Tsunade looked at Uchiha Hikari and said, "Thank you. Without you, something unimaginable might have happened."
"It's nothing, Tsunade-sensei."
Uchiha Hikari shook his head, unconcerned. "I will escort you for the rest of the journey and ensure your safety until you reach the Land of Iron."
"Wait, if the Hokage was attacked, doesn't that mean..."
Kakashi suddenly thought of a terrible possibility. "The other Kages must have been attacked too?!"
At these words, Tsunade shuddered. "Onoki intends to use this method to directly stop the Five Kage Summit!"
"Don't worry, Tsunade-sensei."
Uchiha Hikari smiled lightly. "The other Kages will safely arrive at the Land of Iron. No one can stop this historic event."
"Historic? Event?"
Listening to Hikari's words, Tsunade and Kakashi grew even more puzzled.
"That's right. The tide of history cannot be stopped by anyone."
A gentle smile curved Uchiha Hikari's lips, as if telling of something destined to happen.
The Land of Iron, a country forever shrouded by snowy plains.
Uchiha Hikari stopped in her tracks, wearing a gentle smile, and bowed lightly.
"Sensei, I will leave you here. The rest of the journey is yours to walk."
"What do you mean?" Tsunade looked surprised. "You're not coming in with us?"
"No, Sensei."
Uchiha Hikari smiled softly and shook her head.
"Our mission is complete. From now on, the path is yours alone."
As soon as she finished speaking, her figure suddenly vanished, as if she had never appeared.
Confused, Tsunade led Kakashi and Might Guy as they stepped into the Land of Iron.
The Five Kage Summit—although not the original five Kage—brought together the five strongest villages except for the Aurora Society and Iwagakure.
In a secure room, Mifune looked at the Hokage.
"Welcome, Hokage. Please have a seat. You are the last to arrive."
Tsunade took a deep breath and sat down, observing everyone around her.
The representative from Sunagakure was Chiyo, accompanied by her guards Kankuro and Temari.
The Kumogakure delegation was the Fourth Raikage, with Darui and C as his guards.
From Kirigakure came the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, with guards Ao and Chōjūrō.
Finally, replacing Iwagakure, was the representative from Amegakure, Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, along with his guards Konan and the Animal Path Pain.
"Before we officially begin, I would like to ask everyone."
Tsunade paused for a moment and looked around.
"Did you all encounter attacks from the White Zetsu on your way here?"
"I didn't expect the White Zetsu to infiltrate our teams so stealthily," Chiyo said, clearly troubled.
"But thanks to the help from Amegakure, nothing serious happened on our journey."
It turned out that Sunagakure traveled with Amegakure. With Konan and Nagato's Rinnegan among them, it was difficult for the White Zetsu to infiltrate.
"We did encounter them, but luckily Ao was with us."
Mei Terumi spoke slowly.
"Ao discovered the White Zetsu in time, so our journey was relatively safe."
Lastly, the Fourth Raikage snorted coldly.
"White Zetsu? If it weren't for Konoha's research, how could such things even exist? Hmph."
Regarding the Fourth Raikage's accusations, Tsunade truly had no way to refute them.
After all, the product called White Zetsu was created during the Third Hokage's reign.
It was an experimental creation by Orochimaru, designed to continue the lineage of the First Hokage.
"All right, Raikage-sama, this Five Kage Summit is not about debating who is more to blame."
Mifune noticed the tense atmosphere and quickly spoke to ease the situation.
"Currently, the Aurora Order has joined forces with the Hidden Rock Village. This is an established fact. A war will soon break out, and they have already captured seven tailed beast Jinchuriki. Because of this, we must unite!"
"Hmph. Speaking of the Aurora Order," The Fourth Raikage snorted coldly. "I heard their 'Holy Son' is also someone from your Konoha. I think his name is Uchiha Itachi?"
"That's enough!"
Tsunade could no longer hold back.
She stood up angrily and slammed her palm on the table.
"Raikage, we are here to negotiate, not to listen to your nagging like a woman!"
"Who did you call a woman?!"
The Fourth Raikage, already harboring deep hatred against Konoha, was infuriated by Tsunade's mockery.
Veins bulging on his forehead, he smashed the table with a furious punch.
"Hokage, Raikage, please calm down!"
Mifune, feeling exhausted, tried to stop both of them.
"The Hokage is right. We are here to negotiate, not to hear accusations."
Chiyo firmly stood by Konoha's side and said coldly, "Raikage, if you still can't get a grip on the situation, maybe wait until your head cools down before discussing how to form an alliance."
"What did you say, old woman?"
The Fourth Raikage, known for his short temper, immediately turned his anger towards the Hidden Sand Village.
"Everyone knows the Sand Village is practically Konoha's subordinate now. Of course, you would side with them."
"Raikage, did you come to this meeting just to cause a fight?"
Terumi Mei could no longer bear it.
"Hmph."
Suddenly seeming to take the opposite stance, the Fourth Raikage snorted again.
He sat back down and said nothing further.
"Looks like everyone has calmed down now."
Mifune wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Luckily, no real fight had broken out; otherwise, he wouldn't have known how to stop it.
"Then, let's officially begin the meeting."
He looked slowly at the five people present.
At that moment, a sudden, scornful laugh echoed in the room.
The Five Kage's pupils constricted instantly as they realized the voice did not belong to any of them.
"Who's there?!"
The Raikage reacted the fastest. Lightning crackled around him as he threw a punch at the wall where the voice came from.
Boom!
The fist wrapped in lightning shattered the wall.
Behind the broken wall floated a small figure. The Kage sitting there all showed shocked expressions.
"It's you, Ōnoki!"
That's right — the person who suddenly interrupted the meeting was the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, Ōnoki, the very person they were discussing how to deal with.
"Since this is a Five Kage meeting, how could I be left out?"
Ōnoki crossed his arms and floated into the room, completely ignoring them. His proud gaze looked down on everyone as he said coldly, "Don't worry, I'm not here to fight you. I'm here to tell you this: from this moment on, I declare war on this rotten world!"
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