At this moment, all the Kage felt as though they had been tricked onto a pirate ship. If they had known it would turn out like this, they never would have come to this so-called Five Kage Summit.
Although, even if they hadn't come, they still wouldn't have been able to stop Uchiha Madara from doing what he wanted. But at least, they could've found out about this earth-shattering, scalp-numbing matter a little later.
Onoki was the first to step forward and say, "Lord Madara, even if we agree to this, the daimyo of each nation won't."
Uchiha Madara turned his head slightly and gave Onoki a calm glance, "If the daimyo disagree, I'll kill the daimyo, and keep killing until the next one who takes the throne agrees."
"Onoki of Both Scales, you've lived so long, have you still not realized that a daimyo is just a position? Anyone can sit on that seat. Or perhaps, I could simply… make that seat itself disappear into history."
Onoki fell silent. Bringing up the daimyo had been a move of desperation.
He thought for a moment, then gave a weak threat, "Lord Madara, aren't you afraid of provoking an all-out war across the entire ninja world? If you go too far, we can still unite again and go to war against Akatsuki!"
Uchiha Madara frowned, "Onoki, I didn't come here to reason with you. If you insist on this, you can test my patience if you'd like."
Onoki didn't dare say another word. Of everyone alive in the ninja world, he was one of the few who best understood the extent of Uchiha Madara's patience.
The key difference was that now things weren't as they once were, all the villages were benefiting from Akatsuki's chakra converters, and Akatsuki had always projected a peaceful stance. Starting a war now would make it hard to rally everyone together.
For example, Onoki looked toward Rasa, "Lord Kazekage, what do you think?"
Rasa cursed a hundred times in his heart, 'That old fossil Onoki just kicked the ball over to me, how am I supposed to answer that?'
But suddenly, inspiration struck. He turned to Minato Namikaze and said, "Since Lord Hokage is the chair of this meeting, I'll follow Konoha's decision."
Minato froze for a moment. The idea of uniting all five nations together didn't sit quite right with him. He faintly sensed that this plan wasn't something Obito had proposed on his own, it likely came from Madara's will.
But Obito would probably agree with it too.
Because as long as no wars occurred and the people's lives improved, that would be a good thing in Obito's eyes. As for the independence of nations, Obito likely didn't care at all.
Minato had no choice but to look toward the Mizukage, Yagura, "Lord Mizukage, what are your thoughts?"
Yagura stayed silent for a while, then turned to glance at Rasa before saying, "I share Lord Kazekage's view. Lord Hokage, we'll let you decide."
Minato then had to turn his head again, toward the Third Raikage, Ay.
The Third Raikage gave a snort, crossing his arms like Madara, "I can represent the will of our daimyo to a certain extent. The Land of Lightning will never agree to a merger."
Then, after pausing, he added, "But if we encounter an irresistible force, it won't matter whether we agree or not. In the most extreme circumstances, I'll prioritize the safety of the village and our people, everything else can be abandoned."
Minato understood Raikage's meaning now. No matter how tough he acted, he was, in truth, yielding in the end.
And with that, Minato understood the situation more clearly. Unlike Obito's earlier, extreme "Infinite Tsukuyomi" plan, what Akatsuki was doing now was far too moderate, it posed no direct threat to the ninja world's survival.
So the Kage of each village were showing their weakness. Their opinions were divided, their wills not firm enough. Under such circumstances, even if they united for war, they'd only be a disorderly rabble.
Since that was the case, even if not for Konoha's own safety, perhaps for the sake of civilians elsewhere, there was no choice but to agree.
Minato took a deep breath and said, "Since most of the Kage are unable to make a decision, I'll make it. I agree to this."
The atmosphere in the room instantly grew tense, then eased, then tense again, then relaxed once more.
This kind of shifting tension, more than any fierce argument or rousing rhetoric, best reflected the inner conflict within each of the Kage.
Onoki sighed, "To live this long, is it a blessing or a curse? To think that at my age, I'd still live to see a new direction for the ninja world."
"It seems our Iwagakure has no choice but to agree as well."
Seeing this, Uchiha Madara finally allowed a faint smile to form. He spoke calmly, "Just now, I sensed over a hundred killing intents directed at me. Many of you here have, countless times, entertained the idea of fighting me to the death, of killing me outright."
"But later, you gave up for various reasons."
"In truth, that's a good thing. It means you all possess the disposition of qualified rulers, unlike certain people who cling to life and fear death. If such cowards sit in high positions, they'll likely sacrifice the interests of the entire ninja world for their own gain."
All the Kage fell silent. Was Madara… praising them? That wasn't what they needed right now.
Minato said, "Madara, even though you have the power to impose your will, we still need a reason that can convince everyone."
Madara nodded slightly, "Fine. Since you want a reason, I'll give you one."
"Even if all the villages and nations unite to form a new superstate, in the beginning it will only exist in name. Because of regional differences, everyone will still live much as they always have."
"What I want is for the future, for people to slowly let go of their ingrained prejudices, to gradually erase the deep-rooted discrimination between regions, to see all outsiders as their own people."
"Hokage, I've heard of your teacher, Jiraiya. Didn't he advocate for mutual understanding between people?"
"And isn't the prerequisite for mutual understanding the removal of all kinds of boundaries?"
"If you still follow your teacher's ideals, perhaps you can try looking at this from that perspective."
Minato was instantly moved. Indeed, what Madara said made sense. What forms a village, what builds a nation, isn't laws or systems, but the collective will of its people.
If, in the future, people's hearts were united, everything Madara said would happen naturally. If their hearts weren't united, then this so-called great nation would be nothing more than an empty shell.
He said quietly, "I understand. Konoha can agree to join Akatsuki's proposal."
Seeing Minato yield, the other four Kage could no longer find words to argue. They neither agreed nor refused, but through their silence, they tacitly accepted.
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