After Natsuro finished speaking, the entire conference room fell silent.
He didn't care about the others' reactions. He turned to Mifune and asked, "Lord Mifune, is there any tea?"
Mifune was taken aback. He himself had just been stunned by him. His earlier suggestion had simply come from watching Natsuro's amused expression during the arguing, he was clearly just spectating.
However, based on intelligence gathered over the past few years, Mifune knew that this generation's Hokage was exceptionally capable. So Natsuro's casual demeanor probably didn't mean he didn't care, more likely, it was the calm confidence of someone with everything under control.
With that in mind, Mifune had made his suggestion to hear his thoughts, but he hadn't expected that Natsuro would immediately push the Five Kage Summit to its most critical turning point...
The proposal to unite against Akatsuki.
Faced with Natsuro's sudden request, Mifune nodded and replied, "Yes, we do have tea. But due to various concerns, it wasn't initially served."
"Since you have it, then I'll trouble you to make a cup. They all need some time to calm down and think anyway," Natsuro said casually.
Of course, he knew what Mifune meant by "concerns"... the risk of poison.
If any of the Kage were poisoned, the Land of Iron would be implicated. Even if Mifune had prepared tea in advance, the Kage would likely not touch it, no one wanted to risk poisoning.
But Natsuro… wasn't worried in the slightest. As a spiritual shadow clone, what poison could affect him? And even if there was one strong enough, his main body, currently in Sage Mode, could use Flying Thunder God to arrive instantly.
No need to worry.
"Understood. Please wait a moment, Lord Hokage." Mifune instructed one of his guards to prepare tea for Natsuro, even specifying his most treasured leaves.
As v and Mifune spoke, the four other Kage all had different reactions.
Gaara was still shocked to learn that his village had once hired Akatsuki, and that the elders had kept this from him. He'd never known.
If that was true, then his own capture by Akatsuki had been a form of karma, a result of his own village's past decisions.
Just as he was reeling from this, he heard Natsuro's remarks and broke into a cold sweat. So the supposedly hot-headed Raikage was scheming all along?
Gaara couldn't help but feel he was still too young, too inexperienced, and even though he had been the first to call for an alliance, in the end, he had still been drawn into someone else's game.
He glanced at Natsuro again, who seemed about the same age as him.
Then he recalled all the miracles Natsuro had achieved since becoming Hokage, and it all suddenly felt less surprising. It's Natsuro after all.
Gaara took a deep breath and resolved silently: from now on, he needed to learn more from him, to see through to the essence of things, and not be so easily swayed by others' words.
Just like how Natsuro remained unfazed by Raikage's provocations, while Ōnoki showed no shame in admitting he'd hired Akatsuki in the past.
As for Mei Terumī, Gaara recalled that she hadn't been Mizukage for long either, perhaps that explained her position.
Indeed, Mei was thinking something similar. After she revealed that the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, had likely been under someone's control, the possibility that Akatsuki originated from Kirigakure had only increased.
She was still grieving internally, feeling ashamed and remorseful for her village's role in this mess. If Raikage had proposed to lead the alliance right then, she might have agreed on the spot.
Mei realized now that she too was a bit young. If only her advisor, Ao, weren't so old, maybe he could've accompanied her and seen all of this clearly.
She glanced at Natsuro, who was leisurely waiting for his tea. Perhaps he was right, the Land of Fire truly is vast and blessed with outstanding people.
He was so young, yet already so sharp, and so handsome. What a shame… that he's from the Land of Fire, Mei thought with a subtle lick of her lips.
Ōnoki, meanwhile, wasn't especially surprised. He had never truly believed Raikage's purpose was to assign blame, this was the Five Great Nations, after all. If it came to a real blame game, who would fear who?
Ōnoki didn't believe Raikage would risk offending all four other Kage while Akatsuki was still a threat.
He glanced at Natsuro, inwardly sighing. Truly, the younger generation is to be feared.
Indeed, Raikage's brother had just been captured by Akatsuki, yet instead of rushing to rescue him, Raikage had come here to call a summit?
That alone was suspicious. Even if he wasn't seeking an alliance, he was clearly trying to push the others into action by blaming them for harboring rogue ninjas.
And no matter how you looked at it, that was still just another kind of alliance-building.
Ōnoki glanced once more at Natsuro. Now that Natsuro had exposed the Raikage's intent and declared his own ambition to lead the allied forces… things were getting interesting.
Raikage's eyes were bloodshot, glaring daggers at Natsuro. If looks could kill, Natsuro would've been slain several times already.
But even so, Raikage didn't lash out. This wasn't the place for it. If he lost his temper again, he could kiss the command position goodbye.
Forced to hold back, Raikage sat down with a grim face, still shooting death glares at him.
Natsuro, meanwhile, sat calmly, thanked the guard who brought him his tea, and began sipping leisurely.
As he savored Mifune's treasured brew, he complimented its quality, completely ignoring Raikage's fury as if it didn't exist.
Mifune forced a bitter smile. Natsuro might not care about Raikage's anger, but he certainly did.
Though pleased by Natsuro's praise, he didn't dare respond. If he did, Raikage might turn that fury on him next.
Still, Mifune gained more respect for him. Despite being the Hokage, he had thanked the guard politely, not taking his status for granted. The guard even looked slightly overwhelmed by the gesture.
"Wow, Sasuke. Natsuro is amazing," Naruto whispered excitedly. He hadn't fully understood everything Natsuro had said, but he could tell from everyone's serious faces that Natsuro had just done something important, and he remained so relaxed!
Naruto's eyes sparkled. When I become Hokage, I want to be just like him!
"Yeah," Sasuke nodded. He, too, was staring at Natsuro, amazed. Just a few words, and he completely turned the summit around…
Sasuke found himself wondering: If I became Hokage, how would I handle this...?
After thinking about it, he realized: Probably not like Natsuro. At best, I'd be like a second Gaara… He wasn't so sure anymore.
What neither of them knew was that his composure came from one key thing, his confidence in his own strength.
Because he had power as his foundation, he didn't fear making mistakes. Even if he did, he had the strength to seize the position he wanted.
So, what was there to worry about?
In this world, power was the greatest security.
At that moment, after working through everything in his mind, Gaara opened his eyes and said firmly:
"If we truly unite, then I support Lord Hokage as our supreme commander."
Natsuro was briefly surprised. He set down his teacup and nodded in thanks. He hadn't expected Gaara to speak up this early.
Honestly, it was a little rash. But precisely because of that, Natsuro felt responsible, he couldn't let Gaara be taken advantage of for it.
"Agreed. I also support Lord Kazekage's choice," Mei said. After all, she knew the commander role would never go to her. Given a choice between the loud, rough Raikage and the charming, composed Hokage... The answer was obvious.
She glanced at Raikage again. So what if he's rough and loud? That doesn't mean he's stupid.
Still, she mused, if he really were dumb, he'd never have become Raikage in the first place, maybe just a brute.
Now Raikage's face was completely dark.
They hadn't even heard Natsuro's intel yet, and already they were choosing him as commander!?
Raikage wanted nothing more than to flatten Gaara and Mei with one punch and demand, Why!?
"Hmph… Incredible," Ōnoki muttered, glancing between Natsuro, Gaara, and Mei. He realized now that he couldn't afford to antagonize him too much, Iwagakure had only just begun to recover. He couldn't risk derailing that progress.
"Lord Hokage, could you share your intel on Akatsuki? If there truly is a need for an alliance… then I also support you as commander," Ōnoki said, extending an olive branch.
Raikage's eyes widened, looking at Ōnoki like he'd just betrayed the group. How did we get here!?
From the beginning, Ōnoki and Natsuro had seemed at odds, Natsuro had even clapped back at him a few times. So how had things flipped so quickly?
Natsuro, too, was slightly surprised. All he'd done was turn Raikage's tactics back on him, it was hardly a brilliant plan.
But people were people, and people don't like being used. Raikage had opened old wounds in the other villages. If it didn't make them feel guilty, it made them resentful.
Still, he hadn't expected that resentment to earn him so much support.
Gaara's choice made sense, Konoha and Suna were closely aligned now. And Gaara understood that Suna lacked the strength to justify making him commander, even if he was qualified.
As for Mei, her village was considered the birthplace of Akatsuki. That alone disqualified her from command. So she likely didn't care much who took the role.
But Ōnoki? That was the surprise. He had the experience, the status, and the strength to compete for the commander's seat, so why had he chosen to step aside?
Then Natsuro noticed a flicker of wariness in Ōnoki's eyes as the old Tsuchikage looked at him, and he understood. Iwagakure couldn't afford more losses, and Ōnoki was probably preparing for the next generation to take over.
"Well then, Lord Raikage, how about calming down and listening to the intel I have on the Akatsuki?" Natsuro smiled as he looked at the wide-eyed, disbelieving Raikage.
"Hmph." Raikage snorted and said nothing, silently sitting back in his seat without a rebuttal.
And with that, he began sharing everything he knew about the Akatsuki, such as their origins in Amegakure, and how their apparent leader was the Rinnegan-wielder, Nagato.
When Mei's eyes lit up, thinking that this would dispel the claim that Kirigakure was the Akatsuki's place of origin...
Natsuro continued:
"But the true leader of the Akatsuki is someone who wears a spiral mask and claims to be Madara Uchiha. He possesses the Sharingan."
"In fact, I've encountered him once myself. While I don't believe he's the real Madara, he does have power enough to control Tailed Beasts. Just like the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura."
At that, Mei's eyes dimmed again. Great. Not only had she failed to disprove the rumor, they now even knew who had likely controlled Yagura. And if it was the Sharingan, then… it made perfect sense.
Wait, Madara Uchiha? Mei snapped out of it.
"Madara Uchiha? That's impossible…" Ōnoki muttered, body trembling. He still remembered the fear he'd felt when Madara had once rejected him, that overwhelming pressure…
"Didn't that guy die decades ago?"
"You've all heard what happened during my inauguration as Hokage, haven't you?" Natsuro asked suddenly.
"Of course. Are you referring to that jutsu… Izanagi? Are you saying Madara used Izanagi to survive back then?!" Ōnoki's eyes widened, and then he cursed under his breath.
Natsuro looked at him with a smile. "Lord Tsuchikage, you sure seem well-informed about internal Konoha matters."
Ōnoki coughed awkwardly. "That… was common knowledge afterwards. The incident made such a commotion, it's no surprise word spread."
"Is that so…" Natsuro replied without pushing further, though his gaze clearly said I don't buy that. But there was no need to press, after all, Konoha had spies in Iwagakure too. Everyone knew how the game was played.
"In any case, it's possible Madara survived using Izanagi. But there's a problem, even if he did, by now he should have died of old age. And even if he's somehow still clinging to life, he'd just be a dying ember, incapable of stirring up much trouble."
At that, Ōnoki sighed. "Lord Hokage… you're still too young. You've never seen the true power of the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha. Their strength may not be bound by something as simple as lifespan."
Natsuro paused, then looked at Ōnoki, that was fair point. The old man had met Madara… and been personally turned away by him.
"Whether he's truly Madara or not, his power is real, and dangerous," Natsuro continued, sharing what he'd learned about Tobi's space-time abilities. Not from the original timeline, of course, but from intel acquired through Nagato.
"Space-time abilities, huh…" Ōnoki muttered. "If it's really Madara, then that wouldn't be surprising."
"So, right now, Tailed Beasts One through Eight have already fallen into Akatsuki's hands. The only one left unharmed is the Nine-Tails, and its Jinchūriki is one of my guards for this summit, Naruto Uzumaki," Natsuro said, gesturing for Naruto to greet the others.
The Kage looked at Naruto and sighed collectively.
Look at Konoha… even under these circumstances, their Jinchūriki is right here, at their side. And us? We were far too careless…
"As for my other guard, you've probably heard of him, the last Uchiha, Sasuke."
"I wouldn't call him the last if that guy is really Madara," Ōnoki interjected.
"If Madara truly defected from the Uchiha clan back then, then he has long since severed his ties. Besides, we're still not certain whether that man is actually Madara Uchiha. And one thing I can say for sure, no matter who he is, as the head of the Uchiha clan, I do not acknowledge him as a fellow clansman," Sasuke said coldly.
Ōnoki was stunned for a moment, then nodded in acknowledgment. He didn't argue further.
Natsuro continued, "Currently, we know of four active Akatsuki members."
A masked man of unknown identity, claiming to be Madara, known as 'Tobi'.
Kisame Hoshigaki, a rogue ninja from Kirigakure and one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Hidan, a rogue from the Hot Springs Village and a devout cultist of Jashin with an immortal body.
Zetsu. A mysterious being with half-black, half-white coloring, and extraordinary intel-gathering capabilities.
With that, Natsuro leaned back in his chair, giving everyone time to digest the intel.
Ōnoki didn't need to digest much, he'd worked with Akatsuki the most, and knew most of these names. The only one that really shook him was "Madara."
"Only four left…" Raikage muttered. That being the case… perhaps they didn't need an alliance. If the Hidden Cloud Village mobilized everything, maybe...
"There aren't just four, remember," Natsuro interrupted, reading his thoughts. "There are also eight Tailed Beasts."
Raikage's expression darkened instantly. Right… Akatsuki didn't collect those beasts for display purposes.
And even without the Tailed Beasts, someone like "Madara" alone could be more than enough trouble. Let alone the rest, if Raikage ran into them solo, he likely couldn't take them down.
The more he thought about it, the more his face contorted.
Are we really going to form an alliance? And let that guy be our commander?
Raikage looked at Natsuro with a mix of fury and helplessness.
No matter what I say, I'm just one Kage. The other three have already made their choice. What else can I do?
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Currently on Chapter 385 - A Sage vs The Mother of Chakra II