Uehara Naraku's words are so sharp!
Tsunade truly misses the innocent and simple little guy from the past.
Back when Uehara Naraku was twelve or thirteen, the first time Tsunade met him at the Hidden Hot Water Village, she casually teased Uehara Naraku a couple of times, and he was left in such a state of distress that he could barely speak properly.
And now, Uehara Naraku?
No matter who he meets, he has this arrogant demeanor, as if he were the strongest in the entire Ninja World...
It seems he is indeed the strongest ninja now.
But the quality of the strongest in this era isn't very high. Her great-grandfather, Senju Hashirama, even though he was known as the God of Ninja, aside from facing Uchiha Madara, Senju Hashirama was always extremely humble and honest with everyone he met.
Tsunade sighed inwardly and turned to look at the Fourth Raikage, speaking in a deep voice: "Lord Raikage, let's set aside our disputes for now! Even if it's just about reclaiming your village's Tailed Beast, we should sit at the table and talk properly!"
Because no one present was more aware than Tsunade of the danger posed by that guy Orochimaru; they had known each other for over forty years!
No one understood Orochimaru better than Tsunade!
Now, even the alliance of Konoha Village, The Hidden Sand Village, The Hidden Mist Village, and the Akatsuki may not be enough to deal with Orochimaru. Any significant force in the Ninja World is indispensable for them!
The Fourth Raikage did not refuse.
Although he still didn't have a good expression towards Uehara Naraku, the most important thing now was to find out the whereabouts of Killer Bee and reclaim the Two-tailed Beast that belonged to The Hidden Cloud Village!
Mifune, the host of the Land of Iron, finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly guided them into the interior of the Land of Iron, leading them to the location of the Five Kage Summit.
The venue for the Five Kage Summit wasn't in the capital but in a secret location, for this was the highest-level meeting in the Ninja World!
It had to be said, Mifune's preparations were very thorough.
As the host, Mifune arranged the location very appropriately. The place he prepared was extremely secretive, ensuring that no one could disturb the Five Kage Summit.
"In order to prepare for the Five Kage Summit, we investigated all areas of the Land of Iron many days ago and selected this place that absolutely won't be discovered."
As Mifune led them through a snow-covered forest, he praised himself: "This is a very hidden forest in the Land of Iron, with snow falling all year round, and no one apart from the samurai guarding it would ever tread here."
"Thank you."
Tsunade nodded slightly to Mifune and softly said, "For so many years, the ninja have adhered to the neutral agreement with the Land of Iron, and we will continue to uphold it in the future."
"Hmm."
The shadows from each village nodded simultaneously.
As they moved deeper, patrolling samurai gradually appeared in their view, who were tasked with protecting the meeting and preventing any unexpected situations.
They arrived at the final location of the meeting as dusk fell, a secluded tower that didn't look conspicuous from the outside, making it seem like just another religious building.
Once Mifune led them inside, its true appearance was slowly revealed. The decor was very traditional, bearing the cultural traits of the Land of the Samurai and a strong sense of history.
"Please."
Mifune led them into a tall and luxurious room, gently introducing: "This is the meeting room we've prepared for the Five Kage Summit."
After saying this, Mifune slowly moved to his host position and spoke softly with open hands: "Those are the places prepared for you."
One by one, the lights came on!
Six large white cloths hung down!
Below each white cloth, there were large kanji characters arranged.
Fire.
Wind.
Earth.
Lightning.
Water.
Rain.
It was clear that Mifune had put a lot of thought into the preparations, even considering a place for The Hidden Rain Village, a village that didn't typically qualify, probably out of respect for Uehara Naraku who killed Hanzo of the Salamander.
In fact.
Mifune prepared two rooms.
If Uehara Naraku had not gained much advantage, Mifune would have guided them to another room which would be somewhat insulting to The Hidden Rain Village; but if Uehara Naraku's attitude was adamant, even the Five Kage would keep their distance, and Mifune naturally wouldn't offend him.
Mifune pointed at the seats below the white cloths, and after watching everyone take their seats, his expression gradually became serious: "Please place the hats that symbolize your identities on the table before you."
Each Kage placed their hat on the table.
Uehara Naraku raised his eyebrow, feeling that perhaps he should find a way to officially claim the title of First Amekage; otherwise, it's rather awkward!
Mifune glanced at all the hats and continued in a muffled voice: "In response to Lord Hokage's call, we have gathered here for a communication session with the Five Kage and Uehara Naraku from The Hidden Rain Village. I am Mifune, the host of this meeting."
As Mifune spoke, his voice became increasingly solemn, and his gaze grew more intense: "Now, the talks officially begin!"
"..."
The room fell silent.
Everyone's eyes began to meet each other's.
"Then, let me speak first!"
Gaara's hand gradually propped up, supporting his chin, his voice somewhat icy as he said, "After all, the first to have trouble because of the Tailed Beasts was our Hidden Sand Village..."
"So young!"
The Third Tsuchikage glanced at Gaara, a hint of a smile on his face, "Is it because of your youth that you're brimming with energy? The Kazekage is only sixteen or seventeen this year, and he's already become the Kazekage, able to sit with us as equals! It seems your father taught you well..."
Gaara fell silent for a moment, then his voice turned even cooler, "Yes, it's an inevitability since my father was killed by someone present here..."
"Who dares to do such a thing?"
The Third Tsuchikage pressed his fingers, chuckling, "Doesn't the Kazekage wish to avenge his father?"
"Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't."
"What a troublesome child, how can you not want revenge for your father..."
"Ahem..."
Uehara Naraku couldn't help but cough lightly a few times.
What was Gaara bringing this up for, this happened so long ago!
Besides, the relationship between them, father and son, wasn't good to begin with; they were practically mortal enemies. He killed the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, logically, at this point Gaara should be somewhat grateful to him!
Gaara and Onoki engaged in this topic!
Uehara Naraku didn't believe that Onoki didn't know he was the one who killed the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa. It was clear he was trying to drive a wedge between Gaara and the Hidden Rain Village!
Even though the relationship between them was already hostile...
"What's going on?"
Tsunade, upon hearing Uehara Naraku's cough, raised her eyebrows and looked at Uehara Naraku, "Uehara, is there something you want to say?"
"Um..."
Uehara Naraku looked at Mifune and spoke, "I wanted to ask if there's any iced juice available here? The weather's a bit chilly, it's the perfect time for some chilled juice..."
"..."
Everyone's faces darkened.
This guy interrupted everyone's conversation just to ask for a cup of juice? While it's snowing heavily outside, you're asking for it chilled!
What madness!
Mifune remained silent for a while, not quite understanding Uehara Naraku's train of thought, but he still responded, "Yes, I'll send someone to fetch it at once, though it might take a moment to chill."
"Just bring it over! I'll handle it myself."
Uehara Naraku casually leaned back in his chair, glanced around at everyone present, and said softly, "Please, do continue."
"..."
How can anyone continue like this!
A while passed.
Mifune sent someone to present Uehara with a glass of juice.
Uehara Naraku slowly raised his finger, and a layer of ice shards gradually appeared on the juice, giving off a chilling aura.
In the Five Kage Summit's security area.
This was where the accompanying guards stayed.
Jiraiya watched Uehara Naraku's sequence of actions, suddenly smiling softly at Konan, "Konan, your disciple is quite interesting!"
"Yeah."
Konan nodded, her voice full of solemnity, "Although Naraku seems a bit off at times, he's actually quite dependable."
"Is that so?"
Jiraiya stroked his chin, "And he's a little genius too, able to independently form an Ice Release from water and wind. Besides the Ice Release, I've noticed he possesses other bloodlines?"
"..."
Konan was silent for a while, shook her head, and said, "Naraku likely synthesized quite a few bloodlines himself, just like Nagato, he can master the nature transformations of all mainstream attribute chakras in a very short time..."
"What a genius kid he is!"
Jiraiya nodded in admiration, "It takes just a finger to skillfully manipulate the Ice Release Jutsu to chill the juice..."
In fact, Jiraiya was overthinking it.
Uehara Naraku raised his finger mainly to concentrate and project his will onto Namikaze Minato in the distance.
Somewhere in the Land of Iron.
Yakushi Kabuto, Uchiha Obito, and Namikaze Minato trudged through the snow, also searching for the Five Kage Summit's location, tasked by Uehara Naraku to disrupt the summit.
Just then, Namikaze Minato's figure suddenly froze.
After a while, Namikaze Minato spoke, "The location of the Five Kage Summit has been transmitted; it's in a dense forest area northeast of the capital of the Land of Iron, guarded by many samurai, the meeting held in a pyramid-shaped building."
"This feels like a long-lost familiarity!"
Yakushi Kabuto pushed his glasses up, a smile curling at his lips, "Since Lord Naraku transmitted the location, let's go have some fun now!"