still doubted Naruto's vision.
The small arena below was a perfect reflection of the ninja world itself.
No matter how powerful Naruto was—
Even if he suppressed the world through force—
Hatred would remain inside people's hearts.
That was the future Nagato believed awaited the world.
Soon, the leaders of the great ninja villages arrived.
Reports quickly reached them.
"Lord Tsuchikage!"
"So far, sixteen ninja from Iwagakure have already resolved their grudges in the arena."
"Casualties?"
"Serious injuries… but no deaths."
"Good."
Ohnoki nodded.
"Our village's ninja are still strong."
But the messenger hesitated.
"Actually…"
"Even if someone dies in the arena…"
"They immediately resurrect outside the arena."
"But their injuries remain."
"That arena is extremely strange."
The bizarre arena soon attracted the attention of every village leader.
Since it had been created by Konoha—
Many became suspicious.
Soon afterward, the Five Kage gathered in a stone meeting hall.
Around the long table sat six people.
Tsunade — Hokage
Ohnoki — Tsuchikage
A — Raikage
Terumi Mei — Mizukage
Gaara — Kazekage
And Mifune, leader of the Land of Iron.
All wore serious expressions.
Raikage A was the first to speak.
"Let's stop wasting time."
"Tsunade."
"What exactly is the purpose of this conference?"
Tsunade sighed.
"As everyone knows…"
"I'm only delivering a message on behalf of Akatsuki."
"The real organizer is not Konoha."
"It's Akatsuki."
BOOM!
Raikage slammed his fist onto the table.
"Tsunade!"
"Do you think we're fools?"
"Akatsuki is currently stationed in your village!"
"If you didn't allow it, why would they stay there?"
"You've clearly colluded with them!"
"Is Konoha planning to become the enemy of the entire ninja world?!"
Tsunade's eyes flashed.
She slammed her hand down as well.
CRASH!
The stone table shattered instantly.
"Only you can shout loudly, Raikage?!"
Her voice thundered through the room.
"Have you idiots realized how serious this situation actually is?"
"Do you think we'd risk the entire ninja world for some petty conspiracy?!"
Her aura exploded.
Even Raikage A fell silent.
"You're all crying because you lost a few tailed beasts."
"But the real problem is far worse."
"Thousands of times worse."
"The survival of the ninja villages themselves may soon be at stake."
The room fell silent.
Raikage finally spoke again.
"You're exaggerating."
"It's just the Akatsuki organization."
"How dangerous could it be?"
Ohnoki frowned.
"Lady Hokage… please explain."
Others nodded.
Tsunade took a deep breath.
"You all know about Akatsuki capturing tailed beasts."
"But the leader of Akatsuki…"
"…is far stronger than the members you've faced."
"Even Jiraiya fought him."
"And Jiraiya was completely defeated."
"If that person fought seriously…"
"It's possible he could destroy an entire village alone."
The room grew tense.
Everyone knew Jiraiya's reputation.
Even the Kage were not confident they could defeat him.
If someone could defeat Jiraiya easily—
Then they would likely lose as well.
But Tsunade wasn't finished.
"You think that's the greatest threat?"
"No."
"The real danger came later."
"The Akatsuki leader was defeated."
"By another person."
"That person took control of Akatsuki."
"And unified the entire organization."
"The old Akatsuki was just a group of rogue ninja."
"But now…"
"It's become a single, unified force."
"According to Jiraiya—"
"The new leader's strength has reached a level the ninja world has never seen before."
"In simple terms…"
"He could destroy a ninja village with one slap."
Everyone froze.
Raikage immediately shook his head.
"Impossible."
"No one that powerful could exist in the ninja world."
Tsunade sighed.
"Raikage… I respect your strength."
"But if we fought, I wouldn't even know who would win."
"Yet in front of that person…"
"I wouldn't even dare attack."
Her voice turned bitter.
"Do you think Konoha is stupid?"
"That we'd let a group of rogue ninja walk openly into our village and stay there for half a month?"
"We're enduring humiliation…"
"Because we simply can't defeat him."
The room fell silent.
The weight of Tsunade's words pressed down on everyone.
Even the hot-tempered Raikage lowered his head.
For the first time—
The leaders of the ninja world felt true pressure.
-------------------------
For advanced chapters, visit patreon.com/Varnok