Sitting in his seat, Natsuro acted as if he hadn't heard the Tsuchikage's words and lazily stretched.
Just as Ōnoki frowned and was about to speak again, Natsuro opened his mouth.
"No helping it. After all, the Land of Fire is vast and rich, with so many matters to deal with. I could only barely squeeze out time to come here, unlike you, elder, who seems so free," Natsuro said calmly, as if it hadn't been his own personal affairs (regarding Ino) that delayed him.
"Hmph, I fear it's not about how many matters there are, but about your method of handling them," Ōnoki said, wrinkling his large red nose.
"Whether the method is right or wrong, shouldn't you know best? Given the current state of Konoha," Natsuro said, glancing at Ōnoki. He didn't believe Iwagakure had no spies inside Konoha.
"Lord Hokage jests. How could an old man from the Land of Earth possibly know about Konoha's affairs?" Ōnoki replied smoothly, though he was growing wary.
This young man is far too composed for his age.
"Ahem." At that moment, Mifune, the host from the Land of Iron, finally couldn't stand it anymore. If the two kept bickering like this, his role as Summit mediator would become a joke.
"Please place your Kage hats in front of you," Mifune said once Natsuro and Ōnoki quieted down.
Natsuro placed the Hokage hat he carried at his waist onto the table. Immediately, a beam of light descended behind him, illuminating him and the Fire Country's emblem clearly.
Naruto and Sasuke stood behind the emblem. Naruto also noticed Kankurō and Temari across the room and waved at them with a big grin.
Kankurō and Temari smiled helplessly and waved back, thankfully, the banners behind each Kage shielded the view, so none of the other Kage saw it.
"At the summons of Lord Raikage, the Five Kage have gathered here today. I am Mifune, the host for this meeting. Now, let the Five Kage Summit officially begin," Mifune announced solemnly.
Silence immediately descended on the room. No one wanted to be the first to speak.
In the end, it was Gaara, with his hands folded on the table, who spoke first. "Then I'll start. Listen—"
"The lineup sure has changed a lot," Ōnoki interrupted suddenly.
"To become a Kage at such a young age, that's impressive, Lord Kazekage," he said.
Gaara looked at Ōnoki, uncertain of his intentions. Was he interrupting just to compliment him? Highly unlikely.
"It seems your father must have raised you well. But when it comes to manners, you're a little lacking," Ōnoki said bluntly, showing his dissatisfaction with Gaara's casual manner of speaking.
Gaara remained calm, but behind him, Kankurō clenched his fists. However, this wasn't Suna's internal meeting, he couldn't just jump out and defend Gaara.
"I think what's truly distasteful is an old man trying to lecture others over trivial matters," Natsuro said, yawning nonchalantly. Compared to Gaara, he was even more casual.
"Hmph, it's no wonder Lord Hokage and Lord Kazekage get along so well, considering you're about the same age," Ōnoki snorted, but he didn't continue. After all, Natsuro had already accused him of acting like a senile old man, arguing more would only make it worse.
"Indeed," Natsuro said, smiling. "In Konoha, we have so many talented people that I could even find someone younger than me to become Hokage, and he could still run Konoha perfectly. Unlike you, Lord Tsuchikage, who is so old yet still has no suitable successor, having to bear the weight of Iwagakure alone."
"You—!" Ōnoki's face darkened with anger, he had struck a sore spot.
Seeing that, Natsuro calmly added, "No need to be angry, Lord Tsuchikage. Getting so mad only proves I'm right."
Ōnoki merely grunted coldly, his face sour. He looked at Natsuro and Gaara again, their relationship seemed deeper than he thought. It wasn't wise to provoke both of them at once.
Gaara glanced at Natsuro and nodded in acknowledgment.
Natsuro held his head high. After all, Konoha and Suna had a close relationship now, he couldn't just let Ōnoki bully Gaara. Moreover, if Ōnoki shifted his focus, Natsuro himself would be the next target.
"No wonder Natsuro handled him so easily. That old man's really annoying," Naruto muttered, clenching his fists.
"Keep it down," Sasuke said, helplessly reminding him.
The meeting continued, though it was clear that it wasn't going to proceed smoothly.
"Alright, Lord Tsuchikage, Lord Hokage, let's not interrupt. Let Lord Kazekage continue," Mizukage Terumī Mei said, clearly exasperated. She was here to have a meeting, not listen to them bicker.
Gaara nodded and said, "I was originally a Jinchūriki. I was captured by the Akatsuki and stripped of my Tailed Beast. I recognize Akatsuki as an extremely dangerous organization. I sought assistance from the other Kage several times, but aside from the Hokage, the rest of you ignored me."
He glanced at Natsuro, both Tsunade, the previous Hokage, and Natsuro himself had been supportive toward Suna.
"By the time you realized the danger, many of your Jinchūriki had already been captured, it was too late."
"Indeed. Konoha had already realized Akatsuki's goals long ago. Jiraiya, one of the Three Legendary Sannin, had even secretly informed you of the situation. We also shared the information we had on Akatsuki's members, but sadly, it seemed to make no difference," Natsuro said.
"Hmph. Losing a Jinchūriki is a disgrace, a humiliation before the other nations. Normally, we would try to resolve it quietly rather than seek help immediately!" Ōnoki countered.
"Etiquette... pride... What an outdated thinking," Gaara replied flatly.
Natsuro chuckled. In this case, he somewhat agreed with Ōnoki, losing a Tailed Beast was a major incident. Asking for help immediately could spark even greater unrest if other villages harbored ulterior motives.
Given the Five Great Nations' relationships, true cooperation was practically impossible.
If Danzo had been Hokage at that time, Suna might not have survived at all, or would have been utterly hollowed out.
Mei Terumī sighed. "As Mizukage, I admit we failed to handle this properly. But even if the Tailed Beasts were taken, it wouldn't immediately cause panic. Controlling a Tailed Beast requires skill, knowledge, and time."
"Besides, a Jinchūriki must grow alongside their Tailed Beast and tame it. Even then, controlling them is extremely difficult," Ōnoki added.
Natsuro let out a small laugh.
"Lord Hokage, do you have a comment?" Mei asked, glancing at him, and noticing he was a rather handsome young man.
Too bad he acts nothing like a teenager, Gaara is much purer.
"In the face of overwhelming strength, controlling a Tailed Beast isn't difficult. For example, the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha could easily do it," Natsuro said.
"But how could the Akatsuki compare to those two legends?" Mei frowned.
"Because Akatsuki has the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths, the Rinnegan. Controlling Tailed Beasts isn't hard for them. Plus, they only want the Tailed Beasts' power, not to become proper Jinchūriki. Gaara can testify to that, he's the only former Jinchūriki to survive the extraction," Natsuro said, tapping the table.
"Moreover, Akatsuki wasn't a newly formed organization. It existed long before they captured the One-Tail. Their recent actions only show that their preparations are complete. Your viewpoints are invalid," Natsuro continued.
Both Mei and Ōnoki fell silent. Natsuro's words were the hard truth, both undeniable and cutting.
Worse still, they themselves had helped Akatsuki, indirectly, after all, money was also part of the organization's preparations...
At that moment, the Raikage suddenly clenched his fists, drawing everyone's attention.
"Enough pointless chatter!" Raikage roared, slamming his fist into the table. Even without using chakra, the table shattered instantly.
Immediately, all the Kage's guards moved protectively in front of their leaders, drawing their weapons. The tension in the room skyrocketed, on the verge of explosion.
Mifune sighed and said, "This is a sacred venue. Please conduct yourselves properly."
"Naruto, Sasuke... step back," Natsuro ordered calmly.
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a glance and retreated behind the banners. They knew his strength and weren't worried.
The other guards also gradually stepped back.
"Then, let's continue," Mifune said.
Raikage, now the center of attention, scanned the room with a fierce glare.
"Konoha, Iwa, Suna, Kiri, your rogue ninjas formed Akatsuki. And what's more, I've discovered that even some of your previous Kage used Akatsuki for their own purposes!" he declared.
Gaara's eyes widened in disbelief.
Natsuro didn't react. He couldn't say for sure whether Konoha had used Akatsuki. Tsunade definitely hadn't, but the Third Hokage and Danzo...
Especially Danzo.
Suddenly, Natsuro tapped his forehead. Right, Danzo definitely used Akatsuki, but not to benefit the village. He just wanted to kill me.
"I don't trust you. I didn't come here to negotiate or cooperate, I summoned the Five Kage Summit to hold you accountable!" Raikage declared.
Gaara, however, didn't care about that. He was more concerned about what Raikage had said earlier, that some villages had used the Akatsuki?
Natsuro clicked his tongue, but wasn't particularly concerned. Right or wrong aside, wanting to "hold them accountable" required one thing first: having enough power to dominate the others. Unfortunately, Kumogakure didn't have that strength.
Still, Raikage wasn't wrong, despite being the only major village without any rogue ninjas joining Akatsuki, Kumogakure had lost two of its Tailed Beasts to them. It was truly tragic.
Raikage continued, pointing out how Konoha had the most defectors in Akatsuki, first Orochimaru, then Itachi Uchiha.
Then he exposed how Sunagakure had hired Akatsuki to participate in wars, and Ōnoki explained why Iwagakure had used them too.
In short, raising ninja themselves consumed enormous resources, but Akatsuki could be hired purely with money. They were war experts. Hiring Akatsuki minimized losses and secured victories.
As he spoke, Ōnoki seemed rather proud. He wasn't bothered by these revelations, if he had to choose again, he would still do the same.
Raikage then turned his accusations toward Kirigakure, arguing that they were the most suspicious because they never engaged in diplomacy and because rumors claimed Akatsuki originated there.
In short, Raikage was on a rampage, dragging out every sin of the other four great ninja villages.
Mizukage Mei, being targeted, stayed silent for a long moment before finally speaking.
"Since it's come to this, I'll just say it outright."
"Our Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, was likely controlled by someone, possibly Akatsuki. That's why we didn't want to make it public," Mei said, closing her eyes. Having a village leader be mind-controlled was one of the greatest disgraces a village could suffer, let alone publicly admitting it.
"Everyone always has an excuse..." Raikage gritted his teeth, furious that something so crucial was only being revealed now.
"Watch your tone, Raikage," Ōnoki said, stepping in. "After all, it was because you, during this era of military downsizing, still recklessly pursued power and collected forbidden jutsu that we had no choice but to hire Akatsuki to counter you."
"What?!" Raikage slammed his hands on the table and stood up again, glaring furiously.
Natsuro watched the scene unfold with great interest, clearly enjoying the drama.
Unfortunately for Raikage, Ōnoki didn't push further, and after glaring for a while, Raikage sat back down. No matter how furious he was, even he knew he couldn't afford to make enemies of all four other Kage at once.
Mifune sighed again. He had expected the Five Kage Summit to go this way. After all, these were former enemies, it was nearly impossible to expect them to sit down and talk peacefully.
Noticing that Natsuro looked like he was watching a show, Mifune hesitated, then said,
"Everyone, please calm down. If we continue like this, we'll never reach any conclusion. In my opinion, why don't we hear Lord Hokage's opinion next?"
"Me?" Natsuro raised an eyebrow, still amused. He hadn't had his fill of the drama yet.
"Yes," Mifune said, nodding calmly as everyone turned their eyes to him.
"After all, Konoha, under Lord Hokage's leadership, is the only village here that hasn't lost its Tailed Beast. Moreover, Konoha was the first to discover Akatsuki's true goal and shared the information with other villages. Therefore, Lord Hokage's opinion is extremely valuable. I also believe Lord Hokage might know some things we don't, could you share that information as well?"
Upon hearing this, the other four Kage exchanged glances, then nodded. Mifune's argument made sense.
"Alright then," Natsuro said. "First, let me make one thing clear, Konoha was not untouched by Akatsuki's attacks. In fact, they sent the one with the Rinnegan."
"What?!" The other four Kage's eyes widened in shock.
They knew Akatsuki had attacked Konoha, the destruction had been massive. But they hadn't realized it involved the Rinnegan.
Does that mean Konoha could even repel the Rinnegan?
"So, the failure to protect your Tailed Beasts is your own problem," Natsuro said bluntly.
Even though his words were a bit provocative, none of the Kage could refute him. Compared to Konoha, their own villages had suffered less intense attacks but still lost their Tailed Beasts, which spoke volumes.
"Next, I'll share the intel I have. But it won't be free," Natsuro added.
"What do you mean?" Raikage asked.
"For example, what's the real purpose of this Five Kage Summit? Was it really just to assign blame?" Natsuro glanced at Raikage, his meaning obvious...
Does Kumogakure even have the standing to lecture the other villages?
Even if Raikage had just exposed everyone's faults, it wasn't enough to justify this posture.
"From what I know, the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki is your younger brother, isn't he? And he was captured not too long ago. What you're really thinking about is getting our help to rescue him, right?"
"Moreover, if you really didn't intend to cooperate, why waste time organizing a Five Kage Summit? You'd be better off searching for your brother's trail."
"In short, Raikage, you know very well that you can't defeat Akatsuki alone. You can't save your brother alone. So you had no choice but to call the Five Kage Summit, your real goal is cooperation."
"And to do that, you needed to posture like you were here to assign blame, to take the moral high ground."
"So what exactly are you saying?!" Raikage roared, his mustache practically bristling with anger.
"I'm saying," Natsuro said casually, "that if this Five Kage Summit does agree to form an alliance, you, standing on the moral high ground, would most likely propose yourself as the supreme commander, that way you could better control the coalition forces and rescue your brother."
Raikage glared fiercely at Natsuro but said nothing.
Natsuro continued calmly, "Originally, I was happy to sit back and watch you all argue. But since Lord Mifune asked for my opinion, I'll be direct."
"Forming an alliance, I can agree to that."
"But as for the supreme commander position, I'm not giving it to any of you..."
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Currently on Chapter 384 - A Sage vs The Mother of Chakra