Time flew by, and the day of the summit arrived amid the utterly exhausted faces of Konoha's people.
The four Kage arrived on time with a contingent of elite guards, eyeing one another warily as they entered the conference hall Konoha had designated.
Hashirama Senju sat at the head of the table, arms folded across his chest, his arrogant expression bearing a certain resemblance to Madara Uchiha's.
Whatever method Tobirama Senju had used, Hashirama Senju showed none of his earlier weakness. He even seemed a little stronger than he had been at his peak.
With his arms folded and eyes closed, he let his imposing presence radiate outward, overpowering all four of them single-handedly and dominating the room.
Flanking him were Tobirama Senju, dressed in Senju Clan attire, and Watanabe Ichiro, wearing the robes of the Uchiha Clan head.
Both were expressionless, watching everyone present with cold eyes.
"Tch. Konoha really does think it's above everyone else."
Someone behind the Land of Lightning's seats muttered his dissatisfaction.
But a companion immediately clapped a hand over his mouth, apologized, and withdrew, escorting him out with an apologetic expression.
"We in Konoha have come with sincere intentions to trade with everyone here. Please, make yourselves comfortable and speak freely."
Watanabe Ichiro swept his gaze over those present and spoke first.
"However."
His expression darkened, his voice growing colder.
"Your attitude toward this transaction is also something we will take into consideration, so I ask that you all..."
"Watch. Your. Words. And. Actions!"
As his words fell, the seated Kage's expressions soured, and the hotheaded ones were ready to lash out on the spot.
But beneath the pressure of Hashirama Senju's presence, they instantly calmed down.
They glanced again at Watanabe Ichiro's Uchiha Clan head robes and said nothing. Only the second-in-command standing behind the Raikage offered an awkward, apologetic smile.
The opening show of force had done its job.
Watanabe Ichiro smiled and stepped back half a pace, leaving the floor to Tobirama Senju.
His job was to appear as the new Uchiha Clan head and establish his image as a hawk who took a hard line with outsiders.
He had no part to play in the rest of the meeting. All he needed to do was quietly blend into the background.
So his real body was actually elsewhere, watching over the Tailed Beast scrolls. The one at the meeting was merely a Shadow Clone.
Tobirama Senju began speaking at an unhurried pace, taking charge of the meeting and keeping control of the discussion firmly in Konoha's hands.
Meanwhile, Watanabe Ichiro let his mind wander, having the system monitor Black Zetsu's location while he refined the plan he had been developing for so long.
The first Five Kage Summit, a meeting destined to go down in history, would be the perfect stage for [Black Zetsu] to make his appearance.
Following Tobirama's instructions beforehand, Hashirama Senju imitated Madara Uchiha's mannerisms throughout the meeting, suppressing his urge to speak and coldly playing the aloof master.
The other four Kage behaved themselves remarkably well during the meeting, making no unusual moves.
Their docility, the complete opposite of their behavior in the original story, made Watanabe Ichiro feel much better.
Sure enough, when there was a gap in strength, you had to show your fists first. Only then would people listen properly.
But as he listened to the four Kage probe, both openly and indirectly, whether Madara Uchiha was truly dead, he raised an eyebrow and immediately understood the real reason they were behaving so well.
Earlier, Watanabe Ichiro had wanted Madara Uchiha to see more of the conditions in other countries, so he had sent a Wood Clone disguised as [Black Zetsu] to accompany him on a tour of all four nations.
Naturally, the nations were unhappy about someone affiliated with Konoha barging into their territory without explanation, and they sent people to stop him.
The results, however, were far from encouraging.
Send one, and one went down. Send two, and both hit the dirt. Send a squad, and the whole squad was wiped out...
No matter how many people each nation sent, or how elite their shinobi were, they all returned empty-handed after facing Madara Uchiha.
A few particularly clueless ones who dared to mock him were even killed outright, without the slightest mercy.
The nations angrily sent letters demanding an explanation from Hashirama Senju, who was serving as Hokage at the time. Yet Hashirama Senju, normally mild-mannered in international affairs, was exceptionally firm on this matter.
Uchiha Izuna had only recently died. Hashirama Senju understood all too well the pain of losing family, and he supported Madara Uchiha's search for the killer. Faced with the accusations from other nations, he stood unconditionally by Madara Uchiha's side.
His official written reply was extraordinarily forceful.
Its gist was: My closest friend Madara has done absolutely nothing wrong. You should not have stopped him. If you have any questions or complaints, you are welcome to come to the Land of Fire and discuss them with me face-to-face.
Madara Uchiha's brutal displays of strength had beaten the four nations into submission. And as Hashirama's number-one fan, he could hardly get through three sentences without mentioning how powerful Hashirama Senju was.
Thus, shinobi from every nation would often hear the invincible god of war who had just thrashed them with one hand fold his arms and sigh.
"Compared to Hashirama Senju, your tricks are laughable."
"Hashirama Senju wouldn't even need to form hand seals to deal with you."
"This childish fighting isn't even enough to warm me up. Is Hashirama Senju really the only one who can let me experience the thrill of a life-or-death battle?"
"You lot can't compare to even one of Hashirama Senju's fingers, yet you dare stand in my way?"
Remarks like these instilled a deep wariness of Hashirama Senju in the other nations, despite their never having met him. They also stirred profound jealousy.
Konoha has more than one fighter of this caliber! And one is the First, the other the Second. They're so close that there's no chance of poaching either of them!
How is that fair?
Over time, whenever Madara Uchiha appeared, the nations' reconnaissance teams would uniformly move aside and even offer whatever assistance they could.
Madara Uchiha, who responded to kindness rather than coercion, softened his attitude when everyone treated him this way.
If he encountered people from other nations seeking help on his travels, he would occasionally lend a hand when it was convenient. His overwhelming strength could solve many difficult problems, and his popularity actually improved considerably.
Eventually, the nations began looking forward to this formidable guest's visits. A Shinobi World version of the children's song "Welcome, Big Bro" also inexplicably began spreading through the nations-
Big bro, big bro, welcome here! Thanks for coming, give a cheer! Big bro, big bro, welcome here! Through wind and rain, we've waited here!
Here he comes, here he comes, with his [Sharingan], here he comes! Here he comes, here he comes, riding [Susanoo], here he comes!
Big bro's heaven, big bro's earth, big bro stands tall for all he's worth! Big bro's wind, big bro's rain, big bro commands them both again!
Later, when Watanabe Ichiro happened to hear this song, he simply couldn't hold it in and laughed so hard he slapped his thigh.
Whether it was a fortunate accident or a deliberate arrangement, the meeting went very smoothly.
The four nations' Kage and their trusted aides, all thoroughly "trained" by Madara Uchiha, were cowed by Hashirama Senju's air of invincibility. Their few tentative probes were jointly rebuffed by Tobirama Senju and Watanabe Ichiro.
They stopped dragging their feet and readily agreed to pay money and supplies for the Tailed Beasts.
Good.
With that, the first day's business had concluded perfectly.
Next, they would negotiate the list of Tailed Beasts and the supplies to be exchanged on the second day, then carry out the actual exchange on the third.
Tobirama Senju took a deep breath, preparing to conclude the meeting.
"Please return and consider which Tailed Beast you wish to acquire tomorrow, prepare your supplies, and..."
"You won't get a single one."
A hoarse, provocative voice suddenly rang out. A pitch-black figure appeared brazenly in the middle of the conference table, his slick, Slime-like dark body radiating an ominous aura.
Hidden underground and eavesdropping, Black Zetsu's eyes instantly widened in disbelief.
His appearance, his spiritual energy, his Otsutsuki aura...
Everything about him is exactly like me!?
Wh... who the hell is this?
Did Mom have a second child behind my back?
Before you continue