XX-level Hokage

"It seems this new Hokage is quite cunning and keeps his true abilities hidden," Onoki thought to himself.

It was already known that the Akatsuki members, through their intelligence networks in various villages, already had a general understanding of their strength.

"Is there anything else? If not, let's adjourn the meeting and inform the village and daimyo about the formation of the Allied Shinobi Forces. We'll discuss the specifics together tomorrow," Mashiro said softly.

As soon as Mashiro finished speaking, Mifune raised his hand and said, "We samurai will also participate in this war."

“You are very welcome. You can inquire with some other smaller, more friendly ninja villages. The more resources you have, the greater your chance of stopping Madara’s plan,” Mashiro said softly.

The other four shadows nodded in agreement.

On the other side, where Sasuke fought the Raikage, Suigetsu and Jugo crawled out of the ruins.

“They all seem to have gone up there. I wonder if Yukikaze has reunited with Sasuke,” Suigetsu said. “Should we go up and check?” Suigetsu asked, turning to Jugo.

“The enemy is on high alert right now. Without Yukikaze, we’ll be easily discovered,” Jugo said. “Well then, I have a good idea,” Suigetsu said with a smile.

"Do you want to face the Hokage?" Jugo asked, a question that came from the depths of his soul.

"Ahem, why don't we wait for Sasuke outside? With that masked man around, Sasuke and Yukikaze should be fine." Suigetsu's expression changed immediately, and she said somewhat awkwardly.

After the Five Kage Summit concluded, Mashiro sent Jiraiya and Kakashi back to the guesthouse first, then took Yukikaze to a nearby street where they enjoyed some local specialties from the Land of Iron.

When Mashiro returned to her room, a female warrior from the Land of Iron was waiting there.

"Lord Hokage, this is an invitation someone asked me to give you." The female samurai said respectfully. Mashiro accepted it; there were two in total.

One letter was from Zhao Meimo. The other was from Heitu.

Chapter 164: Four Different Kinds of Snow

"Oh dear, this is quite unexpected." Mashiro muttered to herself after glancing at the contents of the letter.

Kurotsuchi's letter to Mashiro was not unexpected, after all, Mashiro had left a very deep impression on Kurotsuchi.

As for Mei Terumi, Mashiro hadn't actually intended to pursue the new Mizukage, but unexpectedly, she delivered herself to his doorstep. "Looks like I'll have to prepare properly tomorrow," Mashiro murmured.

Mashiro wrote a reply and entrusted a female samurai who came to deliver the letter to him.

Mashiro doesn't plan to keep the appointment tonight; she's going to see someone else.

In the guesthouse of Kumogakure, in the room of the Fourth Raikage, A, A is staring blankly at a photo of himself and Killer Bee.

Killer Bee is dead. This is a fact that A has never wanted to believe. Back in Kumogakure, he could numb himself with the heavy workload of rebuilding Kumogakure, but now, especially after just meeting the Akatsuki members, the grief of losing his brother has surged into A's heart again.

"Lord Raikage, Lord Hokage has come to visit." A samurai from the Land of Iron knocked on the door and said, "Please come in quickly." Ai put away the photo, returned to his normal appearance, and said.

"Is there something you need for Naruto's sudden visit?" Ai poured Mashiro a cup of tea and asked.

"It's nothing, I just wanted to thank Lord Raikage for his support during the Five Kage Summit." Mashiro took the teacup, placed it on the table, and said softly.

“This is what I should do. You are a hero of the entire Cloud Village. Even if you asked me to give my life, I would do it willingly, let alone support at a mere meeting,” Ai said earnestly.

Mashiro smiled, satisfied with Ai's answer, and continued, "Also, I have some news for you: Killer Bee might still be alive." "Really?!" Ai exclaimed excitedly upon hearing Mashiro's words.

Although Killer Bee is not his biological brother, the bond between them transcends that of ordinary brothers. They are not only the best partners but also the closest family members.

"Remember that Akatsuki spy I asked you to deal with? This is the information I got from him. But because Killer Bee is a perfect Jinchuriki, he didn't die immediately after the Tailed Beast was extracted. Akatsuki imprisoned him in a special prison, seemingly wanting to get the perfect method for controlling the Tailed Beast from him." Mashiro said softly.

“Those damned bastards! I’ll send men immediately to find Xiao’s whereabouts and begin the plan to rescue Killer Bee.” Ai clenched his fists and said coldly. “Don’t make a big fuss. If we’re discovered, they might just kill Killer Bee to silence him, which would be troublesome. Leave this to me. Wait until I’m out of the undercover…”

"After I get the exact location from him, I will go there myself and work with him from the inside to rescue Killer Bee," Mashiro said.

Ai was silent for a moment, then looked at Mashiro and said very seriously, "Hokage, I owe you a huge favor, I can't thank you enough."

"As a member of the Allied Shinobi Forces and one of the Five Kage, this is what I should do. So it's settled then, I'll head back now." Mashiro said with a smile.

After saying that, he left the Raikage's guesthouse. On his way back to the Hokage's guesthouse...

Mashiro watched the snowflakes dancing in the sky.

"This kind of weather is perfect for soaking in hot springs." Mashiro stretched out her fair hand, caught a fluttering snowflake, and said softly. "I came here specifically to see Ai, mainly to exchange Killer Bee for Ai's favor."

After all, Mashiro saved the Hidden Cloud Village, which made the entire Hidden Cloud Village owe Mashiro a favor. A also put Mashiro's interests above his own because of the Hidden Cloud Village.

But things are different now. Because of Killer Bee's matter, Ai now owes the real Shiro a favor.

As a result, the entire Yunhu Village is now basically under Mashiro's influence. The Allied Shinobi Forces meeting began early the next morning.

This was also the last meeting of the Five Kage in the Land of Iron, where they decided on specific measures for the Allied Shinobi Forces. Next, the Five Kage will return to their respective ninja villages to fight the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Perhaps the pressure from the Eye of the Moon Plan and the eight tailed beasts was too immense. This ninja alliance meeting proceeded exceptionally smoothly.

All matters concerning the Ninja Alliance were settled in just one morning.

The Allied Shinobi Forces were mainly composed of ninjas from the five great nations and samurai from the Land of Iron. The Fifth Hokage served as the commander-in-chief and supreme commander.

The then-Five Kage were the leaders of the Allied Forces. The third Tsuchikage was the Chief of Staff.

Nara Shikamaru of Konoha and Mabui of Kumogakure serve as strategists for the Allied Forces.

The coalition forces were divided into three parts. The first part: combat troops. This consisted of five units.

First Unit: Mid-Range Allied Forces Squadron (Main Force consists of ninjas skilled in concealed weapons and other weapons)

Second Unit: Close Combat Combined Forces Squadron (responsible for eliminating large numbers of enemies, the frontline fighting force). Third Unit: Close-to-Medium Range Combined Forces Squadron (responsible for protracted warfare).

Fourth Unit: Long-Range Combat Joint Forces (responsible for supporting both frontline and rear troops)

Fifth Unit: Special Combat Unit (a unit composed entirely of samurai or ninjas who use special ninjutsu and combat methods)

Part Two: The special forces are divided into four teams.

Intelligence Units: Units responsible for receiving and transmitting intelligence from various locations.

Reconnaissance Team: Responsible for locating Akatsuki and the Tailed Beasts. Surprise Attack Team: Probe the enemy.

Daimyo Guard: Protecting the personal safety of daimyo from various countries.

Part Three: The auxiliary forces are divided into three units.

Medical logistics units: responsible for treating the wounded; Sensing units: responsible for sensing enemy positions.

Nine-Tails Guard: Responsible for protecting the personal safety of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Although the leaders and members of all units have not yet been decided, the specific framework of the Allied Shinobi Forces has been finalized. The next step is for the Five Kage to collect information on the ninjas from each village and then assign them according to their characteristics.

With the framework of the Allied Shinobi Forces finalized, the meeting concluded smoothly in a harmonious atmosphere. Afterwards, the Five Kage and their guards left the meeting room.

Before leaving, Mashiro glanced at Kurotsuchi, who was also looking at Mashiro. The two stared at each other, and Kurotsuchi quickly looked away.

"Jiraiya, Kakashi, I have some things to attend to. You two should go back first," Mashiro said softly to Jiraiya and Kakashi beside her. Meanwhile, in the corridor...

Onoki, Akatsuchi, and Kurotsuchi were walking slowly.

"The Allied Shinobi Forces, this is the first time, Kurotsuchi. Should I help you apply for a troop commander position? It would be a great help to you in the future, Kurotsuchi, Kurotsuchi." Onoki said, but Kurotsuchi seemed somewhat distracted.

"Hey old man, I have something to do, you guys go back first." After saying that, Heitu waved his hand and ran over.

"This girl... I feel like she's acting a bit strange," Onoki said, touching his nose with some doubt. Akatsuchi thought of Mashiro, but then shook his head and said honestly, "Who knows?"

The rooftop of the Samurai Pavilion.

Kurotsuchi walked nervously onto the rooftop. Not far away, Mashiro was leaning against the railing, looking up at the sky.

"What are you looking at?" Kurotsuchi walked to Mashiro's side, mimicking Mashiro's posture, looked up at the sky, and asked softly.

"Don't you think these goose feather-like snowflakes are quite unusual?" Mashiro said softly. Hearing this, Kurotsuchi looked closely at the snowflakes.

"It's quite large, a bit fluffy, not cold, and falls very slowly." Kurotsuchi remarked. "It's definitely different from the snow in Iwagakure."

“Did you know? There are many kinds of snow.” Mashiro said, holding out a hand. “Some are like salt, very small and very hard.”

Salt kept falling from Shiro's hands and landed in Kurokawa's hands.

Feeling the texture in his hand, Kurotsuchi looked at Mashiro with great surprise. "Some of them are long and thin, each one like a tiny needle."

Immediately afterwards, the snow falling from Mashiro's hand changed shape, becoming even brighter than before.

"And then there's the most common kind of snow, soft and small, falling very quickly." The snow falling from Mashiro's hand changed again.

"Finally, what we see now is snow as fluffy as goose feathers." After saying that, Mashiro withdrew her hand.

Heitu looked at the completely different kinds of snow in his hand, then suddenly threw them out. The four different "pure" snowflakes fluttered and swirled, creating a peculiar scene. "Do you like snow?" Heitu rubbed his hands together, breathed on them to warm them, and asked softly.

Chapter 165: Hot Spring in the Snow (Happy New Year*, (°√)*)

"Perhaps, I just really like this romantic feeling. When I look up at the sky, the vast horizon paired with the swirling snowflakes makes time seem to stand still."

A moment of stillness. "Mashiro gently shook her head and looked up at the sky again."

"Romantic? I always feel it's a bit too monotonous, after all, it's all white," Kurotsuchi said, looking at the sky. "Close your eyes," Mashiro said with a smile.

Although somewhat puzzled, Kurotsuchi closed his eyes. A moment later.

"Open your eyes."

Upon hearing this, Heitu gently opened his eyes. What he saw was a dense array of petals falling from the sky, a riot of colors, making even the snowflakes seem sparse.

"Is this... an illusion?!" Kurotsuchi said with some delight.

But when the petals fell onto Heitu, she could feel their texture—cool and soft—and the fragrance of the petals lingered around her nose, smelling wonderful.

"This is... really?!" Black Earth caught a few petals, gently kneaded them, and turned them into a lump of flower mud.

Mashiro gently hugged Kurotsuchi, resting her chin on Kurotsuchi's shoulder, and whispered, "It's definitely not monotonous anymore. Do you like it? A gift for our long-awaited reunion." Mashiro's breath gently brushed against Kurotsuchi's ear, warming her earlobe, which had been chilled by the cold wind.

"I really like it." Heitu looked at the petals falling from the sky, and against the backdrop of the boundless sky, she seemed to vaguely understand the romantic meaning that Zhenzi had mentioned.

A moment later, the falling petals became sparse and were eventually replaced by pure white snowflakes. Most of the petals that had already fallen landed on the rooftop, forming a beautiful "graffiti" on the white "paper". A small portion was carried away by the wind and drifted down to the foot of the Samurai Pavilion.

Due to the unique climate of the Land of Iron, hot pot has become a staple food for the entire population.

In a private room at a hot pot restaurant in the Land of Iron, Mashiro and Kurotsuchi are eating hot pot.

Because Mashiro had opened the window, snowflakes occasionally drifted in and landed in the boiling chili oil of the hot pot. "Snowy days really are the perfect time for hot pot," Mashiro said softly.

Kurotsuchi looked curiously at the copper pot filled with red oil in front of her. Due to the terrain of Iwagakure, the temperature in Iwagakure is suitable all year round, so she had never eaten hot pot before.

Seemingly sensing Kurotsuchi's hesitation, Mashiro picked up a piece of tripe, carefully examined it, and then offered it to Kurotsuchi's mouth. After a moment's hesitation, Kurotsuchi gently opened her mouth and ate the tripe Mashiro offered.

"It's so hot and spicy, but it's also very delicious," Kurotsuchi said after swallowing the tripe. "As long as it suits your taste," Masashi said with a smile.

Then he picked up a piece of seaweed and put it in his mouth. Watching the chopsticks that his lips had just touched enter Shiro's mouth, Kuroto's face turned slightly red.

"Why is your face suddenly red? Is it too spicy?" Zhenbai put down her chopsticks, reached out and touched Heitu's face with concern.

"No, it's nothing, it's too spicy." Hei Tu said, raising his cup to take a sip of water. "That's good."