Yes, the Hokage!

"The Fourth Hokage is indeed young and handsome." The old man spoke, his voice hoarse but full of energy. "It's really hard to imagine that someone so young could make such a bold decision as decapitation and capturing the Eight-Tails."

His words clearly indicated that he intended to definitively state that "the Eight-Tails was captured by Konoha."

Minato's smile remained unchanged, marking his first step in imitating Fenglan. However, his smile appeared much more natural than Fenglan's, making it easier to gain favor.

He calmly poured tea for the three of them, completely ignoring what the other two were saying. Feng Lan had said that when your opponents are in a hurry to speak, the slower you are, the more likely they are to reveal their hand.

The Raikage, of course, had no patience for a smile: "Hokage, I'll be blunt. Give the beating back, and everything will be fine."

Minato blinked, as if he didn't react for a moment: "Compare?"

The Raikage's hand, which was pressed against the table, made a cracking sound: "The Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee, my little brother!"

“Oh, Killer Bee.” Minato nodded slightly, his expression sincere. “I fought against both of them during the Third Shinobi World War, and they are indeed quite outstanding Jinchūriki… I’ve also heard that he has great musical talent?”

Fenglan once said that no matter what the other party wants, don't rush to refuse or agree; first, find out what cards they have in their hand.

Raikage's lips twitched, as if he was swallowing a curse: "Stop talking nonsense, you know what I'm talking about!"

“I know,” Minato said gently, “but I don’t quite understand why the Raikage would think Killer Bee is with us?”

The Raikage's body was practically exploding with electricity, and his eyes, which were fixed on Minato, were bloodshot. Unfortunately, this tactic worked on Sunagakure but not on Konoha.

Even if Obito is still in the Kamui dimension, would Minato be afraid of him and Onoki teaming up to launch a sneak attack?

The room fell silent for a moment, with only Raikage's rough, bull-like breathing remaining.

Then Onoki put down his teacup, making a very soft clicking sound, like a chess player placing a piece.

He had the same smiling expression as Feng Lan: "The Fourth Hokage is truly skilled. Amegakure is one thing, but Sunagakure is willing to be a lackey of Konoha. If you are allowed to develop for a few more years, I'm afraid the entire ninja world will be unable to stop you."

"Lord Tsuchikage is joking." Minato was still smiling. "Konoha has absolutely no intention of interfering in the sovereignty of other countries. Going to Amegakure was only to hunt down the rogue ninja Danzo... Speaking of which, he was forced to leave the village because he allied with Kumogakure and caused trouble during my speech."

"As for the Hidden Cloud Village, we don't know exactly what happened. Perhaps there was some misunderstanding, or maybe someone impersonated Konoha. After all, the war just ended not long ago, and there are always people trying to take advantage of the chaos, aren't there?"

In the first phase, we declared that nothing was wrong.

But Raikage wasn't so easily appeased. He slammed the teacup down on the table, splashing hot tea that left a small dark stain on the surface.

"Don't give me that official talk!" His hair stood on end, almost like a Saiyan's. "Flying Thunder God! Nobody outside of Konoha knows the Flying Thunder God!"

"That's right. According to our Iwagakure intelligence, besides the Hokage, it seems that only your advisor, Fenglan, is left." Onoki added, "So denying it to the death is useless... Or perhaps you've already killed Killer Bee and extracted the Eight-Tails?"

He laughed and patted his thigh: "If that's the case, then Konoha will be able to control both the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails at the same time, and no one will be able to control them. How about we take a step back and sell the Eight-Tails to me?"

"Shut up, Tsuchikage!" The Raikage practically roared. He had to admit that Onoki was really good at stirring things up. If it weren't for Fenglan sending him evidence that Killer Bee was still alive, he might have gone straight for Minato.

Minato's heart skipped a beat, not out of fear of the Raikage's fighting prowess. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and used the action to buy himself half a second to think.

"What the Raikage said..." He put down his teacup, his fingertips gently stroking the rim. "It is indeed worth paying attention to. If there really were traces of the Flying Thunder God that night, as the Hokage, I should investigate it seriously, both morally and logically."

The Raikage loosened his fist by half an inch: "So what?"

"So we should indeed pay attention to this matter, but before we have solid evidence, it is not appropriate for Konoha to take any substantive action." Minato said righteously, "If it is really a misunderstanding, rash action will only escalate the conflict and will not benefit anyone."

The second phase is to say that something might happen, but we shouldn't take any action.

"Lord Raikage, did you hear that?" The Tsuchikage laughed loudly. "What the Hokage means is that I know about this, but I don't care."

"Hokage!" The Raikage stood up abruptly, his large, dark frame almost touching the lampshade.

"Lord Raikage." Minato had already prepared his answer. Feng Lan had once said that if he couldn't shift the blame, he should change the subject. "Does Kumogakure acknowledge the authority of the Five Kage Summit? Are they willing to abide by the final resolutions reached at the summit?"

The Raikage forcibly suppressed his anger: "Nonsense, but only if you bring Bi here!"

"Then, taking advantage of the Five Kage Summit, shouldn't Kumogakure give an explanation for your village's envoy causing trouble during the speech in Konoha, and for the subsequent infiltration of the Hyuga clan?"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Lei Ying finally activated his lightning armor. Logically, with such a commotion, the guards should have rushed over to inquire, but no one came. "I didn't come here to hear your conditions. My brother is in your hands, and you're telling me your conditions?"

"Lord Raikage." However, Minato remained seated, showing no fear whatsoever. It must be said that the Raikage was indeed quite suitable as a beginner boss. Minato was almost brimming with confidence in the face of him. "Konoha has already declared to the outside world that Killer Bee is not in our hands."

He took a deep breath and began his presentation: "But now it seems there are some situations that need attention. According to the information we have, there may be factors related to the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki that are beyond Konoha's direct control. Therefore, Konoha should not make a unilateral statement on this matter before the facts are fully confirmed."

Phase Three: We say maybe we should take action, but there's nothing we can do.

This was the limit that Minato had been practicing these past few days, the limit he could manage to say in one breath. Although it was child's play compared to Feng Lan's long and difficult sentences, it was more than enough to handle this big black guy.

Raikage's expression shifted from rage to astonishment, and then from astonishment to a bewildered "What the hell are you talking about?"

Onoki's cheek twitched slightly as he translated for him: "It means that Konoha acknowledges that the Eight-Tails is in your hands, but is unwilling to discuss its return now?"

Minato looked at him, his face still bearing that gentle smile.

"Lord Tsuchikage may have misunderstood. Konoha has never officially confirmed that the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki is in Konoha's possession. It's just that in previous events, there were circumstances that required further verification. As for the matter of returning it... before that, we need to clarify the facts and define responsibilities before we can discuss the subsequent procedures."

Fenglan once said that programs are very important and can be used in any way.

It seems this kid is determined to deny it to the end.

Onoki narrowed his eyes slightly and changed the subject: "Speaking of which, I heard something interesting. It seems that Kumogakure is mobilizing troops on the border. Raikage-sama, who are they preparing to fight?"

Raikage said coldly, "This is an internal matter of Kumogakure."

"Of course, of course, I didn't mean anything by it." Onoki raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, but his smile looked like he was stirring up trouble. "I just thought, if Kumogakure really wants to take action against someone... like Sunagakure or Amegakure, then Konoha, as an ally, should at least show some attitude, right?"

He paused, then turned his gaze to Minato: "Fourth Hokage, what do you say?"

Minato remained silent for a few seconds. The old fox Onoki's intention was very clear: to force him to make a statement.

Expressing support for Sunagakure would be tantamount to acknowledging the relationship between Konoha and Sunagakure, and indirectly acknowledging Konoha's role in the Killer Bee incident. Maintaining neutrality would leave the Raikage with the impression that Konoha was afraid to confront them directly, potentially emboldening him further.

But it doesn't matter, he still has one last stage.

“Gentlemen, if you had asked me this question three days ago, perhaps we could have found a solution that was acceptable to both sides. But in the past few days, Sunagakure has publicly declared that Killer Bee is in their hands, Amegakure has issued a joint statement, and other villages have also expressed their opinions. The situation has already taken shape.”

He mimicked Feng Lan's shrug, his face displaying a genuinely helpless expression: "Frankly speaking, even if Konoha were willing to do something now, it wouldn't change much. We've already missed that window of opportunity."

The fourth stage is to say that maybe something could have been done back then, but now it's too late.

"Naruto!"

The Raikage finally lost his temper and slammed his foot into the table, smashing it to pieces. "Stop talking nonsense! You have to hand over the Bi today! Otherwise I'll..."

"Oh?"

At that moment, the door was pushed open, and Feng Lan walked in with the three Sand Village members: "What does Lord Raikage want?"

Chapter 114 The Judge of the Ninja World

Feng Lan had actually returned long ago, but he didn't rush in. Instead, he let Shui Men deal with the two Kage on his own.

He had long known that Minato wasn't unintelligent; he was just in the final stage of the "Minato Period," and when he was around, Minato was too lazy to think. However, after being thoroughly bullied by F3 during the three months he was away from Konoha, he had a kind of enlightenment in Ryugoro and realized the importance of using his brain.

During the journey to the Land of Iron, it was actually Minato who took the initiative to learn various things from him. So Fenglan didn't hold back and seized the opportunity to instill a lot of deep dark fantasy in him, almost turning him into a dark version of Tong Dawei.

Now that he had a rare opportunity for real combat, he decided to let Minato try it out himself.

Furthermore, Feng Lan had been monitoring the room with his sensory abilities, ready to rush in and rescue the situation at any moment. However, Minato held firm, so he didn't move until the Raikage was about to flip the table. Only then did Feng Lan make his heroic entrance, just like Ultraman in a tokusatsu movie, at the perfect moment.

[This kid...] Onoki's gaze narrowed slightly, knowing that he wouldn't get away with it tonight.

"Feng Lan..." Upon seeing the person who had kidnapped his younger brother and even briefly fought with him, Lei Ying's aura suddenly surged, and lightning crackled around his body, clearly indicating that he was truly intent on killing him.

Minato's eyes turned cold, and he already had the Flying Thunder God Kunai in his hand. Pakura even stood guard in front of Feng Lan without Rasa's orders. Upon seeing this, Granny Chiyo couldn't help but frown.

Feng Lan, who was being targeted, showed no fear and said slowly, "Lord Raikage is quite imposing. He cornered Lord Kazekage in the inn before, and now he's going to kill someone in Lord Hokage's room. It seems that the laws of the Land of Iron... are not really necessary to follow."

He seemed to be joking, but a hint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes: "Why don't we just start fighting right here and see who among these four Shadows is stronger?"

Upon hearing this, the other three Kage's expressions immediately changed. Without a doubt, the strongest of the five Kage was Minato. Right now, they were on Konoha's home turf, and Obito, who had disappeared somewhere, could very well return at any time. According to their intelligence, Obito was a ruthless person who had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan and even Susanoo. If they really fought, they would definitely be the ones who suffered.

"Mr. Fenglan is too kind." At this moment, Mifune appeared at just the right time. "The Land of Iron maintains absolute neutrality, so please do not use ninjutsu to fight in the land of samurai."

"Absolutely neutral? I don't think so." Feng Lan didn't give him any face at all. "I didn't see you when the Raikage blocked the door, but you guys arrived quickly when he was blocked."

“Mr. Fenglan, please watch your words,” Mifune said coldly. “At the time, I simply had important matters to attend to and was unable to attend to them…”

"You're too busy to be in two places at once, and so are these iron lumps behind you?" Feng Lan sneered. "Just now, Lei Ying was throwing a tantrum in the room, and the whole inn could hear him. I've been guarding the door the whole time, but I haven't seen a single samurai come to investigate."

Mifune's expression suddenly twitched. Feng Lan had been guarding outside the room the whole time? How did he get back? How come the samurai guarding the entrance to the inn didn't notice him at all?

[Flying Thunder God...]

The next second, those three words came to mind. It was clear that Feng Lan had left the Flying Thunder God mark outside the door, which allowed him to evade the samurai's surveillance and directly appear at the door of the room with Sunagakure.

Seeing that he was speechless for a moment, Onoki spoke up to smooth things over: "Alright, since we can't reach a conclusion tonight, let's wait until the Five Kage Summit officially starts tomorrow."

As he spoke, he strode outside. Seeing this, Lei Ying, knowing better than to suffer a loss, forcibly suppressed his anger, deactivated his lightning armor, and followed behind.

"and many more."

However, the four people blocking the door showed no sign of backing down. Feng Lan said calmly, "Lord Raikage, you will not be leaving this room unless you give an explanation for blocking the door."

"Um?!"

Lei Ying's bull-like eyes locked onto Feng Lan once again: "Kid, are you threatening me?"

“You can think of it that way,” Feng Lan chuckled. “Others may fear you, but Konoha doesn’t.”

As he spoke, Rasa raised his palm, gold dust swirling between his fingers. Granny Chiyo summoned a puppet, and several fireballs danced around Pakura. Although Minato hadn't given any prior instructions, he immediately began kneading dumplings in cooperation.

“Interesting.” Onoki glanced around. “Hokage, although I’ve heard the rumors before, is it really appropriate for you, the head of a village, to be ordered around by your advisor like this?”

"Sowing discord is useless, Tsuchikage-sama," Minato said calmly. "If Fenglan had been here just now, would you two have dared to come in?"

[He seems to trust this advisor even more than the rumors suggested...] Onoki's gaze sharpened. [If that's the case, killing this guy here...]

He glanced at Feng Lan and dismissed the idea. Even if he really wanted to kill this kid, he couldn't do it himself. Otherwise, given Minato's reaction, he would definitely fight Iwagakure to the death.

Nobody wants to really provoke the Golden Flash.

"Mr. Fenglan!"

Mifune emphasized, "Do you really intend to defy the laws of the Land of Iron?!"

“It was the Raikage who disobeyed me first, so I followed suit.” Feng Lan glanced at him disdainfully. “If your Land of Iron cannot be truly neutral, I don’t see any need for the Five Kage Summit. We might as well just go home.”

"Raikage... Lord Raikage didn't actually use force that time, he was just threatening me, so I..."

“We didn’t use force either, but we were intimidating people.” This time it was Granny Chiyo’s turn to speak. “Advisor Fenglan is right, Lord Mifune, you have indeed violated the neutrality principle of the Land of Iron.”

“Not bad.” Rasa finally got his revenge. “I demand that Lord Raikage issue a public apology for what happened before, otherwise Sunagakure will leave the Land of Iron immediately and will never participate in any Five Kage Summit again.”

"You're not leaving until you hand over the bi!" As expected, Raikage immediately objected.

"Lord Raikage!" Feng Lan sneered, "The one who decides whether Killer Bee is safe is not Sunagakure, nor Konoha, but you."