115: Chapter 115 Undercurrents at the Round Table"Distinguished guests, Your Excellency, the meeting room is on the second floor.Please follow me."
The staff member leading the way walked slowly, leading everyone towards a spiral bridge that went up into the hall.
The bridge is made of transparent material on both sides, allowing a clear view of the bustling streets of the Land of Waves and the distant sea.
As Heitu strode forward, he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "This place.is really impressive."
Onoki floated in mid-air, not responding.
Two guards from the Chamber of Commerce stood at the entrance to the reception room.Upon seeing the visitors, they bowed slightly and then, one on each side, slowly pushed open the door.
Inside the hall, soft light streamed down from an unknown source, illuminating every corner without being glaring.
In the center is a huge round table, made of a material that resembles some kind of warm jade, with a metallic coldness.
On the table, corresponding to each position, stands an exquisite identity plaque—(Konoha), (Sunagakure), (Iwagakure), (Kirigakure), and "Kumogakure".
The chair looks comfortable, upholstered in dark leather.
Kurotsuchi quickened his pace, found the sign for the Iwagakure area, pulled out a chair and sat down, stretching his long legs out under the table before quickly pulling them back in, and curiously touching the smooth tabletop.
The others also found their seats one after another.
Gaara waited quietly, with Temari standing to his side and slightly behind him.Her gaze couldn't help but drift towards the empty seat in the main seat, then quickly sweep over the other women present.
Samui rubbed her slightly sore shoulders; she was indeed tired after being on edge the whole way.
Onoki floated on his chair, his short body almost sinking into it.
The last to enter were Snake Nine Water Shadow and his bodyguard, Mizuno White Wolf.
Orochimaru's gaze swept around the conference room, lingering for a few seconds on the lighting equipment and wall materials, before he sat down in his seat, with Mizuno Hakuro standing silently behind him.
The group sized each other up, their eyes meeting briefly before quickly looking away, and no one spoke first.
Naruto walked in through another inner door, dressed in simple dark casual clothes, and walked casually to the head of the table.
Mei Terumi, who came out behind him, had changed into a neat professional short skirt that perfectly accentuated her figure.
From the moment she entered the room, her gaze was fixed on the slightly delicate face of Snake Nine.
Naruto walked to the round table, leaned back in his chair, and found a comfortable sitting position.
Mei Terumi stood naturally behind his chair, her hands folded in front of her.
Naruto raised his hand and casually patted twice.
Security personnel slowly pushed and closed the two heavy doors of the conference room, completely isolating the inside from the outside.
"Alright, everyone's here."
Naruto greeted them, his voice clear and distinct.
"Let's skip the formalities.I'm sure everyone here already knows something about me and the Apocalypse Chamber of Commerce."
His gaze swept across the faces of the people around the round table.
"Now that everyone is here, I declare the Five Kage Summit to begin."
After he finished speaking, the conference room was silent for a few seconds.
The group looked each other over.
Jiraiya cleared his throat and spoke first.
"The situation is urgent, so I'll be frank."
"The core of this meeting is just one thing—the Akatsuki organization."
"They capture tailed beasts and attack various ninja villages.Their leader, Pain, possesses the legendary Rinnegan, and his strength far exceeds imagination."
"You have all surely sent people to investigate the devastation in Kumogakure.The Fourth Raikage, A, is still seriously injured and lying in a hospital bed in Konoha.If we don't unite, we will only be defeated one by one!When the nest is overturned, how can any egg remain intact?"
After Jiraiya finished speaking, he looked intently at the others.
Samui took a deep breath and stood up.
She was tall, and her curves became even more noticeable when she stood up.She subconsciously rubbed her shoulders.
"What Lord Jiraiya said is all true!"
Her voice was filled with uncontrollable grief and indignation, "Kumogakure.is gone!It's turned into ruins!Countless of our people have died or been injured, and Lord Killer Bee has been captured by them, his fate still unknown!"
She looked around at everyone, her eyes filled with excitement.
"We don't even know what the Akatsuki wants to do with collecting the Tailed Beasts!With the inhuman madness they've displayed, their schemes will surely endanger the entire ninja world!Everyone, we can't wait any longer; we must eradicate this cancer as quickly as possible!"
After she finished speaking, Gaara succinctly stated: "Sunagakure agrees to the alliance and fully supports it."
Temari, standing behind him, seemed a little distracted.
She looked at the figure in the main seat, then glanced at the stunningly beautiful Terumi Mei behind him, whose relationship with her seemed clearly more than just friendship, and felt a pang of unease.
I even dressed up specially today.but he didn't seem to notice at all?
"hehe..."
An aged, soft laugh broke the silence.
Onoki floated above the seat.
"That's a nice way to put it, all-out effort, annihilation.it sounds quite inspiring."
He said slowly, "But war costs a lot of money.The deployment of ninjas costs money, the compensation for the wounded and the injured costs money, and the supply of weapons costs money even more.Who will pay for all this?"
His small eyes fell on Naruto.
"If we win, how will we divide the spoils and the tailed beasts?If we lose."
He drew out his words, "And who should bear this responsibility?We can't just send our Iwagakure ninjas to their deaths in vain, can we?"
His words were like a bucket of cold water poured on the newly ignited enthusiasm.
Immediately afterwards, the graceful Serpent Nine Water Shadow also spoke, her voice gentle: "What Lord Tsuchikage said is not without reason."
"We, the Hidden Mist Village, have just experienced internal turmoil and are in dire need of rebuilding.We are simply unable to immediately support a major battle of unknown scale and with an uncertain outcome."
"In my opinion, this matter concerns the entire ninja world, and it certainly requires careful consideration and a prudent approach."
His words, while seemingly echoing the Earth Shadow's sentiments, were actually a tactful refusal to immediately form an alliance.
Just when the joint proposal was about to be dragged into a quagmire.
A clear, mocking laugh rang out from behind Naruto.
She remained standing there, her posture upright, her gaze fixed firmly on Snake Nine.
Everyone looked at her.
"Everyone here is a well-known figure in the ninja world.Does anyone here have heard of Lord Orochi before?"
"Before you took charge of Kirigakure in a time of crisis, I, Mei Terumi, would not dare to say that I knew all the powerful figures and famous experts in the ninja world, but I had heard of them to some extent."
She leaned forward slightly, and a sense of oppression followed.
"Forgive my poor eyesight, but after searching through my memory, I cannot find.when or where there was ever a top figure like you, Snake Nine, who possessed the ability to turn the tide and quell a village's unrest?"
In an instant, everyone's eyes in the conference room focused on Orochimaru's disguise as Snake Nine!
Yes, someone who was previously unknown suddenly appeared, quickly quelled the chaos in Kirigakure, and naturally became the Mizukage.
Now even Mei Terumi, the former Mizukage, says she's never seen him?She claims to be unaware of its existence?
The strangeness here is immense.
Jiraiya frowned, staring intently at Orochimaru.He had never seen this man's face before, yet there was a strange sense of familiarity about him.
Onoki's eyes darted around, looking at Mei Terumi and then at Orochi.
His mind was racing: "This is going to be interesting!Let's start fighting, let's get this fighting started!"
Temari temporarily forgot her sentimental thoughts and was on high alert for this sudden confrontation.
Samui was sweating profusely.If this person really had a problem, then wouldn't the so-called alliance be a joke?
Faced with the suspicious, scrutinizing, and amused gazes of the crowd, Snake Nine's gentle expression gradually faded.He didn't look at anyone else, but slowly raised his head and stared only at Terumi Mei.
"Mei Terumi…the former Mizukage," he murmured.
"You assassinated Master Yuan, defected from the village, and now you've been taken in by the Apocalypse Merchant Guild.You've found a good backer."
His tone remained calm and unhurried, but he suddenly turned to Naruto, who was in the main seat.
"President Naruto, you took in a rogue ninja from Kirigakure, and now you've brought her to such a solemn occasion as the Five Kage Summit, allowing her to slander the Kage of an entire village."
"I'd like to ask you, what exactly are you trying to do?"
He leaned forward, and a chilling chakra seemed to emanate from him.
"Since we're talking about cooperation, we need to talk about trust."
"So, before we discuss how to deal with the Akatsuki organization outside, shouldn't we first resolve this internal, readily available problem of rogue ninja?"
Before he could finish speaking, Mizuno Hakuro behind him had already placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
Mei Terumi's eyes were icy, and moisture began to silently gather around her.
At the round table, the representatives who had just been discussing cooperation were now at loggerheads, and the atmosphere instantly plummeted to freezing point.
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