It seemed that everyone present, except for Minato, had this problem. Firstly, Konoha and the Land of Fire Daimyo had always had a good relationship, possibly because the Land of Fire was relatively wealthy, and the Daimyo never skimped on military spending.
This was also why, during previous Shinobi World Wars, others always wanted to take a bite out of the Land of Fire and Konoha.
On the other hand, thanks to Orochimaru and Rasa, Konoha had greatly boosted its reputation in front of dignitaries from various countries. There was never a shortage of missions, only a shortage of manpower.
Sometimes, the number of missions was so great that Minato wished he could send out the gatekeeper brothers, Izumo and Kotetsu, to perform missions as well.
But seeing them so conscientious and enthusiastic, they must really like their current jobs.
Minato felt that as the Hokage, he should be more considerate of his subordinates and shouldn't force them, so he never mentioned it.
In addition, in recent years, they had cooperated with the Land of Snow, creating some good projects. Besides importing some high-tech equipment, there were also some collaborations in the film industry, generating a lot of income. Konoha really wasn't short of money.
Yagura had some understanding of this, but not much. Every time he went to the Land of Water Daimyo to apply for funding, the Daimyo always seemed hesitant. Although he looked reluctant, he would always try to squeeze out some money.
Only the Raikage didn't think much about this issue. He simply didn't believe Ōnoki's nonsense: "Stop making excuses, Earth Shadow! In the end, aren't you still in contact with Akatsuki! Who knows if that disciple of yours was deliberately sent out by you!"
"Don't just talk nonsense, Raikage brat!" Ōnoki was a little annoyed with him. Was this guy a mad dog? Once he bit someone, he wouldn't let go. "Isn't it because your Cloud Village collects Ninjutsu everywhere at all costs in pursuit of power? In order to compete with you, we had no choice but to hire Akatsuki!"
"What did you say!" The Raikage's temper also flared up. Our village was bombed like that, and you're saying it's my fault? He kicked over his chair and glared at Ōnoki, looking like he might attack at any moment.
Akatsuchi and Kurotsuchi instantly jumped down to protect Ōnoki, while Shi and Darui also stood in front of the Raikage.
"Am I not stating the facts?" Ōnoki floated up to be at eye level with the Raikage, partly for the sake of momentum, and partly because Akatsuchi was too big, like a wall to him.
As they moved, all the guards, including Naruto and Shisui, pulled out Kunai and jumped down.
Kankuro's hands emitted Chakra threads, Temari unfolded her fan, Zabuza took out the Executioner's Blade, and Mei Terumi was ready to spew out something strange.
Only Fu reacted a beat late, blinked her eyes, flew to Shibuki, and struck a defensive pose like the others.
Whether they could fight or not was another matter, but at least they had to fulfill their duties as guards at this time, even if it was just to scare people or act as atmosphere enhancers.
More than a dozen guards faced each other, making the venue seem a bit crowded.
Just as sparks began to appear on the Raikage's body, Mifune, as the host, began to play his role: "This is a place for calm discussion, please be mindful of any impolite behavior."
As a neutral country, Mifune's words provided everyone with a way out.
Minato said softly, "Naruto, Shisui, it's okay."
Yagura crossed his arms in front of his chest: "Mei, Zabuza, step back."
Gaara said calmly, "Temari, Kankuro, you too."
Ōnoki floated back to his chair and nodded upstairs, signaling Akatsuchi and Kurotsuchi to return.
Shi helped the Raikage right his chair, and the Raikage sat down without saying a word. Darui and Shi also returned upstairs with the others.
The inconspicuous Kagen and Yoro also retreated, and the clueless Fu was also chased up by Shibuki.
Seeing that the dispute had temporarily subsided, Mifune said, "Please continue."
Everyone was silent for a few seconds, and then Minato spoke, "Earth Shadow, Raikage, now that things have come to this, there's no point in dwelling on the past.
I think perhaps every village has done some unsavory things, some for the benefit of the village, some for personal desires, or perhaps the consequences of certain actions were not intentional.
But we are not gathered here today to argue about these things, but for Akatsuki. Iwagakure and Cloud Village hope to retrieve the Tailed Beast, while Kirigakure, Sand Hidden, and Konoha hope to solve this hidden danger that could attack us at any time."
"At least for now, our goals are aligned. How about we temporarily set aside some disputes and resolve the Akatsuki issue first?"
If Minato were to say that past events should be written off, he would be asking for a scolding, but temporarily setting aside disputes was something they could accept.
"Hmph." The Raikage crossed his arms, two streams of white air puffing from his nostrils, tacitly agreeing.
Ōnoki knew what he said made sense, but he didn't want to be at a disadvantage in words: "Young man, your pretty words sound good, but you can't just rely on talk, right? What can Konoha do for this?"
Minato didn't mind Ōnoki's verbal jabs; he had originally planned to share some information about Akatsuki: "Actually, some time ago, two Akatsuki members entered the Land of Fire and encountered a search team dispatched by our Konoha. In the end, one was captured alive, and the other died in battle."
"What!?"
The others looked at Minato in surprise. Capturing a prisoner meant they could extract information, right? But...
"Hokage, are you serious? A mere search team was able to defeat an Akatsuki team? And even capture one alive?" The Raikage was a little disbelieving. Whenever Akatsuki members were mentioned, he automatically compared them to Pain.
Minato said, "It could be said that it was because the support arrived in time, and these two were somewhat special."
The Raikage pressed, "What exactly happened?"
"The one captured alive is named Hidan, a rogue ninja from the Land of Hot Water. His ability is... The one who died in battle is named Kakuzu, a rogue ninja from the Hidden Waterfall Village. His ability is..." Minato explained Hidan and Kakuzu's information to everyone.
The guards upstairs could also hear clearly. While the others were surprised that there were such bizarre people, Naruto thought boredly:
How can I get that handsome Shisui to seduce that Mei Terumi, the Mature Woman eager to marry? Anyway, they're both single, and age... Mei Terumi could probably let Shisui hold one or two gold bricks...
Doesn't seem quite right?
At this moment, Naruto felt someone poke his arm. He turned his head: "Fu? What's wrong?"
Fu pointed below and asked in a low voice, "Naruto, what are they talking about?"
Naruto replied, "About Akatsuki. This meeting is for that. Didn't your village leader tell you?"
Fu poked her temple with one finger, her whole little face wrinkled: "Akatsuki... Akatsuki..."
After thinking hard for thirty seconds, Fu suddenly realized: "I remember now. He did say it, but I fell asleep after hearing the beginning, hahaha..."
...
?Recommendation tickets??Monthly tickets?
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