Forcing the Five Kage to Set the Rules! Obito Declares the Fourth Shinobi World War!
The top floor of the main tower of the Land of Iron. The wind and snow were firmly blocked out of the windows by the thick steel and stone walls.
In the center of the hall, five semi-circular rosewood chairs are arranged in a row.
Noon.
The Five Kage took their seats.
Tsunade, draped in Hokage Haori, took her seat in the main position. Naruto stood behind her, Sasuke to her left with his hand on his sword hilt, Kakashi Chakra Hinata to her right, their chakra surging beneath the surface. The bright red Uzumaki Clan crest on her shoulder was particularly striking in the reflection of the brazier.
Raikage A slammed into the chair with a startling thud. Azure Lightning Release Chakra surged wildly across his body, as if it might erupt and injure someone at any moment.
Ōnoki floated in mid-air, slowly landing on a specially made high-backed chair. He rubbed his lower back and let out a cold snort.
Terumi Mei crossed her legs, her gaze sweeping over Naruto and Sasuke, a seductive yet thorny smile curving her red lips.
Gaara finally sat down, expressionless, with fine yellow sand overflowing from the gourd behind him, covering the bluestone slabs beneath his feet.
Mifune stood in the center of the round table, his hand resting on his katana, "Daitenta Mitsuyo".
"I reiterate the rules of the Land of Iron. This is a neutral zone. No one may launch a preemptive attack, leave the room to threaten, or use force to coerce representatives from other villages."
He drew his blade, a glint of cold light flashing, and declared, "Whoever breaks the rules, the warriors of the Land of Iron will cut them down."
"Bang!"
As soon as Mifune finished speaking, Raikage slammed his fist on the table. The corner of the sturdy solid wood table cracked instantly.
"Rules? I'm here to establish new rules!"
The Raikage's eyes widened as he stared intently at Tsunade, his thick fingers reaching across the round table to point at Naruto behind her.
"Let's talk about the Nine-Tails first. The Akatsuki has already set its sights on the Tailed Beast. Naruto Uzumaki is now a nuclear bomb that could bring disaster at any moment. For the safety of the Shinobi World, Hidden Leaf cannot keep him all to itself; he must be placed under the joint supervision of the Five Great Nations!"
The true intentions are revealed when the map is unrolled.
The air inside the venue instantly plummeted to freezing point.
Sasuke pushed open the sword guard with his left thumb, Sharingan. Kakashi pressed down on the Forehead Protector covering his left eye, his muscles tensing completely.
Tsunade's eyes turned cold, and she was about to speak.
"Sizzle--"
A teeth-grinding scraping sound rang out.
Naruto simply dragged a chair over from the side and sat down casually in the center of the hall, around the round table of the Five Kage.
He crossed his legs, rested his arms on the back of the chair, and met Raikage's gaze with undisguised eyes.
"Let me correct that."
Naruto's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable air of dominance.
"I am not an object that anyone can control, much less a nuclear bomb for negotiation as you claim. You want to monitor me? You'd better see if the Kumogakure is tough enough first."
Ōnoki sneered, his body levitating half a meter into the air once more, looking down at Naruto from above.
"Young people these days have more temper than ability. The Shinobi World isn't a place where you can survive just by being defiant. You, Genin of Hidden Leaf, have no right to interfere here."
"Old man, you've been scheming your whole life, it's time to take a break." Naruto wasn't buying it and retorted, "Instead of worrying about me, why don't you ask that blond kid Deidara who's locked up in the Hidden Leaf dungeon if he'd like to go back to Iwagakure."
Ōnoki's face stiffened. The fact that Deidara had been captured by Naruto was a thorn in his side and Iwagakure's greatest weakness.
The Raikage slammed his fist on the table and stood up. "Naruto Uzumaki! The score at Lightning Cloud Gorge hasn't been settled yet. If you dare to act recklessly here today, I'll cripple you right now!"
Naruto didn't even bother to get up; he just flicked his wrist.
"Smack!"
He slammed a coded token bearing the Hidden Cloud marks of Black Lightning, along with a black metal nail engraved with the Red Cloud symbol, onto the center of the table.
"Lord Raikage, the ink on the agreement regarding Lightning Cloud Gorge is still wet, isn't it? It prohibits the trading of Kekkei Genkai and Jinchūriki; you signed that yourself."
Naruto's gaze was like a knife, slicing across the faces of everyone present.
"You really think Akatsuki is a mercenary group that rose to power through petty theft? Open your eyes and look at this thorn in your side. Last night, Obito left spatial Coordinates at the western warehouse while simultaneously planting nine-linked Explosive Tag in your winter food depot."
"He doesn't want to talk to you at all. What he wants is for you to be suspicious of each other and bickering, so that his army of 100,000 White Zetsu can pass through unimpeded!"
These words silenced the entire room.
Ōnoki slumped back into his chair, his eyes darting around. Terumi Mei stopped fiddling with her hair and leaned forward slightly.
Raikage gritted his teeth, staring at the coded token, and swallowed the rest of his words.
In that brief silence, Gaara suddenly crossed his arms, rested them on his chin, and spoke in a cold voice.
"The Jinchūriki were carelessly discarded as weapons is the fundamental reason why the Akatsuki were able to succeed so easily."
He looked around at everyone. "I was once the One-Tail Jinchuriki, and I know better than anyone what it feels like to be treated like a monster. Sunagakure supports Hidden Leaf's position. Jinchūriki are no longer a strategic bargaining chip for any village."
Terumi Mei followed up smoothly, uttering cold words from her red lips.
"Hidden Mist suffered enough from being used as pawns in the Blood Mist Era. I have no interest in playing this game of treating human lives like commodities anymore. Raikage, Tsuchikage, times have changed."
The Raikage was stunned.
He glanced around. Ōnoki remained silent, Gaara and Terumi Mei made their stances clear.
He suddenly realized that he, this brute who habitually used his power to intimidate others, had become the only one left at the round table.
Mifune slammed his sword sheath heavily into the ground at the opportune moment.
"Quiet."
"Topic 1: The joint protection mechanism for Tailed Beast and Jinchūriki will now be formally discussed."
Naruto did not retreat behind Tsunade.
He remained seated in that awkward chair, becoming the de facto center of the meeting.
"Since we're going to talk, let's set new rules."
Naruto raised a finger, and a surge of violent Pure Yang Chakra swirled around his fingertip, emanating a chilling aura.
"From this day forward, anyone who uses Jinchūriki, Kekkei Genkai ninjas, or ordinary civilians as bargaining chips at the card table will become the mortal enemy of the Uzumaki Clan."
He glared at Ōnoki and the Raikage: "I don't care how you guys played before, but now, I'm in charge of this table. Anyone who tries to overturn it, I'll break their arm first."
Domineering, forceful, and leaving no room for maneuver.
But ironically, no one dared to speak out against it at this moment.
The results of last night's battle at Lightning Cloud Gorge and the intelligence from the main granary have proven that Naruto Uzumaki possesses terrifying power to suppress everything.
Furthermore, the threat posed by the Akatsuki has truly reached the throat of everyone.
"You said Obito had an army of 100,000 White Zetsu?" Tsunade broke the ice at just the right moment, steer the conversation back on track, "Is the intelligence reliable?"
"Absolutely true."
Sasuke suddenly spoke, his left eye flashing a dangerous red light in the shadow of his bangs.
"Last night, I saw a clue left by another insider. The 100,000 White Zetsu were cultivated through the roots of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Obito could send them to any corner of the Shinobi World at any time if Obito wanted."
The atmosphere in the hall became extremely heavy.
"We must immediately form Allied Shinobi Forces." Ōnoki finally abandoned his usual demeanor and spoke in a serious tone.
"How should command of the Allied Shinobi Forces be allocated? Who will lead the charge?" Raikage asked the most practical question.
The wrangling has started again.
Naruto leaned back in his chair, coldly watching the politicians haggle.
He knew that the intimidation he had just used was not enough to completely unite these five villages, each with its own agenda, into a cohesive whole.
There must be an external crisis powerful enough to shatter all their wishful thinking.
Just then, Hinata was standing to Naruto's right, suddenly stiffened.
The veins around her eyes bulged instantly, her pure white pupils contracted sharply, and she stared intently at the bluestone floor beneath her feet.
"Naruto-kun..."
Hinata's voice trembled slightly, a tremor she could hardly conceal.
"What's wrong?" Naruto suddenly turned around.
"Underground! Deep underground, there's something..." Fine beads of cold sweat appeared on Hinata's forehead. Her Byakugan's vision peered downwards, piercing through the rock layers and the windbreak foundation. "It's tree roots! Extremely massive living tree roots, frantically draining the Leyline's Chakra from this snow mountain!"
Almost at the same second.
Sasuke groaned, knelt on one knee, and covered his left eye tightly.
The Six-Pointed Star Mangekyō Sharingan spun wildly uncontrollably, and a line of bloody tears slid down his cheek.
"Space... has been torn apart!" Sasuke gritted his teeth and growled.
The piercing air raid siren didn't even have time to sound.
Directly above the Five Kage Round Table, the steel dome twisted and collapsed without warning.
A massive, black hole-like Uzumaki Kamui opened directly in mid-air.
A fierce wind, carrying the blizzard outside, instantly poured into the hall. The embers in the braziers around the hall were all extinguished, plunging it into a deathly silence and darkness.
"Enemy attack!" Mifune roared, drawing his longsword completely.
Kakashi instantly Hand Seals, and the Chidori in his palm roared, illuminating half the hall.
But it was too late.
A figure dressed in a black robe with red clouds floated down from the Kamui Uzumaki.
He wore an orange tiger-skin mask, and a scarlet light gleamed in his right eye.
"Bang."
The sound of shoe soles hitting the table.
Obito Uchiha stepped directly onto the map of the Shinobi World at the very center of the Five Kage's round table.
Ōnoki, Raikage, Gaara, Terumi Mei, Tsunade.
The five Kage, who stood at the pinnacle of power in the Shinobi World, were all forced to take a half-step back by this sudden spatial descent.
Obito surroundings from his elevated position.
His gaze swept past the tense Five Kage before finally settling on Naruto, who was sitting in his chair without even shifting his posture.
A chilling chuckle emanated from beneath the mask.
"What a touching display of unity."
Obito tiptoed, and the map on the table that symbolized the layout of the ninja world instantly turned into ashes.
"Now that you are all seated, let the Fourth Shinobi World War begin right here."
The hall was filled with snow.
Naruto slowly stood up, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists, and a dazzling golden aura erupted from his body.
"I've been waiting for you for ages, you mouse."