Chapter 12: The Five Kage and the Explosion
"As far as I know, these people are only Uchiha Madara, the First Hokage Senju Hashirama, the Fourth Mizukage Yagura, and the Raikage's younger brother, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer Bee, but..."
Danzo's words tightened the Raikage's heart. Mentioning his brother Bee at this moment was no casual remark, and the 'but...' in Danzo's mouth carried multiple implications.
The Raikage clenched his fist. In that instant, ten Kage guards immediately rushed forward.
"Stop your nonsense here."
The Raikage raised his arm and slammed it down on the conference table before him, his anger already at its peak.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Figures darted out from behind the white cloth. Eight of the ten Kage guards charged toward the Raikage, two stood in front of him, and two were his personal guards, Cee and Darui.
Just as the Raikage's fist came down, a fluctuation in Danzo's chakra occurred, so subtle it was almost negligible. The conference moderator Mifune's eyes dimmed for a moment before returning to normal.
The eye wrapped in bandages on Danzo was a Sharingan, Uchiha Shisui's Sharingan. Shisui of the Body Flicker was most famous not for his Body Flicker Technique, but for a certain dojutsu of his Sharingan, a technique called Kotoamatsukami. This ninjutsu could invade another person's mind without being detected and alter their will. It was a terrifying genjutsu; after one use, it took over a decade to use again.
Before the meeting began, Danzo had used this technique on Mifune, his purpose temporarily unclear.
The Five Kage Conference, which had been relatively harmonious, turned tense and hostile after the Raikage punched through the wooden table.
"This is a place for discussion. Please refrain from discourteous behavior."
Mifune spoke at the opportune moment, and the Five Kage signaled their guards to withdraw.
"Please continue the discussion."
As Mifune finished speaking, the Raikage, who had been silent until now, stood up.
"Konoha, Iwa, Suna, Kiri. The Akatsuki was formed by rogue ninja from your villages. Not only that, but according to my investigation, you or your predecessors as Kage have used the Akatsuki to participate in wars..."
The Raikage began assigning blame. This was the main reason he had called the Five Kage Summit. Originally, he wanted to target Konoha, but unfortunately, Danzo, that old schemer, was too difficult to deal with, so he settled for the next best option.
As the Raikage started attacking the other ninja villages, the other four Kage were no pushovers. They verbally rebutted the Raikage, leaving him somewhat choked, while Danzo remained silent.
Just as the four Kage were blaming each other, Danzo spoke in a calm tone.
"According to the intelligence I've obtained, the leader of the Akatsuki is Uchiha Madara."
At these words, the meeting room fell into dead silence.
"Is that true..."
"Didn't that guy die decades ago?"
"If that's the case..."
Just as the four Kage were judging the credibility of this information, Danzo spoke again.
"I'm not entirely clear on the specifics, but this intelligence is highly reliable. I guarantee it in the name of the Hokage."
This time, the expressions of the other four Kage changed. A guarantee in the name of the Hokage meant Danzo was staking Konoha's reputation on it, making the information quite credible.
"Is that guy immortal?"
"Perhaps."
Danzo's tone remained unhurried, exuding the demeanor of a seasoned schemer.
"Cough."
Mifune cleared his throat and stood up.
"As a neutral nation, may I say a few words?"
The Five Kage remained silent. Mifune continued, "The current situation is chaotic. The villainous Akatsuki has become a great threat, and we must subdue them. It is rare and valuable for the Five Kage to gather together. How about forming an alliance among the five great ninja villages during the campaign against the Akatsuki?"
Mifune's proposal seemed reasonable, but Danzo breathed a sigh of relief. His plan was proceeding smoothly.
"A good proposal."
Danzo supported Mifune without showing any emotion.
"Yes, this way we can have unified command and act in concert."
Mifune narrowed his eyes.
"Then, who will lead the alliance?"
The shrewd Third Tsuchikage spoke, immediately identifying the key point of the proposal.
"Discussion among you will only lead to endless disputes. Therefore, I hope you will respect the proposal of this neutral nation. Currently, only Konoha possesses the Nine-Tails, and controlling the Nine-Tails is crucial. How about... entrusting the command of the Allied Shinobi Forces to the Hokage?"
Except for Danzo, the other four Kage looked somewhat stunned. They were all wondering if Mifune had made some deal with Danzo to support him so strongly. But the fact before them was that the neutral nation's proposal carried significant weight. The military power of the Land of Iron was not to be underestimated, and its reputation was far better than that of the major ninja villages.
Silence filled the meeting room. This was Danzo's goal. An alliance was inevitable sooner or later, and he wanted to secure the position of alliance leader. If he obtained this position, his status as the Sixth Hokage would be assured.
Brother Danzo had used Kotoamatsukami to create the current situation. In the original story, Ao, Mei Terumi's guard, had exposed Danzo's scheme. Unfortunately, Ao had long since died at Su Xiao's hands, and that Byakugan had also been destroyed.
Just as everyone was silent, a large pitcher plant suddenly sprouted from the center of the circular conference table.
The green pitcher plant opened, revealing a White Zetsu inside. This was a White Zetsu clone.
"Greetings, everyone."
The White Zetsu clone smiled. It had appeared almost within the encirclement of the Five Kage, no more than three meters from any of them.
The ten Kage guards, in pairs, stood before their respective Kage, upright on the conference table, their eyes fixed on the White Zetsu. Cold sweat dripped down their faces. Before the White Zetsu clone revealed itself, they hadn't even detected its presence.
"Uchiha Sasuke has infiltrated, you know. Where could he be hiding? Hahaha."
The White Zetsu was extremely arrogant.
At that moment, a crow flew in and landed on the White Zetsu's head.
"Huh?"
The White Zetsu was puzzled. The crow on its head looked around at the Five Kage, its eyes, covered in alchemical formation patterns, emitting a glow.
This was Su Xiao's alchemical crow. Having created many alchemical crows in the void, he was becoming more proficient at making them, and the production cost had dropped significantly.
To control the alchemical crow, Su Xiao had to temporarily switch out Amu, who enjoyed the summoning slot bonus, and replace him with the alchemical crow. This allowed him to control the crow and gain shared vision. Once Su Xiao released control of the alchemical crow, Amu would automatically switch back to being Su Xiao's summon, regaining the bonus from Su Xiao's intelligence attribute.
"Let's all go find Sasuke together~"
The White Zetsu clone roared. At the same time, the Raikage had already rushed to its side, incredibly fast.
Just as the Raikage was about to grab the White Zetsu clone's neck, the alchemical crow on the clone's head looked at the Raikage, its body rapidly swelling.
"Raikage-sama!"
The Raikage's guard, Cee, rushed forward quickly.
Boom!
The explosion spread through the meeting room. The conference table bore the brunt, shattering into flying splinters. The White Zetsu clone was also blown apart, scattering into white fragments of flesh.
The flames quickly dissipated. Brother Danzo's expression was as dark as water. He had been on the verge of taking a very important step, and now, an unknown attacker had interrupted the process.
Inside the first floor of the tower.
The sharp howl of lightning echoed. Sasuke, wielding a longsword, was cutting down samurai on the first floor. The blue-white electric light made his face look slightly pale, and his Sharingan had begun to show a hint of cold ruthlessness.
At the edge of the first floor, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Amu, Obito, and others were watching from a high vantage point.
"Zetsu has handled it. Using Sasuke as bait, the Raikage will show up here soon."
Su Xiao's eyes opened. The alchemical crow had self-destructed, cutting off the shared vision. Amu returned to his summoning slot, once again benefiting from Su Xiao's intelligence attribute of 80 points.
"It looks like things are going smoothly. Target temporarily set as the Raikage? That big guy won't be easy to deal with. If it's not necessary, I won't make a move."
Obito seemed to have no intention of acting for now.
"We'll see how it goes. I wonder if that woman, Mei Terumi, will end up alone. Deidara's preparations are almost done too. That guy seems quite reluctant to face the Tsuchikage."
Su Xiao's target was the Mizukage, Mei Terumi, but with the precondition that no other Kage were nearby. He wouldn't be as overconfident as Sasuke. Facing a Kage head-on was very stressful, but now, even if the battle distance was extended, it wouldn't be a problem.
When Su Xiao last entered the Naruto World, he could indeed kill a Kage, but that required him to be in close quarters with the Kage at the start of the battle. If the distance was extended, he wouldn't last a minute before dying.
Now, it was different. Even if the distance was extended, he could fight a Kage-level opponent and even kill one. This was the growth of his strength. Don't underestimate this; it was a qualitative leap.
"Uchiha Sasuke. Whether he's worth cultivating depends on whether he can survive this time."
Obito didn't hide this from Su Xiao. The two were now collaborators.
"He should have the Mangekyo by now, right?"
"Yes, he awakened it not long ago, triggered by the matter with Itachi. Now, his heart is full of hatred. That's not bad."