Shortly after Minato Namikaze's arrival, Mifune, the leader of the Land of Iron's samurai, stepped slowly into the grand hall.
As a samurai, Mifune practiced a style of physical combat akin to Kenjutsu; his swordsmanship was legendary, and his ability to maintain the Land of Iron's status as a permanently neutral nation was a testament to his formidable strength.
Inside the vast conference room, five Kage hats were placed at five cardinal points. Fifth Kazekage Aoki Shiraishi, Fourth Mizukage Yagura Karatachi, Third Tsuchikage Onoki, Fourth Raikage Ay, and Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze each took their seats. Including their two bodyguards each and Mifune, a total of sixteen people were present.
The atmosphere was instantly thick with tension. The Third Shinobi World War had only recently concluded. Except for the Sand and Cloud, and the Mist and Stone—who had avoided large-scale direct conflict—every other village had engaged in some form of military clash.
The Leaf, in particular, had fought all four of the other villages. Despite this, Minato maintained perfect composure, exchanging a glance with Mifune, who stepped forward and cleared his throat to speak.
"In truth, at the request of the Hokage, the primary objective of this Five Kage Summit is to establish a post-war communication mechanism. This will allow the five great villages to communicate effectively and promptly when facing various problems and difficulties."
A communication mechanism?
Hearing Mifune's words, the Kage remained silent, waiting for him to continue. However, the Raikage soon lost his patience. After hearing a string of empty platitudes, the hot-tempered leader of the Cloud slammed his fist on the table. "So, what exactly are you trying to do?"
Minato cut in to elaborate on Mifune's point. "I hope the five great ninja villages can unite to establish peace in the shinobi world."
"Unite how?"
"By collectively disarming, reducing the number of regular ninjas, and establishing an elite-focused education model."
Minato's words caused Onoki to narrow his eyes. "And how does the Hokage suggest we carry out this disarmament?"
"Each party will designate a number within a reasonable range for reduction."
Currently, among the five great villages, the Mist and the Leaf had the fewest active ninjas. The former was mired in civil war, and its brutal graduation system kept numbers low.
The Mist had roughly 10,000 ninjas, of which Yagura could only reliably mobilize about 2,000—putting them at the bottom of the five villages.
As for the Leaf, their losses in the Third World War had been catastrophic, leaving them with roughly 15,000 regular ninjas.
However, the Leaf was already planning to pivot post-war, changing their graduation exams from pure physical tests to a comprehensive "elite" model. In other words, they no longer needed to recruit "cannon fodder."
The Stone and Cloud had roughly equivalent numbers, around 20,000 each.
Minato's proposal was clearly aimed at the biggest winner of the war: the Hidden Sand. Currently, the Sand's resident ninja force was also around 20,000, on par with the Cloud and Stone.
However, under Shiraishi's six-academy system, the number of Genin graduating annually was terrifying. According to Leaf Intelligence, the total force effectively controlled by the Sand was closer to 40,000, making them the strongest military power in the world.
Therefore, Minato had decided to use the summit to rally the other three villages against the Sand—a strategic suppression of Shiraishi's expansion.
The room fell silent. Even the Raikage turned his gaze toward the Kazekage.
"Lord Hokage, your suggestion is excellent," Shiraishi began. "But disbanding ninjas requires significant capital to support their return to civilian life. Has the Leaf considered this?"
"This..."
Before Minato could respond, Shiraishi continued. "A ninja's livelihood revolves around the mission-reward system. They do not engage in production or labor.
Once left idle, it will lead to massive conflict or even the birth of large-scale rogue ninja groups. No one wants to see tens of thousands of rogue ninjas roaming the nations, do they?"
Tens of thousands of rogue ninjas?
Shiraishi's words appeared to be a concern for the ninjas' welfare, but it was a thinly veiled threat. If the Leaf dared to force a one-size-fits-all standard for disarmament, Shiraishi would simply "release" these so-called rogue armies into the Land of Fire, leaving the Leaf busy for years trying to suppress them.
Furthermore, the Sand now handled as many missions as the Leaf; how could they maintain their massive financial needs if they cut their workforce?
Onoki added coldly, "It certainly cannot be a single standard for all. Every village has a different situation. That is why we are here—to find a range of acceptable conditions for all parties."
As the Tsuchikage spoke, the muscles in Minato's face twitched. He had expected the Stone to align with the Leaf on this, and for the Mist and Cloud to relish the idea of weakening the Sand. Instead, the three other Kage were refusing to support him. The summit was spiraling out of control.
Perhaps I underestimated the other Kage...
"Disarmament is a long-term goal," the Fourth Raikage, Ay, finally declared, looking at the assembled Kage and their guards.
"We have five Kage and ten Jonin-level guards, fifteen people in total. Why don't we settle this with a special King of the Hill game right here in the Land of Iron?"
A King of the Hill game?
Like a lion thirsty for battle, Ay glared at Minato. "A pure challenge match. The loser is disqualified. The village with the most successful 'holds' on the stage gets to decide the disarmament plan."
"Ridiculous! How can we be so flippant with such matters?" Onoki was the first to object. The other Kage were young; he was an old man. They wanted him to play a physical endurance game with them? Absurd!
"I think it's a good idea," Shiraishi said, being the first to agree. The Cloud's proposal was actually a subtle hint of an alliance with the Sand, and Shiraishi understood it perfectly.
"Interesting... this 'King of the Hill' game," Yagura added with a cold smile that didn't match his youthful appearance. This meant the Mist also agreed.
With the Sand, Cloud, and Mist in agreement, Minato saw the tide turning. He had no choice but to accept.
"Since the Raikage proposed it, the Cloud shall send the first defender. As for the arena, we shall use the plateau on the peak of the mountain outside."
Since the Cloud suggested it, they were tasked with starting. Ay waved his hand dismissively. "Samui, you go first."
"Yes!"
Beside the Raikage, a beautiful woman with short blonde hair and blue-green eyes stepped forward. Holding a short tantō, she vanished in a blur of lightning-fast movement toward the peak.
Amidst the swirling snow, the Cloud Jonin Samui stood proudly on the summit, gazing down coldly as she awaited her challenger.
As Shiraishi prepared to stand, Arashi whispered in his ear, "Lord Kazekage, during the coming battles, be sure not to reveal too many of your new techniques."
"I understand."
As he stepped out of the conference room, Shiraishi's eyes met Minato's. A palpable fighting spirit crackled in the air. Upon reaching the towering peak, Shiraishi noted that while it was a perfect arena, there was no place for spectators.
Shiraishi raised a hand. His metallic Magnet Style began to coalesce, forming sixteen massive chairs that hovered in mid-air.
"Lords of the Shadows, please take your seats."
Wrapped in his Psychic chakra, Shiraishi floated effortlessly and sat on his silver-sand throne. This unique application of Magnet Style could maintain itself for twelve hours without further input.
In an instant, Minato appeared in his own floating seat. The speed was so blinding that many of the Jonin present were horrified—they hadn't even seen when Minato had placed a Flying Raijin formula on Shiraishi's sand seats.
The Yellow Flash!
Shiraishi's eyes locked onto the Hokage. He was certain of one thing: Minato had used Level 2 Flying Raijin to achieve such an exquisite Body Flicker.
Once Minato sat, Onoki used his own flight to settle into a seat, followed by the Raikage and Mizukage. As the Five Kage sat perched high above the arena, the guard Jonin stepped forward. One figure, however, didn't just step forward—he locked his gaze on Samui atop the peak.
"It's him... he actually dares to challenge Samui?"
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