"There's no need to say that, because even I could make a misdiagnosis, Meikyō. What's your opinion?"
Tsunade shook her head indifferently and looked at Meikyō.
"Teacher Tsunade's diagnosis is correct; it is indeed Kekkei Genkai disease, but it is rather unusual."
Wearing medical gloves, Meikyō pried open Hozuki Mangetsu's mouth and looked at the mouthful of sharp teeth.
Many families in Kirigakure are like this, with appearances different from ordinary people.
The Hōzuki Clan appears normal, but they have sharp teeth like those of fish.
Besides, the Hoshigaki Clan also looks like a shark.
"There are generally two ways in which Kekkei Genkai are created. One is through bloodline inheritance, such as the Sharingan of the Uchiha. The other is through the fusion of Chakra, with the typical example being the Scorching Release Pakura. However, the latter usually only has a small probability of being inherited by descendants. For example, the Dust Release Kekkei Tōta the Second Tsuchikage cultivated, was not inherited by his descendants. Instead, it was learned by the Third Tsuchikage, and the descendants of the Third Tsuchikage also did not inherit the Dust Release."
"Um... so what are you trying to say by saying all this?"
Hozuki Suigetsu, who had only attended the Ninja Academy for a year before defecting with his brother, scratched his head, not understanding what Meikyō meant.
"Your Hōzuki Clan is somewhere in between, practicing Hydrification Technique for generations. Even a six or seven-year-old like you can do it. This means that your Hōzuki Clan is about to evolve from a clan of secret techniques into a clan of bloodline limits. And the first one to Awakening Kekkei Genkai should have been you, the most talented ninja to appear in the Hōzuki Clan since Hozuki Gengetsu, Hozuki Mangetsu."
Meikyō pointed at Hozuki Mangetsu and said.
Tsunade nodded and took over the conversation:
"Your illness probably started four or five years ago, right? At that time, you were in puberty, the period when your Kekkei Genkai is most likely to Awakening. It's just a pity that your Kekkei Genkai did not Awakening completely, or rather, it failed to Awakening, which ultimately led to the occurrence of Kekkei Genkai disease."
After hearing this, Hozuki Mangetsu remained silent for a while.
Awakening Kekkei Genkai is a good thing for any ninja.
But in his case, it turned into this tragedy.
"Then... is my illness incurable?"
"Hozuki Mangetsu murmured."
He had never heard of a cure for Kekkei Genkai disease; in everyone's eyes, Kekkei Genkai disease was an incurable disease.
"Who said it can't be cured? Be glad you're in Konoha right now. If you were anywhere else, at any other time, you wouldn't have a single chance of being cured."
Tsunade adopted the same posture as Meikyō, crossing her arms over her chest and raising her head as she spoke, causing a sudden surge of emotion.
A flicker of life appeared on Hozuki Mangetsu's pale face.
"Then, I'll leave it to everyone in Konoha!"
As winter approaches, a light snow began to fall, bringing a biting chill to the bone.
The Five Kage Summit was not held in Konoha, but in a town several tens of kilometers away from Konoha.
Admiral Mifune the Land of Iron arrived two days ago.
The day after the Third Tsuchikage and the Fourth Raikage arrived, the second Five Kage Summit was held, chaired by Mifune.
In the center of the bright, white hall, there is a long, curved table.
On the wall behind the long table hung five-colored flags representing the five ninja villages, and at the arched opening stood Mifune, the Admiral of the Land of Iron.
Directly opposite Mifune sat Dan Katō, the then Fourth Hokage, with Uchiha Meikyō behind him, his arms crossed, his intimidating eyes constantly scanning the other Kage present.
After negotiating with Konoha, Pakura and Mei Terumī agreed to serve as the Fifth Generation Kage of their respective villages.
Perhaps for them, regardless of whether Konoha or Uchiha Madara wins, their village can be saved.
If Uchiha Madara wins, those two villages will still be ruled by their respective Fourth Hokage. If Konoha wins, they will take over the remaining villages and begin rebuilding them as the Fifth Generation Kage.
However, this meant that the identities of Suna and Kirigakure would inevitably be relegated to the status of subordinates.
Behind Pakura was her disciple, Juan.
In the original timeline, Pakura was betrayed by Rasa and died early. Maki never received any guidance and was secretly suppressed by Rasa. By the time of the Fourth Shinobi World War, he was just an ordinary Chunin the Sealing Unit.
However, the fact that he was able to become Pakura's disciple is enough to show that his own aptitude is not bad.
Here, he is now a Jonin with decent strength.
Pakura only has a few people around him now, and only Juan can barely hold his own.
Mei Terumī is Hozuki Mangetsu, who has just undergone surgery and regained some of his mobility.
The Five Kage Summit held extremely important political significance, and everyone who served as a bodyguard for a Shadow at the Five Kage Summit was a designated successor to the position of Shadow.
Aside from the unfortunate Third Hokage Suigetsu, whose position was snatched away by the more powerful Hozuki Gengetsu, Suigetsu could only wait until Hozuki Gengetsu and the Second Tsuchikage perished together.
Sitting at the far two ends of the long table were the Fourth Raikage and the Third Tsuchikage, respectively. Behind the Third Tsuchikage was Kitsuchi, who had already made a name for himself during the Third Shinobi World War and was currently the strongest of the Kage's guards besides Meikyō.
However, if Hozuki Mangetsu hadn't been sidelined by his Kekkei Genkai disease in recent years, his strength might not have been inferior to Hozuki Mangetsu's.
Standing behind the Fourth Raikage was a young man in his twenties with the word "Thunder" tattooed on his shoulder.
This is Darui, the most outstanding young ninja in Kumogakure. Currently, his reputation in the Ninja World is comparable to that of Kakashi, Shisui, and others.
Everyone had lined up, Mifune, holding the hilt of his sword at his waist, opened his mouth and said:
"In response to the Hokage's call, we are holding this Five Kage Summit to address the threats posed by Uchiha Madara and the Akatsuki Organization. Now, the Five Kage Summit is officially open. Please place the straw hats representing your identities on the table."
The five figures simultaneously lowered the straw hats from their heads and placed them neatly on the table.
Mifune bowed slightly to the Five Kage before taking a step back.
His role was to preside over the meeting and mediate during the Five Kage Summit.
"I never expected Konoha would support two women as Mizukage and Kazekage. Is this to create two puppets to increase their influence at the Five Kage Summit?"
Ōnoki spoke first, speaking in a mature and sophisticated manner.
Konoha already had the most say, but if the Mizukage and Kazekage are just echoing each other, then the Five Kage Summit won't be decided by the Hokage anymore.
"So, the Third Tsuchikage thinks I, Pakura, am unworthy of the Kage position?"
Pakura gave snorts at Ōnoki.
Although she is young, only in her early thirties, she is a veteran who made her name during the Third Shinobi World War.
"I'm also curious, does Tsuchikage look down on women? If so, I wouldn't mind letting Tsuchikage experience the strength of us women."
Mei Terumī smiled slightly and retorted.
"Ahem, everyone, please pause for a moment. Konoha did not summon you here to fight."
Dan Katō immediately spoke up to mediate.
"If anyone wants to fight, I'd be happy to oblige."
Meikyō stood behind Dan Katō, looked at Ōnoki, and said coldly, even revealing her Sharingan as a form of intimidation.
Ōnoki paused for a moment.
He knew very well how terrifying Uchiha Madara was. Among all the Konoha Ninja present, no one was more wary of Meijing, who could fight Uchiha Madara to a Meikyō.
"Hmph, that's true, but the people in Akatsuki Organization are Rogue Ninja from your villages, especially the two main figures, Uchiha Madara and Bhiruho are both Rogue Ninja from Konoha. Shouldn't this be something that Konoha should deal with themselves?"
The Fourth Raikage snorted and withdrew his wary gaze from Meikyō.
During the Third Shinobi World War, he could barely hold his own against Meikyō, and with Killer B's assistance, he had a chance of winning. But now, the gap between them is widening.
"But Raikage, Uchiha Madara's goal is to collect all the Tailed Beast. For Kumogakure, which possesses the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails, this is an act that could shake the foundation of your village. They might even resurrect your village's previous Kage to deal with your village."
Dan Katō patiently persuaded him.
Meikyō leaned against the wall, silently watching the five figures engaged in a heated discussion.
In fact, the Fourth Raikage and the Third Tsuchikage were not the only options.
They didn't want to hand over the Tailed Beast to anyone else, especially the Fourth Raikage, who would never give up his sworn brother Killer B.
Choosing Konoha means that even though Konoha is actually the dominant party, they are nominally on equal footing, and they are more familiar with and accustomed to Konoha's way of doing things.
On the contrary, Uchiha Madara's personality of "those who obey me prosper, those who oppose me perish" means that they will not only have to submit and become subservient, but also have to obediently offer up their Tailed Beast.
Comparatively speaking, Konoha is definitely the better choice.
However, they did this in order to gain more say in the upcoming alliance.
Without Uchiha Meikyō, Konoha would have had a dozen or so Kage Level shinobi. Although Kumogakure and Iwagakure combined didn't have as many as Konoha, they could still muster seven or eight, giving them some confidence.
But that's just a hypothetical.
With Uchiha Meikyō on the Konoha side, whose strength is no less than that of Uchiha Madara, it is destined that Konoha must take the lead in the upcoming battle against Madara.
After more than an hour of heated debate, the two sides finally reached an alliance agreement, with the Fourth Hokage Dan Katō, serving as the supreme commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces, the Fourth Raikage A, serving as the general Admiral, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki of Both Scales, serving as the chief strategist, and the Fifth Kazekage, Pakura, and the Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumī, serving as the deputy commanders.
This was merely a nominal position; in reality, it simply affirmed Konoha's dominant position in this alliance and declared that the other four Kage were of equal rank.
The actual action taken was to send the Fourth Raikage and the Third Tsuchikage to fight.
The Kumogakure will send a large force to attack the Land of Water, while the Iwagakure will join forces with the Konoha Village to attack the Land of Wind and the Land of Rain from the west.
This was to prevent Madara's power from expanding further.
At the same time, our side also needs to win over and persuade the ninjas of Suna and Kirigakure to abandon their evil ways and join the Allied Forces.
There are also Kazekage and Mizukage here, so your arrival doesn't count as a violation of the village rules.
In addition, the Fourth Raikage and the Third Tsuchikage promised to personally lead the elite ninjas of their respective villages to join Konoha's main force to fight against Uchiha Madara and the Akatsuki Organization.
The only point of contention is the handling of the Tailed Beast.
Konoha wanted to gather all the Jinchuriki in Konoha for protection, while the Fourth Raikage proposed to move the Tailed Beast to Turtle Island in the ocean so that Uchiha Madara wouldn't be able to find them.
This time, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, strongly supported the Fourth Raikage.
Because...
They had already made arrangements for the four Jinchuriki before setting off, transferring them to Turtle Island, and both sides dispatched elite ninjas to protect them.
While cooperating with Konoha, they remained wary of Konoha.
Whether the Tailed Beast fall into Madara's hands or Konoha's, they will most likely never be returned to them.
Moreover, having his own people on Turtle Island allows him to accurately pinpoint its location, Ōnoki Turtle Island ease.
Meikyō probably guessed it too; these two were worried that he might just capture the Tailed Beast from their village at the slightest provocation, so they took precautions in advance.
Believe it or not, Meikyō actually did have this idea.
At worst, we can just kill one of the Tailed Beast; that would at least buy us three years.
Uchiha Madara will have to wait until the Tailed Beast are revived three years later before he can continue to carry out his plan.
Now it seems that it's probably hopeless.
No matter how strong he is, he can't find an island in the vast ocean that he can move to at any time.
"Well then, this Five Kage Summit is now concluded. Please excuse us..."
After the meeting concluded, Mifune once again stepped forward to announce the end of the talks.
Just then, Meikyō suddenly turned his head and looked at the distant horizon, and then Dan Katō also made the same move.
They all possess an extremely wide range of perception capabilities.
The reason they did this was, of course, because...
"Something's wrong! Master Dan, Meikyō! And all the Kage! Kushina and Inoichi- senpai, they sensed Uchiha Madara's Chakra coming from over ten kilometers away!"
Inuzuka Ryo pushed open the door and shouted urgently to the people in the room.
Ōnoki's expression immediately changed.
He never imagined that he would have to confront the shadows planted in his heart during his youth so soon.
Dan Katō, his expression equally grave, commanded:
"Send a telegram to the village, instructing the Sealing Unit to immediately activate the village protection barrier and mobilize ninjas to prepare for battle!"
Then, Dan Katō turned his head and looked at the other four Kage present.
"Gentlemen, now is the time to lend a hand."
"Um... Uchiha Madara... was still left to Uchiha Meikyō to deal with, right?"
Ōnoki blushed and said.
Meikyō didn't reply, but jumped out of the window.
The next second, an enormous golden Susanoo rose outside the building, spread its wings that blotted out the sky, and flew into the air.