Land of Rain.
This Five Kage Summit did not include the other smaller shinobi villages.
"Tsk, tsk, that old monkey Sarutobi Hiruzen really thinks highly of himself!" The Raikage glared unhappily at Orochimaru, who was sitting in the Hokage's seat, and said, "He didn't even attend the Five Kage Summit."
It seemed this pale-faced guy was probably the next Hokage.
"Raikage-sama," Orochimaru licked his lips and calmly met the Raikage's gaze, replying indifferently, "My teacher simply had some matters to attend to in the village and couldn't make it."
"Hmph." The Raikage sneered coldly. "Then, do you even have the authority to represent the Hokage, little pale-face?"
"Don't worry." Orochimaru shrugged, unbothered. "By sitting here, I am temporarily exercising the Hokage's authority." He glanced at Jiraiya beside him. As long as the two of them were present, they had nothing to fear from any Kage—unless, of course, they all attacked together.
"In that case," the Kazekage said, seeing that the atmosphere had been sufficiently set, "what compensation will Konoha offer us?"
"Compensation?" Orochimaru smiled, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "Konoha has not been defeated, nor has it done anything out of line. What compensation are you talking about?"
"Hmph." The Kazekage scoffed. "If that's the case, why did Konoha summon us here?"
Might as well go back and wait until we're at Konoha's gates before talking?
"We called you here to ensure that everyone can work together to maintain peace in the shinobi world."
"So there are a few things that must be made clear. First, the Mangekyō does not belong to Konoha." Orochimaru placed his hands on the table and smiled. "The legendary tools were not stolen by Konoha."
"In fact, Konoha doesn't even know whether the situation you described is true."
"And through the Uchiha clan..." Orochimaru licked his lips. "You all already understand."
"We do understand." The Tsuchikage narrowed his eyes. "Konoha's methods are truly ruthless!"
"Even the Uchiha clan, which founded Konoha and achieved great merits—you didn't hesitate to turn on them."
"It was the Uchiha clan leader who acted." Orochimaru smiled. "So, what you wanted Konoha to do, Konoha has already done."
"Hmph." Hearing Orochimaru's words, the four Kage fell silent.
Especially the Mizukage...
He was only here as an observer. Kirigakure had no intention of joining the war.
"But what does that have to do with us?" The Raikage, bare-chested, slammed his fist on the table. "If you don't return the tools to us, then go back and wait for us to come take them ourselves."
"Raikage-sama, don't be so hasty." Orochimaru smiled. "Hear me out first."
He signaled Jiraiya to unfold a map of the shinobi world and pointed at the Land of Rain.
"Take a look here. If you continue to attack Konoha, your losses will only grow."
"The Land of Rain borders three major nations: the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth."
"Due to prolonged war, even though Amegakure produced a demigod of the shinobi world..." Orochimaru glanced at the expressions of the four Kage. "The Land of Rain remains a small country."
"It has no possibility of growing stronger."
"But according to Konoha's investigations, Amegakure has been gradually gathering the ordinary citizens of the Land of Rain." Orochimaru licked his lips and narrowed his eyes. "This means Hanzo of the Salamander intends to..."
"End the civil strife in the Land of Rain!"
If the three major nations hadn't secretly manipulated the chaos in the Land of Rain, Orochimaru would never believe it. After all...
The Land of Rain served as a buffer zone between the three great nations.
A chaotic country was more beneficial to maintaining peace along their borders.
"You don't want a sixth great shinobi village to emerge, do you?" Orochimaru smiled. "Moreover..."
"If things continue like this, Konoha will fight with everything it has. No one will come out unscathed, and it might even give..."
Slap!
Orochimaru smacked the map over the Land of Rain and declared, "The Land of Rain an opportunity to rise as the sixth great nation, the sixth great shinobi village!"
So...
Stop targeting Konoha. Let's attack the Land of Rain instead!
For the peace of the shinobi world, a sixth great nation and a sixth great shinobi village must never emerge. Otherwise, the balance of the shinobi world will be shattered.
Amegakure.
Hanzo of the Salamander gazed through the drizzling rain at the Land of Rain and murmured, "The Five Kage Summit must have begun by now."
He was furious that Konoha had looked down on Amegakure by excluding it from the summit. No matter what, Amegakure had also participated in the attack on Konoha!
Yet Konoha didn't even deign to include them in the surrender negotiations. It was truly humiliating.
"It seems the war is coming to an end." Hanzo sighed regretfully. "The chance for the Land of Rain to rise has..."
Vanished.
No one could have predicted that Konoha would be so ruthless as to annihilate the Uchiha clan, one of its founding clans.
"What a shame." Hanzo clenched his fists, his face twisting in frustration. "What a damn shame."
He had prepared for so long, purchased so many tools, and gathered so many civilians—only for it all to end in...
Wasted effort.
"Hanzo-sama, should we..." A Rain-nin beside him hesitated before asking, "Do something?"
Most Rain-nin felt regret and disappointment. They had been so close to elevating Amegakure into the sixth great shinobi village, yet in the end...
Konoha was truly despicable!
"..."
Hanzo fell silent for a moment before sighing. "Forget it. If we act now, we'll likely face the combined forces of four great shinobi villages."
"So this time..."
As if expending all his strength, he reluctantly said, "We retreat."
"Pass down the order. Have our forces withdraw and prepare to retreat."
For now, Amegakure could only wait for the other villages to withdraw before suppressing the internal strife. Then, they would wait for the next opportunity to announce to the world...
The rise of the Land of Rain.
"Yes!" Though filled with regret, the Rain-nin nodded and accepted the order.
Land of Whirlpools.
Muroto Jōmon stretched lazily. Today, he had left work early and decided to take a detour to the commercial district before heading home. Due to recent overtime, he hadn't had time to relax, so...
"I'll treat myself to something good today." Muroto Jōmon yawned and muttered, "Otherwise, in a few days, I'll be back to overtime again."
The Five Kage Summit was known to Uzushiogakure as well. According to Jun-sama's predictions, the shinobi world would become even more chaotic in the coming days, so...
Uzushiogakure had to remain vigilant against invasions from other villages or rogue shinobi.
Moreover, due to Konoha's actions, the Uchiha clan had become psychologically unstable. Uchiha Fugaku, in particular, had grown increasingly dark after Konoha's propaganda about the Uchiha clan. He had been placed on medical leave to see a psychologist. Hopefully, nothing would go wrong.
"Uzushiogakure Ramen Shop." Muroto Jōmon looked at the recently expanded ramen shop and decided to have a hot bowl of ramen before returning to discipline his brat. In about a month, Muroto En would graduate. Muroto Jōmon smirked. "Lately, that kid has been behaving in school, no more mischief."
At first, Muroto En had thrown tantrums about not wanting to attend school. After being forced to go, he had caused trouble repeatedly, forcing Muroto Jōmon, the Uzushiogakure Bureau Chief, to visit the academy multiple times.
It was downright embarrassing.
Then, Muroto Jōmon looked up at the newly expanded ramen shop, particularly at the blackboard by the entrance...
New Products:
Secret Pork Blood Ramen
Secret Duck Blood Ramen
Spicy Blood Stew
...
"New ramen flavors, huh?" Muroto Jōmon murmured. "I'll try them today and see how they taste."