The Land of Iron...
Inside the Land of Iron's meeting hall, the Five Kage sat around a round table, with intelligence scrolls piled up like a small mountain in the center. The flickering candlelight cast long shadows of the group onto the wall, like lurking beasts.
"According to intelligence from Konoha's Anbu," Tsunade to a red dot on the map, "the Akatsuki's activities cover almost the entire Shinobi World."
Mei Terumi picked up the conversation, tapping the table lightly with her fingertips. "The Kirigakure tracked Kisame to the Land of Waves, but he quickly disappeared." She narrowed her eyes, "And... we suspect there are still Akatsuki strongholds within the Land of Water."
Raikage A snorted coldly and slammed his fist on the table, "The Kumogakure's tracking team discovered Orochimaru's laboratory in the Thunder Valley, but it's already deserted!"
"The Iwagakure reconnaissance team discovered this on the border of the Land of Earth." Ōnoki gestured for Kurotsuchi to display a strange metal fragment, "Which emitted Chakra fluctuations similar to those used by Madara Uchiha in the Heavenly Screen."
Gaara paused for a moment, then said hoarsely, "The Anbu of Sunagakure found a ruin deep in the Desert of Wind, containing some ancient murals..."
Tsunade crossed her arms and rested them on her chin. "Besides the known Akatsuki and Orochimaru's forces, there must be even deeper, hidden enemies."
"But there were too few clues." Mei Terumi's red hair danced like flames in the candlelight, "As if she were fighting her own shadow."
The Raikage scratched his head in frustration. "Are we just going to sit here and wait for them to show up?"
"No." Ōnoki floated up, "I propose establishing a joint intelligence network to share all suspicious information."
"I second that." Gaara's Sand Eye hovered above his shoulder. "Sunagakure is willing to open some of its border outposts as intelligence relay stations."
The Five Kage Summit concluded after the discussions were completed...
Amidst the wind and snow, the various delegations from different factions set off one after another.
Tsunade and Mei Terumi stood side by side. "I never imagined our generation would actually face such a crisis."
Konoha...
The last rays of the setting sun shone on the gates of Konoha, casting long shadows of two women. A gentle breeze swept by, swirling a few fallen leaves between them.
"That's enough to take you this far." Mei Terumi stopped and turned to face Tsunade. Her deep blue Mizukage cloak swayed gently in the wind, and her red hair shone like a burning flame. "This mission has taken much longer than I expected."
Tsunade crossed her arms, her golden ponytail shimmering in the setting sun. "From the initial alliance negotiations to the sudden Five Kage Summit... quite a lot has indeed happened."
Mei Terumi's lips curled into a meaningful smile, "But the result is not bad. At least it has made it clear to the other villages that Kirigakure is no longer 'the Bloody Mist Village'." She gently stroked the faded old scar on her left arm—a cruel testament to the Blood Mist Policy of that year.
Ao and Chōjūrō were already waiting in the distance with the Kirigakure delegation. Several Konoha Anbu also quietly appeared in the shadows behind Tsunade. Shizune was holding the Tonton and checking documents.
"That 'Joint Regulations Regarding the Protection of Tailed Beasts'..." Tsunade suddenly said seriously, "Although Kirigakure no longer has Jinchūriki, you still need to be careful about the Akatsuki's movements."
"Don't worry." A sharp glint flashed in Mei Terumi's emerald eyes. "I've already ordered Ao to go back and form an elite squad specifically for border patrols." She paused. "But what about your Konoha... the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki..."
"With Jiraiya handling things on Naruto's side, there won't be any problems." Tsunade glanced into the distance.
The two exchanged a smile, then fell into a brief silence. The cry of Ninja Hawk drifted from afar, a reminder that the time for parting had come.
"So..." Mei Terumi extended her hand, "I hope that next time we meet, we'll have both resolved our own troubles."
Tsunade gripped her hand tightly. "Take care. If you find any clues about the 'Masked Man'..."
"Contact them immediately using an encrypted scroll." Mei Terumi and turned to walk towards her team. After taking a few steps, she suddenly turned back. "By the way, Tsunade... about Danzo from your village..."
Tsunade's eyes instantly sharpened. "He and his 'Root' members, none of them will escape my sight."
Inside the Hokage's office, Tsunade slammed the final agreement of the Five Kage Summit onto the table with a loud bang.
"Immediately assemble a group of elite ninjas!" Her voice brooked no argument. "Form a special operations team and travel to the Land of Rain to rendezvous with ninjas from other villages, monitoring the borders of the Land of Rain 24 hours a day."
Shikaku quickly jotted down the orders. "Danzo Danzo's side..."
"Send the third and eighth Anbu squads to take turns monitoring the Root's base." Tsunade tapped her fingers on the table, "Order six branch family members from the Hyuga Clan to cooperate, maintaining 24-hour Byakugan surveillance."
Shizune anxiously handed over a report, "But Lord Hokage, Elder Danzo has just submitted 'Root's' annual training plan, requesting the allocation of a large amount of supplies..."
"Approved." Tsunade sneered, "But you'll need to send our people to assist you throughout." She turned to the window, watching the Kirigakure team gradually disappear into the distance, "Since we're going to put on an act... let's go all the way."
Deep beneath the earth, in the Root of Konoha, Danzo sat alone by candlelight.
"The Five Kage Alliance... Hmph." His voice was hoarse and gloomy. "Hiruzen's policy of weakness has now been inherited by Tsunade as well."
A Root ninja knelt on one knee. "Sir, the Anbu monitoring us has tripled."
Danzo sneered, "Let them see." He stood up, slamming his cane heavily on the ground, "Stopping everyone in the village. Naive fool..."