At the summit, all Five Kage wore solemn expressions. The guards behind each Kage peeked out from behind the flags, their bodies tensing as well. A summit of this caliber ranked among the most important events in the Shinobi World, a scene many ninja would never witness in their entire lives.
As the organizer, Sasori spoke first. "Since I proposed this, I'll speak first. Listen up..."
"The Five Kage really have changed quite a bit." Ōnoki immediately interrupted Sasori and went on speaking without regard for him. "To become a Kage at your age-the younger generation is certainly formidable, Lord Kazekage. Unfortunately, you seem to have no manners."
Sasori sneered and retorted without a shred of courtesy, "Someone with one foot in the grave can still keep serving as Tsuchikage? Looks like Iwagakure is on the verge of destruction."
Ōnoki was so furious that he laughed. "Haha, what an arrogant fellow. I wonder which village had the enemy at its doorstep during both the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars and was nearly wiped out."
Mei Terumi could not help stepping in to smooth things over. "Lord Tsuchikage, please stop interrupting. Lord Kazekage, please continue."
Sasori had to show his sister-in-law some respect, and he could not be bothered to keep arguing with Ōnoki. He nodded to Mei Terumi and got down to business. "I believe every one of your villages knows about the Akatsuki. Their existence is extremely dangerous. They were the ones who captured Sunagakure's One-Tail. Unless my intelligence is wrong, the Akatsuki have already captured at least six tailed beasts. Yet from what I can see, you don't seem to care. Do you intend to wait until they've collected every tailed beast before deciding to join forces?"
Iwagakure's two jinchūriki had left the village back during the