Land of Iron.
As one of the few neutral countries in the shinobi world, it was seen as a place where, when ninja entered, grudges were often laid aside in favor of dialogue.
Though it bordered the Land of Fire, the moment you stepped into the Land of Iron, a distinctly different culture was immediately apparent.
The heritage of the samurai culture had not been severed.
A long time ago, they made a pact with the shinobi.
There would be no ninja in the Land of Iron, and there would be no conflict between samurai and ninja—only in moments of extreme crisis would they ever clash.
But still, this was the world of the shinobi.
Even samurai had begun channeling chakra through their blades to enhance their combat abilities.
At this moment, Mifune had quite a headache.
Though the Second Great Ninja War had ended, its impact had not spared the Land of Iron.
Take, for example, Hanzō the Salamander, who initially declared war on the Land of Iron—only to be defeated by them in return.
Luckily, Hanzō was now dead, and the Land of Iron remained a neutral power.
But...
What exactly were these five Kage discussing?
Mifune looked toward the meeting room, visibly rolling his eyes.
A Five Kage Summit?
Where were the five Kage?
Aside from the Raikage and Tsuchikage, the rest hadn't even bothered to show up.
Well—technically, that's not true. They had sent representatives.
From the Land of Fire, Konoha's two senior advisors had arrived. It was no surprise, considering Konoha hadn't had a Hokage in a long time.
And yet, what was surprising was how the village continued to function normally even without one.
That was something worth the other villages thinking about.
If the title of "Kage" wasn't essential to governance, then why go through the trouble of creating a figurehead everyone disliked?
Konoha had no Hokage.
And yet, their recovery was swift. They'd already bounced back from the failure of the Second Great Ninja War.
Each clan's head had a voice, and important decisions were made by majority vote.
The advisors could quickly implement these ideas across the village. If something worked, it was kept. If not, it was scrapped.
The village was no longer run by a single figurehead, and its growth potential was enormous.
By decentralizing power, execution had become more efficient.
Konoha had already outpaced the other villages.
So now, the two Kage present felt awkward sitting across from Konoha's two advisors.
They weren't sure this meeting was even necessary anymore.
Still, the Kage title held symbolic weight.
With a Kage present, the people of the village could sleep easy.
The villagers and ninja knew that if anything ever threatened their home, their Kage would stand up—putting their life on the line to protect it.
That was the true value of a Kage.
Back to the issue at hand.
Konoha sent its senior advisors to the Five Kage Summit—understandable, given they had no Hokage.
Sunagakure had yet to elect its Fourth Kazekage. The Third Kazekage had been crushed to death by one of Uchiha Madara's meteors.
The one they sent was a familiar face—Chiyo. She was still alive, tough as ever.
Not because she was that strong, but because she'd used every puppet at her disposal to dig a pit and hide herself and Ebizō, saving both their lives.
No one else had that ability. Sunagakure had suffered devastating losses. It was no surprise someone tried to assassinate Chiyo after the fact.
After all, anything related to Uchiha Madara was explosive, and even if the village was destroyed, people still wanted to do something.
Konoha's Hokage was gone. So was Sunagakure's Kazekage.
As for the Third Mizukage of Kirigakure, it wasn't that he didn't want to come—it was that ever since the tsunami Konoha had triggered, he'd been left gravely wounded.
They finally found someone to succeed the position—Yagura—but before he could be named the Fourth Mizukage, he was taken by Madara.
Furious, he practically died with his eyes open.
So Kirigakure sent one of its elders instead.
Representatives from five major villages.
Was this really a Five Kage Summit?
Mifune sighed and shook his head.
To the ninja, this was their issue. The Land of Iron was just here as a neutral witness.
Still, they had to act like this mattered, especially with Ōnoki present.
The mood in the room was tense.
Even the host, Ōnoki, looked stressed.
A Five Kage meeting...?
Yeah, right!
There weren't even five Kage here. What kind of summit was this?
"Everyone's dealing with their own struggles. I hope we can be understanding," said Elder Gen solemnly.
If only Kirigakure had been able to send a proper Mizukage. But with their successor dead, the village was in chaos. And now, rumors about the Senju clan making moves were starting to surface too.
Another tsunami would be disastrous—even with a dam in place.
Everyone looked at one another in silence.
It was as if the summit had hit rock bottom before it even began.
Still, Kushina and Mikoto showed no concern. Calmly, they organized their documents.
They were here with a purpose.
But the real players hadn't arrived yet.
So they had no reason to speak up.
Almost as if to confirm their thoughts, something strange happened in the next instant.
Boom!
The room shook.
To everyone's shock, several samurai burst into the chamber through the main doors.
And with them walked a shadowy figure.
That iconic hairstyle...
The red armor from the Warring States Era...
And the unmistakable three-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes confirmed his identity—
Uchiha Madara.
He had arrived.
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