Five Kage Summit

Ever since Konoha began rebuilding, the streets that had remained relatively intact had prospered as well.

Kushina Uzumaki had finally been discharged from the hospital. During that time, very few people had come to visit her—only Sarutobi Hiruzen, Kakashi Hatake, Mikoto Uchiha, and a few members of the village's Jonin Squad.

After all, with Minato already dead, many of her connections had naturally been cut off. When the tree fell, the monkeys scattered.

The first thing she did upon returning home was post a mission and have genin come clean the place.

(Aren't genin best at this sort of thing?)

After all, she had been away from home for a month.

And during that month, the Ninja World had been far from peaceful.

A man wearing a Whirlpool Mask had appeared in every shinobi village, launching surprise attacks on each village's Jinchuriki.

Fortunately, every village had responded in time—or so they believed—and no Jinchuriki had been lost.

But word that the Masked Man possessed Space-Time Ninjutsu, possibly even the Flying Thunder God Technique, had begun to spread, and the Four Great Shinobi Villages were simultaneously pressuring Konoha.

Unfortunately for them, Sarutobi Hiruzen had no intention of compromising in the face of such baseless pressure.

What a joke. Wouldn't compromising now be the same as openly telling the Four Great Shinobi Villages that Konoha was strong only on the surface?

Not only did Konoha refuse to compromise, it mobilized troops everywhere, putting on the air of being ready to fight the entire world.

The most enthusiastic among them was undoubtedly the Uchiha Clan.

Affected by the Nine-Tails' Rampage, the Uchiha's reputation in Konoha had worsened even further. The Sharingan pattern in the Nine-Tails' eyes could not have been fake.

The Uchiha were suspected of controlling the Nine-Tails and using him to attack the village.

And now, less than a year after the Third Shinobi World War had ended, another war crisis had emerged. To clear themselves of suspicion, the Uchiha were the first to rush to the front lines, looking ready to throw down at the slightest disagreement.

To reduce the possibility of friction, the Five Kage planned to hold a Five Kage Summit.

It was scheduled for one month later.

Kushina Uzumaki's Sealing Space.

Inside the living room of a small wooden building.

Minato Namikaze, looking solemn, Kushina, looking blissful, and the languid Anju sat together.

"Anju, I feel like the other villages' Jinchuriki have terribly weak defenses. Why is that?"

Leaning on Kushina Uzumaki's Shadow Clone, Minato Namikaze had gone to the Four Great Shinobi Villages.

Each time, he had approached the Jinchuriki, paused for a second or two, and only then attacked.

Sunagakure did not even need mentioning. Han of Iwagakure and Utakata of Kirigakure had nearly died beneath his kunai. Killer B of Kumogakure reacted in time, but he had still suffered minor injuries.

Anju had reminded Minato Namikaze that he could not kill the Jinchuriki outright, which was why none of the Four Great Shinobi Villages had lost one.

"Now you know how formidable Space-Time Ninjutsu is, huh?" Anju snorted twice.

Minato Namikaze scratched his head awkwardly. "It is formidable, but without the Chakra you gave me, I couldn't have done it without a scratch."

After Kushina heard Minato Namikaze's suggestion and considered Anju's proposal to protect Naruto, she had practically opened the seal completely and let Anju pour Chakra into the Shadow Clone.

Then Minato Namikaze flew all over the Ninja World, throwing the Four Great Shinobi Villages into chaos.

Now the entire Ninja World knew that a Space-Time Ninja wearing a Whirlpool Mask had set his sights on the Jinchuriki.

"Minato, do you want to go take a look at the Five Kage Summit? You might even be able to put a little more pressure on them," Anju continued.

"Would that really be okay? The Third Hokage will be there too." Minato Namikaze naturally knew what Anju wanted him to do—nothing more than unite the Five Kage against the Masked Man.

"What does that old Third Hokage count for? If you attacked the Third Hokage, Konoha might even be cleared of suspicion." Anju chuckled.

Minato Namikaze wanted to stop Anju from making such disrespectful remarks.

"I think Anju makes some sense too. Minato, do it!" Kushina still spoke with a smile, but her tone was unpleasant. Clearly, she also harbored considerable resentment toward the Third Hokage.

At that moment, Kushina suddenly vanished from the Sealing Space, and the image on the living room Television lit up.

Naruto had woken up and was wailing for milk.

"So, Minato, are you going or not?"

Anju's tone was full of temptation. "If you go, Kushina might even let you drink some too."

"Cough, cough, cough!" Minato Namikaze said righteously, "For the sake of protecting Konoha, it is my duty!"

Land of Iron.

This was a nation that claimed eternal neutrality.

There were no ninja in the Land of Iron. Instead, it was protected by a fighting force known as Samurai.

It was a neutral nation with its own culture, its own authority, and its own military strength.

It was also the location of the Five Kage Summit.

The Five Kage Summit venue in the Land of Iron had been specially constructed. Above every corner hung the emblem of a shinobi village, draped down on white cloth, while the Kage of each village sat below.

The Fourth Raikage, Third Tsuchikage, Fourth Kazekage, Third Hokage, and Fourth Mizukage had all gathered together.

Mifune, leader of the Land of Iron seated at the head, spoke as well.

"Everyone, I will not waste words. We are gathered here to discuss the recent Masked Man attacks on the Jinchuriki."

"Sarutobi Hiruzen! That Masked Man is obviously one of Konoha's people, isn't he?! He used the Flying Thunder God Technique to attack Bee. Our ninja saw it! You can't deny it." Raikage A, the first to speak, was like an enraged lion.

"Yes, Sarutobi, you need to give us an explanation. The Tailed Beasts have already been divided among the shinobi villages. Is Konoha planning to redistribute them now?" Kazekage Rasa, the second to speak, also raised an extremely pointed issue.

Fourth Mizukage Karatachi Yagura also looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen with hostility. After all, he was a Jinchuriki himself now, though Minato had not attacked him.

"Have you all forgotten that the Masked Man's first attack was on Konoha? He even caused Konoha to lose a Hokage before the Nine-Tails could be sealed again." Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke calmly. "Since the Masked Man knows Space-Time Ninjutsu, why couldn't he have learned the Flying Thunder God Technique?"

"Are you going to blame Konoha based on nothing but a Flying Thunder God Technique?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone was firm. "Besides, Konoha already possesses the strongest Nine-Tails. What use would we have for your other Tailed Beasts?"

It was a powerful rebuttal, and at the same time, a jab that the other villages' Tailed Beasts were inferior to Konoha's.

"Also, have any of your villages lost a Jinchuriki? Do not forget that because of the Masked Man, Konoha lost a Hokage."

"We need to issue a bounty for this elusive Masked Man. Better yet, we should ambush and kill him. Otherwise, every shinobi village's Jinchuriki is at risk of being killed." At this point, Ōnoki proposed a new suggestion.

"Easy for you to say. He knows Space-Time Ninjutsu and appears and disappears without a trace. How are we supposed to ambush him? We cannot even find him." Rasa snorted.

Rasa's son had only been born not long ago, yet the Masked Man had already appeared beside Gaara. If not for the sand protecting Gaara, then—hmph.

In Rasa's view, the Masked Man had failed because Gaara's sand had automatically defended him, but the Anbu around Gaara had nearly been slaughtered by the Masked Man.

Once more and more Sunagakure Ninja arrived, the Masked Man vanished in a flash.

That was why Rasa said there was simply no way to ambush him.

Even if they surrounded him, he would vanish in a flash, then throw several Exploding Tags from outside the encirclement. It was impossible to guard against.

They could not possibly have each village's Kage personally guard their Jinchuriki, could they?

Then what purpose would the Jinchuriki serve?

They had originally been meant to deter other shinobi villages, only to become a burden in the end?

P.S. Thanks to Phantom Thief Jiji for the monthly ticket.