The next day in the afternoon, in a central building in the Takigakure village.
The members of the Taki elder council, the leaders of various clans, and the retainers of the village chief gather in a meeting room. Shibuki is seated in the chief seat as he discusses with the villagers.
"Our Takigakure village has maintained a friendly relationship with Konoha for the past forty years. After the death of the previous village chief, we didn't have an official meeting with the representative of the Konoha village. This is an excellent opportunity to renew our relationship with them."
Shibuki addresses the members of the council and the clan leaders.
"Since the era of the Hidden villages, our villages have survived solely on the efforts of our shinobis. Since when did we have to rely on protection from outsiders?" One of the conservative elders chimes in.
"With Hero water and the terrain of the Land of Waterfall, we aren't afraid of any invasion from other villages. Even if it's one of the Five Hidden Nations, we can hold our own against them." Another elder remark.
"Then what about the incident forty years ago? Despite our attempted assassination of the First Hokage, he aided us in the invasion from the Land of Earth and later sold the seven-tails to us as a form of protection." Another elder remark.
"Not only that, fifteen years ago, the Kinjutsu of Torigakure almost wiped our village; but it was Konoha who sent aid to us and helped us survive the ordeal." Shibuki reminds them.
"Also, the circumstances have changed. I have suppressed the news from the rest of the world, but all of you must be aware of it by now." Shibuki stares into their eyes.
"The seven-tail jinchuruki Fu, who I considered as my little sister was kidnapped by the members of the Akatsuki for her tailed beast. From past reports, we know that this isn't the only incident. Akatsuki has been collecting tailed-beast since a long time ago. Their motives might threaten the safety of the entire shinobi world. It was thanks to Konoha that such a threat was neutralized."
"The representative of Konoha and Kiri are here!" A Taki jounin enters the meeting room and announces.
"Very well!" Shibuki nods his head.
Soon, Minato, Tsunade, and Mei enter the room. Shibuki and the rest of the village elders stand from their seats to welcome them. The group occupies the seats reserved for them.
With this, the meeting to renew the relationship between the three villages started.
The meeting lasted for an hour. Most of the time, the elders of the Takigakure argue with each other.
"Kirigakure would like to establish a friendly relationship with the Takigakure and as a gesture, we will open sea trade routes to the Takigakure." Mei proposes.
The elders and the Shibuki discuss for a while before accepting the proposal.
"Village leader Shibuki, I have an important proposal to make. Your decision will affect our future relationship with Takigakure." Minato has a serious expression on his face.
"Lord Fourth, please speak!"
"Very well!" Minato places a stack of scrolls on the table as he speaks.
"Takigakure must have already heard of the rumors regarding the criminal organization Akatsuki and how they manage to collect eight out of Nine-tailed beasts. Especially since one of them is from Takigakure."
The expression of the village elders turns grim as Minato raises this issue. Still, they nod their head in approval.
"Then, you might also have heard about the battle between the Akatsuki and Konoha and how Konoha defeated the leader of the Akatsuki."
"We do!" Shibuki nods his head.
"Since you are already aware of this news, then let me add further facts to it. The real mastermind behind Akatsuki is still alive, and he aims to start a war against the Five Shinobi nations." Minato reveals Akatsuki's plans to them.
"This will be the start of the Fourth Shinobi War and, once again, turmoil will spread throughout the shinobi world." He declares.
"But what does this have to do with the Takigakure village?" One of the conservative elders speaks his mind.
"We never interfered in the matters of the Five Great Hidden Nations since the First Shinobi war. How does this war differ from the rest?" He continues.
"You are right! Such a war won't affect Takigakure if it was between two or three Hidden Nations. However, with the current situation, the Akatsuki plans to wage a war against all the Hidden Nations at once. Since the five great hidden nations are involved in the turmoil. Do you really think that a small village like Takigakure can't stay away from the aftereffects of this war?" Minato speaks with a blunt tone.
"Well…" The Conservative elder's expression freezes as he recalls the incident from Forty years ago.
Iwagakure and Konohagakure were engaged in a war of attrition. Konoha had a dominant position and was slowly inching toward victory since Iwa had run out of resources.
Out of desperation, Iwa invaded the Land of Waterfall to loot their resources. This act infuriated the then-leader of the Takigakure, who sent an assassin to kill both the Tsuchikage and Hokage in an attempt to warn Iwa and Konoha.
The Hokage easily fended off the best assassin of the Takigakure and the Tsuchikage also managed to survive the attempt on his life, albeit with some major injuries. This act infuriated Iwagakure even further, who then aggressively invaded and destroyed the land of the Waterfall. It was the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju who fended off the Land of Waterfall from the invasion of the Land of Earth and even restored the destroyed land with his wood release.
Silence shrouds the meeting room as none of the Taki elders respond to Minato's words.
"Seems like you lot are aware of the situation. Then I won't mind sharing some information with you. The current Kage Summit in the Land of Iron might lead to an alliance between the Five Nations for the first time. Konoha, Kiri, and Sunagakure are already in an alliance with each other. During this war, the five villages will stand as a united force, and all shinobis as a part of the alliance army. If any nation, be it small or large, refused to cooperate with the shinobi alliance; then that nation will declare as the enemy of the entire shinobi world." Minato declares to the members of the Taki elder council.
"The choice is up to you."
"This!" The conservative elder who refuted Minato's words sweats profusely.
"We… we need some time to consider. Could you spare us a few hours?" Shibuki calmly placates the situation.
"Alright!"
Minato, Tsunade, and Mei exit the room.
"Minato, I never expected you to be so blunt about the situation!" Tsunade raises an eyebrow.
"Tsunade-sama, they are a part of the shinobi world. Obito's current plan doesn't just possess a threat to Konoha, it threatens the safety of the entire shinobi world. We can't be complacent about the current state of the world, where smaller nations might ditch their responsibility on account of their lack of resources. We will fight this war for the survival of the shinobi world. It's unlike the previous war where every nation fought for resources.
Also, if Izuna-kun's words are right; then even a much bigger war awaits us ahead. A war where the entire mankind will fight for its survival." Minato recalls Izuna's warning about the otherworldly beings.
"You are right! Looks like Izuna-kun foresaw such an event and left lots of contingency plans for such cases." Tsunade nods in agreement.
"In any case, we will fulfill our part of the responsibility!" Mei shakes her head.
-----------------------
About an hour later,
Minato, Tsunade, and Mei re-enter the room.
"So, what's your decision?" Minato asks them.
The elder stares at each other and nods their head.
"Our Takigakure is willing to partake in the upcoming Shinobi war and will contribute to the battle to the best of our abilities." Shibuki declares.
"Very well! Since Takigakure is willing to join the Shinobi alliance, then, as their ally, we won't let them have the short end of the stick. Here is a little compensation for our alliance."
Minato throws a scroll in the center of the table.
Poof…
With a puff of smoke, a body encased in an ice block appears on top of the table.
"WHAT?"
The elders immediately recognize the body and stand up from their seats.
"That's… that's Kakuzu." One of the elder murmurs.
"What? He is the one who is responsible for the murder of the First Village chief?"
"It's that Kakuzu!"
Clammer rings through the meeting room as various elders and clan leaders discuss among themselves.
Minato, Tsunade, and Mei exit the room.
"We have already squeezed the value out of his body and deciphered the Kinjutsu he practiced. So, it's not a big deal if we return his body to the Takigakure as a friendly gesture." Tsunade chuckles.
"Minato, I never knew you were so shrewd." She praises Minato.
"Well, I picked up some tricks from Izuna."
Minato recalls the memories of various scams Izuna committed throughout his life.
'Compared to him, I am just an innocent passerby.'
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A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, 'The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World' is out.
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