Sorry for the Trouble, Please Settle the Medical Bill

Inside the brightly lit hall.

Even though the ingredients on the table were the most precious in the Land of Fire and even the entire Shinobi World, almost no one at the table touched them.

In the main seat sat the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, dressed in a divine robe and with a pipe dangling from his lips.

Smoke rose in wisps as Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes, glancing at the figures seated in the remaining locations.

On the right, Hagoromo looked languid, absentmindedly picking at food with her chopsticks.

Ding-dong--

The crisp sound of chopsticks touching the plate echoed in the quiet hall.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Hagoromo raised her head, and although she said those words, her face still wore that smiling expression.

Seeing Hagoromo's appearance, even Ai and Rasa, who had been in the Kage position for over ten years, couldn't help but twitch their lips.

Mei Terumi looked at Hagoromo with great interest; she never expected that the Third Hokage's junior disciple would be so handsome.

Directly opposite, Kitsuchi Tu, a burly man wrapped in bandages, slightly raised his eyelids and met Yu Yi's Hagoromo, who was looking at him with a half-smile.

His fist was clenched tightly under his sleeve.

Cough--

Hiruzen Sarutobi lightly, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

"The old man thanks all the Kage for coming here and joining us for this Chunin Ninja Exams."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, his gaze swept over the people looking at him, regardless of their intentions.

At this moment, everyone must remain quiet and listen to him finish speaking.

"However, before that... I hope everyone can put aside past wins and losses, as well as their respective grudges."

"Because at this moment we need to face an enemy that could threaten the vital interests of all the ninja villages... the Akatsuki."

The moment Xiao's name was mentioned, the temperature in the entire hall seemed to drop several degrees.

Raikage A clenched his fists. He had initially dismissed Hiruzen Sarutobi's claim that the village's interests were threatened.

However... not long ago, Yugito's abduction was already a huge slap in the face for Kumogakure.

Mei Terumi sat up straight, having been affected by the breach of contract by Kumogakure lately.

Konoha hasn't provided Kirigakure with any information for a long time, and this time they wanted to use the Chunin Ninja Exams as an opportunity to do so.

Regardless of whether Kirigakure wants to continue cooperating with Konoha Kumogakure, Kirigakure absolutely needs to know about Konoha's actions.

Rasa's eyes narrowed slightly, and his fingers unconsciously tapped on the table.

Kitsuchi, whose entire body was wrapped in bandages, let out a heavy groan, which sounded like a muffled thunderclap.

"Common enemy?"

"Hokage, please put those words aside for now."

"My question is, Konoha first captured the Four-Tails Jinchūriki of Iwagakure, and then imprisoned the Five-Tails Jinchuriki as well."

"Rather than saying Akatsuki is Iwagakure's enemy, it's more accurate to say Konoha is."

The blunt questioning drew everyone's attention to Kitsuchi and Hiruzen Sarutobi, even Mei Terumi merely raised an eyebrow.

Thump--

Hagoromo tapped the table at the opportune moment. "Fourth Tsuchikage, if Konoha truly intends to seize the Tailed Beasts..."

"At that time, it wouldn't have been so easy for your village's Third to stop the war..."

That's the truth, even though Jiraiya kept trying to persuade Hagoromo at the time.

But if Hagoromo really wanted to continue igniting the war, he had many ways to make Ōnoki do it himself.

"You Iwagakure people know very well how the Four-Tails Jinchūriki ended up in Konoha's hands."

"As for capturing the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, we might as well ask Kumogakure and Kirigakure whether Konoha really did do that."

As she spoke, Hagoromo's gaze swept over Raikage A and Mei Terumi.

While it's normal for villages to want each other to fight, all information about the Five-Tails Jinchuriki is shared with Kumogakure and Kirigakure.

Now that they've gained the benefits, are they going to leave Konoha to face Iwagakure's questioning alone?

"Tsuchikage, I think we can put this matter aside for now, since Kirigakure did contact you at the time."

Mei Terumi sat up straight and turned to look at the Kitsuchi path.

"That's right, you don't dare to come over yourselves, so why bring this up now?" Raikage looked at Kitsuchi with disdain.

A few years ago, during the Chunin Ninja Exams, Ai expressed his admiration for Kitsuchi's performance.

But the Kitsuchi now seemed nothing special to him.

"The Five-Tails Jinchuriki has been healed. Before the Chunin Ninja Exams conclude, Tsuchikage may take him back himself."

Hagoromo's gaze was fixed on the Kitsuchi as she spoke softly, "However, please settle the medical expenses."

"Princess Tsunade's fees are not cheap."

The Five-Tails Jinchuriki was a topic that Hiruzen Sarutobi had already discussed in a meeting before the various Kage arrived in Konoha.

The final decision was to not keep them, simply because there were far too many Jinchūriki of Tailed Beasts in Konoha at that time.

It's one thing for the Four-Tails to be captured on the battlefield, but the Five-Tails Jinchuriki has recovered, so there's not much reason to forcibly keep it.

Not only would Iwagakure not agree, but none of the Kage present would either.

Konoha need to conceal their shortcomings appropriately, for the tallest tree in the forest will inevitably be felled by the wind.

As Raikage A seemed about to say something, Samui behind him subtly made a gesture.

"Don't worry, the Iwagakure will pay."

Kitsuchi looked at the silent Hiruzen Sarutobi and finally replied in a low voice after a long while.

Hearing this, Hagoromo naturally had no problem with it. As for the Five-Tails' primordial Chakra, he could simply go and extract some of it tonight.

The amount of Tailed Beast Chakra is unimportant, as long as it helps Naruto gather all the Tailed Beasts.

"So, does anyone have any further objections?"

After Hagoromo finished speaking, she turned to look at the various figures present.

For a moment, all the figures fell silent.

What can be done about Konoha without its thorns?

Hiruzen Sarutobi down his pipe and said solemnly, "I don't think I need to reiterate how rampant and dangerous Akatsuki is."

Upon hearing this, Raikage A snorted coldly again.

"Today it's Iwagakure, tomorrow it will be Takigakure, and even the villages of all of you here, and even our own Konoha."

"Although this meeting wasn't very formal, if we continue to be so suspicious, the internal strife will never end."

"In the end, they will only be able to defeat Akatsuki, who are hiding in the shadows, one by one, and gather all the Tailed Beasts."

"By then, I ask you, who among you will be able to protect their own village?"

As he spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand, and Shisui, who was standing behind him, began to walk towards the various Kage.

Then a scroll was placed down.

"This is the intelligence we gathered when Konoha, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure joined forces before; it includes the latest information."

"Regarding the Akatsuki, although it's incomplete, I'm still willing to share it with you all."

"Gentlemen, you can discuss whether to unite after you've read this. The choice is yours alone."

Kitsuchi, his body wrapped in bandages, picked up the scroll, unfolded it, and began to read. Some of the information inside made his heart skip a beat.