"Tap, tap, tap."
Shihōin Naraku rapped his knuckles against the desk, signaling for everyone to stop arguing.
Seeing the Hokage call for their attention, everyone immediately fell silent and waited for Shihōin Naraku to speak.
"Before the Five Kage Summit begins, we must help Amegakure fend off the other villages' probes. After all, our interests are now tied to the Land of Rain."
Naraku rubbed his fingers together, thought for a moment, then turned his gaze to Kakashi Hatake. "Kakashi, how much pressure are you under on the security front?"
Kakashi shook his head. "The village's reconstruction is already on track. Seeing buildings and houses gradually rise has put everyone's minds at ease. The security situation is much better now than before."
"Once we move back the residents temporarily staying in the towns around Konoha, the pressure on us will ease considerably."
"What if we pulled some of your people away?" Naraku asked.
Kakashi considered it carefully, then nodded. "No problem. Our remaining people can handle it."
The main work ahead was building houses and residences, and they were unlikely to use all the Konoha ninja for that. For one thing, it would be wasteful; for another, it was unnecessary.
The Land of Fire had supported Konoha with not only substantial funding but also all kinds of resources, and manpower was one of them.
Large numbers of people experienced in house construction had long since arrived and had already begun contributing to Konoha's reconstruction.
So transferring some Konoha ninja elsewhere would not have much impact on Konoha as it stood.
"In that case, send a force of Konoha ninja led by Asuma Sarutobi, Might Guy, and Genma Shiranui to Amegakure. Have them fend off the other villages' probes."
"Of course, the most important thing is to ensure our interests suffer