013 Five Kage Summit 

The Land of Iron, home of the samurai, is located near the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning. 

It also borders the Land of Fire, the Land of Taki, and the Land of Rice Fields. The country has a cold climate and is covered in snow all year round.

Because it has always stayed neutral in ninja conflicts, it has avoided war and was chosen as the only suitable place to host the Five Kage Summit.

At that moment, near the border of the Land of Fire, the Eagle Squad was moving swiftly, about to enter the Iron Country.

"Hmm?" Karin suddenly frowned. "I sense an unknown chakra up ahead!"

Sasuke and the others stopped and stayed alert.

Swish!

Countless butterflies flew into the air, gathering together to form the figure of Konan. She appeared calm and serious as she said, "You can't pass through here."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "That cloak… she's from Akatsuki."

Suigetsu glanced at White Zetsu, who had been leading the way. "She one of yours?"

White Zetsu shouted, "Konan! You betrayed Akatsuki! Why are you still getting in our way?!"

Konan replied coldly, "Akatsuki was created by Yahiko of Amegakure. You just stole the name. I have every right to call myself Akatsuki."

White Zetsu growled, "Tch… I didn't expect her to show up!"

Sasuke said in a low voice, "If she's not on your side, then I'll kill her. Is that fine?"

White Zetsu smirked. "Sure, go ahead. We could use some help getting rid of traitors."

Sasuke stepped forward, his blade in hand. His eyes flared with Mangekyō Sharingan as he warned coldly, "Get out of the way."

But Konan's response….was a storm of paper blades raining down from the sky!

"Disperse!!"

The Eagle Squad quickly scattered.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sasuke swung his Kusanagi sword, blocking the paper projectiles flying toward him.

But Konan's technique had a wide range, lasting power, and strong impact. 

As Sasuke defended himself, his left eye locked onto the figure in the sky. Blood dripped from the corner of his eye, staining the snow red… thin lines of blood spread across his pupil like a spiderweb.

Amaterasu!

Fwoosh!

Black flames of Amaterasu ignited Konan's paper body, ending the deadly rain of paper.

"The black flames that never go out… Amaterasu. The same eye power as Itachi…" Konan murmured as her burning form disintegrated.

But then, more paper fluttered down from the sky, revealing multiple Konan clones!

Jūgo narrowed his eyes. "That one just now... was a clone?"

Sasuke asked coldly, "Karin, can you find the real one?"

Karin focused, pressing her fingers together into a hand seal to boost her sensing ability.

After a moment, she frowned and said, "No… All the chakra signatures are exactly the same."

White Zetsu warned, "That woman's jutsu is tricky… Sasuke, you'd better save your chakra for when you face the Five Kage!"

Sasuke snapped, "Doesn't matter…burn everything!"

Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

More black flames shot out, swallowing Konan's paper clones in the sky.

Meanwhile, Karin thought to herself with growing concern: Ever since I heard Danzo became Hokage… Sasuke's chakra feels colder than ever…

High in the snow-covered mountains, the Five Kage Summit began as planned.

Inside the meeting hall, the flags of the five great nations, Wind, Fire, Earth, Lightning, and Water stood tall.

Seated around the large circular table were the five Kage:

Fourth Raikage, A

Fifth Mizukage, Terumi Mei

Third Tsuchikage, Ohnoki

Fifth Kazekage, Gaara

Sixth Hokage, Shimura Danzō

Each Kage had brought guards, who waited silently behind a curtain alert and ready to act if needed.

At the center sat Mifune, the leader of the neutral Land of Iron, acting as the host of the summit. 

Behind him stood two armored samurai, Osuke and Rikaku, famous warriors with strength on par with Elite Jōnin.

But in reality, the two "samurai" were Naruto and Orochimaru in disguise.

Orochimaru whispered, "Naruto, I didn't expect you to know the Iron Country this well. We slipped in without any trouble…"

Of course, in his past life, Naruto had served as Hokage and hosted multiple Five Kage Summits. He had also visited the Land of Iron many times as Mifune's guest.

And in a stable nation like the Land of Iron, little had changed, the strongholds were almost exactly the same.

On their journey here, Naruto, Orochimaru, and their companion had already prepared a plan for what was coming next.

Naruto said, "Danzo's right eye belongs to Uchiha Shisui. It holds the power of Kotoamatsukami, a dangerous genjutsu that can control a person without them realizing it. It's a threat, even to me, unless I can kill Danzo before he activates it."

"But he also has Izanagi, so landing a fatal blow won't be easy."

"So, the basic plan is to make Danzo use Kotoamatsukami before the real fight starts."

Orochimaru asked, "How do we make him use it?"

Naruto replied, "If nothing goes wrong, Danzo will probably use it on Mifune in order to gain the initiative. Kotoamatsukami can't be used more than once a day, so that would be our best chance."

Although Naruto had the Rinnegan and could resist most genjutsu, he didn't want to take any risks.

Konan asked, "So we attack Danzo after the summit, on his way back to the village?"

Naruto shook his head. "That's too late. Others are watching Danzo too. If we wait, too many variables could get in the way."

"Orochimaru and I will sneak into the venue early, disguised as samurai, and keep a close eye on Danzo from the start," Naruto added with a slight grin. 

"After all, Transformation Jutsu is one of my specialties."

"As for Sasuke, Konan, I'll need you to hold him off. But don't fight too long. Just stall him."

...

Back to the present.

Mifune spoke firmly: "Let the Five Kage Summit begin."

Gaara, resting his chin on both hands, looked around and said, "I'll speak first. Please listen."

Ohnoki smirked and replied, "The new generation of Kage really has changed. You're so young to hold this position… Your father must've raised you well. Too bad you didn't learn any manners."

"Damn old man!" Kankuro, standing behind Gaara as his bodyguard, clenched his fists in anger.

But Gaara remained calm. "That's why I'm here as the Kazekage."

"Hahaha… Arrogant little brat," Ohnoki chuckled.

"What's wrong with the Tsuchikage!?" Kankuro growled, ready to argue.

"Stay calm…" Temari said quietly, more composed than her brothers. Still, she subtly reached for her weapon pouch, just in case.

Then the Fifth Mizukage, Terumi Mei, stepped in to ease the tension. "Tsuchikage-sama, please don't interrupt. Kazekage-sama, go on."

Gaara nodded. "I was once a Jinchūriki and was captured by the Akatsuki. I know how dangerous they are."

"I sent many warnings to the other Kage, but no one listened, except the former Hokage."

"Now, with the Jinchūriki already taken, it's too late to talk about joining forces."

At this point, Ohnoki gave his opinion:

"After the Jinchūriki of the five great villages were taken, it was a shameful thing."

"Normally, we should try to get them back in secret. Asking other nations for help right after losing them, that's shameful."

Gaara responded with clear disdain:

"Honor? Reputation? Those are just outdated ideas."

Ohnoki thought to himself, Young people these days...

Terumi Mei added, "Whether it's old-fashioned or not, I admit the Mist Village was too passive. But even if someone captures a Tailed Beast, it's not immediately a threat. Controlling it takes time, skill, and knowledge."

Ōnoki nodded. "A Jinchūriki and their beast need to grow together and learn to work as one. Even then, it's still hard to control them. But you sure like to talk a lot... right, Kazekage?"

Gaara stayed silent.

Then Danzo spoke up, his voice calm but full of meaning:

"When it comes to controlling Tailed Beasts, only a few in history have managed it: Uchiha Madara, the First Hokage Hashirama, the Fourth Mizukage Yagura… and the Raikage's younger brother, Killer Bee."

Click!

At the mention of his brother, the Raikage clenched his fist beneath his armor. His killing intent spiked.

Sensing the sudden danger, all the shadow guards behind the curtain immediately jumped out, alert and ready!

"Enough talking!!!"

The Raikage roared, slamming his fist into the table.

CRACK!!

 The table and chairs shattered under the impact.

All the guards rushed in, and the atmosphere grew tense.

"Hmm…"

Mifune sighed helplessly.

"This is a place for diplomacy. Please be mindful of your behavior."

The Kage signaled their guards to stand down, and the talks resumed.

The Raikage spoke loudly:

"Konoha, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Kirigakure Akatsuki is made up of your own missing-nin! And not only that, some Kage have even used Akatsuki for their own thing!"

Gaara looked surprised. "Used them?"

The Raikage shouted, "How am I supposed to trust any of you let alone work together?! I called this summit to ask one thing: what do loyalty and trust even mean to you?!"

Gaara asked again, "What do you mean by 'used'?"

The Raikage pointed directly at Ohnoki.

"Ask him! That old man used Akatsuki during wartime!"

Ohnoki answered calmly:

"Now that things are more peaceful, most nations are cutting back on military spending. Wars are rare, and ninja villages have become expensive burdens. Still, the risk of conflict remains. And if it happens, we can't count on inexperienced ninja."

Gaara said, "So, to avoid that risk… you hired battle-tested mercenaries like Akatsuki?"

Ohnoki nodded.

"Training elite shinobi takes years and a lot of money. But Akatsuki is already a veteran in war. They offer power at a low price, with fast results. From a strategic point of view it made sense."

The Raikage shouted, "Don't try to make it sound reasonable, Tsuchikage!"

"Hmph," Ōnoki scoffed in response.

Raikage said: "Sand Shinobi used Akatsuki to destroy Konoha."

"As for Orochimaru... Although it is not clear whether he was still affiliated with Akatsuki at that time, the result was that the former Kazekage and Hokage died because of it."

"There is a high possibility that there is a mastermind behind this..."

The Raikage said this, looking meaningfully at Danzo, and thought to himself: This old fox.

"The weirdest ones are you, Mist Shinobi. You are almost isolated from the outside world. There are even rumors that Akatsuki was born there!"

"..." Terumi Mei lowered her eyes and said, 

"Now that things have come to this, I will say what I want to say. I suspect... someone is secretly manipulating the former Fourth Mizukage."

The guard behind her rolled his eyes and said in shock: Fifth Mizukage, are you planning to...

Terumi Mei raised her eyes and said, "This is very likely related to Akatsuki! So, we can't say anything..."

"..." 

Raikage was also surprised by Mizukage's statement, but still said firmly: "You're all the same..."

Ohnoki was a little angry: "Don't go too far, Raikage! Now everyone is reducing their military forces, only you Cloud Shinobi are still expanding wildly and collecting ninjutsu everywhere! In order to fight against you, hiring Akatsuki was a desperate countermeasure!"

"What!?" Raikage was immediately furious.

At this moment, Danzo said with a low look in his eyes: "Before you two start arguing, I want to say something first..."

.

.

TO BE CONTINUED

_______________

Noted : if you guys want read free advance chapter up to 20ch, you can check at my P@treon : patreon.com/MoonEater18