A's arm transformed into a giant lightning blade, tearing through the air with terrifying might, slashing down towards Satoshi's head. He wanted to utterly crush this brat who dared to openly defy him and expose his thoughts.
"Arrogant!"
The violent lightning-infused hand-blade ripped through space, stopping just half a meter from Satoshi's head. However, this strike froze in mid-air.
Chakra light surged, and a white giant rose from the ground, firmly protecting Satoshi within it.
He raised his middle finger. "Impatient?"
Then he raised another. "Now that you were exposed, you're enraged out of shame?"
"Bastard, you're looking for death!"
Chakra erupted from A's body again, with high-intensity electrical currents flying up and down alongside the Chakra.
In the Ninja World, no one had ever dared to speak to him like that.
Before his death, Hiruzen would speak to him politely, fearing that he might accidentally offend the village and bring disaster to Konoha.
Although Satoshi had a point, there was no 'but.' Daring to openly contradict him was simply unacceptable.
Satoshi's words drove him completely insane. As if he had lost his mind, A's other arm, wreathed in even more dazzling lightning, slammed down towards Satoshi again.
Boom!
The violent lightning ripped through the air, but only struck air.
Satoshi's figure, along with the massive Susanoo, vanished from its spot like a mirage.
"Behind you!"
The perceptive Darui shouted.
A reacted extremely quickly. His body defied inertia, twisting forcefully, and his lightning-covered hand-blade swept backward.
Then, it hit air again!
A roared repeatedly, lightning rampaging wildly through the venue, yet he couldn't even touch Satoshi's clothes. His absolute speed, which he prided himself on, seemed clumsy and powerless in the face of space-time Ninjutsu.
A remembered someone.
The Fourth Hokage of that era, Minato, known as the Yellow Flash.
No, now it's the White Flash.
White?
Konoha's White Fang?
Tobirama!
Just as A, furious to the extreme from repeated failed attacks, was about to lose control of the lightning covering his entire body, Satoshi's cold voice rang in his ear.
"Water Release: Rasengan."
The moment the voice fell, a terrifying, highly compressed and rotating water pressure, carrying a bone-chilling cold, slammed into A's unsuspecting back.
Boom!
A's body, wrapped in the strongest Lightning Chakra Armor, was launched off the ground like a cannonball. He violently crashed through the sturdy wall of the venue, tumbling out amidst a mess of dust and rubble.
Seeing this, Darui quickly formed hand signs.
Water Release: Heavenly Weeping.
A water needle pierced Darui's wrist, and then Satoshi kicked him away. He rolled several times on the ground.
A struggled to prop himself up, unable to believe what had happened.
The highly defensive Lightning Chakra Armor was broken so easily?
The venue was dead silent. Only the sound of the wind blowing in through the hole in the wall, and A's heavy breathing, could be heard.
As the dust settled slightly, Satoshi's figure appeared in the center of the venue, having dispelled his Susanoo.
"Well, everyone saw it. This brute attacked first, so I was just acting in self-defense. It doesn't count as provocation, does it?"
Yagura looked at Satoshi and suddenly recalled some rather unpleasant experiences.
Ōnoki, floating in mid-air, stared intently at Satoshi, as if trying to see another figure through him.
Susanoo, this power...
The shadow brought by that man made this old bone, who had lived through the Sengoku period, feel somewhat triggered.
Satoshi looked at Mifune, who cleared his throat. "Fellow Kage, please calm down. Let's return to our seats and continue discussing the alliance, which is crucial for the safety of the entire Ninja World."
A's face was grim as he silently walked back to his seat.
"Ahem, then, regarding the alliance agenda, please seriously consider it after returning and give your replies as soon as possible."
Mifune pushed the agenda forward, biting the bullet, and once again handed the floor to Ōnoki.
Ōnoki said, "Mifune, there's one more thing, related to the Land of Iron."
Mifune was startled. "Related to the Land of Iron?"
"Yes." Ōnoki floated over.
"Iwagakure purchased a batch of urgently needed strategic supplies. It's been several months and they still haven't been delivered. This has seriously affected our border defense rotations."
Mifune felt very wronged. The artisans of the Land of Iron worked day and night, exhausted every day.
Konoha simply demanded too much. Moreover, Konoha had even sent several Uchiha to be stationed near the Land of Iron's workshops, ostensibly for coordination and communication, but in reality, they were spying.
As soon as any qualified ninja tools were produced, they would immediately be taken away with delivery notes and payment vouchers stamped with the Hokage's seal.
With money and goods settled, Mifune and his people, even if they wanted to prioritize supplying other villages, couldn't find a suitable reason to stop them.
Over time, the supply to other villages started to have a slight problem.
And for goods imported by the Land of Iron, the Land of Fire delivered them extremely quickly.
It seemed they had set up a warehouse on the border of the Land of Fire, and as soon as the Land of Iron placed an order, the Land of Fire would dispatch a merchant caravan escorted by Konoha.
It was called something like "Fire-Fire Express Delivery."
The speed advantage over other villages was more than just a little. The prices were also quite fair.
Over time, the Land of Iron didn't even want to purchase supplies from other countries anymore.
Losing such a customer naturally affected the interests of the other three countries. But they couldn't say anything.
Can you really control whose goods others buy?
"This..."
Mifune weighed his words, eventually only able to say vaguely, "There are some difficulties in production allocation, and we are trying our best to coordinate. Tsuchikage, rest assured, your village's order will be arranged as quickly as possible, as quickly as possible."
Ōnoki was clearly not satisfied with this obviously perfunctory answer.
He once again pointed the finger at Satoshi, who was drinking hot water. "Also, the price of grain in the Land of Fire has soared. Does Hokage know about this?"
Satoshi narrowed his eyes. "This is normal market behavior. What are you trying to say?"
"There are rumors that the Land of Fire is using its resource advantage to try and control the lifelines of other countries. I wonder what Hokage thinks about this."
"I don't think. Next question."
"You!"
Ōnoki was about to faint from anger. Who did you inherit this shamelessness from?!
Your village's previous leader was much easier to deal with than you.
Satoshi tapped the table. "Done? Well, I'll just say a few words..."
The Five Kage Summit continued for three full days amidst back-and-forth bickering.
Mifune sighed as he listened. Over the years, he had experienced countless meetings, and he had seen this kind of thing too many times.
On the surface, it was all for the Ninja World, for peace, but in reality, it was for their own petty interests.
The Akatsuki crisis had just been resolved, and immediately afterward, the villages started tearing at each other.
With this kind of behavior, what peace could they possibly talk about?
They might as well just fight it out.
Satoshi mostly listened, only speaking when Konoha's interests were involved.
In short, one principle: Konoha must not suffer losses.
Whether you live or die, whose children are they anyway?
The other Kage gnashed their teeth in hatred. This bastard wouldn't take even the slightest loss. He was like a stone in an outhouse, both stinky and hard.
Three days later.
Finally, this highly anticipated Five Kage Summit hastily concluded with all parties holding a belly full of anger.
To summarize simply, the core conflicts remained.
Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure jointly pressured Konoha, attempting to extract some benefits from this fat pig.
Things like resource shares, mission commission ratios, or the division of buffer zone territories, and cooperation rights with smaller nations.
Konoha's attitude was simple: "I won't."
If you're not happy, then come and get me. Anyway, everyone has been fighting for decades, so fighting a bit more doesn't matter.