"Ahh~"
The Fourth Raikage, A, let out a long yawn.
The other three immediately turned to look at him.
"Just a yawn. Don't mind me, carry on."
Carry on my ass.
Carry on sitting here like idiots?
How stupid.
"I have a proposal."
Karatachi Yagura finally spoke up.
He felt they couldn't keep dragging this out.
Ōnoki was an old fox who wouldn't act unless he saw profit first.
As for A, he had completely abandoned all shame—no matter what anyone said, he simply refused to reveal anything.
Rasa looked like the type who could endure forever.
Only Karatachi Yagura was an honest man here.
"I believe Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki is the only Third-generation Kage present. We should respect our elders. I propose that the Tsuchikage become our leader and guide us in opposing Konoha."
"Exactly. Under Ōnoki's leadership, Hidden Stone Village has earned tremendous prestige throughout the shinobi world. Even my own teacher admired him greatly."
Rasa didn't care who became leader.
As long as it wasn't him.
A looked utterly disdainful.
Two shameless bootlickers actually thought themselves worthy of standing beside him as fellow Fourth-generation Kage?
Among the younger generation, the only ones truly worthy of being called Kage were himself and Konoha's Minato Namikaze.
Seeing A remain silent, Karatachi Yagura assumed he also coveted the position.
His heart instantly filled with joy.
If two people were fighting over it, there was no way it would fall to him.
"Could it be that the Raikage also wishes to lead us against Konoha?"
"I don't. I'm not interested. Don't make things up."
A instantly fired off a triple denial.
Then he smoothly changed the topic.
"But I do agree that the Tsuchikage's experience makes him suitable for such a heavy responsibility."
Ōnoki's face turned black as charcoal.
Me lead?
Lead my ass.
Did these people seriously think he didn't know the current state of Hidden Stone Village?
Every single one of their villages was stronger than his now.
He had invited them here hoping to cling to someone else's thigh.
So how had Hidden Stone Village somehow become the thigh everyone else wanted to cling to?
"I really…"
Just as Ōnoki was about to refuse, Rasa interrupted.
"Tsuchikage, our time is limited."
The meaning was obvious.
Refuse again, and Hidden Sand Village would walk away from this mess entirely.
"Hidden Mist Village feels the same."
"So does Hidden Cloud Village."
Karatachi Yagura and A joined in pressuring him.
After all, this was his meeting.
If he didn't shoulder the burden, who would?
Ōnoki looked troubled.
It wasn't that he didn't want to take command.
Hidden Stone Village simply lacked the strength to support it.
"Since none of you want the position, how about letting our leader take it instead?"
A sudden voice echoed through the meeting room.
Black Zetsu and White Zetsu slowly emerged from the ground.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The Tsuchikage's guards, Kitsuchi and Ryūgan.
The Mizukage's guards, Mei Terumī and Ao.
Hidden Sand's guards, Pakura and Baki.
The Raikage's guards, Darui and Cee.
All locked their eyes onto Black Zetsu and White Zetsu.
"Who are you? When did you infiltrate this place?"
Ōnoki demanded.
The others also felt lingering fear.
Someone had hidden beneath their noses for so long without being detected.
What terrifying stealth techniques.
"Relax. In a sense, we're allies."
"Allies?"
"That's right. We share a common enemy—Konoha, don't we? And conveniently enough, we happen to have a plan specifically targeting Konoha."
Black Zetsu was overjoyed inside.
Nagato's trash plan still needed to search the world for powerful shinobi?
The strongest people in the entire shinobi world were already gathered here.
Hearing that this strange creature also opposed Konoha, the Four Kage visibly grew interested.
Same logic as always.
No matter how bizarre you looked, as long as you hated Konoha, you were a friend.
"Darui, Cee, stand down."
"Mei Terumī, Ao, stand down."
"Kitsuchi, Ryūgan, stand down."
"Pakura, Baki, stand down."
The eight Kage guards had barely appeared before immediately withdrawing again.
"Tell us about this plan of yours against Konoha."
A finally spoke.
If this had been what Ōnoki wanted to discuss earlier, he wouldn't have been bored enough to yawn.
"Konoha is strong. No objections there, right?"
"Continue."
"Konoha is in an unprecedented golden age. At its peak stand the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, Aburame Shiken, Uchiha Kamito, Hyūga Hiyasu, Inuzuka Ryoha, Senju Hideki…"
"Wait. Didn't Senju Hideki and Uchiha Kamito die already? Especially Uchiha Kamito—I personally erased him completely with Dust Release."
Ōnoki was filled with shock.
He never expected to hear the names of two supposedly dead men at a time like this.
If those two were still alive, then wouldn't the sacrifice of Hidden Stone's twenty thousand shinobi have been meaningless?
"Senju Hideki has already reappeared in the shinobi world. That massive large-scale Earth Release of his is unmatched. No second person like that exists. He also killed one of our Akatsuki members—Kakuzu. And Kakuzu possessed Kage-level strength."
Hiss—
After hearing Black Zetsu's explanation, Karatachi Yagura and Rasa both sucked in cold breaths.
Konoha actually possessed the power to casually eliminate Kage-level opponents.
At this point, they had no choice but to unite.
Meanwhile, A and Ōnoki's expressions became even grimmer.
Why wouldn't he just die?
Had Tsunade's medical ninjutsu advanced again?
If so, how were they supposed to fight Konoha?
After finally killing one enemy, they'd just return home, receive treatment, and come back fully restored.
How the hell were they supposed to win against that?
"And what about Uchiha Kamito? I definitely destroyed him completely."
Ōnoki pressed again.
Senju Hideki aside…
Uchiha Kamito had been erased at the atomic level.
How could he possibly survive that?
"He apparently used some forbidden Uchiha dojutsu. But the cost was severe. He's completely blind now, so he's basically become useless."
Black Zetsu said confidently.
They truly hadn't gathered any further information on Uchiha Kamito.
But an Uchiha without Sharingan?
Surely he was already trash by now.
Hearing this, Ōnoki finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Good.
At least one had been traded away.
Hidden Stone's twenty thousand shinobi hadn't died for nothing after all.
Exchanging them for a miniature Uchiha Madara wasn't a bad deal.
(Uchiha Kamito: Hehehe… never expected you to start sabotaging your own teammates this early, Black Zetsu. I suddenly became a hidden trump card now.)
"Continue. What other powerful shinobi does Konoha have?"
Karatachi Yagura asked.
He suddenly realized he knew almost nothing about Konoha's true strength.
"The older generation includes the Three Sannin—Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade—along with Sakumo Hatake and the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"There's also the increasingly famous Ino-Shika-Chō trio, the twin insect users of the Aburame Clan, Hyūga Hizashi, Kurenai Yūhi…"
"And among the younger generation: Kakashi Hatake, Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi…"
With every name Black Zetsu spoke, the expressions of the Four Kage grew darker.