Time flew, and several weeks passed in the blink of an eye.
During those weeks, the Third dispatched ANBU to the other Three Great Shinobi Villages, informing them of the planned Five Kage Summit and mentioning the Akatsuki's goal of capturing tailed beasts.
According to the reports from the ANBU, both the Tsuchikage and the Raikage questioned the purpose of holding the Five Kage Summit.
They did not believe a bounty organization could be stronger than a shinobi village, let alone set its sights on tailed beasts. Even so, they each sent envoys.
Kirigakure's response, however, was extremely strange. The Mizukage did not appear.
The ANBU were received not by the Mizukage, but by subordinates of Genji of Kirigakure. They claimed that the Fourth Mizukage was unavailable to make an appearance and sent ninja instead.
When Konoha High Command learned of this, they could only lament the turmoil in Kirigakure. The village had yet to recover from that upheaval. If not for its unique geographical position, it would have been conquered long ago.
Still, lamenting aside, preparations had to be made to receive the envoys. Sunagakure's Kazekage had also explicitly stated that he would come to Konoha for the meeting.
During this time, Zou Hyuga and the others were summoned by the Third. Their assignment was essentially to protect the foreign envoys during the meeting and ensure that it proceeded smoothly.
He also repeatedly warned them not to act impulsively again and cause a diplomatic incident.
Naturally, the Third was referring to the last time Oto had defied Kumogakure's envoy. That confrontation had prolonged the war between Kumogakure and Konoha by several months.
Although the outcome had been favorable, with Konoha firmly reclaiming its position as the foremost shinobi village in the Shinobi World.
Now that they faced the Akatsuki