Join my Patreon to be 30 chapters ahead of the webnovel releases:
patreon.com/ZeroMoney
I would appreciate your help if you could join my Patreon and support me because it would keep me motivated.
******
Iwagakure Village
Inside the Tsuchikage's office, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, held a scroll in both hands, his brow furrowed as he read every word carefully.
"Sigh…"
Onoki couldn't help but let out a deep sigh. He casually tossed the scroll onto the desk and, with his hands behind his back, walked over to the nearby window.
After reaching the window, he opened it, breathing in the dry air unique to Iwagakure Village.
"What was meant to come has finally arrived. The First Tsuchikage couldn't escape this powerful foe, and now, even at my age, I've encountered him too," Onoki thought, deeply moved.
In terms of strength, Iwagakure still stood strong compared to the rest of the shinobi world.
With two jinchuriki.
Though one of them had some issues with the village, if a real danger arose, they would step up and defend it. These two jinchuriki were a source of significant deterrence.
Not to mention, there was him, the old yet resilient Tsuchikage.
Anyone thinking of attacking Iwagakure would need to carefully consider their own power.
But...
This stable situation had been completely upended by someone who was supposed to have died years ago.
"There's nothing we can do…"
Onoki felt utterly powerless, a feeling he had only experienced once before, during his encounter with Uchiha Madara.
"Akatsuchi, take the two jinchuriki with us. We're heading to Konoha Village," Onoki commanded Akatsuchi, who had remained silent behind him. His words carried an unwillingness, but for the sake of the village, he had no other choice.
For Iwagakure, anything could be sacrificed.
Even himself, the Tsuchikage Onoki, was expendable.
"Yes!"
Akatsuchi nodded and left the Tsuchikage's office to make arrangements for Onoki's orders.
---
*Sunagakure Village*
In the meeting room.
A few days had passed since the last meeting in Sunagakure, and the village's shinobi were now making every effort to locate Gaara.
Many days had passed since Gaara's disappearance, yet there was still no information.
It was as if he had vanished from the face of the earth.
Not a single clue was left behind.
This was proof of just how clean and efficient the Akatsuki's operations were.
Though Temari was still acting as the interim Kazekage, everyone in the village had already come to terms with the grim reality: Gaara wasn't coming back.
At this very moment.
In the Kazekage's office.
Temari was busy reviewing files from Sunagakure. It wasn't until she sat in this position that she truly realized how deep the problems in Sunagakure ran.
The most critical issue was the military policy of the Land of Wind.
After signing a peace treaty with the Land of Fire, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind had been continuously cutting back on military funding.
This decision significantly impacted Sunagakure.
The support and training for Sunagakure's ninja were drastically reduced, and nearly half of their missions were handed over to the Land of Fire, with Konoha Village completing them.
This, to a large extent, damaged Sunagakure's economic situation, pushing the village into poverty.
But!
Temari's heart pounded wildly—this was something she had never known before.
As it turned out...
Sunagakure wasn't poor at all!
Quite the opposite.
Sunagakure was incredibly wealthy!
Temari discovered that her father, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had unearthed a massive amount of gold using his Magnet Release kekkei genkai in an effort to change Sunagakure's poverty.
Officially, the gold was said to be used to suppress Shukaku's rampages.
But in reality, the gold he mined had completely transformed the economic landscape of Sunagakure, turning it from impoverished to prosperous.
However, there was a serious problem.
Sunagakure's ninja forces were not strong enough to protect the gold that Rasa had mined, so they kept a low profile, continuing to pretend to be poor.
All of this gold was buried beneath Sunagakure.
The records of it were kept in the Kazekage's archives, as a means to offer hope for the village's future leadership to restore Sunagakure's strength.
"Phew…"
Temari took a deep breath, resting her chin on her hand. Now that she had taken charge of Sunagakure, she had become keenly aware of both the village's strengths and weaknesses, as well as the looming dangers.
"Kazekage-sama!"
At that moment, a Sunagakure ninja approached Temari, holding up a scroll with both hands as he presented it to her.
"This is an invitation from Konoha Village!"
"An invitation?"
A large question mark appeared in Temari's mind. With the unresolved issue of Gaara's disappearance still weighing heavily on her, another invitation now arrived.
"Let me see."
Temari stood up, walked over to the ninja, and took the scroll from his hands.
She opened it.
Reading through the contents.
The words were very formal, and after reading through it, Temari summarized the key points in her own words.
First, Konoha Village was holding a ninja summit, inviting various powers from across the shinobi world to attend.
Second, Konoha Village was going to announce the appointment of the Fifth Hokage.
Third, Konoha Village planned to establish the "Land of Senju" and was inviting Sunagakure to join.
After reviewing the details, a cold smile appeared at the corner of Temari's lips.
"Are they really trying the same trick twice?"
Without overthinking it, Temari was convinced that Konoha Village was using the ninja summit as an excuse to lure her into attending.
If she went to the summit…
She feared she would meet the same fate as Gaara.
A one-way trip.
So.
She absolutely wouldn't go!
"I understand. You may leave now."
Temari clenched the scroll tightly in her hand, continuing to think about how she could use the gold to achieve her ambition of revitalizing Sunagakure.
---
Not only had the three major shinobi villages besides Konoha received the invitation, but smaller villages and the daimyo of various nations had also been invited.
In no time at all, the name of Senju Hashirama was once again echoing throughout the shinobi world.
For most people, that name only existed in legend.
But there were a few elders...
Who had lived through that era.
And they knew the true weight behind that name.
---
Several days passed quickly.
During that time, Konoha Village was busy preparing for the ninja summit, as they had to accommodate delegations from all over.
None of the major powers were slacking off either. They sent influential figures to the summit—partly out of respect for the name Senju Hashirama, and partly to gauge the true strength of Konoha Village.
Gradually.
Konoha Village became more and more lively.
Delegations, like sightseeing tours, steadily arrived in the village, waiting for the summit to begin.
As time passed, the highly anticipated ninja summit was about to commence.
The people of Konoha wore smiles on their faces. They didn't know the full story, but there was a sense of pride swelling in the village. It felt as though Konoha had become the center of the shinobi world, and that filled them with joy.
As the sun rose high in the sky...
The day of the ninja summit finally arrived.
Delegations from all the major powers entered the massive conference room, each taking their seats.
Once everyone was gathered...
The doors of the conference room swung open.
Jiraiya, with his silver hair gleaming, was the first to walk in, greeted by countless gazes focused solely on him.
(End of chapter)