Agreement

Hashirama...?

Ruri was the first to snap out of his stupor, staring at Hashirama, who had slammed his head against the tabletop, unable to utter a word for a long time.

"In the past, we certainly had many conflicts, but that was only because we had to protect our respective kin and clans. At times, perhaps it was a helpless necessity. Even if the six nations successfully sign this agreement today, no one knows how long it can be maintained or how long everyone can hold on. But I have always dreamed that one day, ninjas could transcend borders, help one another, and unite as a single entity. This is the... dream of the future that I hold in my heart!"

Whether it was the impulsive Byakuren or the radical A, all wore solemn expressions. Senju Hashirama, hailed as the strongest man, had always crushed every battlefield with peerless grace. Every one of them had suffered greatly at his hands. Although they now sat as equals under the title of the Six Kage, Hashirama remained an insurmountable mountain.

Yet now, this mountain was before them, bowing his head without reservation to pour out his most sincere ideals.

Everyone was moved, even Ruri. If an ordinary person acted this way before them, it might mean nothing, but when this person—the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama—spoke of his ideals with such genuine sincerity, it was entirely different.

Call it a performance or a heartfelt confession, at the very least, this God of Shinobi had set aside his dignity as a powerhouse before everyone, acting purely for the sake of peace in the ninja world.

"I implore you all to let today be the first step toward peace. I sincerely... sincerely... sincerely... sincerely... implore you all..." Having said "sincerely" four times, Hashirama did not lift his bowed head, his hands trembling as they gripped the table.

"The First Takikage, Amamiya Ruri, signs unconditionally on behalf of the Land of Waterfalls." After a long silence, Ruri was the first to speak. A non-aggression peace treaty was entirely beneficial and harmless to a small nation like the Land of Waterfalls. Supporting Hashirama at this moment to win his favor was a sound move; since the agreement was bound to succeed anyway, he might as well be the first to show goodwill.

"Thank you..." Hashirama replied, still not lifting his head.

"The First Kazekage, Retto, signs on behalf of the Land of Wind. Regarding the previously proposed funds, we only require twenty percent." Next was Retto. Among all those present, his desire for peace in the ninja world was second only to Hashirama's. Sunagakure truly needed time to recuperate and improve its environment.

Retto had made a concession, asking only for twenty percent of the funds used to purchase the Tailed Beasts to be transferred to Sunagakure—an acceptable outcome.

"The First Raikage, A, signs on behalf of the Land of Lightning."

"The First Tsuchikage, Ishikawa, signs on behalf of the Land of Earth."

Byakuren was somewhat reluctant. Kirigakure was isolated overseas and also faced a shortage of funds. If Sunagakure received that twenty percent, their development speed would inevitably surpass Kirigakure's. However, under the gaze of the others, he could not withstand the pressure and had to speak: "The First Mizukage, Byakuren, signs on behalf of the Land of Water."

Byakuren consoled himself by thinking that with the Land of Waterfalls now in the mix, he would certainly not be the weakest among the six nations...

"Thank you all!" Hashirama thanked them once more.

With the peace of the ninja world finally achieved on paper, the next step was the distribution of the Tailed Beasts; the expected benefits naturally could not be overlooked.

"Kumogakure requires the Eight-Tails." A spoke first, brooking no argument; he was determined to secure the Eight-Tails.

The other Kage had nothing to say about the Raikage's insistence. Kumogakure was a powerful ninja village second only to Konoha, and the Land of Lightning was a wealthy nation second only to the Land of Fire; they could not compete with him.

Although they couldn't compete, there was no resentment. Of the nine Tailed Beasts, excluding the Nine-Tails kept by Konoha and the One-Tail already in Sunagakure, seven remained. Even if the Land of Waterfalls scraped together every penny to buy one, the remaining three villages could each obtain two. Since Kumogakure had chosen the Eight-Tails, the others would surely be left with the weakest, the Two-Tails, maintaining a basic balance.

Everyone measured the strength of the Tailed Beasts by the number of their tails, with the exception of Retto. Even if there were differences in strength, he felt they couldn't be that vast, and he believed Tailed Beasts were ultimately inferior to the combat power of ninjas—otherwise, the One-Tail wouldn't have been sealed by a few old monks at Morinji.

"Regarding the Seven-Tails, I wonder if the Land of Waterfalls has sufficient funds to purchase it? If funds are short, Konoha can provide a loan for one-third of the cost," Hashirama interjected while they were discussing the distribution of the Seven-Tails.

He had seen the thriving economic development of the Land of Waterfalls over the years. Even if Ruri hadn't been present and the summit had remained a Five Kage Summit, he still would have sent the Seven-Tails to Takigakure; small nations and villages needed a representative.

To these Kage, the Tailed Beasts were not truly that powerful, but to small nations whose leaders were merely elite jonin or even just jonin, they were weapons of mass destruction.

The Five Great Nations were already powerful and possessed Tailed Beasts capable of annihilating these smaller states; how could they feel secure? Thus, the Land of Waterfalls, the most representative of the small nations, needed to obtain a Tailed Beast to soothe public anxiety.

The other Kage understood Hashirama's intention as soon as they thought about it. With the representative of the small nations and the strength of the Takikage, they had no reason to object.

"Big Brother..." Tobirama was still at an age where he was somewhat naive and didn't think too deeply. He was reluctant, subconsciously feeling that a Tailed Beast would turn the Land of Waterfalls into a major power, and adding another major power meant adding another force that was difficult to control, which didn't align with his philosophy of peace. However, since it wasn't a free gift, he found it easier to accept.

"Thank you for the Hokage's kindness, but the Land of Waterfalls will pay for the Seven-Tails in full," Ruri said with a smile. By this point, his goal for attending the Six Kage Summit had been largely achieved. Returning to the village with the Seven-Tails and receiving the recognition of the Five Kage was such a glorious achievement that there would be no voice of opposition within Takigakure.

"Hahaha, the development of the Land of Waterfalls in recent years is truly rapid!" Hashirama breathed a sigh of relief. It was Konoha, not the Land of Fire, that would have provided the loan for the Seven-Tails. While the sum might not be much for a major nation, it was the limit for Konoha, so Hashirama was happy that no loan was needed.

"The Land of Water will purchase the Six-Tails and the Three-Tails. The Land of Water is on an isolated island and lacks competitiveness; we need the Six-Tails to ensure we are not invaded by other nations." Byakuren glanced at Ruri, surprised that the Land of Waterfalls had the financial strength to pay for the Seven-Tails in full. But now was not the time to worry about others; the Six-Tails was the strongest of the remaining beasts, and the Three-Tails could use Water Release, which suited Kirigakure perfectly. This combination of one strong and one weak beast would not draw the hostility of the other five Kage.

In the end, Ishikawa had no choice but to select the Five-Tails and the Four-Tails; he couldn't very well choose the weakest, the Two-Tails.

Fortunately, Ishikawa didn't mind. The Land of Earth was easy to defend and hard to attack, and Earth Release ninjutsu was the pinnacle of defense. They had no real need for Tailed Beasts, viewing them merely as strategic weapons for large-scale destruction during wartime.

The Two-Tails, which remained, naturally fell to Kumogakure. With that, all nine Tailed Beasts were distributed.

Just as the Kage were about to discuss future cooperation, Tobirama silently glanced at the smiling Ruri and suddenly spoke: "Do you gentlemen not intend to inspect the goods?"