014 Five Kage Summit, Meeting Room

The Raikage shouted, "What is this supposed to mean?!"

Danzō said, "The leader of Akatsuki is most likely Uchiha Madara."

"What?!" The other four Kage were all shocked.

Ōnoki muttered, "That guy... wasn't he supposed to be dead a long time ago?"

Danzō replied, "The details are unclear, but the intel is reliable."

Ōnoki said, "I still can't believe Madara is alive…"

At that moment, Mifune spoke up. "As the leader of a neutral country, allow me to say something. The Akatsuki leader clearly understands how to use the current peace and distrust between nations to grow his power."

"Still, this gathering of the Five Kage is a rare opportunity. I propose we form a united ninja alliance to deal with the Akatsuki threat."

Ōnoki responded, "A ninja alliance... sounds good, but it's not that simple. The five great villages are equal in power. Who would lead such an alliance?"

Mifune said, "Right now, the only Jinchūriki left is the Nine-Tails, who belongs to Konoha. Shouldn't our priority be how to guide and protect him?"

Everyone fell silent.

Then Mifune continued, "I suggest we let the Hokage lead the ninja alliance."

His words shocked everyone. No one outside Konoha knew Naruto had defected.

"What did you say?!" Raikage reacted the strongest.

Danzō calmly replied, "If there are no objections, I'll gladly accept the role."

Raikage roared, "Why the Hokage?! He represents the darkness in the ninja world! How can we trust him with such responsibility?!"

Mifune looked around and asked, "Then Raikage, who do you think should lead the alliance?"

The Raikage shouted, "No one from our village has ever joined Akatsuki. If we're talking about trust, I'm the most suitable candidate!"

Mifune replied, "I'm afraid that's hard to believe…"

"What did you say?!" Raikage snapped.

Mifune calmly pointed at the shattered table in front of the Raikage. "Do you really think someone who rules through force and anger is fit to lead? If you let emotions guide your decisions and rely only on power, this alliance will break—just like this table."

Crack… crack… crack.

The words struck a nerve. Raikage clenched his teeth in frustration.

Mifune continued in a calm tone, "Of course, this is just an objective opinion from someone outside the villages."

"Kazekage-sama is still too young to take on such a heavy responsibility, and he already has enough on his shoulders."

"Tsuchikage-sama is getting old, lacks energy, and has a history of working with Akatsuki. That makes it hard to trust him."

"Mizukage-sama leads the village where Akatsuki is rumored to have started. There are also concerns about information leaks and spies."

"We still don't fully understand Akatsuki's motives for capturing the tailed beasts. But one thing is clear, the Nine-Tails must not fall into their hands."

"And since the Nine-Tails originally belonged to Konoha, we believe it would be safest to let the Hokage lead the alliance."

Mifune's reasoning was solid. The Raikage realized he had lost his chance and shouted angrily, "I came here to show the strength of the Cloud Village! The ninja alliance has nothing to do with me!"

Meanwhile, Ao, the Mizukage's guard, grew suspicious. He thought to himself: Mifune is supposed to be neutral, but he's clearly favoring Konoha too much…

"There's a problem. We need to confirm something first... Chojuro, get ready to fight."

"Eh?"

Young Chojuro, still inexperienced, didn't fully understand what was happening, but he gripped his sword tightly.

Ao formed a hand seal with two fingers, and chakra lines appeared around his right eye beneath the black eyepatch.

Byakugan activated.

Through the blue-white glow of his eye, he clearly saw the chakra in Danzo's right eye.

He was stunned. 

"No mistake... that chakra is from Uchiha Shisui! I've fought him before—I'll never forget that chakra!"

Swish!

Ao moved behind Mizukage Terumi Mei and said firmly, "Lord Hokage, would you mind removing the bandages over your right eye?"

"!?"

All four Kage were visibly shocked.

Danzo stayed silent.

Ohnoki asked, "What's going on?"

Ao said, "That right eye... it seems to be transplanted from Uchiha Shisui. His Mangekyō Sharingan has a special ability, it can enter someone's mind and control their thoughts without them even knowing it."

"It's the most advanced genjutsu completely undetectable by the one being controlled."

Raikage growled, "Hokage, don't tell me you've been…."

Mifune gasped: "?!"

Ao added, "My own right eye is a Byakugan I took in battle with a Hyuga. I don't question what others carry, but just now, I dispelled a genjutsu on Lord Mifune... and that illusion came from you."

Ao suddenly glanced behind Mifune and said sharply, "You two can drop the disguise now!"

"Huh!?"

Everyone turned their attention to the two samurai, Okisuke and Rikkaku.

Orochimaru, disguised as a tall samurai, smirked to himself. "Tch… I've been found out. Still, who would've expected that one of the Mizukage's guards had the Byakugan?"

"..."

Naruto, disguised as the one-eyed samurai Okisuke, looked serious and tense.

This happened a long time ago, and Naruto had only heard about the events of the summit secondhand. Naturally, he couldn't fake every detail.

But the mission was a success, Danzo's Kotoamatsukami had been forced out and neutralized.

Bang!

The Transformation Technique was released.

Naruto and Orochimaru appeared in front of everyone, both wearing masks.

Snap!

Without a word, Mifune drew his sword and attacked without hesitation.

Naruto unsheathed his blade just in time, blocking Mifune's powerful strike.

With a faint smile, Naruto said, "As expected of the leader of the samurai… your sword is fast."

Mifune demanded, "Where are Okisuke and Rikkaku!?"

"Hmm… who knows?"

Naruto pushed back Mifune's sword with his left hand and reached for his ninja tool pouch with his right.

"Huh!?"

Mifune narrowed his eyes and immediately stepped back, drawing his blade again in caution.

Naruto pulled a smoke bomb from his pouch and threw it to the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Inside the thick smoke, the sounds of fists and kicks echoed.

Then Boom! 

A loud crash broke the tension as part of the wall shattered. 

Danzo, clutching his shoulder, made a run for it, with Fuu and Torune following close behind.

Naruto and Orochimaru moved to chase them, but Ao from the Mist Village stepped in and blocked their path.

"Even with a mask, your chakra cannot be hidden. You're Konoha's Nine Tails Jinchūriki!"

He looked at the other masked figure.

"And you... you're Orochimaru, one of Konoha's legendary Sannin. I thought you were dead. I didn't expect to find you alive and working with the Jinchūriki."

"Hehe..." Orochimaru gave a sly smile.

Naruto thought to himself, "I don't know Ao very well, but now I get why he was trusted enough to be recruited by Kara after surviving the Fourth Great Ninja War. He's very perceptive."

Just then, the Raikage shouted, "So you're the Nine Tails Jinchūriki... then you must be Uzumaki Naruto! I'm asking you, do you know where Uchiha Sasuke is?!"

Naruto replied, "Yeah. I know."

Raikage: "Then where is he?!"

Naruto looked straight at him and said, "I won't tell you."

.

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TO BE CONTINUED

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