Remote Five Kage Summit

The atmosphere in the Hokage's Office was taut with tension, the air as still as the hush before a storm.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood behind his desk, hands braced against it. He leaned forward, his piercing gaze fixed on Shimura Danzō.

The two Hokage Advisors, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, stood to one side. Their faces were equally grave, though neither spoke.

Shimura Danzō remained propped on his cane, his single eye lowered and his face expressionless, like a cold stone statue.

No matter how Hiruzen Sarutobi questioned him, he denied everything concerning the "Death Paper," "Naraka," and "Nine Nether."

"Danzō!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice trembled with anger and disappointment.

"The Canopy Screen clearly showed you making a deal with Nine Nether and using that evil thing to murder a fellow village ninja! How long will you keep denying it?!"

Shimura Danzō slowly raised his head. His single eye betrayed no emotion, only its usual cold stubbornness. "Hiruzen, you've grown old! You've actually started believing that thing of unknown origin and its poisonous lies?"

"It's nothing more than an elaborate Genjutsu or an enemy plot to turn us against each other. I've given everything for Konoha. How dare you slander me?"

"Slander?" Hiruzen Sarutobi forced down his anger, his voice dropping.

"Fine. Even if what the Canopy Screen showed is true—about Minato, about that 'paper'—as long as you hand over that evil thing, I can... I can swear on my name as Hokage that I won't pursue anything you've done in the past!"

It was a staggering concession, almost a bargain struck with the Fourth Hokage's blood debt and Konoha's laws.

All to rid them of a terrifying weapon that could kill an enemy from a thousand miles away.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi in shock. But when they saw the exhaustion and resolve in his eyes, neither voiced an objection.

Yet a flicker of irritation was all that passed through Danzō's single eye.

"Absurd!" he said coldly. "How can I hand over something that doesn't exist? Hiruzen, the older you get, the more muddleheaded you become!"

With that, he seemed unwilling to argue any further. As if fed up with an unreasonable demand, he slammed the end of his distinctive cane against the floor.

Thud!

The dull sound echoed through the office.

The instant the cane struck the floor, the impact sent a sharp jolt through it.

A slightly yellowed sheet of paper with ragged edges, seemingly ordinary in every way, slipped silently from Danzō's wide sleeve.

It drifted down, turning slowly, under the gaze of everyone in the office.

At last, it settled directly in front of the Third Hokage's desk, on the brightest patch of floor beneath the lamplight.

The paper lay there, still.

Written on it in ink were the names [Kurihara Ranmaru, Minato Namikaze]. Under the light, they seemed almost blinding.

Time seemed to stop.

Shimura Danzō went rigid. For the first time, a crack appeared in his impassive expression.

His single eye narrowed sharply as he stared at the paper on the floor in disbelief, as though he had seen the one thing that could not possibly be there.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils shrank to pinpoints. His fingers whitened around the edge of the desk.

He slowly raised his head, shifting his gaze from the Death Paper to Shimura Danzō's face, now marked by shock and a flash of panic.

The office fell so silent a pin could have been heard dropping. Only the faint wind beyond the window and the sharp breaths drawn by Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura broke the silence.

Shimura Danzō opened his mouth as if to speak, but any explanation now would have sounded feeble and absurd.

Hiruzen Sarutobi said nothing. He merely straightened and looked at his lifelong friend with utter grief, bitter disappointment, and cold fury in his eyes.

In the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi waved a hand and let Shimura Danzō leave the Hokage's Office.

The forces of Root under Shimura Danzō's command were simply too vast. If Hiruzen moved against him rashly, Konoha's strength would be weakened again.

And if the other great nations seized the chance to start another war, Konoha could be pushed to the brink in an instant.

On his way back, Shimura Danzō was utterly bewildered. He had no memory of Naraka or any "Death Paper." How had that thing fallen out of his sleeve?

It was, of course, Hyuga Xiu's doing once again.

This time, all Hyuga Xiu had needed was a scrap of paper bearing Danzō's handwriting to convince Konoha's entire leadership that everything shown on the Canopy Screen was true.

It was a bargain almost too good to believe.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the "Death Paper" on his desk, then tucked it straight into his robes.

An object this important would leave him uneasy wherever he kept it. Only carrying it himself gave him even a little peace of mind.

In Kumogakure, Fourth Raikage A destroyed half his office in a rage. But this time, an unmistakable trace of fear ran through his roar.

"Bastards!! What kind of power is that?! Huh?! Come out and fight me face-to-face! Enough of this underhanded crap!!!"

"Contact Konoha immediately. Tell them to hand over that bizarre 'Death Paper' at once!"

At the same time, the other three major shinobi villages sent envoys to Konoha, intent on making it surrender the "Death Paper."

And so a remote Five Kage Summit was convened in an office in Konoha.

At the center of the office, an optical projection technique sustained by Chakra cast four indistinct yet imposing figures into view.

Fourth Raikage A's muscular frame rose and fell with anger, his fists clenched.

Ōnoki of Both Scales floated in midair, his small body radiating an immense, undeniable pressure.

Mei Terumi was beautiful, but her expression was icy. Her fingertips tapped unconsciously against her chair's armrest.

And Baki, representing Sunagakure, looked equally grave, his gaze sharp.

They were only projections, yet the pressure they exuded—and the clear intent to demand an accounting—seemed to cross the distance between them, weighing heavily on everyone in the Hokage's Office.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura stood behind the Third Hokage, fine beads of cold sweat gathering on their foreheads.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi!" The Fourth Raikage's roar shattered the silence. Though the technique distorted his voice, it did nothing to diminish his fury.

"I won't waste words! That paper! That evil thing that can kill people from afar! Hand it over immediately! The Five Kage will seal it and keep it under joint watch! Otherwise..."

Ōnoki's deep voice took over, firm and unyielding. "Otherwise, we cannot stand by while a power this dangerous, one capable of overturning the balance of the entire Shinobi World, remains in Konoha's hands."

"Especially in the hands of someone like Shimura Danzō."

"It threatens the very survival of every shinobi village. If necessary, to eliminate this common threat, we will resort to... extraordinary measures."

He spoke the words "extraordinary measures" slowly and clearly. His meaning was plain: war.

Mei Terumi parted her red lips. Her voice was alluring, but every word had an icy edge. "My, Lord Third Kazekage Hokage. Konoha suffered the Nine-Tails Incident and the tragic death of the Fourth Hokage. Then Itachi Uchiha wiped out the Uchiha clan. Your village has been gravely weakened."

"Now this scandal and internal threat have come to light as well. You must already have your hands full. Why stake all of Konoha's future on a criminal who should be severely punished and his dangerous little 'toy'? Hand it over and put this matter to rest. That is the wisest choice."

Though Baki represented Konoha's ally and made no direct threat, his tone was just as firm. "Lord Kazekage is deeply concerned about this matter."

"Sunagakure also needs a clear assurance. As long as that power exists, no ninja can rest easy."

Their meaning was unmistakable: hand over the ominous "Death Paper," or the four great nations would join forces and wage war on a weakened Konoha in the name of "eliminating a common threat."

The pressure bore down like a mountain. It seemed the Fourth Shinobi World War might erupt at any moment—all over a scrap of Hyuga Xiu's wastepaper.