Minato Namikaze Arrives!

In the Land of Iron, heavy snow filled the sky. On the only road leading to the Five Kage Summit venue stood a towering mountain.

At its summit, dozens of ninja wearing demon masks stood waiting. Their leader stood before the cliff, watching the three people approaching along the snowy road below. The one in front wore a white cloak and a conical hat.

"The target has appeared. Attack!"

As his words fell, the dozens of ninja behind him formed hand seals together and unleashed a combined ninjutsu!

Earth Release: Rock Collapse!!

Rumble, rumble, rumble!! A torrent of falling boulders crashed down.

The three at the foot of the mountain stopped. Facing the boulders plummeting toward them, a calm male voice came from beneath the lead man's hat. "Don't interfere..."

Whoosh! His hands flashed through seals.

Wind Release: Wind Net.

Whoosh! A net of wind woven from hundreds of wind blades swept into the air. Crack! In an instant, the massive rain of boulders was carved into countless tiny fragments, stripped of all lethality!

Whoosh! A kunai crackling with lightning pierced through the dust, leaving a scratch across the demon mask of the man by the cliff...

"Hmph, it's only a kunai. Continue the attack!" he shouted to those behind him.

"Ahh!!" Yet... the screams of dozens of people rang out almost simultaneously.

The man abruptly turned around and saw that... the dozens of subordinates who had been full of life moments ago had already collapsed, dead on the ground!

Beside their corpses stood the man in the white cloak and conical hat, holding that very kunai in his hand.

Cold sweat soaked his back, and even the demon mask could not hide his terror. "What exactly happened?"

Whoosh!

A flash of light appeared, and the kunai was already pressed against his throat.

"Anything touched by me and my Chakra will bear an indelible mark. Judging by your masks, you are the Hannya Corps of the Land of Forest, aren't you? Our two countries are on friendly terms, so why are you unilaterally destroying that relationship?" A calm voice came from beneath the hat.

The man glanced down and saw the mark beside the crack in his mask. His hand clenched into a fist. "Friendly? Unilateral? That sounds nice! You people put on one face in public and another in private. Your ANBU have murdered countless of our compatriots!"

The face hidden beneath the hat hesitated for a moment before saying, "I have never given such an order. There is likely some misunderstanding here."

"Then why were they dressed in your ANBU uniforms, loudly claiming they acted on your orders? More than once, I wanted to avenge my people, but I never had the chance. Then this Five Kage Summit made us realize that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so we lay in ambush here and waited for you. I carry the demands of my compatriots, so I absolutely cannot fail. And let me tell you this: a high-ranking figure from your Konoha revealed your route to me. What's more, he gave me an ultimate trump card!"

Whoosh! As he spoke, the Hannya Corps leader suddenly tore open his gray cloak.

Whoosh!! Several talismans surfaced over his chest.

"This is... the Reverse Four Symbols Seal." A note of surprise entered the voice beneath the hat.

Boom!! Black light spread in every direction, expanding into a black sphere several hundred meters wide. When the sphere vanished, the mountain had been gouged away as though a giant bowl had taken a bite from it!

Whoosh!

The figure appeared beside the kunai on the ground. His white cloak fluttered in the wind as he rose, steadying his hat. "I see... Danzo."

Clang!!

Nearly ten seconds later, the Hannya Corps leader's corpse finally fell onto the snow.

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

Alarmed by the commotion, a large force of samurai from the Land of Iron surrounded them. Drawing the swords at their waists, they looked at the three men before them. "Who goes there? State your identities!"

At that moment, the cloaked man gently raised his hand and removed his conical hat, revealing short blond hair and a young, handsome face. Polite yet imposing, he said, "My name is Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage of Konoha Village in the Land of Fire. I have come to your country to attend the Five Kage Summit."

Whoosh!

The samurai looked at each other, voices of shock coming from beneath their steel helmets. "Minato Namikaze? Konoha's Fourth Hokage? The famous Yellow Flash? I never expected him to be so young!"

Minato Namikaze introduced them. "The two behind me are Akimichi Dōtō and Inuzuka Gaku, my personal guards."

Clack!

The samurai sheathed their swords and dropped to one knee in salute. "Lord Minato, welcome to our Land of Iron after your long journey. However, as a matter of routine, may we ask what happened here just now?"

Minato Namikaze said, "This is what happened. A group of ninja ambushed us from the mountain..."

A group? The samurai looked at the lone Hannya Corps leader lying in the snow, each of them wearing a puzzled expression.

At that moment, Akimichi Dōtō stepped forward from behind Minato. His voice was as deep and heavy as his build. "The dozens of enemies were killed by the Hokage the instant the battle began!"

The samurai were stunned. Killed? Instantly?

"Th-then where are their bodies? We need to find them and report to the Land of Iron's general, Lord Mifune!" said the samurai leading the group.

At that moment, Inuzuka Gaku rode forward atop a large yellow ninja hound and said, "The man on the ground was the attackers' leader. He had already been captured by the Fourth Hokage. Realizing that death was inevitable, he used a forbidden technique on the Fourth that would take them both down together. This technique can seal everything within a radius of several hundred meters into the corpse in an instant. The bodies of his dozens of companions are inside him now..."

The samurai broke into cold sweats as they listened, unable to stop themselves from looking at Minato again.

"Go take a look."

"Yes!" After one samurai stepped forward to inspect the corpse, he reported, "There is indeed something resembling a sealing formula on the corpse's chest!"

The leading samurai nodded. "I see. Then, Lord Fourth, we are deeply sorry that such a thing occurred within the Land of Iron. Please allow us to escort you to the summit venue."

Minato Namikaze said, "There is no need. You should attend to your duties as soon as possible."

"If that is your wish, we shall comply!" The samurai departed with the Hannya Corps leader's body.

"Haa." Minato Namikaze seemed to let out a sigh of relief, then said to the two behind him, "Thank you, both of you... I'm really not very good at dealing with situations like that."

"Why be so polite with us, little brother!"

"Even after becoming Hokage, you haven't changed one bit, Minato!"

Akimichi Dōtō and Inuzuka Gaku had both been members of Minato's team in the past. They were both older than Minato, and from the days when they carried out missions together, they had treated him like a younger brother. Now that Minato had become Hokage, the two served as his guards, but in private, Minato still regarded them as elder brothers.

"Then let's get moving as well. I have a feeling that this Five Kage Summit will be filled with undercurrents..." Minato put on his Hokage hat, a sharp gleam flowing through his azure eyes.