The Five Kage talks had broken down. The Fourth Raikage did not want to continue, the Third Tsuchikage had clearly come looking for trouble, and the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, had made it plain that she did not care either way. Gaara had just had the spotlight stolen from him, leaving things rather awkward to continue.
Kakashi, meanwhile, was troubled over how to proceed.
This was when they needed Mifune, the moderator, to step in and smooth things over. That was one of the reasons the talks had been held in the Land of Iron. The Five Kage knew this sort of meeting all too well—if it went smoothly, that would be a miracle.
The odds of the talks breaking down were basically as high as ninety-nine percent.
In the past, Mifune would have been happy to watch them fall apart. Now, though, he had no choice but to step in. At the very least, the conference needed to reach a reasonably satisfying conclusion.
"Ahem. Since everyone cannot reach an agreement on the matter of the Allied Shinobi Forces' commander, why don't we set that issue aside for now and discuss the other matters first? We can return to it at the end," Mifune suggested in a low voice after clearing his throat and sweeping his gaze over the Kage.
Kakashi raised his brow slightly and nodded. Yes, that was indeed a good suggestion. If Ueno Kei had been here, he surely would have looked at this man named Mifune in surprise. This guy actually knew how to seek common ground while setting aside differences.
Just as Kakashi was about to follow up on Mifune's words, the person determined to throw cold water on everything spoke up again.
"Hmph? Discuss other matters first? Lord Mifune, isn't the issue of the