They had each shown their prowess in the previous battle.
Karin and Utakata had also made frequent appearances at the Snow Ninja Village summit afterward. As someone who kept an eye on the entire Shinobi World, Mifune naturally knew who they were. One was powerful enough to easily defeat the Fifth Mizukage, and two Jinchuriki served as his guards. Frankly, if the intelligence reports hadn't made it clear that the seemingly inexperienced First Snow Shadow was actually a shrewd, rational, and levelheaded person, Mifune might have suspected that this Snow Shadow had come not to attend a meeting, but to pick a fight!
Mifune knew that the guards accompanying the other Five Kage were no pushovers either. Even so, compared with Naruto's group, the lineups of the other Kage all seemed a little less impressive. Unless Tsunade brought Jiraiya and Might Guy with her, she couldn't hope to completely suppress Naruto's group. Otherwise, with just Kakashi and Shikaku, frankly, Karin might now be able to take on both of them at once without resorting to cheats.
That was why Mifune had been so surprised at first.
But as the seasoned Mifune was, he quickly composed himself and welcomed Naruto according to standard protocol.
"Welcome, Snow Shadow-sama!"
As Naruto approached,
Mifune bowed slightly and greeted him.
Naruto smiled faintly and bowed in return at the same angle. After all, Mifune was the leader of a country, and a senior three or four times Naruto's age. He deserved at least that basic respect.
"Heh, I'm sorry for the trouble, Mifune-sama. Have the other Five Kage arrived?"
"Yes. The Mizukage-sama, who arrived a little later, got here two hours ago. The Five Kage are all resting in their respective rooms."
"Oh? So I'm the last one to arrive."
Naruto's brows lifted slightly, a