Konoha.
The original Konoha Village had been almost completely destroyed during the Konoha Crush. In the village center, only the small Ichiraku Ramen shop remained intact. Aside from that, only the distant Uchiha compound had survived unscathed.
For the sake of convenience while rebuilding, the village government temporarily moved into the Uchiha compound to handle administrative affairs.
The old Konoha Police Force headquarters had now become the new Konoha Administration Building.
If the Second Hokage knew about this, one could only imagine his reaction.
But this was only temporary. Whether the village would even continue to be called "Konoha" in the future was uncertain.
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"The Cloud wants to convene a Five Kage Summit?" Naruto asked in surprise as he looked over a letter delivered by a Kumogakure envoy.
He had been called in by the Fourth Hokage during training, only to discover this shocking message.
"What's their reason?"
In the original timeline, the Raikage convened the Five Kage Summit after Team Taka—having joined Akatsuki—captured the Eight-Tails. With Akatsuki's members tied to the other great villages, the Raikage summoned the Summit to demand accountability from the other Kage.
Yes, you heard that right.
The Raikage convened the Five Kage Summit for the sole purpose of blaming the other four villages.
Overbearing to the extreme.
But right now, Akatsuki hadn't captured any Tailed Beasts at all. They were acting only as mercenaries in the shinobi world. Apart from the Two-Tails jinchūriki, whom Naruto had forcibly taken away, all the other jinchūriki were still safely in their respective villages.
So why was the Raikage calling a Five Kage Summit now?
Surely he wasn't just bored and looking for a casual chat with the other four Kage.
"Hm?" The Fourth Hokage froze, staring at Naruto in surprise. "Wasn't this your doing?"
Naruto: ???
"What did I do?" Naruto blinked at Minato's suspicious gaze. Then it clicked. He immediately shook his head firmly.
"It wasn't me."
This wasn't something Naruto had caused.
Here I am sitting at home, and somehow the blame falls from the sky onto me.
Naruto swore—ever since Kakarot had appeared, he'd devoted himself entirely to training. Day and night, all he did was train. He hadn't even stepped outside Konoha's gates, let alone caused trouble.
Not even his shadow clones had gone out.
Seeing Naruto's utterly baffled expression, the Fourth finally revealed the intel he had received.
"Kumogakure was attacked by unknown assailants. They suffered heavy losses."
"The Raikage's personal guard unit was completely wiped out."
"Even the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki was gravely injured."
"The Fourth Raikage is summoning the Summit, citing the safety of the entire shinobi world."
The news was staggering—Kumogakure devastated, the Raikage's elite guards annihilated, and Killer Bee himself critically wounded.
Especially the last point. Killer Bee was a perfect jinchūriki, his taijutsu rivaling the Raikage's, and with an almost complete immunity to genjutsu. Other than a few ancient monsters who hadn't even appeared yet, practically no one in the shinobi world should have been able to injure him like that.
"Naruto, it really wasn't you? It's just us here," Minato asked again. Given what he knew of his son, it seemed almost unscientific that Naruto hadn't been involved in such a major incident.
And considering the target was Kumogakure—well, Naruto had clashed with them before. With his grudge-bearing personality, starting trouble again wouldn't be surprising.
The more you thought about it, the more it made sense. It wasn't just Minato—Naruto almost started to doubt himself.
But no. Definitely not.
Naruto spread his hands. "If I had free time, sure, maybe. But I've been training day and night. I literally don't have a minute to spare."
He was as confused as anyone. Weren't they supposed to have three quiet years of peace? Apparently, unlike a "real" protagonist, Naruto didn't get that plot armor where training time never got interrupted.
Could Obito have gone rogue and launched a full-on surprise attack with Black and White Zetsu against Kumogakure?
Unlikely.
It wasn't that Naruto underestimated Obito—but unless Obito had both Mangekyō Sharingan powers together, he really couldn't take down Killer Bee.
Killer Bee wasn't like Yagura, the so-called perfect jinchūriki of the Three-Tails, who claimed immunity to all genjutsu yet was instantly subdued and controlled by Obito's gaze.
Bee and the Hachibi were completely in sync. He could wield the Eight-Tails' power to its fullest—making him even harder to handle than the beast alone.
If Obito had been capable of controlling Bee, he would have done so during the Fourth Great Ninja War, instead of going through the trouble of fighting him with one through Seven-Tails.
And besides, why would Obito attack Kumogakure now? He had no motive, no reason, and nothing to gain.
If it wasn't Obito, then it could only be—
"Any intel from the Prajna group?" Naruto asked.
The Prajna Group—officially, the Prajna of the Land of Woods—was an assassination squad.
The Land of Woods, a small nation bordering Konoha.
Originally it had maintained ties with Konoha, but at the same time it kept close relations with Iwagakure. Back when Konoha and Iwagakure were enemies, this double-dealing cost the Land of Woods its independence.
Such was the fate of small nations—try to play both sides, and you're the first to be erased.
The assassination unit, however, had survived for various reasons.
Now, they had been absorbed by a shipping company, used for intelligence gathering across the shinobi world, and placed under the Fūma clan's control.
Minato shook his head. "Kumogakure has sealed off all information. Nothing useful has leaked out."
"It'll probably be addressed at the Summit."
"The Raikage has invited the Fifth Hokage to attend. The location is the neutral Land of Iron." Minato hesitated, then asked: "Should I go?"
After all, this was the Five Kage Summit. Konoha needed to be represented by a Kage.
And he had been the Fourth Hokage, even if technically dead.
The question was whether the other Kage would faint from shock when they saw him.
Naruto shook his head. Better to keep the whole "back-from-the-dead" thing under wraps for now. Otherwise, it would be a nightmare. Every family with a lost loved one would come demanding their resurrection.
"I'll go. Sasuke and Neji will come with me."
"This'll be a good chance to meet the other three Kage."
"In what capacity?"
The Five Kage Summit, by definition, required Kage. Was Naruto planning…?
"I'll never become Hokage." Naruto's voice was resolute, leaving no room for doubt. "Even if I became a Daimyō, I'd never be Hokage."
Hokage? He had no interest.
If you asked him to be a God of Destruction, now that might be fun.
"Being the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki is identity enough."
"After all, our Fifth Hokage is still recovering and can't show her face."
"…Alright." Seeing Naruto's mind was made up, Minato didn't argue further. He simply warned: "Be careful on the way. There aren't many who can defeat the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki."
"Relax—we've got Supa Sasuke with us."
"These days, there aren't many in the shinobi world who could beat him either."
In most cases, Naruto wouldn't even need to step in. With his current power, Sasuke alone could crush almost anyone.