In Gensokyo Konoha, inside the conference hall of the Hidden Leaf, the round table was already filled with people, while Namikaze Kirito sat at the central seat.
The others present were the current elders and senior officials of the Gensokyo Country.
Right now, the topic under discussion was the Akatsuki.
"I think we need to determine the Akatsuki's location as soon as possible. Both my grandfather and granduncle were revived through the Impure World Reincarnation. And if I'm not mistaken, they were likely brought back in even stronger forms."
Tsunade rested her chin on both hands as she spoke, her expression cold.
Toying with the souls of the dead—especially those of her own family—was something she simply could not tolerate. Tsunade had never been the type to hold back her temper, and right now, she wanted nothing more than to find Uchiha Obito and punch him straight into the ground.
Thinking of that, she suddenly remembered that the day before, she still had not had the chance to properly see the First Hokage and the Second Hokage.
As for the reason...
She had lost all her strength and ended up collapsing onto the bed, leaving her with no chance to even step outside.
At that thought, Tsunade shot Namikaze Kirito a resentful glare.
Kirito, however, looked completely unfazed. With his level of composure, there was no way he would crumble under a look like that.
He was fine.
Terumi Mei, on the other hand, was a little annoyed.
But the moment she noticed the exchange of glances between the two of them, that irritation vanished almost instantly.
Her red lips curled slightly as she said, "I think the more urgent issue is strengthening the defenses of every village. With my lord here, Uchiha Obito clearly wouldn't dare show himself so easily."
"Why waste time chasing after their trail? Sooner or later, they'll come to us on their own. Didn't they already say they intended to start the Fifth Great Ninja War?"
Tsunade frowned at Mei's words.
She might have a fiery temper, but she was far from careless. In fact, she was more observant than most.
A long time ago, she had already noticed that Terumi Mei had designs on her man.
And now this woman was openly opposing her even in a serious discussion.
That alone was enough to irritate Tsunade.
"So we're just supposed to let them play with the souls of the dead?"
"Even if Konoha has already merged into the Gensokyo Country, the First Hokage and the Second Hokage were still dragged back from the Pure Land and used for evil. That's a disgrace to Konoha."
"Oh?" Mei raised a brow, her tone immediately sharpening. "So Elder Tsunade wants to squander the nation's military strength for personal reasons?"
Boom!
The next instant, Tsunade's fist slammed into the table, leaving even the reinforced material visibly dented.
"Elder Terumi Mei, I never said anything for personal reasons," Tsunade snapped. "I said it because Uchiha Obito is desecrating the dead. He's blaspheming the souls of our predecessors. We should find him and stop him immediately. What exactly is wrong with that?"
"Of course there's a problem."
Mei didn't back down even a little in the face of Tsunade's anger.
"I already said it. If they've chosen to hide, then they won't be found that easily. As long as the king is here, of course there's no immediate threat to this place. But can you guarantee they won't attack the other villages?"
"That Uchiha Obito already declared that he intends to destroy everything."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed.
"Elder Terumi Mei, are you saying the Hidden Mist is nothing but decoration now? That it can't function without relying on my lord?"
Mei's expression turned cold.
"What did you say?"
"Even if you're one of the Sannin, do you really think you can suppress those S-rank rogue ninja head-on? Don't make me laugh. Even the two pillars of your Senju clan were dragged out of the Pure Land. What exactly are you so proud of?"
Tsunade's killing intent practically flared into the room.
"So you're questioning my strength, Elder Terumi Mei?"
Mei met her glare head-on, without the slightest hint of retreat.
"And if I am, Elder Tsunade?"
Other than Namikaze Kirito, everyone present could only watch the clash between the two strongest women in the shinobi world with dark looks on their faces.
This was far more vicious than an argument between men.
Every word was aimed straight at the other's sore spot.
Namikaze Minato looked at his son with faint sympathy in his eyes.
Both of them had tempers that weren't much different from Kushina's.
Kirito... you're going to have a rough time.
The moment he met his father's gaze, Kirito understood exactly what Minato was thinking.
And he also knew it was time to stop this mess before it got any worse.
"That's enough. Stop arguing."
Sure enough, the moment Kirito spoke, both women fell silent.
But at the same time, they both turned toward him.
The look in their eyes was obvious.
Which side are you on?
Even with Six Paths-level power—enough to crush nearly anyone in existence—being stared down by the two of them at once still made Kirito's feel a chill down his spine.
Inside, he was already thinking, Just wait until this meeting is over.
But outwardly, he kept a calm, serious expression.
"What both elders said makes sense," he said evenly. "So let's do this. We'll send out the guards to search for the Akatsuki's location, while the rest of the villages remain on high alert."
"If anyone finds the Akatsuki's hideout, do not act recklessly. Report back immediately."
The moment Kirito finished speaking, many of the elders nodded in agreement.
The Akatsuki were currently hiding in the shadows, and no one knew when they might strike.
Given the situation, Kirito's decision was clearly the most reasonable one.
Seeing that Kirito had not favored either one of them, both Tsunade and Mei let out cold snorts before sitting down at the same time.
Still, even after they sat, their beautiful eyes remained locked on each other, and the air between them seemed to crackle with sparks.
"I have another proposal."
Tsunade suddenly spoke again, as though she had just thought of something.
Even while speaking, however, her eyes never left Mei.
"Although the elders of our country have all contributed greatly, we still don't fully understand one another's abilities."
"So how about we find a chance to spar and get a better grasp of each other's strength?"
By the end, Tsunade was practically gritting her teeth.
It was obvious who she was targeting.
And as it happened, that proposal suited Mei just fine.
Because of Kirito, she had already been irritated with Tsunade for quite a while now.
"I agree with Elder Tsunade's suggestion," Mei said at once. "If we don't understand each other's strength, then fighting side by side in the future could become dangerous."
Everyone else looked at the two women in complete speechlessness.
This was obviously personal.
If you two want to settle things, then settle it yourselves.
Why drag the rest of us into it?
Just serving as elders was already exhausting enough.
On one hand, they had to handle the nation's daily affairs. On the other, the villages had only recently been integrated, and there were still plenty of conflicts and contradictions waiting to be resolved.
Who had the time to casually "learn from each other"?
Ai, however, was clearly interested in the idea.
Needless to say, Kirito himself was out of reach.
But as someone who believed in strength above all else, Ai still wanted the chance to cross fists with true powerhouses.
Especially Namikaze Minato.
Back in the day, Minato had always been his younger brother's opponent, not his.
That had become a knot in Ai's heart over the years.
Now that so much time had passed, he wanted to see for himself what would happen if the current him fought the legendary Yellow Flash.
Looking at Tsunade and Mei glaring at each other yet again, Kirito knew that unless he let them settle this properly, this rivalry would never end.
So in the end, he could only say helplessly, "Since both elders agree, and the others don't seem strongly opposed, then let's settle it that way."
"However, participation must be voluntary. Don't go forcing anyone into a match."
"No problem."
Tsunade and Mei answered in unison.
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