The Five Great Shinobi Villages had been slaughtering one another for many years. Even though the Third Shinobi World War had ended long ago, the hatred left behind by war still remained.
The Kage who had come to attend the Five Kage Summit naturally were not overly worried about their own safety. After all, nearly every Kage was the strongest person in their village.
However, the Kage's guards were different. Though the Kage might not need their protection at all, they were extremely tense, terrified that a mistake on their part would lead to disaster.
In fact, it was precisely because they had such loyal guards that the Kage of the Five Great Shinobi Villages could lower their guard and focus on the discussion.
"All right, Chōjūrō. Come back!" Mei Terumi was the first to call back her guard.
Hearing this, the other Kage also had their tense, hostile guards return.
After all, it was not time to fight yet. Difficult as it might be, they still had to talk things through.
"Let's continue the discussion! Konoha, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, Kirigakure... Akatsuki was formed by rogue ninja from your villages. Not only that, I discovered that some of you, including former village leaders, once made use of Akatsuki..." The Raikage spoke directly, pointing the spearhead at Ōnoki.
Kumogakure and Iwagakure had hated each other for a long time, and the Third Raikage had died during Iwagakure's siege. Now that the Fourth Raikage had the upper hand, he naturally would not let Ōnoki off easily.
After venting just now, Ōnoki had actually calmed down.
"I do not intend to deny anything. The major nations have all stabilized now, shifting from military expansion to military reduction."
"In times of peace, ninja naturally become a serious financial burden on the daimyo. Moreover, aside from