Late summer.
An unexpected piece of news suddenly spread through the once peaceful and stable Shinobi World.
Hyuga Shin, Konoha's Fifth Hokage, intended to convene a Five Kage Summit. He dispatched ninja to notify the other four major ninja villages, with the summit set to take place in the Land of Iron.
Naturally, this had been approved by the Land of Iron's upper ranks. At first, they had been unwilling to get involved in the Shinobi World's conflicts. When Konoha came calling, General Mifune had intended to refuse the request for a Five Kage Summit outright. However, Konoha's methods were forceful. They did not waste words and directly chose to subdue them through force.
Mifune had no choice but to promise that he was willing to guarantee this Five Kage Summit.
Several years had passed since the last Shinobi World War. Now was the time when the major ninja villages were developing rapidly, and everyone was doing their utmost to restore their strength in preparation for the next war, whenever it might come.
As for so-called peace, everyone understood that as long as the Five Great Countries remained, lasting peace would be impossible.
The letters Konoha sent to Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure all contained the same message.
They invited the Kage to gather in the Land of Iron and discuss lasting peace in the Shinobi World.
But the war had ended only a few years ago, and the villages still bore grudges as deep as the sea. Talking about peace now was simply laughable.
After reading the letters, the Tsuchikage, Raikage, and Mizukage had no intention of paying heed to this seemingly absurd Five Kage Summit. They felt they had already shown enough mercy by not detaining the ninja who delivered the letters.
As for Sunagakure, it had always been