"So, let's begin the Five Kage Summit, convened at the call of the Raikage of the Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning," the host, Mifune, said.
"Then let's start with me. I believe the Akatsuki is a very dangerous organization. I think the Jinchuriki from each of the Five Great Countries have mostly been captured. However, from what I know, the Akatsuki's actions to capture the Jinchuriki have led to a significant decrease in their strength. This has turned an organization that was small in numbers but consisted exclusively of elites into a weakened force. So, this is a good opportunity to take them out."
Although Gaara was the youngest, having lost Shukaku, his strength had increased rather than decreased. Now, he spoke calmly, without any nervousness despite the presence of the older Kages. His tone even carried the authority of a Kage.
The imposing demeanor, though young, possessed only by an elite at the level of Kage, surprised the other four Kage present—the Hokage, Tsuchikage, Raikage, and Mizukage. This young Kazekage may be inexperienced, but his strength was not far behind the others. In fact, in a life-or-death battle, it was difficult to say who would survive. After all, a true battle of life and death was different from ordinary combat.
The most surprising presence here was Jiraiya. Danzo was killed, and Pain didn't cause any trouble. After recovering, he brought Naruto, Kakashi, and others to participate in the Five Kage Summit. However, he never expected that Gaara, who had been taken advantage of by Orochimaru's invasion of Konoha over three years ago, was now such a powerful Kage.
It seemed Kakashi's words were true. Losing Shukaku was a pitiful event in others' eyes, but for Gaara, it was like removing the shackles that had hindered his growth. It was similar to when Naruto was released by Ryoha back when he was sealed with the Nine-Tails, causing his strength to skyrocket at an astonishing speed.
"Hehe! Losing the tailed beasts as the Five Great Countries is quite embarrassing. It's impossible to ask for help from other countries just because they lost them. They can only secretly try to recover them."
Onoki chuckled, seeming to mock Gaara for seeking help from Konoha when Shukaku was taken. However, he expressed it subtly. Clearly, Gaara's strength had surprised him. The fact that such a young person was already a Kage-level powerhouse was unexpected. No wonder when Deidara went to Sunagakure and sought him out back then, he was defeated. In the end, it was only Sasori's intervention, utilizing the properties of iron sand to counter Gaara's sand, that defeated him.
Therefore, he subtly expressed his opinion. After all, sometimes it was a good thing to leave room for maneuvering. The Onoki, who was old and cunning, naturally understood what it meant to act with caution for future encounters.
However, the five major hidden villages had always been mutually hostile, from the past to the present. If there was a chance to mock each other, they would not let it pass. Furthermore, Deidara had now left the Akatsuki and returned to Iwagakure, constantly improving his strength and displaying his expertise in Dust Release, surpassing the momentum of the previous Deidara. This had greatly enhanced Iwagakure's strength. Therefore, even though Gaara's strength was beyond what Onoki expected, he was willing to make a sarcastic remark.
"Prestige, discipline, and outdated ways of thinking. As long as you survive, you are the victor," Gaara said emotionlessly, but the formidable aura was like an invisible storm, pressing down on Onoki. Onoki, unyielding, began an invisible contest of auras with Gaara.
What surprised the other four Kage was that Gaara, a person of the same age as Naruto, could match the highly experienced and long-standing veteran Kage like Onoki. Onoki found himself evenly matched, needing to concentrate and continue to contend. After all, he cared about his image, and losing face in front of Gaara would be quite frustrating.
"Can you stop with the incessant chatter?" A, seeing the stalemate, slammed his fist on the table, leaving a dent in the hard surface. This provided an opportunity for Onoki and Gaara to withdraw their auras. However, both of them remembered each other and acknowledged a formidable opponent. Onoki sighed inwardly, feeling that indeed, it was a young man's world.
"I don't want to listen to your nonsense. There are only two things in front of us now. Firstly, the Akatsuki. I don't want a snake like them lurking around me, ready to attack at any moment. Since we know about this snake's existence, we must extract it and eliminate it. The other matter is Ryoha."
When the A mentioned Ryoha, the whole assembly fell silent. Recently, Ryoha's influence had been remarkably strong, sweeping through the powerful ninja villages and destroying the head of the Five Great Ninja Villages, Konohagakure. Such a person naturally made others worry, especially the Kage of the Five Great Countries. Upon learning of the Five Kage Summit, they immediately contacted their respective countries' Kage, urging them to attend and address the Ryoha issue.
"Sigh. I don't want to beat around the bush. Among the three here, two are young, and I believe both will be more decisive. No matter which side we choose to resolve, I think the quickest way is for the five villages to unite and form a ninja coalition. At least this ninja coalition will be unified against the Akatsuki and Ryoha before the resolution. What do you think?" Jiraiya, with strong determination, directly proposed this plan following the A's words.
"Tsk tsk tsk."
Suddenly, a series of clicks sounded, immediately capturing everyone's attention. They saw a person wearing a whirlpool mask standing beside a young man in Akatsuki attire, looking at the Five Kage.
"Sasuke." Naruto, who had been sitting silently, was delighted when he saw the newcomer. Finally, today he could achieve one of his own goals.
"Hey, idiot." Sasuke retorted indifferently, though not internally calm. He, too, had a plan, but on the surface, he maintained a cold demeanor.
"Idiot?. It's true when I was at the ninja academy. However, despite being an idiot, I defeated you, a genius. So what are you?" Naruto didn't care about Sasuke's sarcasm. After experiencing so much, he had matured remarkably quickly, making him even more mentally tough than he already was.
Naruto didn't care at all about Sasuke's sarcasm. After experiencing so many things, he became more mature and rational at an alarming rate, making him who was already very broad-minded and to be precise, very rough and nervous, even more rough. .
"Can you really do that?" Sasuke's face darkened. Though he didn't want to fight Naruto, sometimes it was unavoidable. His eyes changed to the Mangekyo Sharingan.
He knew from the aura emanating from Naruto that he was very strong. Moreover, the imposing aura on Naruto was unexpectedly stronger and more stable than his. It was fiercer than his seemingly weak aftertaste, making him admit that Naruto's aura was more powerful. He just didn't want to admit it and definitely couldn't admit it, compared to Naruto. This time, with those who hindered him gone, he felt that he had a chance to prove himself. Even if it meant breaking Naruto's hands and feet, he was determined to defeat Naruto.