At ten o'clock in the morning, after a breakfast filled with "heart-pounding" moments, nine village leaders sat together exchanging greetings and polite small talk.
"Hokage-sama," Hanzo said eagerly, clearly showing great interest, "why hasn't today's main attraction appeared yet?"
The Third Hokage responded with an expectant glance. "Of course the star needs to maintain a proper level of mystery."
He then looked around at the other eight leaders, his tone remaining calm. "If we were to see him too early, I'm sure one or two of us might become... restless."
"!!!"
These seemingly mundane words, when carefully considered, carried clear undertones of threat. They left every village leader—except for the Third Kazekage—with varying levels of internal shock.
Hanzo understood that repairing relations between Amegakure and Konoha would be difficult, but he hadn't expected such a firm stance from Konoha—he had practically called out their covert plans directly.
Meanwhile, the outwardly composed Third Raikage was secretly worried inside.
Seventeen ambassadors remained unaccounted for under Konoha's watch—alive or dead. One of Kumogakure's key objectives was rescuing all of them.
Yet upon hearing such a confident statement from the enemy, even the Third Raikage couldn't help but feel uneasy.
After failing the previous two attempts and losing sixty-seven vital ninjas from Kumogakure, should this third operation fail as well, it was likely he would declare war on Konoha right there in rage.
The otherwise indifferent Third Tsuchikage secretly began plotting his own schemes.
A looming conflict between Konoha and Kumogakure, an alliance between Sunagakure and Konoha that only appeared solid, and Amegakure's ambiguous attitude toward Konoha—these factors hinted at potential opportunities.
The leader of Takigakure slightly raised his eyebrows. Last time, they had already sacrificed a uniquely gifted ninja for that operation. If another batch were lost this time, even if they gained massive technological advances, it would still be a Pyrrhic victory.
Takigakure once possessed a precious scroll containing generations' worth of secret techniques passed down through the lineage. Unfortunately, the leader before the last generation had a moment of insanity, sending Kakuzu—who wasn't strong enough at the time—to assassinate the First Hokage.
"The First Hokage? The man whose wounds heal instantly? The one not even Madara Uchiha could kill? Are you really trying to send me to my death?" That was what Kakuzu said to Takigakure's leader back then—the one who once threw a shuriken from five hundred miles away.
Whether that leader was genuinely insane or simply pretending to be, he immediately ordered Kakuzu locked in prison and declared severe punishment for mission failure.
Imprisoned and anticipating a grim fate, Kakuzu escaped overnight—and stole the forbidden technique Earth Grudge Fear with him.
Later, while studying the cultivation method for Earth Grudge Fear, he delivered a [Black Tiger Heart Rip] to several high-ranking officials within Takigakure at the time. He then became a rogue ninja, making a living off bounties across the vast shinobi world.
Recalling these past events, the current leader of Takigakure frowned bitterly.
He believed that Takigakure's failure to develop significantly over the years was entirely due to that leader's insane whims.
If Takigakure were to fail once again, their hatred towards Konoha would surely grow even more, wouldn't it?
The leader of Kusagakure wore a look of curiosity on his face. He seemed particularly fascinated by today's main attraction—the rail line.
Their village, known as Kusa, had long abandoned any ambitions due to domestic political corruption.
After all, how could they even think about getting involved externally when they hadn't unified internally yet?
However, Kusagakure shinobi were unmatched in their ability to imitate and adopt techniques from others—truly the best in the shinobi world.
[Shadow Clone Jutsu]? That's a great technique—but the moment I see it, it becomes mine!
[Great Fireball]? [Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet]? They're mine now! All mine!
(Originally in the storyline, Zetsu was indeed from Kusagakure, which explains what came later.)
The leader of Yugakure grew slightly uneasy inside. Though Takigakure claimed to love peace, deep down, they truly despised conflict of any kind.
Once disputes spark, war isn't far behind—like fire following dry tinder.
Yugakure, often called the Land of Hot Springs, truly hated such disturbances.
Peace—that was what they longed for above all else.
This was why Hidan, who hailed from Takigakure and reveled in killing far too much, had been expelled entirely.
Establishing cooperation with Konoha was Takigakure's top priority on this trip.
They were close neighbors anyway, and with the Third Hokage not being some warmongering hothead like the Third Raikage, cooperation felt pretty much inevitable.
As for the last person—the leader of Shimogakure—he wore a gloomy expression on his face.
The Land of Frost bordered the Land of Water, and relations between the two had always been strong.
Today he attended not only as a representative of the Third Mizukage but also because he'd secretly joined the plot to undermine Konoha.
Like Kirigakure, however, Shimogakure held little interest in new technologies.
What could possibly attract both factions other than Konoha's numerous Kekkei Genkai?
Kirigakure had already begun isolating itself from the outside world. If they didn't seize the chance to obtain Sharingan and Byakugan now, how could they hope to return to the shinobi world in the future?
"The Frost Village, our old friend, will be there," the Third Mizukage thought. "Even if we fail, the losses won't be that bad!"
Unaware of this betrayal, the leader of Shimogakure was about to carry the entire burden alone.
This was precisely where the bullying nature of powerful nations showed through.
On Uchiha Commercial Street, several daimyo were enjoying the many conveniences brought by technology.
"This TV is amazing!" The Daimyo of Earth Country, living deep in the mountains, wore a proud grin across his face.
"These refrigerators keep things incredibly fresh!" The Water Country Daimyo, whose livelihood depended on fishing, immediately ordered one hundred large refrigerators on the spot.
The Lightning Daimyo glanced around, then waved his hand boldly. "Twenty units each—why bother asking about specs? Do I look like someone short on cash? Go straight for the top models!"
Shocked by his extravagance, the Wind Daimyo gritted his teeth and instantly purchased two hundred air conditioners and humidifiers—all paid in full upfront.
"Rednecks will always be rednecks," the Fire Daimyo mused, savoring the envy flickering in the others' eyes.
With a sweep of his grand gesture, he slammed the sealing scroll down onto the ground, the money pouch inside glowing faintly with chakra residue.
"Let's start with two hundred of these, these, and those!" The Fire Daimyo lifted his chin proudly and immediately went on a buying frenzy.
The daimyos from smaller nations couldn't hide their jealousy any better.
"Buy it!" declared the Hot Water Daimyo, a lover of peace, who purchased twenty massage chairs the next moment.
"Dehumidifier? This looks good. Bought!" said the Frost Daimyo from the snowy region, believing this device would finally help his people say goodbye to rheumatism and arthritis.
The Stream Country Daimyo and Land of Grass Daimyo exchanged glances and both proudly insisted, representing their small nations: "Full payment!"
Meanwhile, Amegakure Daimyo looked around timidly but suddenly summoned what appeared to be cosmic energy: "Fine! Just buy everything! I'll take both that heater thingy and the toasty box!"
Except for the Water Country Daimyo, who was currently hiding underwater with the Mizukage, all influential daimyos in the shinobi world placed instant orders worth tens of billions of ryō in "appliances."
Konoha's business representative—Aiko, Shen's mother and Uchiha's top strategist—shed tears while giving these nine lords an 20% discount.
She even insisted that Konoha was basically giving things away, and selling any more would put them in the red!
Hearing this, the excited nine lords added another 5 billion ryō worth of orders.
Aiko immediately burst into tears, dramatically wailing that she'd just lost a fortune.
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