Four Kage Summit

The lights in the Hokage Office came on.

When Ai, Kitsuchi, Kurotsuchi —representing Iwagakure —were surprisingly represented by their young granddaughter instead of their son, it attracted some attention, but no one asked any further questions—and when the main generals of the Allied Forces entered the office, it was already full of people.

Tsunade sat in the main seat, with Konoha's high-ranking officials behind her: Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Shikaku. Gaara sat to Tsunade's left, with Temari and Kankuro standing behind him. The alliance between Sand Village and Konoha was vividly displayed in this room.

"Have a seat," Tsunade, gesturing to the empty chair.

Ai didn't sit. He stood in the center of the office, looked around at everyone in the room, and finally his gaze landed on Tsunade.

"Hokage." His voice was still hoarse, but it had regained the Raikage's authority. "We need to discuss our next steps. The enemy is stronger than we anticipated. We need to reassess our strength, we need to consolidate all available resources, we need—"

"We need to force Mist Village to join the war," Gaara continued.

Ai was taken aback and looked at the young Wind Kazekage.

Gaara's expression was calm, his pale blue eyes revealing a composure beyond his years. "We know the details of the battle. We are also deeply saddened by the sacrifices of Ōnoki, the leader of the Land of Iron, and Mifune, the Third Tsuchikage. Ōnoki's dying wish was to unite the entire Shinobi World, so Mist Village can no longer remain neutral."

He spoke so naturally and fluently, as if he had prepared this speech long ago.

A frowned. He looked at Tsunade, then at Jiraiya, and finally at Shikaku —none of the people from Konoha showed any surprise. They all knew, they had known all along.

"You..." Ai said slowly, "How did you know?"

From the battlefield of the Waterfall Country to Konoha, they traveled at full speed with almost no rest. Even though Konoha had the fastest communication methods, intelligence transmission still took time. But judging from the reactions of the people in Konoha, they didn't learn about the battle situation after hearing their report; rather, they... already knew.

Tsunade and Jiraiya exchanged a glance.

Then Tsunade spoke, her tone carrying a complex emotion. "The Akatsuki's envoy of war, 'Sake,' is a Konoha spy. So, shortly after the battle, we received intelligence personally delivered by him."

There was a moment of silence in the office.

Ai's pupils suddenly contracted. Darui, Xi, and Kitsuchi and Kurotsuchi from Iwagakure behind him all wore expressions of disbelief.

That man in red robes and black cloud, the one declaring war on behalf of Madara Uchiha, the one calmly observing the battlefield—was he Konoha spy?

"This is impossible..." Kitsuchi murmured, "If he really was an undercover agent, why didn't he pass on the intelligence sooner? Why didn't he stop the battle? Ōnoki ..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.

If "Sake" really was an undercover agent, and if he could have passed on intelligence beforehand, perhaps the Allied forces could have made better preparations, perhaps Ōnoki wouldn't have died, perhaps...

"He has his limitations." This time it was Kakashi who spoke. His voice was calm, but complex emotions were churning in his exposed right eye. "Akatsuki, especially under the noses of Obito and Zetsu, any unnecessary movement could expose him. He's already taken a huge risk by conveying the battle results."

This explanation is reasonable, but it's not enough to quell the doubts.

Kurotsuchi spoke up then. This young Iwagakure female ninja seemed to have matured overnight after her grandfather's death in battle. Her voice was soft, but her question was sharp, "So, is it true that Madara Uchiha of the Akatsuki was real?"

All eyes were on Tsunade.

This is a crucial question. If "Madara Uchiha" is a fake, and if the real threat is another Uchiha Clan, then the entire assessment of the war needs to be adjusted.

Tsunade was silent for a few seconds, then slowly uttered a name: "Obito Uchiha."

"Uchiha Clan... Obito?" A repeated the name, finding it somewhat familiar.

"Sixteen years ago, during the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, he was buried Genin Konoha while saving his comrades and was presumed dead," Kakashi's voice turned unusually low. "My former comrade."

This identity made the atmosphere in the office even more eerie.

A Genin, a teammate of Kakashi —now he's become a demon king who wants to destroy the Shinobi World?

"So," Ai's voice carried a hint of sarcasm, "You're still from Konoha."

That was a very blunt remark.

Tsunade's expression changed, but she didn't refute it. Because A was right— Nagato was Jiraiya's disciple, Yahiko and Konan were children taught by Jiraiya, Obito was a Konoha ninja, Sasuke was a Konoha Genin, and now even "Sake" was Konoha spy...

The Akatsuki, a terrifying organization that sought to destroy the Shinobi World, had a majority of its core members connected to Konoha.

This sounds like an absurd joke.

"Although Obito Uchiha was once Konoha ninja," Shikaku spoke up, his voice calm and rational, "He inherited Madara Uchiha's will and has long been irreconcilably opposed to Konoha. He was also secretly pushing for Pain's invasion. The Lord Hokage and Lord Jiraiya can attest to this."

Tsunade nodded. "When Pain attacked Konoha, Obito was manipulating things behind the scenes. His target was never just one village, but the entire Shinobi World. If the Eye of the Moon Plan succeeds, no one will be able to escape."

"We know all that," A said, his tone still unfriendly. "But the truth is, most of Akatsuki's troubles were caused by your Konoha. The former leader was a disciple of a missing-nin from Konoha, the current leader is a 'sacrificed' hero from Konoha, and there's Sasuke attacked Cloud Village, and now there's another undercover envoy declaring war— Konoha really does produce a lot of talent."

The sarcasm in those words was almost overflowing.

Jiraiya sighed, "Aside from 'alcohol,' we in Konoha are always late to the party when it comes to other people's affairs. And we in Konoha are also victims; during Pain's invasion—"

"Victim?" Ai interrupted him.

The Raikage stepped forward, his tall figure casting an oppressive shadow under the lamplight. His eyes burned with rage, a fury that had been building up on the battlefield of the Waterfall Country, that he had suppressed when he saw his subordinates die, and that finally erupted at this moment.

"What kind of victims are you Konoha?" A's voice was almost a growl. "Pain invaded, not a single Konoha ninja died! And what about us? The Jinchuriki of Cloud Village were captured, Yugito Nii and Killer B their Tailed Beast were extracted! Sand Village of Gaara —although he's alive now, he died back then! Roshi and Han of Iwagakure, Utakata of Mist Village, Fu of Hidden Waterfall Village... all these Jinchuriki died! Countless ninja from these villages have also died!"

He finished speaking in one breath, his chest heaving violently.

"Now you're telling me that Konoha is the victim?" A stared at Jiraiya, then at Tsunade. "Then I'd like to ask you, which victim can sit unscathed in the Hokage Office, commanding the Kage of other villages?!"

That's too harsh a statement.

So heavy that even Gaara looked away. The young Kage sat there, eyes downcast, not uttering a word. Although he was allied with Konoha and admired Tsunade and Jiraiya, what A said... was true.

Sand Village suffered heavy losses in the Akatsuki's attack. He himself died once, Chiyo sacrificed her life to save him. Most of the Jinchuriki from other ninja villages were not so lucky.

Konoha is indeed too "perfect".

The atmosphere in the office plummeted to freezing point.

Tsunade's face turned pale. She wanted to refute, to talk about the losses Konoha suffered during Pain's invasion, the villagers' fear, and the difficulty of rebuilding—but all of these seemed pale and powerless in the face of death.

In the end, she took a deep breath and chose to back down.

"The past is the past," Tsunade said, her voice weary. "What we face now is a common enemy. Obito gave us three days, and one day has already passed. We need to use the remaining time to consolidate all our forces, including Mist Village."

She looked at A, then at Kurotsuchi, then at Kitsuchi: "Ōnoki's last wish was to unite the entire Shinobi World. So, let's fulfill that wish. By forcing Mist Village to join the war, the more power we have, the greater our chances of victory will be."

This suggestion is both pragmatic and necessary.

Ai and Kurotsuchi exchanged a glance. The young Iwagakure girl still harbored resentment and grief over her grandfather's death, but she nodded. Kitsuchi nodded as well—they were both ninjas who had experienced war and knew when to put aside personal grudges and when to unite against a common enemy.

"Then let's issue a joint ultimatum," Ai finally said, "But what if Mist Village refuses..."

"Then consider them enemies," Gaara replied, his voice icy. "There are no neutral zones during wartime."

This decision was cruel, but no one objected.

Because this is war.

Shikaku began drafting the document. The Kage of the four great ninja villages— the Hokage, Raikage, Kazekage, and Kurotsuchi, who represented the Tsuchikage (although she was not yet the official Kage, Ōnoki had designated her as the temporary representative before his death)—signed their names and stamped the document.

An ultimatum was written late at night.

"Send this to Mist Village." Tsunade handed the scroll to Shizune. "Be quick. We don't have much time."

Shizune took the scroll and hurriedly left the office.

Outside the window, the night was deep.

There are only two days left until the deadline given by Obito.

The people in the office did not leave. They began to discuss defensive deployments, troop allocations, and various possible scenarios. Debates continued, and friction occurred from time to time, but the general direction was the same—unity, resistance, and survival.

Ai would occasionally look out the window at the quiet streets of Konoha.

He recalled Ōnoki's dying face, and the Tsuchikage's last words. "Tell Tsunade, tell Jiraiya, the enemy is not something Konoha can control. We must unite, the Shinobi World must truly unite."

Now, an alliance is taking shape.

Despite the rifts and the mutual distrust, at least they were sitting in the same room, facing the same enemy.

This may be the last hope that Ōnoki gave his life for.

It's late at night.

The lights in the Hokage Office were still bright.

In the distance, at Konoha Hospital, Naruto had just finished a day of "security checks" and sat wearily on a bench in the corridor. His golden Chakra Cloak had been put away, revealing his original form.

"You've worked hard." Kakashi walked up to him and handed him a rice ball.

Naruto took the rice ball, wolfed down a few bites, and then stopped. He looked at Kakashi, his eyes filled with confusion and exhaustion.

"Kakashi-sensei," he asked in a low voice, "Does war... always have to be like this? Suspecting comrades, investigating comrades, even... killing people who might not be enemies?"

Kakashi remained silent for a moment, then sat down beside him.

"It doesn't always have to be this way," Kakashi said, "But sometimes, it's unavoidable. To protect more people, to win the war, some things... have to be done even if you don't want to."

Naruto looked down at the rice ball in his hand and didn't say anything more.

Outside the window, the moonlight was cool and clear.

Only forty-eight hours remain until the final battle.