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Shin was relaxing in the Land of Whirlpools, while Obito Uchiha was tirelessly working. Indeed, Obito was a tool, and a very effective one at that.
He arrived in Konoha, sneaking in. Konoha’s defenses were even tighter now, but Obito, with his abilities, slipped past them easily.
Quietly, without alerting anyone, he reached the Uzumaki Clan Mask Storage Temple, retrieved the Shinigami Mask, and immediately departed.
He didn’t plan to dispel the Reaper Death Seal in Konoha. It was too risky—something could go wrong. Obito wouldn’t allow that.
The plan was nearing its final stage. If it failed now due to some unforeseen circumstance, Obito himself would probably die of regret.
After stealing the Shinigami Mask, Obito left without a trace, having successfully played the part of a master thief.
And this theft would likely go unnoticed—
Konoha didn’t place much importance on the masks in the storage temple; even if they all disappeared, it wouldn’t attract much attention.
———
While Obito was busy with his thievery, a not-so-small event was unfolding in the Shinobi world.
A, the Fourth Raikage, in his own name, invited the Kage of the other Hidden Villages to a Five Kage Summit to discuss matters concerning the Akatsuki.
This time, the Kage of the other Hidden Villages gave the Fourth Raikage face and agreed to attend.
After all, this matter concerned all the Hidden Villages. Their Tailed Beasts had been stolen—it would be strange if they didn’t react.
Kumogakure had lost the Two-Tails. As for their Eight-Tails, it had been stolen by Shin long ago and was now reportedly in the Akatsuki’s possession.
They didn’t have the courage to try and retrieve the Eight-Tails from Shin Uzumaki. But if it was the Akatsuki… Kumogakure felt their courage returning.
After some deliberation, they decided to hold the Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron.
Nawaki, accompanied by Kakashi and Yamato, went to attend.
“Nawaki.”
Upon arriving in the Land of Iron, Nawaki heard someone call his name. Looking over, he saw Hizashi Hyūga.
“Hizashi, you should address me as Hokage,” Nawaki said to Hizashi.
“Honestly, I never thought you’d become Hokage.” Hizashi was somewhat surprised, but also a little pleased.
Nawaki becoming Hokage wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Given their relationship, it could strengthen the harmony between their two villages—
“Where’s your older brother?” Nawaki asked. Attending the Five Kage Summit should be Hiashi’s responsibility.
“Big Brother has already entered the meeting hall. I just stepped out for a moment.”
Nawaki and Hizashi then entered the meeting hall together.
Kakashi and Yamato, Nawaki’s guards, frowned upon seeing Nawaki’s familiarity with Hizashi but said nothing—They were just guards; their only duty was to protect the Hokage.
Other matters were not their concern.
———
“As expected of the Hokage, arriving so late, making all of us wait.”
As soon as Nawaki entered, he heard a sarcastic voice.
“Third Tsuchikage, do you have a problem with that?” Nawaki looked at Ōnoki, feeling particularly annoyed.
Hearing Nawaki’s irritated tone, Ōnoki sneered dismissively. He wasn’t afraid of Nawaki. In terms of seniority, no one present could compare to him; he was a true veteran.
Yes, Ōnoki loved to flaunt his seniority. It was a rather annoying habit.
And in Ōnoki’s eyes, Nawaki had become Hokage largely because of Shin Uzumaki, so he looked down on him.
Though angry, Nawaki didn’t argue with Ōnoki.
His status was different now. He represented all of Konoha; he had to be more careful.
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!
The Fourth Raikage slammed his fist on the table, his face grim—
—The table instantly shattered.
Seeing this, Kakashi and the others immediately drew their kunai, warily watching the Fourth Raikage.
“No need to be nervous.”
Nawaki waved his hand at Kakashi and the others, signaling them to put away their kunai. There was no need to be afraid now; no one would dare to make a move.
“Fourth Raikage, what is the meaning of this?” Ōnoki asked the Fourth Raikage unhappily.
He hadn’t even lost his temper yet. When was it the Fourth Raikage’s turn to throw a fit?
“I convened this Five Kage Summit to question all of you.” The Fourth Raikage stood up, his unfriendly gaze sweeping over the others.
“As far as I know, the members of the Akatsuki are all missing-nin from your respective villages, correct? Don’t you have an explanation?”
The Fourth Raikage’s accusatory tone annoyed the others.
“Heh, Fourth Raikage, this accusation is baseless. Kisame Hoshigaki defected before I took over as Mizukage—”
Hiashi Hyūga said calmly.
“Hmph.” The Fourth Raikage snorted coldly. He couldn’t really blame Hiashi Hyūga, but he was still dissatisfied with him.
The reason was simple: Shin Uzumaki…
The Fourth Raikage’s hatred for Shin was known throughout the Shinobi world—and Hiashi Hyūga had a good relationship with Shin Uzumaki, obviously earning the Fourth Raikage’s enmity.
“In any case, besides Kumogakure, all your villages have missing-nin who have joined the Akatsuki. Especially Konoha—Orochimaru and Itachi Uchiha joined successively, and it’s rumored that Sasuke Uchiha has also joined.”
The Fourth Raikage stood up and confronted Nawaki.
Nawaki frowned.
The Fourth Raikage’s words were sharp; Nawaki didn’t know how to refute them.
“Fourth Raikage, the appearance of missing-nin is not something we desire. And your Kumogakure has no powerful missing-nin. Could it be that your village is simply weak?”
Ōnoki sneered at the Fourth Raikage.
Nawaki and the others looked at Ōnoki, speechless. Is having missing-nin something to be proud of??
“Ōnoki, are you looking for a fight?” The Fourth Raikage clenched his fists.
“HUH?? Your father was killed by Shin Uzumaki, and you don’t even dare to seek revenge. You’re just a useless coward—”
The old man Ōnoki was merciless with his insults, saying whatever was most hurtful, making the Fourth Raikage’s face turn livid.
“DO YOU WANNA DIE, ŌNOKI??” The Fourth Raikage was hot-tempered and already wanted to fight.
Ōnoki’s aura was no weaker than the Fourth Raikage’s—they were evenly matched.
As for the other Kage, they were happy to watch the show.
Their relationships weren’t good anyway. Seeing Ōnoki and the Fourth Raikage about to fight, not adding fuel to the fire was already quite considerate of them.
However, though they enjoyed the drama, someone couldn’t just stand by—Mifune. This Five Kage Summit was being hosted by him.
The reason Mifune was hosting was because he wasn’t from any of the Five Great Villages.
“Esteemed Kage, please don’t hurt our harmony,” Mifune said quickly, seeing Ōnoki and the Fourth Raikage about to fight.
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