282. The Journey Home

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The next step was to assign specific tasks. The most important priorities were deploying reconnaissance units to track Akatsuki's movements and… reporting back to their respective daimyos.

That's right. Though daimyos often had little presence in shinobi affairs, a situation of this scale had to be reported to them. In case of an emergency, they might even need to be evacuated to prevent them from becoming hostages.

Minato turned to Shibuki, the leader of Takigakure, and asked warmly, "Shibuki, have you decided what to do about that child?"

The other four Kage also turned their attention to him. They knew Minato was referring to the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, which was the main reason Shibuki had been allowed to attend the summit.

Shibuki instinctively glanced in Fuu's direction before bowing slightly. "This may be presumptuous, but I would like to send Fuu to Konoha as a guest.

Compared to the Five Great Shinobi Nations, our village's strength is negligible. I fear we don't have the ability to protect her properly.

After witnessing today's discussions, I have great respect for you, Hokage. Additionally, I've heard she has friends in Konoha. If she were to go there, I believe she would be very cooperative."

Minato nodded without hesitation. "That won't be a problem."

Onoki seized the opportunity to ask, "Currently, the remaining free Tailed Beasts are the One-Tail, Three-Tails, Six-Tails, Seven-Tails, and Nine-Tails. Excluding the Kazekage and Mizukage, how does Hokage plan to handle the other Jinchuriki?"

Minato replied, "My wife and son are the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and they will participate in the battle. As for Fuu, I'll evaluate her combat capability before making arrangements. Mizukage, how is your Six-Tails Jinchuriki?"

Yagura answered, "Utakata's control over his Tailed Beast isn't perfect. If he pushes too hard, there's a risk of him losing control. However, his individual strength is still considerable, so he's more than capable of fighting. Moving with the main forces will actually reduce his risk of being captured."

"Speaking of which," Onoki suddenly brought up, "why does Konoha have two Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? I've been wondering about this for a while. Of course, if it involves some secret jutsu, just pretend I never asked."

Raikage and the others were also curious. If Jinchuriki could be mass-produced, that would be terrifying.

Minato shook his head. "There's no real secret to it. When Naruto was born, an unexpected incident occurred, causing the Nine-Tails to be split in half. One half was sealed inside Kushina, and the other half inside Naruto. If I had a choice, I wouldn't have done it."

No one pressed further it was irrelevant now.

The process of making a Jinchuriki was already risky, and splitting a Tailed Beast weakened its overall power. It wasn't something worth replicating.

"By the way," Minato said, pulling a few Flying Thunder God kunai from his pouch.

Gaara didn't react much, but Raikage immediately recognized them. "That's your Flying Thunder God formula, isn't it?"

"That's right. If an emergency arises, just contact me, and I can teleport directly to the location. This will greatly improve our response efficiency."

After explaining, Minato smiled slightly. "Of course, this also means I could suddenly appear and stab you."

"Enough joking around like you could…!" Raikage grabbed one of the kunai, but then he froze, a sudden thought flashing in his eyes.

"Hokage! You once left a mark on Bee, right? Does it still exist?"

Minato sighed. "I'm sorry. Technically, the mark was on one of the Eight-Tails' severed tentacles. If the Eight-Tails is sealed away, I can't track its location."

"I see…" Raikage's brief hope faded, but there was nothing he could do.

Of course, no one took Minato's joke seriously. Even Mifune and Shibuki accepted a kunai each.

"Then let's hurry back and make preparations," Minato instructed. "Be careful on the way, especially you, Kazekage and Mizukage. You two are the most likely targets for an ambush."

"Understood!"

…

After a brief farewell, the various guards leapt down, following their respective Kage as they departed.

Only Minato and Shibuki remained behind.

Fuu fluttered in the air, her small wings flapping as she hovered in front of Shibuki. "Hey, Shibuki! Is the meeting over? Can I go play now?"

Shibuki sighed. "Weren't you always saying you wanted to visit Konoha? I've already spoken with Hokage, and he agreed to let you go as a guest."

"Really?! That's awesome!" Fuu did a mid-air somersault in excitement.

"Alright, settle down and listen to me. Otherwise, I won't let you go!" Shibuki warned.

"Yes, sir!" Fuu quickly landed, folding her wings and giving a playful salute.

Shibuki raised a finger. "Remember: First, you must obey Hokage's instructions at all times no sneaking off. Second, once in Konoha, do not cause trouble or embarrass our village. That includes not barging into other people's offices like you do here. Third, you must not—"

Three minutes later, Fuu's eyelids were drooping.

Five minutes later, her head bobbed downward before she jerked awake, staring blankly at the still-talking Shibuki.

Fuu finally protested, "Enough already, Shibuki! You say this every time I leave! I could recite it by now!"

Shibuki raised an eyebrow. "Then recite it for me."

"…" Fuu blinked, grinning sheepishly while scratching her head.

"Yeah, thought so." Shibuki sighed. "Anyway, just don't cause trouble."

"Got it!" Fuu shot over to Naruto's side, grinning widely as she waved back at Shibuki.

Shibuki rubbed his face and looked at Minato apologetically. "Sorry for the trouble. Fuu can be a bit… energetic."

Minato chuckled. "No worries. Our village has plenty of kids like that."

…

Leaving the warmth of the summit hall and stepping back into the snow-covered landscape, Naruto could sense Kakashi and the others hiding nearby, standing guard. They had been on alert the whole time.

Fuu flitted beside Naruto, bombarding him with questions about what was fun and delicious in Konoha. Before he could finish answering one, she had already asked two more.

Naruto felt like he was on 2G internet, while she was running on 5G.

As for why they weren't just teleporting back using Flying Thunder God?

Minato was actually hoping to attract some attackers on the way back.

Naruto was also curious was anyone bold enough to try ambushing them? Honestly, he was a bit disappointed that no one had tried to disrupt the Five Kage Summit. Not even a single White Zetsu popping out from underground!

What Naruto didn't know was… it was all his fault.

Obito no longer dared to make a grand entrance. Before, he could always rely on Kamui to phase in and out at will, allowing him to act with impunity.

But now?

Obito stared at the group of bright yellow blurs that had been constantly jumping in and out of his Kamui dimension since the start of the summit, all leaving Flying Thunder God marks as if they were hosting a rave.

His head throbbed.

Meanwhile, on the Mizukage's return route, an ambush had already been set in place.

The assassins had chosen the perfect location.

They were waiting.

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