Three Kage Secret Conference

The mountains of the Land of Iron are covered in snow all year round, their pale peaks piercing the leaden sky like the skeletons of giants. The meeting place was chosen to be an ancient samurai fortress, with stone walls several meters thick. Torches cast flickering shadows in the corridor, and the air was filled with the smell of burning pine resin and a lingering chill.

Fourth Raikage A was the first to arrive.

He sat alone at the head of the long table in the main hall, his only remaining hand clenched into a fist, knuckles white. Xi and Darui stood behind him, both with tense faces and wary eyes. Ai's patience was visibly wearing thin—he had been waiting for a full hour.

"Iwagakure and Mist Village..." Ai forced out the words through gritted teeth, "Are they deliberately stalling for time?"

"Lord Tsuchikage is getting on in years, so his journey will naturally be slower," Nozomi whispered, trying to comfort him, but even he himself didn't quite believe it. That old fellow Ōnoki could fly; if he really wanted to travel, he'd probably arrive before anyone else.

"As for the Mizukage," Darui added, "Kirigakure is the furthest away, so his late arrival is understandable."

Ai snorted and said nothing more. But his one eye was fixed on the entrance to the hall, as if he wanted to burn through the heavy wooden door.

Twenty minutes later, footsteps finally came from the corridor.

It wasn't the sound of one person's footsteps, but rather the footsteps of a group—light, damp footsteps. The door was pushed open, Mei Terumi walked in.

She wore a dark blue Mizukage robe, her long reddish-brown hair loosely tied in a bun at the back of her head, and her face wore her usual ambiguous smile. Behind her were two people: Ao's Byakugan warily scanned the entire area, while Chojuro held Hiramekarei and stood nervously to the side and behind the Mizukage.

"Sorry to have kept the Raikage waiting." Mei Terumi sat down at the head of the table on the right, her voice gentle but authoritative. "I encountered a small problem on the way, but I've dealt with it."

"What trouble?" Ai asked curtly.

"A little...personal matter." Mei Terumi smiled and didn't say anything more. But Ao's Byakugan flickered slightly, clearly indicating that the "personal matter" was not simple.

Ai stared at her for a few seconds, then finally looked away. Now was not the time to delve into the details.

I waited another ten minutes.

There was not even a sound of footsteps this time - the door was pushed open directly by a stream of air. Onoki floated in, yes, floating. His body was half a foot off the ground, his hands behind his back, and his face had the indifferent expression of "I have lived too long and I have seen everything". Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi followed him, Kurotsuchi looked impatient, and Akatsuki smiled innocently.

"Sorry, sorry," Ōnoki slowly floated to the first seat on the left side of the long table, "I'm getting old, my legs aren't as nimble, and I fly slower."

Veins bulged on Ai's forehead. Flying slowly? This old bastard clearly arrived last on purpose, putting on airs.

But Ōnoki didn't even look at him. Instead, he turned to Mei Terumi and said with a smile, "Mizukage, you've become even more beautiful. How are things going with your marriage plans? We Iwagakure have quite a few fine young men..."

"You flatter me, Tsuchikage-senpai," Mei Terumi Tsuchikage politely, but a hint of coldness flashed in her eyes.

After the pleasantries ended, the atmosphere quickly cooled down.

Ai slammed his fist on the table, the solid wood surface groaning under its weight. "Everyone's here. So—what have you two families decided?"

His voice echoed through the hall, causing the torch flames to flicker.

Ōnoki and Mei Terumi exchanged a glance, a fleeting moment that conveyed a wealth of information: suspicion, probing, weighing options, and a tacit understanding.

Then they both shook their heads at the same time.

"Within our Iwagakure..." Ōnoki spoke first, his voice slow and deliberate, as if carefully choosing each word, "We haven't reached a consensus yet."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Ai Tieqing's face, and continued, "If what you say is true, Raikage, Konoha has already mastered the power of the Nine Tailed Beasts... then attacking Konoha now would be tantamount to courting death."

That's a strong statement, but it's true.

Ai clenched his fist even tighter, the veins on the back of his hand throbbing like earthworms.

"Furthermore," Mei Terumi interjected, her voice softer than Ōnoki's, but equally sharp, "All the current 'evidence' is merely indirect inference. Sasuke Uchiha was from Konoha, Nagato was Jiraiya's disciple, Pain's invasion of Konoha resulted in Zero's death... these are indeed suspicious, but no one can guarantee the truth."

She leaned forward, placing her hands clasped on the table, her eyes sharp. "If Akatsuki and Konoha are truly unrelated, wouldn't our Three Great Shinobi Villages joining forces to attack Konoha be playing right into Akatsuki? Letting the Shinobi World fight amongst themselves while they reap the benefits."

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

The only sounds were the crackling of the burning torches and the howling wind outside the window.

Hi and Darui exchanged a glance, both seeing the heaviness in each other's eyes. The Mizukage was right—it was indeed a possibility. Even a very reasonable one.

Ai's expression shifted. Of course, he had considered this possibility, but the anger over his brother's capture, the shame of the village's destruction, and the excruciating pain of his severed arm made him more inclined to believe that Konoha was the mastermind. Because that way, he would have a clear enemy and a target to vent his anger on.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" A's voice lowered, but the anger within it hadn't subsided. "Are we just going to stand by and watch Konoha gather Tailed Beast and then unify the Shinobi World?"

"Of course not," Mei Terumi said.

She suddenly changed the subject, her tone becoming subtle. "Speaking of which... on my way here, I encountered ninjas sent to Konoha to monitor the area. They were preparing to send a new report back to Mist Village when they happened to run into us."

Ai and Ōnoki both looked at her.

"What intelligence?" Ōnoki asked.

"Just half a day ago," Mei Terumi said slowly, "Uzumaki Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of Konoha, was attacked by Kisame Hoshigaki, a member of Akatsuki, on his way to Sunagakure."

Ai's pupils contracted.

Ōnoki frowned as well.

"And then what happened?" Ai pressed.

"Kisame is dead." Mei Terumi uttered these four words, her voice soft, but like a heavy hammer blow to everyone's heart. "Killed by Might Guy's Daytime Tiger and Naruto's Senjutsu combined."

Silence fell over the hall once again.

But this silence has a completely different meaning.

A's mind raced. Kisame was dead? Killed by Konoha? If Akatsuki really was Konoha's puppet, why kill their own people? Were they discarding them after they'd served their purpose? Or...?

"Is it possible?" Xi suddenly spoke, her voice chillingly calm, "That Konoha is using this as a means to eliminate the 'white gloves'? Now that Akatsuki has captured eight Tailed Beasts, only the Nine-Tails remains. Konoha no longer needs this organization, so they want to eliminate it while staging a 'righteous heroes eradicating evil' drama?"

Darui nodded. "And this way, Konoha can continue to play the victim and gain sympathy."

Ai's expression shifted from shock to sudden realization, and then to deeper anger.

"Yes! That must be it!" He slammed his fist on the table, this time cracking it open. "Konoha is using us and then discarding us! They don't need a white glove anymore, yet they're still trying to play the role of righteous heroes! They're just trying to fool us with this whole thing!"

His voice was filled with gritted teeth and hatred.

But Mei Terumi was thinking about something else entirely.

When her ninja reported back, she also mentioned a detail—through lip reading, she learned that Naruto said after the battle, "This sword... I'm going to return it to Kirigakure."

Samehada is one of the Seven Ninja Blade of Kirigakure, which Kisame took with him when he defected. If Konoha was really putting on an act and eliminating the "white gloves" (skilled ninja), why would they specifically return Samehada? This doesn't make sense like "discarding a used tool after it has served its purpose."

Unless... Konoha really wants to repair its relationship with Mist Village?

But she couldn't say that. At least not now. Before the situation became clear, revealing her stance too early would only put Mist Village in a passive position.

"What does Ōnoki- senpai think?" Mei Terumi posed the question to Iwagakure.

Ōnoki's aged but shrewd eyes lingered on Mei Terumi's face for a few seconds. He saw through the Mizukage's probing, but he didn't care. Having lived for so many years, he was already used to being used as a pawn—provided that the pawn was pointed in the right direction.

"Regardless of whether Konoha is putting on an act..." Ōnoki spoke slowly, each word seemingly carefully considered, "The Akatsuki members have indeed lost more than half their number."

He counted on his fingers. "Sasori, dead. Deidara, dead. Kakuzu, dead. Hidan, dead. Itachi Uchiha, dead. Nagato, dead. Kisame, now dead too. Who's left? Zetsu, Konan, Tobi, Sake, and... Sasuke Uchiha."

He looked up at Ai and Mei Terumi: "If Konoha really wants to 'eliminate the weeds at the root,' then they should deal with the remaining ones as well."

"So you mean..." Ai squinted.

"Why don't we set up a stage?" Ōnoki laughed, a smile full of calculation. "Let Konoha finish this show. Let them clean up Akatsuki, wipe out all the 'white gloves.' Then we'll see... how they explain the Tailed Beast."

He paused, then lowered his voice. "If Konoha has truly gathered Tailed Beast and genuinely intends to unify the Shinobi World, then after eliminating the Akatsuki, they will inevitably take further action. At that time, with conclusive evidence, we can then launch a joint attack, which will be perfectly justified."

"What if Konoha didn't have Tailed Beast?" Mei Terumi asked.

"That's even better." Ōnoki shrugged. " With Akatsuki wiped out, the Shinobi World is one less menace. As for the Tailed Beast ... they're most likely still in Akatsuki's hands. We can just search for them slowly."

Ai paused for a few seconds. The plan sounded sound, but there was a problem.

"What if Konoha launches a surprise attack on us while they're eliminating Akatsuki?" he asked. "They might have Nine Tailed Beasts. If war breaks out, the three of us might..."

"So we can't really 'wait'." Ōnoki interrupted him, his eyes sharpening. "The three of us must form a secret alliance now. Externally, we'll send a letter to Konoha, praising them for 'eliminating a scourge from the Shinobi World's and asking them to continue cleaning up the Akatsuki. Internally..."

He glanced at Ai and Mei Terumi: "We are secretly preparing for war. We are mobilizing troops, stockpiling supplies, and setting up defenses. If Konoha makes any move, we will immediately launch a joint counterattack."

Cunning and calculating.

Ai mentally assessed the situation. Although he disliked Ōnoki's roundabout style, he had to admit that it was indeed the safest and least risky option.

Mei Terumi nodded in agreement. Iwagakure's plan gave Mist Village time to observe, but also prevented Mist Village from taking sides prematurely before the situation became clear.

"Then let's do it this way." A finally made the decision. "We'll each send a letter to Konoha, asking them to 'cleanse the Akatsuki, from the Shinobi World.' Then we'll see how they respond and how they explain the Tailed Beast."

"But before that," Ōnoki added, his tone serious, "Our three families must formally form an alliance, sign a treaty, and agree to advance and retreat together. The Fourth Shinobi World War ...it may very well really be coming."

He spoke without any expression on his face, but a deep worry flashed in his old eyes.

He had lived through three Shinobi World Wars, witnessed too much death and too much destruction. He didn't want to see a fourth, but if it truly couldn't be avoided... then Iwagakure had to stand on the side of victory.

"Agreed," Mei Terumi said.

"Agreed," Ai said.

The three figures looked at each other, then simultaneously reached out their hands and placed them together.

There was no blood oath ceremony, no impassioned vows, just the simple folding of three hands. But at that moment, the landscape of the Shinobi World had changed.

The core of the talks, almost imperceptibly, shifted from the impatient Fourth Raikage A to the shrewd Tsuchikage Ōnoki. But neither A Mei Terumi objected—in times like these, experience was more valuable than impulsiveness.

"Well then," Ōnoki withdrew his hand and floated back into the air, "After this meeting, go your separate ways. Remember—do not act rashly before Konoha has wiped out Akatsuki. But after that..."

He didn't finish speaking, but the meaning was already clear.

The three figures rose and left the hall, each accompanied by their guards.

The torches were still burning, casting flickering shadows. The crack in the center of the long table resembled a wound that would never heal.

Outside the window, the snow in the Land of Iron was falling even harder.

Winter in the Shinobi World has only just begun.