Ninjas sought nothing more than fame and profit. The Kage of every generation had been praised by their respective villages in countless ways, yet none of them could escape such worldly desires.
Things like "the strongest of the Five Kage," "the strongest Kazekage in history," or "the peerless Raikage."
Did those who became Kage truly possess such lofty virtue that they did not care about their reputation?
No. If anything, the higher one's status, the more they hoped to leave their name in history.
Just look at how Konoha had even carved the Hokage Rock, as though they feared future Konoha Ninja might forget the achievements of the previous Hokage.
The position of supreme commander of the Ninja Alliance carried far more weight than the usual mutual flattery between the Five Kage.
If they won the Ninja War, their names would undoubtedly be recorded in history. And the supreme commander of the alliance would surely be regarded by future onlookers as the leader who had made the greatest contribution.
Setting aside anything else, that position alone was enough to show that one's village held a pivotal place within the Ninja Alliance.
The Fifth Kazekage, Gourd Boy... no, Gaara, knew that he was still young and that the Sand Village was the weakest among the Five Great Ninja Villages. So he withdrew from the competition early and chose to side with Konoha, recommending the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade Hime.
The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, also felt that he was too old to serve as supreme commander, so he likewise withdrew from the competition.
According to the original plot, Mei Terumi should have withdrawn as well, leaving Tsunade Hime and Doujin Mine to compete in the final round.
However, the current Hidden Mist Village was no longer what it had once been. It had