"Trade the sovereignty of the entire country for it."
Shu Shiraishi's voice was as cold and hard as iron.
The Anbu kneeling before the desk looked like a pardoned prisoner. He suddenly kowtowed, his forehead slamming heavily onto the wool carpet.
He got up, turned around, and ran.
I was running too fast, and my rubber-soled shoes tripped on the threshold.
He slammed his shoulder hard against the doorframe. Without even crying out in pain, he scrambled into the hallway.
Konoha.
The two ten-meter-high cast-iron gates were tightly closed.
The envoys from the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning knelt in the mud.
They were wearing gorgeous silk gowns, but now the hems were soaked in puddles left from last night.
The fabric below his knees was worn through. The skin pressed against the gravel, and fine beads of blood seeped out.
The Anbu rushed forward at breakneck speed.
Military boots splashed through puddles, mud flying everywhere.
He stopped inside the iron gate, looking at the faces of the two great powers through the iron bars.
The wind blew by, carrying the strong smell of machine oil from the mecha guards on the city wall.
" The Lord Hokage has spoken."
The officer in the Anbu gripped the rusty iron railings with both hands, panting heavily.
A bellows-like sound came from the pulmonary tubes.
"You can surrender if you want."
He stared at the faces of the two special envoys.
"Trade the sovereignty of the entire country for it."
The envoy from the Land of Lightning was a burly man.
He opened his mouth. His two rows of teeth chattered wildly in the wind, making a "clucking" sound.
"Sovereignty...?"
On his thick neck, veins bulged out one by one.
Surrendering sovereignty is tantamount to abolishing the daimyo and disbanding the ninja villages. The Land of Lightning will be completely wiped off the map.
The envoy rolled his eyes, revealing spiderweb-like blood vessels covering the Byakugan.
He couldn't catch his breath.
His body swayed to the side and he crashed into the mud with a "plop".
Muddy water splashed up half a meter high.
The envoy from the Land of Earth was a gaunt old man.
He looked at his fallen comrade, clutching his shirt tightly with both hands.
My ten fingers were white from picking at them.
A rattling sound came from his throat.
His face turned bluish-purple. His body went limp, and he collapsed into the puddle. His legs twitched twice, then he remained still.
Iwagakure. Tsuchikage Building.
The office windows were shattered by the sound waves of the nuclear explosion a few days ago.
The shards of broken glass were swept into a pile and stacked in the corner. The cold wind blew in without any obstruction.
Ōnoki sat in a large leather chair.
On the table lay an urgent secret report that had just arrived from the border. It contained Konoha's ultimatum.
He reached out and grabbed the paper.
The age spots on the back of my hand looked dark under the dim light. My fingers trembled like autumn leaves.
The paper rustled loudly in my hands.
Ōnoki crumpled the paper into a ball and slammed it hard onto the solid wood table.
This is outrageous!
He braced himself on the handrails and suddenly stood up.
A dry, crisp "crack" sound came from his waist.
Ōnoki gasped in pain. The cold air filled his lungs, and he coughed violently.
He slumped back into the chair with a dull thud.
He clutched his lower back with both hands, large beads of cold sweat beading on his forehead.
Beads of sweat slid down his wrinkled nose and landed on the desk.
sovereignty.
This isn't Shu Shiraishi talks at all; it's an attempt to eradicate them completely.
Ōnoki bit his lip until it bled.
The taste of blood spread across the tip of my tongue.
We cannot surrender. If we surrender, we will become cattle and horses to be slaughtered at will.
He bent down and pulled open the bottom drawer of his desk.
Inside was a dusty black wooden box.
He casually wiped away the dust with his sleeve and opened the box.
Inside lay a yellowed sheepskin scroll, its edges worn and frayed.
This is an antique scroll with Chakra runes, dating back to the Warring States period.
Konoha's current surveillance network is terrifying. Any routine communication can be intercepted.
Only inanimate objects that rely on blood pacts and Chakra resonance can evade the overwhelming radar.
Ōnoki bit his thumb.
Press your fingertip firmly into the blank space in the center of the scroll.
Chakra was injected frantically.
The red incantation spread rapidly across the parchment like mercury.
Ten minutes later.
Three blurry clusters of light and shadow appeared above the scroll.
The Third Kazekage, the Third Mizukage, and the Third Raikage, Dodai.
" Ōnoki."
The Third Kazekage's voice rang out, carrying distorted noises from Chakra resonance.
"You're looking for us because of Konoha's ultimatum?"
The phantom of Kazekage sat in a chair, holding a broken Kunai in his hand, its edges sharp.
"You received them all, right?" Ōnoki said, panting.
"Shoulder sovereignty. Shu Shiraishi is digging up our ancestral graves."
The phantom image of the Raikage Dodai flickered.
"My name is... completely paralyzed with fear."
The Dodai made a dry, hoarse sound, like two rough stones rubbing against each other.
"The government of Daming Prefecture hastily packed up its treasury overnight and is preparing to flee to the island."
He grabbed his hair with both hands.
"That nuclear bomb. What can we use to defend against it?"
"Shut up!"
The Third Mizukage's somber voice interrupted the Dodai.
The illusory image of the Mizukage slapped the table.
"Run? Where do you think you can run to, you barbarian from the Land of Lightning?"
"His iron bird can fly across half the Shinobi World! His aircraft carrier can block all sea routes!"
Mizukage let out a cold laugh.
"My intelligence officer said yesterday that Konoha has even extended its sewage pipes all the way to the Land of Wind. They don't treat us like human beings at all."
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
Kazekage suddenly stood up and kicked over the stool beside her.
"The sky over my Sunagakure is still dark. The common people cough up blood Tenten!"
Ōnoki gripped the edge of the table tightly with both hands.
I forced my aching back to straighten.
We've been cornered.
Ōnoki stared at the three clusters of light and shadow on the scroll.
"Compromise means national subjugation. In a conventional war, no matter how many soldiers we send, they'll just be fertilizer."
"So?" Mizukage asked.
"That railgun, that steel army."
Ōnoki gritted his teeth, squeezing out each word one by one.
"It's all thanks to Shu Shiraishi driving things. Konoha is now an absolute dictatorship."
"If he dies, Konoha's war machine will fall into chaos. Those exploited ninja clans will definitely rebel."
You want to assassinate him?
Kazekage chuckled, but his laughter was dry and weak.
"He can crush my Iron Sand with his bare hands. Who's going to kill him?"
"Let's do it together."
Ōnoki lowered his voice.
"Let bygones be bygones. The Four-Nation Alliance."
"Gather all our peak combat power. Kekkei Genkai, secret techniques—bring them all."
"Form Decapitation Alliance."
The scroll fell silent.
Only Chakra maintained the faint buzzing sound emanating from the phantom.
"How do we kill him?" Dodai asked.
"He's holed up in Konoha; we can't even get close to him."
"Bring him out."
Ōnoki tapped his fingers on the table, making a clanging sound.
"Neutral Nation. Land of Iron."
"In the name of the daimyo of the four countries, we invite him to convene the Five Kage Summit."
"They said they wanted to negotiate peace and were willing to cede territory and pay reparations."
Ōnoki smirked, revealing a few yellow teeth.
" Shu Shiraishi arrogant. He will definitely come."
"As long as he leaves Konoha."
"We'll bury ten thousand Explosive Tag beneath the meeting venue. Bring all our elite troops."
"Even if it costs us our lives, we will keep him in the Land of Iron."
The three shadows remained silent.
This is tantamount to betting the fate of the nation on an assassination. The cards of the four nations are laid out on the gambling table.
Kazekage spoke first.
"I'll send twenty elite soldiers, along with Rasa. His Magnet Release can control the field."
Mizukage chimed in.
"I lead the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Every strike draws blood."
Dodai gritted his teeth.
"Thirty Lightning Release Kumogakure been Jonin."
"Good."
Ōnoki slammed the sheepskin scroll shut.
The illusory image instantly dissipated.
"Send the invitations to Konoha in three days."
A few days later.
Konoha, Hokage Building.
A light rain was falling outside. Raindrops pattered against the bulletproof glass, washing away the thin layer of dust on it.
A ruffled Ninja Hawk flapped its wings and flew through the rain.
It landed on the windowsill on the third floor.
The Ninja Hawk had a hole in its left wing, and it was bleeding. It was grazed by a stray bullet while passing through the anti-aircraft net.
It shrank its neck tremblingly and tapped the glass twice with its beak.
"Knock knock."
Orochimaru stood by the window.
He was wearing a white lab coat, the hem of which had several patches of black engine oil on it.
I opened the window. A cold wind, carrying a drizzle of rain, blew in.
He reached out Genin hawk's leg.
Ninja Hawk as if he had been granted a pardon, and with a leap, he flew into the rain, fleeing for his life.
Orochimaru removed the cork from the bamboo tube.
Pour out an invitation card folded into a square.
The invitation was made of fine parchment and wrapped with red gold thread.
At each of the four corners, there was a copy of one of the four villages. The red ink gleamed dimly in the overcast sky.
Orochimaru unfolded the invitation.
He glanced down at it twice.
A strange look flashed in his narrow, yellowish eyes.
A slow, mocking smile spread across his lips.
He turned around.
He walked across the carpet in his rubber-soled shoes to the large mahogany desk.
Shu Shiraishi leaned back in his leather chair, legs crossed, military boots resting on the edge of the table.
He was fiddling with a brass lighter in his hand. "Click, click."
" Lord Shu."
Orochimaru handed over the invitation. The paper rustled.
They invite you to the Land of Iron.
His voice was hoarse, as if he had a mouthful of phlegm.
"It's said that the four daimyo have jointly requested Five Kage Summit."
"Discuss peace."
Shu Shiraishi received the invitation with his left hand.
He only glanced at the pile of ornate words and four red seals above.
Press the lighter with your thumb.
"Snap."
A cluster of blue and yellow flames shot up.
He held a corner of the invitation up to the flame.
The flames instantly engulfed the parchment.
The paper curled up, turned black, and emitted a burnt smell.
The Kakkō reflected on Shu Shiraishi's face, revealing his cold, hard features without a trace of softness.
He held the burning fragments between two fingers.
Watching the flames almost reach his fingertips, he gently rubbed his fingers together.
Sparks flew everywhere, turning into black ash.
Ashes settled on the mahogany table.
Shu Shiraishi retracted his leg, his military boot slamming onto the floor.
He let out a short, sharp laugh, so cold it sent shards of ice flying.
"Convene the Five Kage Summit?"
He looked at the ashes on the table.
"No..."