At Hyuga Kagami's home.
After settling everything with the casino, Hyuga Kagami left behind a Shadow Clone at the inn to impersonate Kirin, then returned home to listen to Itachi's report.
After giving a detailed account of everything that had happened at the Five Kage Summit, Itachi said, "Senior, that was the entire course of the meeting."
Hyuga Kagami's expression remained unchanged after listening.
Just as he had anticipated, this Five Kage Summit had once again produced no results. Although Kakashi's proposal to form a rapid response squad had won the approval of many, once specific issues were involved—such as which shinobi would be selected, which village would hold command authority, and so on—the discussion inevitably devolved into wrangling again.
Itachi was somewhat puzzled. "Senior, forming a powerful rapid response squad would clearly benefit all Five Great Shinobi Villages. Why can't everyone reach an agreement?"
Hyuga Kagami said gravely, "Because the benefits and risks are not equal!"
The other four Kage were all shrewd men. Even the seemingly boorish Fourth Raikage had a meticulous side beneath his rough exterior, so they all understood the necessity of forming a rapid response squad.
They simply were unwilling to send powerful shinobi like Deidara and Darui, who were each regarded as successors, into that rapid response squad.
The nature of a rapid response squad meant that it would inevitably have to fight Akatsuki without adequate preparation, making it extremely dangerous. Villages like Iwagakure and Kumogakure simply could not afford to lose their successors in battle.
But then again, without young powerhouses like Deidara and Darui joining, there would be no point in the squad's existence, because ordinary Jonin teams could not contend with Akatsuki.
Secondly, the matter of command authority was also a major issue.
A squad composed of numerous Kage-level shinobi, Elite