The Land of Wind, Sunagakure, Kazekage's Office
Outside the window, yellow sand swirled in the air, while the scorching sunlight streamed into the room through the half-drawn curtains, casting dappled shadows on the floor.
Baki sat at his desk, a gilded letter clutched in his hand, his brow furrowed. He looked up at the composed Gaara and the Chiyo beside him, who lay with her eyes closed, and said in a deep voice:
"The Raikage sent an urgent message, requesting the resumption of the Five Kage Summit."
Gaara's gaze remained calm.
Baki continued, "In his letter, he proposed to unite with us and other ninja villages to put pressure on Konoha and force them to share forbidden techniques—especially those secret techniques that appeared in the Heavenly Screen, such as the Eight Gates, the Flying Thunder God, and even... the Impure World Reincarnation."
"Heh." Chiyo sneered, her aged fingers tapping lightly on the armrest. She slowly opened her eyes, her sharp gaze filled with mockery. "That barbarian from Kumogakure, he certainly has a good plan."
She slowly sat up straight, her tone icy:
"Tell him that Sunagakure will not get involved in this mess."
Baki's expression turned grave. "But the Raikage's attitude is very firm. If we refuse, I'm afraid..."
Chiyo waved her hand, interrupting him. "Tough? Hmph, no matter how tough he is, would he dare to directly wage war against Konoha?" She narrowed her eyes, her voice low, "Princess Tsunade is no pushover, and besides... any one of those Konoha powerhouses shown on the Heavenly Screen could give Kumogakure a run for its money."
She paused, then turned her gaze to Gaara: "Moreover, we've only recently re-allyed with Konoha. To betray our promise now would only put Sunagakure in an even more dangerous situation."
Gaara remained silent for a moment before finally speaking, his voice calm yet firm:
"What the Shinobi World needs now is unity, not infighting."
He raised his eyes, his emerald green pupils like a clear spring in the desert, calm and insightful. "Raikage's proposal will only make the situation more chaotic. We... cannot become his pawns."
Baki took a deep breath and nodded. "I understand."
He quickly took out a piece of paper, wrote a few lines, sealed it in a scroll, and handed it to the Anbu who were already waiting nearby.
"Immediately lead an elite squad to Konoha and personally deliver this letter to the Hokage."
The Anbu took the scroll and knelt on one knee. "Yes!"
After the Anbu left, silence fell over the office once again.
Chiyo gazed at the churning dust outside the window and murmured:
"The Raikage's ambition... it's likely to stir up a storm."
Gaara's gaze remained calm, but a hint of worry flickered deep within his eyes.
Land of Earth, Iwagakure, Tsuchikage's Office
Ōnoki floated by the window with his hands behind his back, looking down at the scattered stone buildings of Iwagakure. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on his wrinkled face, revealing a long-lost relaxed expression.
"Grandpa! Your back is so bad!"
"Shut up! My back is perfectly fine!"
Kurotsuchi chuckled and withdrew his hand that had been reaching out to help him, sticking out his tongue. Since the last time the Heavenly Screen played, this stubborn old man seemed to have finally come to his senses, no longer wearing a gloomy face all the time, and even occasionally taking the initiative to guide the younger generation of ninjas.
--Until this letter from the Kumogakure shattered the peace.
Ōnoki's aged fingers gripped the Raikage's handwritten letter, and he let out a cold snort, "Hmph, that brat Raikage, he certainly has quite the appetite."
Kitsuchi stood to the side, calmly asking, "Father, shall we respond?"
"A response? Of course, a response is necessary." Ōnoki narrowed his eyes, the letter in his hand suddenly crushed into powder by his Rock Release, "But not for Kumogakure."
He floated to the desk and lightly tapped his fingers on the surface:
"Send a shrewd squad to tell Konoha about the Raikage's plans perfectly." The old man revealed a sly smile, "If they want to fight, let Kumogakure and Konoha fight. We, Iwagakure— "
"All we need is stability," Kitsuchi replied knowingly.
"Not bad." Ōnoki nodded in satisfaction, then changed the subject, "Didn't the pursuit team report a couple of days ago that Orochimaru might have escaped to the sea? Go and inform Kirigakure; it's their turn to lend a hand."
Mentioning Kirigakure, the old man's expression became subtle. "Ever since the incident with the Fourth Mizukage, Kirigakure has been in decline. Now, their village doesn't even have a single Tailed Beast left. How much strength does the so-called 'Bloody Mist Village' still possess?"
Kurotsuchi couldn't help but interject. "But the members of Akatsuki..."
"That's why we need to be even more careful!" Ōnoki suddenly raised his voice, then lowered it again, "That day, Konoha destroyed the entire Heavenly Screen Nagato Village with a single move... Unless other villages make the first move, we absolutely cannot be the ones to be the first to act."
He floated to the center of the room, a shrewd glint in his cloudy eyes:
Remember, proceed only after confirming the true movements of the Akatsuki.
"Iwagakure, I live only as a fisherman."
The last rays of the setting sun streamed into the room through the window, illuminating the disgruntled old face of Ōnoki, who was floating in mid-air.
Kurotsuchi sat cross-legged on the ground, an open scroll of Dust Release cultivation techniques, her brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly. She scratched her hair, finally unable to resist looking up:
"Grandpa! This Dust Release cultivation scroll you gave me is completely incomprehensible! It's way too difficult!"
A vein bulged on Ōnoki's forehead, and he floated in front of her, his finger digging fiercely into her forehead.
"Difficult?! This is just the most basic theory! You have to memorize it, even if you have to!"
Kurotsuchi, rubbing her reddened forehead, pouted and muttered, "But these theories of Chakra Nature Transformation are too abstract..."
"Abstract?!" Ōnoki was so angry his mustache stood on end. "Back when I was learning, nobody called it abstract!"
At this moment, Kitsuchi, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but laugh as he watched the father and daughter bickering.
He regretted it the next second.
Ōnoki abruptly changed direction, "whoosh," and flew to Kitsuchi, roaring almost face-to-face:
"Laugh?! You still have the nerve to laugh?!"
His face was covered in spittle from the Kitsuchi, but he dared not wipe it off and could only stand there stiffly.
"If it weren't for all of you being so useless, would I have to be holding up the village at my age?!" Ōnoki became increasingly angry, pointing his finger erratically in the air. "Look at Konoha! Kumogakure has been decisive and efficient since taking over! And look at Princess Tsunade —he may be a brute, but at least he's strong enough! And you?! All you ever do is say 'Yes, yes, yes,' and 'Okay, okay, okay!'"
Kitsuchi: "..." (Feeling wronged but dared not speak)
Taking the opportunity, Kurotsuchi secretly stuck out his tongue at his father, made a face, and then--
"Whoosh!"
She flipped over and jumped out of the window, not forgetting to take the Dust Release Scroll with her as she went.
Ōnoki turned his head and saw the empty window, and stomped his feet in anger (although stomping while floating in the air had no effect):
"You brat! Come back here!!"
From afar, Kurotsuchi's cheerful voice drifted in from outside the window. "Grandpa, I'm going to cultivate! Don't wait for me for dinner!"
Kitsuchi asked cautiously, "Father, should I go...?"
"Where are you going!" Ōnoki glared at him fiercely. "You go train too! Don't come back for dinner until you've mastered the Added-Weight Rock Technique to the point where you can increase weight tenfold!"
Kitsuchi: "..." (Thinking to himself: Why am I always the one who gets hurt?)