A Five Kage Summit…
The chosen escorts are Kakashi Hatake and Hyuga Kawa…
These two short sentences plunged the entire meeting room into a moment of dead silence. The air solidified and you could hear a pin drop.
Everyone snapped out of their initial shock, exchanging meaningful glances. Shock, doubt, scrutiny, and inquiry… various complex emotions silently collided and intertwined in the air.
'Someone from the Hyuga Branch Family…'
'Participating in a Five Kage Summit? This…'
'Haha, the Hyuga Main Family must be furious!'
Everyone was stunned by the choice Hiruzen Sarutobi made. The political signal behind giving Hyuga Kawa and Kakashi Hatake the escort positions was quite intriguing.
Hyuga Iroha, standing behind Hyuga Kawa, tried to control his facial muscles to not reveal his excitement, but the shine in his eyes betrayed his unspeakable joy and emotion.
'Yugawa-sama now represents the Branch Family. Doesn't this mean the Branch Family's status has changed in the eyes of the Leaf's senior officials?'
Iroha subconsciously clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms, using the pain to remind himself to stay calm.
However, just as Iroha was unable to contain his excitement, a chillingly cold gaze swept over. Hyuga Higo's face had turned ashen the moment Hiruzen Sarutobi's words fell. He stared at Hyuga Kawa, his eyes filled with disbelief and rage.
"A member of the Branch Family! A Branch Family member bound by the Caged Bird curse! To a Five Kage Summit?!"
He felt a rush of blood to his head, his face twitching. But the next second, the sullenness in his eyes receded like a tide. In its place was a gloomy, chilling coldness.
An escort, huh? An escort has to leave the Leaf Village. When that guy is gone, let's see who'll protect those impertinent Branch Family members! I thought I'd have to endure for a long time, but it seems like now...
Jiraiya and Tsunade, sitting not far away, also cast their gazes toward Hyuga Kawa. Jiraiya's brows furrowed, and Tsunade's eyes first showed scrutiny, then seemed to realize something as she turned her head to look at Hiruzen Sarutobi with a mix of weariness and disgust.
More of these political maneuvers playing with people's minds. The old man is still the same.
Hiruzen Sarutobi acted as if he didn't see Tsunade's cold stare and continued, "Tsunade, Jiraiya, while I am away from the village, I need you two to take charge and temporarily act as Hokage."
"Don't worry, the two elders, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, will assist you."
Tsunade's gaze faltered slightly, a flash of complexity in her eyes. But in the end, she just snorted, which was a tacit agreement. Since she had decided to return, she had already made her choice. With her current Hemophobia, she couldn't do anything else, but she couldn't bring herself to watch the Leaf Village descend into chaos. With her status, experience, and ability, she could at least keep Danzo or others with ulterior motives in check.
As for Jiraiya, he had even fewer objections. The reason he returned wasn't so much for the Leaf as it was for the Great Toad Sage's prophecy. After all, the Great Toad Sage's prophecy had explicitly stated that the "Child of Prophecy" with blue eyes was in the Leaf Village.
"Danzo." Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his attention to Danzo Shimura. "The 'Root' must fully cooperate with intelligence gathering and the research to capture 'Void' specimens. No mistakes."
Danzo nodded, his eyes slightly narrowed.
"These are the resolutions for this meeting," Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone was grave. "The situation is dire. I hope you all can put aside your past grievances and work together to overcome this crisis."
"Now, everyone, please vote!"
As Hiruzen Sarutobi's words fell, the atmosphere in the meeting room reached its climax. Reparations and reconstruction, police force reform, eradicating the "Void" clusters, and the Five Kage Summit… all the topics concerned the future of the Leaf, and even the entire shinobi world.
With various thoughts in their minds, hands slowly began to rise.
Hyuga Iroha's Byakugan was fixed on Hyuga Higo, afraid the old man would cause a scene again and suddenly jump out to oppose Yugawa-sama's participation in the Five Kage Summit. He wasn't the only one; many people in the room were curious and intrigued, secretly observing the reactions of the Hyuga clan's Main and Branch families.
But to everyone's surprise, Hyuga Higo was unusually quiet, showing no reaction at all. He even slowly raised his hand, only slightly after Hyuga Hizashi, as if he knew he couldn't stop it and was reluctantly forced to agree.
"Since there are no objections…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction and said, "Then, the above resolutions are effective immediately."
"Don't leave right after the meeting. There's one more thing I need to trouble everyone with. Just follow me."
With that, Hiruzen Sarutobi was the first to get up and walk toward the meeting room door. The other jonin also rose and filed out.
The once solemn atmosphere seemed to ease slightly with the movement of the crowd, but the invisible pressure on everyone's hearts hadn't truly dissipated.
Hyuga Kawa followed behind Hiruzen Sarutobi, maintaining a perfect distance. As they stepped out of the meeting room and into the relatively open hallway, the sunlight outside was perfect, dispelling some of the gloom from the room.
Just then, Hyuga Kawa suddenly spoke, his voice clearly reaching Hiruzen Sarutobi's ears. "Third Hokage-sama, have the other four Kage responded yet?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't stop. He just nodded and then shook his head.
"The Fourth Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village, Rasa; the Third Tsuchikage of the Hidden Stone Village, Onoki; the Fourth Raikage of the Hidden Cloud Village, A; and the Fourth Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village, Yagura Karatachi, have all agreed to attend the Five Kage Summit."
"However, there are significant disagreements regarding the specific location and time of the meeting, and we are still... coordinating."
It was clear that Hiruzen Sarutobi was carefully choosing his words. He didn't use a blunt term like "bickering," but the helplessness in his tone was evident.
The Hidden Sand Village proposed the "Great Eastern Sand Dune" in the Land of Wind. The Hidden Cloud Village demanded the "Cloud-Lightning Gorge." The Hidden Mist Village preferred a location at sea, and the Hidden Stone Village insisted on their own territory...
Each held their ground, with their own considerations, refusing to back down. Security, seclusion, convenience… Every reason was noble on the surface, but behind them were their own calculations and defenses. The same was true for the timing. Everyone wanted to choose a time when they were fully prepared, so they could hold the advantage.
This summit hadn't even started yet, and the preliminary coordination was already filled with tension. It was imaginable how much bickering would happen when the summit truly began.
However, just as Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking and the two were about to turn a corner in the hallway, a gentle, ethereal female voice, as if untouched by a single speck of dust, suddenly and clearly rang out behind Hiruzen Sarutobi:
"How about the Land of Demons for the location?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's body stiffened instantly. A chill shot up his spine. He immediately turned around and looked in the direction the voice came from.
There, a hazy, luminous figure was slowly becoming clearer. It was the figure of a woman, clad in a pure, flawless white miko robe. Its style was ancient and solemn. The wide sleeves and hem were spotless. Her long gray hair cascaded down her back. Her face was gentle, her features delicate, and a pair of calm eyes were fixed on Hiruzen Sarutobi.
However, her figure was not solid. It was semi-transparent, like a reflection in water. And the others following behind Hiruzen Sarutobi, besides Hyuga Kawa, seemed completely oblivious.
They only saw Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly stop and turn around, his face full of unconcealed shock and doubt, as if he had seen something unbelievable. Everyone looked puzzled and wary. They all stopped and followed Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze, but only saw an empty hallway corner.
"Hiruzen?" Koharu Utatane turned around and asked with a frown. "What's wrong?"
"Third Hokage-sama?" The others also looked bewildered.
Realizing that the others couldn't see the figure, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression became serious, because he hadn't detected any presence before the woman spoke either. The figure just appeared out of thin air, without any warning.
"I apologize, esteemed Third Hokage."
Miroku saw Hiruzen Sarutobi's grave and wary expression and showed a faint hint of apology. Her voice was still gentle and only audible to Hiruzen Sarutobi. She bowed slightly and said softly, "I am Miroku, the miko of the Land of Demons. This is just a projection of me. Only you and the one behind you can sense my presence."
"So please, continue walking and do not expose the deception."
Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep look at Miroku, then a glance at Hyuga Kawa, and then took a deep breath, his expression quickly calming down. He didn't say anything, just turned around and continued walking toward the outside of the Hokage building. The others, although confused, followed suit.
"Again, I apologize for disturbing you."
Miroku followed silently behind Hiruzen Sarutobi. Her voice seemed to have a calming power. "This is a harmless projection. I have no ill intentions."
"At this moment, the same projection is also appearing before the other four Kage, delivering the same proposal."
"I, on behalf of the Land of Demons, humbly request the five Kage to choose the Land of Demons as the location for the Five Kage Summit."
"It possesses a special power that can block any unnecessary prying. Perhaps it can also provide an opportunity for you all to seek true peace."
Her voice was calm and gentle. Hiruzen Sarutobi listened in silence, but his mind was racing.
The Land of Demons? The miko who is rumored to be able to predict life and death? Why would she voluntarily get involved in the "Five Kage Summit"?
However, the Land of Demons is a neutral country, so it would indeed be a more suitable location than any of the five great nations. As the miko who has suppressed "demons" for generations, perhaps she could also help them with the "Void" problem.
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