XX-level Hokage

At this moment, an old man, carrying a cane and holding a straw hat that signified his identity as the Water Shadow, walked forward with difficulty and tremblingly handed the hat to Terumi Mo.

“Thank you, Elder. I’ll stake my name as the Mizukage on this mission.” Terumi Momo said, taking the straw hat. Terumi Momo’s voice was very magnetic, and she exuded a mature and alluring aura.

The elder wanted to say something, but because he had no teeth and couldn't open his mouth, no one could hear him.

At this moment, a ninja who came to see him off said, "As one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, you must protect Lord Mizukage, Chojuro." "Yes, yes, I think there shouldn't be any problem," a boy who looked rather mentally challenged replied, blushing.

"You need to be more confident. You are very strong, otherwise we wouldn't have chosen you as our bodyguard during the talks, Chojuro." Terumi turned to look at Chojuro and encouraged him with a smile.

"Yes, I think I should try my best." Hearing Terumi's encouraging words, Chojuro clenched his fist and replied, "How can you be so gentle?" Looking at Terumi's smiling face, Chojuro's face flushed slightly, and he thought to himself...

"Just answer yes, that's all. What kind of careless attitude is this? That's why young people these days don't have much perseverance." Qing scolded Chojuro, rubbing his forehead and sighing.

When Mei Terumi heard Ao mention "perseverance," she misheard it as "wedding date," and her face instantly darkened. (In Japanese, "perseverance" and "wedding date" are homophones.)

"Qing, stop lecturing us. If we don't leave now, we'll miss the meeting," said one of the ninjas who came to see him off.

Mei Terumi interpreted the ninja's words as "missing the best age for marriage," and her face darkened further. "Preaching is for his own good, in our time..." Ao said.

Mei Terumi suddenly moved closer to him, interrupting him, and said with a smile, "Shut up, or I'll kill you." Ao's eyes widened instantly, and cold sweat poured down his back.

"Chojuro, Ao, let's go." Mei Terumi smiled, energetically raising the straw hat representing the Mizukage, and said. Then she turned and walked towards the village entrance.

Chojuro watched Mei Terumi's retreating figure and secretly made up his mind.

"I will protect the Mizukage's gentle smile, if I can do it."

Then he quickly followed. Qing was still standing there, stunned.

"What are you doing, Ao? The Mizukage has already gone far away." Seeing that Ao hadn't made any move, a ninja who had come to see him off asked.

Ao then realized what was happening and quickly gave chase. "Wash the motor, Mizukage-sama, wait for me! Sand Village!"

"So slow, Kankuro-sensei," Matsuri complained, looking at the belated Kankuro.

"Assembling the new suit took some time," Kankuro said. "Then, Lord Kazekage, please be careful on your journey."

"Lord Kankuro, and the festival, we entrust Lord Kazekage to you all," said the Sand Ninja who came to see him off.

"I will do my best to protect Master," Cha said with a smile.

“Speaking of which, Gaara doesn’t need any guards at all,” Kankuro said with a smile.

“Then let’s go,” Gaara said. The three turned and walked towards the gate of the Sand Village.

“Speaking of which, Master must be the youngest of the Five Kage, right?” Cha said, rubbing his head.

"So it's also our responsibility to ensure that the Kazekage isn't underestimated. What will the village chiefs of the other villages be like at the Five Kage Summit?" Kankuro said with some emotion.

"I...I will try my best," Matsuri said nervously. Looking at Matsuri, Kankuro sighed heavily.

Among the five great ninja villages, the Sand Village is undoubtedly the weakest, especially after Granny Chiyo's death. Apart from Gaara, the Sand Village has almost no other fighting force to offer.

Even the guards for this Five Kage Summit are a problem. Besides Kankuro, there's simply no other choice for the second guard. There are too few strong guards; a few must be left to protect the village, and the weak ones are of no use.

In the end, it was Gaara who made the final decision to choose Matsuri. Matsuri was Gaara's disciple, and after many years of careful teaching by Gaara, she was quite capable.

Anyway, there's no danger at the Five Kage Summit, is there? And so, the five Kage embarked on their journey to the Land of Iron.

The Land of Iron is a neutral country with its own culture, authority, and military strength. It is also the largest neutral country in the ninja world. There are no ninjas in the Land of Iron; instead, there is a group of warriors known as "samurai" who protect it.

Long ago, the ninjas made a pact not to attack this country, thus avoiding several ninja wars and maintaining good relations with the major ninja villages.

Ai chose the Land of Iron as the venue for the Five Great Nations and Five Kage Summit, and Mifune, the leader of the samurai of the Land of Iron, also served as the host of the summit. After several days of travel, the five Kage arrived in the Land of Iron one after another.

"I have been waiting for you, Lord Kazekage. I am Mifune, the general of the Land of Iron." Mifune, accompanied by two guards, stood in front of the meeting place for the Five Kage Summit and said.

"Nice to meet you, I am Gaara, the Kazekage," Gaara said, pulling down his scarf. On either side of him, Kankuro and Matsuri were already shivering from the cold.

"It's so cold, the complete opposite of the climate in the Land of Wind," Kankuro said, shivering. "Come up and have a cup of hot tea," Mifune said.

In the Land of Iron, on the top floor of the Samurai Pavilion, the Five Kage have all gathered. The Five Kage Summit has officially begun.

“Please place the Five Kage’s hats in front,” Mifune said.

Miki, Onoki, and Gaara all placed their straw hats on the table in front of them. Mashiro smiled and also removed her straw hat, placing it in front of her as well.

"In response to Lord Raikage's call, the Five Kage have gathered here today. I am the host, Mifune. The Five Kage Summit will now begin." Five lamps lit up one by one, illuminating the Five Kage, and Mifune began to speak.

“I’ll speak first, and you all listen up…” Gaara began.

But before he could continue, Onoki interrupted him, saying, "The Five Kage have really changed a lot. To become Kage at such a young age is truly remarkable."

"The younger generation is truly formidable, Lord Kazekage, and also, Lord Hokage."

Ōnoki looked at Gaara, then turned to look at Mashiro.

He then turned to Gaara, smiling, and said, "It seems your father taught you quite well, but unfortunately, he lacks manners." Upon hearing this, Kankuro was instantly furious, and Matsuri also tensed up.

“Yes, that’s why I’m sitting here as the Kazekage,” Gaara said calmly. “Hahaha, what an arrogant fellow,” Onoki laughed, saying. “Tsuchikage-sama, please don’t interrupt. Kazekage-sama, please continue,” Terumi said.

"I was originally a Jinchūriki and was imprisoned by Akatsuki," Gaara began to slowly recount his experiences.

"What's with that Tsuchikage?!" Kankuro said angrily. "Exactly, exactly," Matsuri nodded repeatedly.

Chapter 157: The Five Kage Summit (Part 3)

"Therefore, I believe that Akatsuki's existence is extremely dangerous. I have repeatedly made requests to the other four Kage, but they have all been ignored. Apart from the former Hokage, it's too late to join forces after all the Jinchuriki from various countries have been taken away," Gaara said calmly.

"Ha, after the five great ninja villages have all taken away the Jinchuriki, they can't set an example for other countries. It's a disgrace. It's only natural to take them back secretly. It's impossible for them to seek help from other countries right after they've been taken away," Onoki said.

“Discipline, prestige, utterly boring and corrupt ideas,” Gaara replied softly to Onoki’s words. “Young man,” Onoki thought to himself, looking at Gaara.

"Putting aside whether this is corrupt or not, as the Mizukage, I admit we were indeed too passive. But even if our tailed beasts are taken away, we can't immediately see it as a threat. Controlling tailed beasts requires technology, knowledge, and time," Terumi said after listening to Gaara and Onoki's conversation.

"Jinchūriki need to grow and adapt to the Tailed Beast, but even so, they are still difficult to control. They talk too much, huh, isn't that right, Lord Kazekage?" Onoki glanced at Gaara and said.

"Speaking of which, the only ones who can truly control the Tailed Beasts are Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju (the First Hokage), Yagura (the Fourth Mizukage), and Killer Bee (the Raikage's younger brother)," Onoki continued.

Upon hearing Killer Bee's name, A clenched his fist. Instantly, all the Shadow Guards tensed up. "Chojuro!" Ao reminded him.

"Here!" Chojuro instantly drew his twin swords, Hiramekarei.

Kankuro sprang into action instantly. Jiraiya also stepped in front of Mashiro.

"Stop rambling on." Ai Yizhang slammed his hand on the table in front of him, smoke billowing out. All the guards sprang into action.

Kankuro drew his sword, but Darui blocked it with his own.

Matsuri stood before Gaara. Chojuro pointed his twin swords, Hiramekarei, at Gaara. Ao also formed hand seals in front of Mei Terumi. Kakashi activated his Sharingan.

Jiraiya used his hair to form a barrier in front of Mashiro. Akatsuchi had already thrown a punch, facing Nozomi.

Kurotsuchi stood behind Akatsuchi in a fighting stance.

Mifune sighed helplessly and said, "This is a place for discussion. Be careful not to act impolitely." "Don't worry, Kakashi, Jiraiya, step back," Mashiro said softly.

“You too, Matsuri, Kankuro,” Gaara said. “Ao, Chojuro, it’s alright,” Terumi said. Onoki also turned his head, and Akatsuchi nodded slightly upon seeing this.

Raikage pulled his hand out from under the table, snorted coldly, and sat back down in his chair.

Seeing this, all the guards jumped back to the stands. "Let's continue the discussion," Mifune said.

"Leaving aside Konoha, Iwa, Suna, Kirigakure, and Akatsuki were all formed by rogue ninja from your village. Not only that, I've also discovered that some of you, including the former village chief, have used Akatsuki."

"Used?" Upon hearing this, Gaara's expression immediately turned ugly.

"Therefore, I do not trust you and do not want to negotiate with you. However, the reason I summoned the Five Kage here is to hold you accountable." Ai glanced at Mashiro and, seeing that Mashiro had no reaction, continued with relief.

"What do you mean by 'used before'?" Gaara asked.

"As the Kazekage, how could you not have been informed? Go ask the old folks in your own village; you used Akatsuki in the past during wartime," Ai said. "Now that the major powers have settled down, they've shifted from military expansion to reduction, as tensions between nations have eased, so..."

"What threat of war? For a nation, the ninja villages that control military power become a heavy financial burden. Even so, arbitrarily reducing the size of ninja villages also carries certain risks. Once war breaks out, relying solely on ninjas with no combat experience will also cause problems, and defeat will result," Onoki said softly.

Gaara seemed to understand Onoki's meaning and interjected, "One way to avoid risks is to hire the Akatsuki, a group of combat mercenaries, right?" "Training excellent ninjas in your own village requires effort and money. Akatsuki, who live by war, is a top-tier expert group that can hire them at a low price..."

"That would allow them to take on the war and achieve satisfactory results," Ohno continued.

"Stop saying nice things, Tsuchikage," Ai interrupted Onoki.

"The Sand Village once used Akatsuki to try and destroy Konoha, and the person they used was Orochimaru. At that time, it wasn't certain whether he had left Akatsuki, but because of him, your father, the Fourth Kazekage, lost his life. Besides, the most suspicious are the Mist Village. You Mist Village don't do diplomacy, and it's rumored that your area is the birthplace of Akatsuki."

"The Akatsuki leader destroyed the Hidden Cloud Village. They are no longer tools of war; they are creating war," A said.

“Since that’s the case, then I’ll tell you the truth,” Mei Terumi said, her eyes filled with sadness. Behind her in the stands, Ao was very nervous, muttering to himself, “Could it be that the Fifth Generation is going to…”

“We suspect that the previous Mizukage, the Fourth Mizukage Yagura, was manipulated, most likely by Akatsuki, so we don’t want to cause a big fuss,” Terumi said, bowing her head.

"They're all cut from the same cloth," Ai said calmly.

"Watch your words, Raikage." Onoki was very dissatisfied with A's attitude.

"What, do you want me to reveal your shameful secrets? There's a guy in Akatsuki who's your apprentice, isn't there? The one who kidnapped the Kazekage." Ai said.

Ōnoki remained silent, then turned his attention to Mashiro, saying, "I've heard that Konoha is currently undergoing expansion. How did the Daimyo of the Land of Fire allow this?"

How did Ye manage to keep his finances afloat?

Everyone turned their attention to Mashiro in response to Onoki's question.

"Speaking of which, the new Hokage is quite young. It's said that Konoha's expansion began after the new Hokage took office. So, Hokage, do you know anything about this?" Mei Terumi asked, looking at Mashiro.

Mashiro still didn't say anything.

Mysterious and beautiful—that was Mashiro's first impression of Mei Terumi.

"When the Raikage was criticizing us just now, it seemed that he excluded Konoha. As far as I know, there should be people from Konoha in Akatsuki. Have you formed an alliance?" Onoki continued to ask.

"You old bastard, what do you mean?" Ai instantly flew into a rage.

"Judging from the Raikage's reaction, it seems I was right," Onoki said, glancing at A. A stood up, and wisps of electricity began to gather around him.

Immediately, all the guards were deployed again. Mifune could only sigh helplessly.

"Can we talk this out? Don't always be so tense." Mashiro finally spoke up. Hearing this, Ai silently sat back down, and Darui and hope also retreated.

Gaara's expression also turned serious, and he told Kankuro and Matsuri to retreat.

Onoki and Terumi noticed the changes in Ai and Gaara, and thus withdrew their guards.

“I originally thought Lord Kazekage was already quite outstanding, but it turns out there’s someone even more outstanding,” Onoki said.

"Before we argue from our respective perspectives, I'd like to share something with you all: the true founder of Akatsuki is probably Uchiha Madara," Mashiro said softly.

Everyone was shocked to hear Mashiro's words, including Kakashi and Jiraiya, who were also from Konoha. "Are you sure?" Terumi asked.

"Is he alive? Didn't he die decades ago?" Gaara asked as well.