"Fire Hokage."
The Raikage spoke again. For the first time since the summit began, there was a hint of awkwardness on his dark, hardened face.
Tōma looked at him calmly. "Is there another issue?"
"I want the Allied Forces to move fast," the Raikage said bluntly. "As fast as possible."
Tōma understood immediately.
Speed meant hope.
Hope meant Killer B might still be alive.
"I plan to," Tōma replied with a nod.
Truthfully, if the Eight-Tails had already been extracted, survival would normally be impossible. Every Kage knew what happened to a jinchūriki after that. But the Raikage had already accepted Tōma as commander. Refusing him now would only reopen wounds.
At that moment, a shinobi wearing a Cloud ANBU mask rushed into the hall.
The Raikage froze.
The messenger handed him a sealed letter.
Tōma had been ready to dismiss the summit, but paused instead.
The Raikage read quickly. His expression eased. Then, after a brief hesitation, he handed the letter to Tōma.
"You can read it," he said. "This concerns the war."
Tōma raised an eyebrow, then accepted it.
These Kage really are different from the last generation, he thought.
The letter contained urgent intelligence.
Killer B had returned to the Hidden Cloud.
Barely alive.
The Eight-Tails had been taken, but not completely. To keep B alive, the beast had shattered its own seal, leaving behind a fragment of chakra inside him. Just enough to stop his heart from failing.
Tōma exhaled quietly.
So that's how it played out this time.
In the past, B had fooled Sasuke because of inexperience. Against Akatsuki as a whole, deception wasn't enough. The Eight-Tails had been fully captured. What remained inside B was likely no more than a severed tentacle's worth of chakra.
Tōma looked up.
"Raikage," he said evenly, "when you return, have Killer B sealed immediately. Use a chakra-preservation seal."
The Raikage stiffened. "Why?"
"Because that fragment won't last," Tōma explained. "Once it's exhausted, your brother will die."
Silence.
"The only real way to save him," Tōma continued, "is to defeat Akatsuki first. After that, we reclaim the Eight-Tails and reseal it properly. Until then, sealing B is the only option."
The Raikage clenched his fists… then nodded hard.
"I'll do it," he growled. "If he resists, I'll knock him out myself."
Behind him, Darui and Cee exchanged resigned glances.
The Hidden Cloud was about to get loud.
With that settled, Tōma straightened.
"All Kage," he said, his voice carrying authority without force. "Return to your villages. Mobilize everything. Inform your daimyō."
"Yes."
No objections. No hesitation.
The summit was over.
Snow crunched underfoot as Tōma, Naruto, and Sasuke crossed the frozen wilderness outside the Iron Country.
They didn't use Flying Thunder God.
They weren't in a hurry.
After a while, Tōma spoke.
"You two have questions, don't you?"
Sasuke answered first. "Why didn't we attack the masked man?"
His tone was calm, but his eyes were sharp. Using the Dragon Snake Sage Mode, he had sensed the battlefield clearly.
That man hadn't felt invincible.
If Tōma had given the order, Sasuke was confident they could have kept him there.
Tōma smiled faintly. "Good question."
He stopped walking and turned to face them.
"Before I answer, let me ask you something. What do you think of his goal?"
"Fake peace is stupid," Naruto said immediately. "It doesn't mean anything."
"I agree," Sasuke added. "Genjutsu-induced peace is just escape. Even my Mangekyō could give someone a perfect dream if I kept their body alive."
Tōma nodded.
"Exactly. Which is why…" he paused, then said quietly,
"What if my goal is real peace? In reality. No illusions."
Naruto's eyes lit up. "That's awesome!"
Sasuke didn't react.
He waited.
"For that," Tōma continued, "unity is necessary."
Naruto froze.
"…You're joking, right?"
Unity meant conquest.
Conquest meant war.
"You don't sound like someone who wants to rule the world," Naruto said, shaken.
Tōma didn't deny it.
"Naruto," he said gently, "you've traveled. You've seen the world outside Konoha. Do you think it's fair?"
Naruto hesitated.
"The places you've seen can still pay for missions," Tōma continued. "There are others where food itself is a luxury."
Naruto remembered the ruined villages. The empty eyes.
"And those ninja we passed on the way to the summit," Tōma said. "Were they wrong to seek revenge after their nations fell?"
"They were hurt by Danzō," Naruto argued weakly. "Not you."
"What's the difference?" Tōma asked. "To them, Konoha did it. And I am Konoha."
Naruto fell silent.
"If the world were unified," Tōma said, "there would be pain at first. But over time, tragedies like that would disappear."
"But more innocent people would die first!" Naruto protested.
"That's why I need you," Tōma replied.
Naruto stared.
"This war is an opportunity," Tōma explained. "Five great nations fighting together. I need you and Sasuke to show overwhelming strength. Strength so absolute that resistance becomes pointless."
"If fear alone prevents war," he said quietly, "then fewer people die."
Naruto couldn't answer.
Tōma turned to Sasuke. "And you?"
Sasuke had already made up his mind.
"The current system guarantees conflict," he said. "Even if it's peaceful now, it won't stay that way."
He met Tōma's eyes. "I agree. This world needs change."
Naruto looked between them, shaken.
The two people he trusted most suddenly felt distant.
"I don't know if this is right," Sasuke added. "But if it's wrong, future generations can change it again."
Tōma smiled.
"That's enough."
He had told them now for a reason.
History had taught him something simple:
Never let those closest to you discover the truth too late.
If Naruto and Sasuke had opposed him at the very end, he would be facing powers even he couldn't easily suppress.
This way, the path was clear.
Snow continued to fall as they walked on.
The war had begun long before the battlefield.
...
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