Those words set both the Raikage's guards and the Hokage's guards bristling, and Tenten nearly whipped out the Rikudō no Dōgu (Six Paths Tools).
In Tenten's eyes, her boyfriend is simply that strong. For that fossil to look down on Natsuki—he needed a taste of the Six Paths Tools' power, so he could learn why the flowers are so red!
"Hahaha! B and I did lose!"
A admitted frankly. "It's the young people's world now. Natsuki is a prodigy who even defeated the Rinnegan. It's normal for our generation to lose. I'm even considering stepping down. Unlike you, Ōnoki—you're ancient and still hogging the Tsuchikage seat. How about letting the young ones take the stage? Or is it that Iwa has no one decent, so you're jealous of Konoha?"
"You—!"
Veins stood out on Ōnoki's forehead.
A had stabbed right where it hurt!
Ōnoki hadn't stayed on as Tsuchikage because he craved power.
Absolutely not. It was because there really wasn't a suitable successor!
He'd once had a brilliantly gifted disciple, Deidara—but Deidara didn't want to become a promising youngster who clung to the Tsuchikage's leg. He wanted to be a mad artist. That had given Ōnoki a major headache, okay?
Kurotsuchi was fine, but still young. Ōnoki had no choice but to prop things up with his old bones.
At least Mei spoke in time. "Ahem! Everyone, we're not here to quarrel."
Mifune took the chance. "Indeed. Please, quiet. Since the five Kage have all arrived, place your hats of office on the table. The Summit will begin."
The five Kage silently removed their hats and set them on the table.
It was a kind of ritual, inherited from the very first Five Kage Summit.
Mifune cleared his throat. "Ahem. This Summit was proposed by the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade-dono. The agenda is the matter of Akatsuki. [Please proceed with your statement.]"
Tsunade-sama grew solemn. "The Land of Water has been closed off for years, so the Mizukage may not be familiar with the situation. Allow me to restate it. In the Land of Rain there is a rebel organization called Akatsuki. In recent years they've been frantically hunting Jinchūriki, and the hosts from various villages have suffered in succession. Konoha itself faced a massive invasion by Akatsuki. The situation is grim.
"As we've learned, Akatsuki's leader is a powerhouse who possesses the legendary Sage's eyes—the Rinnegan. Outside Konoha, a hundred li away, there's a colossal crater—that was created by a Rinnegan ultimate technique. If not for our Konoha elites deflecting that strike at the time, the entire village would have been razed—no, turned into one big hole…"
"Hokage, aren't you exaggerating?"
Ōnoki cut in. "If the Rinnegan is that terrifying, how did you repel their invasion? And if this 'terrifying ultimate' was deflected, doesn't that mean you're stronger—and that the enemy isn't worth fearing?"
This old fossil—[utterly shameless]!
He couldn't even let someone finish a sentence. No wonder his back always hurt!
A rumbled, "Ōnoki, how can you be so rude at your age? Will waiting for the Hokage to finish kill you?"
Ōnoki snorted. "This old man doesn't believe tall tales—and the Hokage's words are full of holes!"
Tsunade-sama remained grave. "What I said is true. There were many witnesses then, and the crater is still out there right now. If the Tsuchikage doesn't believe it, go have a look. More importantly, Akatsuki's secret aim is to collect the tailed beasts, fuse the nine into the Jūbi (Ten-Tails)—a superweapon capable of wiping out a country in a single blow. If they succeed, catastrophe will befall the shinobi world!"
Mei listened, stunned.
As Tsunade-sama said, the Land of Water had been shut in for years; she wasn't up to date.
She'd only recently become Mizukage and intended to lead the Land of Water—Kirigakure—back into the world. She hadn't expected to walk right into something this big.
The Ten-Tails—the very thought was frightening.
A single tailed beast is a disaster. All nine combined would shake the entire world. "Catastrophe" would be no exaggeration.
No wonder they'd convened a grand summit. Facing an enemy with the Rinnegan, and a near world-ending plan like this, one couldn't be anything but cautious. [After all, it concerns the safety of the entire shinobi world.]
But Ōnoki wouldn't listen.
With anger in his voice, he said, "All that babbling—aren't you just afraid your village's Jinchūriki will be nabbed, so you want to unite everyone to help you guard them? Our Iwa Jinchūriki are already gone. Don't think tossing out some 'Ten-Tails' story will make this old man help you!"
Gaara finally spoke. "Tsuchikage, the signs that Jinchūriki were being targeted appeared long ago. I heard your Four-Tails host, Rōshi, once clashed with Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand. There was a major battle. That's when you should have been on guard. Your hosts were captured because you failed to protect them. You shouldn't vent your anger here."
"... Hmph! A brat dares speak to this old man that way!"
Ōnoki looked down on Gaara. "You were a captured Kazekage yourself, weren't you? Your village's protection was just so-so. [And you still spout high-sounding words]!"
Gaara's expression didn't change. "Sunagakure has always had a harsh environment and produces few strong shinobi—especially after recent upheavals, our strength is very weak. It isn't surprising we failed to protect me, the Jinchūriki. But we requested aid from Konoha in time, and our response was proper. I'm still here. Your village, however, has lost two hosts. Those are the facts."
This kid!
So insolent!
Ōnoki flew into a rage, his whole body lifting off the floor as he rose to stand atop the table.
But he was so short that even on the tabletop, he wasn't much taller than anyone else. It didn't feel out of place—[and certainly not imposing].
Right then A spoke up again. "Ōnoki, the Kazekage is right. If a village isn't strong enough, asking for aid isn't shameful. Not just Suna—Takigakure did the same, and the Seven-Tails' Jinchūriki is still safe under Konoha's protection. Failing to protect your hosts and then venting at the Summit—that's not what a qualified Kage does. Get off the table. As your village's Kage, don't you feel ashamed?"
Ōnoki glared at A, and A glared right back, unafraid of the old man.
For a moment, the air crackled.
The others couldn't help facepalming. Couldn't everyone try to understand one another for once—talk properly for the peace and stability of the shinobi world?
Fortunately, at that moment, [someone showed up on the scene].
A strange, pale being—like a pitcher plant—suddenly sprouted from the center of the conference table.
It opened its mouth and said, "Hello!"
(End of Chapter)
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