The Details of the Five Kage Summit and Sunagakure Getting the Short End of the Stick

"I admire the Hokage's righteousness. Since that is the case, then please tell us how the Tailed Beasts should be distributed, Hokage? And how much money do we need to pay?"

Inside the meeting room of Konohagakure.

As Retto, Ishikawa, and the others chimed in, Hashirama Senju gave his younger brother a subtle, sidelong glance.

However, the matter was already settled, so he did not cause any further complications and simply smiled as he spoke. "Alright, since everyone wants to know the Tailed Beast Distribution Plan, I will explain it to you all.

First, the One-Tail will be distributed to Sunagakure. Although the One-Tail appears to be the weakest of the Tailed Beasts in terms of Shili, in reality, within a desert environment, its combat power is such that even the strongest Nine-Tails would find it difficult to gain an advantage against it in the desert."

"Oh? The One-Tail goes to Sunagakure?"

Nearby, the others were also somewhat surprised. Although they did not know what the Tailed Beast Distribution Plan actually entailed, they were all quite astonished that Hashirama Senju had actually given the One-Tail to Sunagakure.

They said that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, and sure enough, the smile on Retto's face instantly blossomed brightly.

"Many thanks for the Hokage's consideration!" Retto said with a hearty laugh as he cupped his fists.

In response, Hashirama was quite pleased as well. He had originally been worried that Sunagakure would only get the One-Tail and that Retto and the others would be unhappy about it.

Now it seemed he could finally rest easy.

"Hahaha, you are too polite, Kazekage. As long as you are satisfied," Hashirama Senju said with a hearty, cheerful laugh.

With Sunagakure acting as a fine precedent, the people present no longer had any spare thoughts to worry about how Retto was feeling!

Just as they were all wondering what Tailed Beasts their own villages would obtain, they heard Hashirama Senju speak continuously in one breath. "Kumogakure can be allocated two Tailed Beasts, the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails; Kirigakure can be allocated two Tailed Beasts, the Three-Tails and the Six-Tails; Iwagakure can be allocated two Tailed Beasts, the Four-Tails and the Five-Tails.

As for the remaining Seven-Tails, it will be allocated to Takigakure. For the specific reason, I believe everyone understands.

And we in Konohagakure will possess the strongest Tailed Beast, the Nine-Tails.

The above is the complete content of the Tailed Beast Distribution Plan. Who supports it, and who opposes it?"

Accompanied by Hashirama Senju's final words, the atmosphere in the meeting hall instantly changed drastically.

Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure, which had each obtained two Tailed Beasts, had originally all wanted to contend for the strongest Tailed Beast, the Nine-Tails. However, with Sunagakure serving as a comparison, the three First Kages all felt much better inside for a moment, and they successively nodded and said, "Agreed!"

"Wait, why did those three hidden villages all get two Tailed Beasts, yet only our Sunagakure received a single One-Tail?"

Nearby, the First Kazekage Retto watched as the Kages of the three great hidden villages all agreed, while only Sunagakure was treated differently, and his heart immediately became unbalanced.

Still, it was understandable. After all, they were all among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, and the strongest Tailed Beast, the Nine-Tails, belonged to Konohagakure—he had no way to argue with that, seeing as the Tailed Beasts were distributed to everyone by Konohagakure in the first place.

Yet the other hidden villages all got two Tailed Beasts, while only their Sunagakure had a single Tailed Beast. How was the First Kazekage Retto supposed to make sense of this?

"I already explained just now that the One-Tail's combat power in a desert environment is not inferior to the strongest Tailed Beast, the Nine-Tails. Furthermore, your Land of Wind is practically filled with deserts everywhere. Having the One-Tail Tailed Beast means you can basically remain in an invincible position.

Since that is the case, whether you need one more Tailed Beast or one less Tailed Beast makes no difference at all." Hashirama explained.

"No, this old man does not agree. Distributed this way, our Sunagakure gets the short end of the stick..."

However, before the First Kazekage Retto could finish speaking, the First Kages of Water, Earth, and Lightning, along with Hashirama Senju, all looked over at the same time.

In an instant, the First Kazekage Retto felt numerous very unfriendly gazes lock onto him.

"Gulp!"

After involuntarily swallowing a mouthful of saliva, he quickly changed his tune and continued speaking right after. "If it must be distributed this way, it is not completely unacceptable, but our Sunagakure only has the One-Tail Shukaku. For the sake of fairness, I demand that the other countries cede land to the Land of Wind, as well as thirty percent of the funds paid by the Land of Lightning, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Water to purchase Tailed Beasts from the Land of Fire."

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The moment his voice fell, the First Raikage A, the First Tsuchikage Ishikawa, and the First Mizukage Byakuren slammed their hands heavily onto the table, glaring angrily at Retto.

"If you have the guts, say what you just said one more time?" The First Raikage A narrowed his eyes slightly, the Chakra on his body also beginning to surge.

Nearby, although Byakuren and Ishikawa did not speak, the faint wisps of Chakra flickering around their bodies showed that as long as Retto dared to nod, they would dare to gang up and attack him.

To tell the truth, if Retto merely wanted a share of thirty percent of the amount they handed over to Konohagakure to purchase the Tailed Beasts, they would not have cared about Retto at all.

However, wanting to carve away land from their hands meant Retto had miscalculated.

Such a demand was something they could never agree to even if Konohagakure itself proposed it, let alone a mere Sunagakure from the Land of Wind.

Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages present, their strength was the weakest. During the Sengoku era, if the Land of Earth had not been bogged down by the ninja of the Land of Fire, I am afraid most of the Land of Wind's territory would have fallen into the hands of the Land of Earth.

"You..." Retto was also startled. His expression was extremely unsightly, and since he could not answer directly, he simply ignored them, turned his head to look at Hashirama Senju, and said, "Hokage, the Tailed Beast Distribution Plan was proposed by your Konohagakure. Now, this distribution plan clearly leaves Sunagakure with the short end of the stick.

Even Takigakure is able to be allocated the Seven-Tails. As one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Sunagakure has no reason to only be allocated a single Tailed Beast.

If this old man simply returns like this, I fear neither the Daimyo of our country nor the ninja within our village will agree."

With those words, Hashirama Senju nodded. His gaze swept over the three First Kages of Water, Earth, and Lightning, and finally landed on Retto. He sighed and said, "That is true. However, the plan for distributing the Tailed Beasts is already decided this way. All I can do is agree to waive the funds for Sunagakure to purchase the One-Tail.

As for the Kazekage wanting the land of the Land of Earth, Lightning, and Water, I have no way to agree to this demand, and I imagine they will not agree to it either."

"Not an inch of land will be conceded!" The three First Kages of Water, Earth, and Lightning expressed their stance in unison.

Seeing this, the First Kazekage Retto felt somewhat intimidated inside as well. In the end, he put forward his demand: he would forgo the land of the three countries, but he insisted on getting thirty percent of the funds the three countries used to purchase the Tailed Beasts.

And so, the summit reached a stalemate. Retto's reasoning was sound: either give Sunagakure another Tailed Beast so he could agree to the same treatment as the other villages,

or else terminate the summit, because he had no way to return and give an account to the village's ninja and the Daimyo of the Land of Wind.

At noon, after eating, the summit resumed in the afternoon. Ultimately, under Hashirama Senju's compromise, Retto's demand was accepted.

Near dusk, the Five Great Nations signed the treaties regarding the ownership and purchase funds of the Tailed Beasts, established a peace alliance among the Five Great Nations, and signed a non-aggression pact.

"Hahaha, the treaties have already been signed, and I hope everyone will abide by the agreement moving forward.

If any hidden village or country willfully starts a war in the future, I, Hashirama Senju, will not stand for it!" Hashirama Senju said with a loud laugh as he looked at the signed treaties, finally offering a deliberate warning to everyone present.

"Rest assured, Hokage. We are all very well aware of the pain and suffering war brings.

We desire nothing more than to be able to coexist in peace."

"Indeed, the Hokage can rest easy."

"Hokage, this old man has an unrequited favor to ask. I wonder if it might be possible to speak with you alone?"