Damn It, Big Brother

Late at night, at an inn in the Land of Iron.

Mei Terumi sat kneeling before the table, drinking the Land of Iron's unique hot tea, her face full of worry.

The outcome of today's Five Kage Summit was exactly as she had expected before arriving. Although every major ninja village had lost Tailed Beasts, for various reasons, they simply could not reach any consensus.

"Ao!" She glanced toward the one-eyed middle-aged man beside her, concern evident in her voice. "What exactly should we do? Should we directly reveal Akatsuki's information to the other villages?"

Ao shook his head slightly without speaking.

The Kazekage's attitude today made one thing clear: if Kirigakure acted too proactively, it would easily be suspected of harboring ulterior motives.

"Among the ninja villages of the Five Great Nations, Kirigakure is only stronger than Sunagakure." After a long silence, he crossed his arms and said, "Although Akatsuki can control a village's Kage, due to our own lack of strength, Konoha, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure—the three powerful villages—will not feel a tangible threat."

"But Iwagakure and Kumogakure have both lost their Tailed Beasts. Seven Tailed Beasts have already been taken. Can they really not sense the threat?" Mei Terumi set down her teacup, her eyes filled with confusion.

Ao shook his head again and explained, "There is a threat, but not enough of one to make them consider joining forces. In the end, it comes down to the distrust between villages, as well as the strength each village currently possesses."

"The Third Shinobi World War has only just ended. Aside from the daimyo of Wind Country, the daimyo of the other four great nations have no plans to cut their villages' funding for now, because no one knows when the Fourth Shinobi World War might break out."

"If