The Five Kage Summit is an important meeting where the five Kage gather to discuss the future of the ninja world. Only the most trusted aides of the Kage are allowed to attend this meeting.
Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin, and Shisui, the leader of Root, both have the qualifications to participate in the summit.
But for others, it's not so simple. After all, the ninja who are selected for the Five Kage Summit are almost always destined to become core figures within their respective villages.
After a moment of contemplation, Jiraiya thought of a suitable candidate, "How about letting Kakashi attend the Five Kage Summit? He's Naruto's team leader, and if he brings along the Seventh Squad, it could also help prevent an attack from the masked man."
Shisui nodded slightly and said Kakashi is indeed a good choice. Not only has he reached the level of an elite Jonin, but he also possesses the Sharingan with three tomoe, which will allow him to contend with the masked man for a short period of time."
Since Shisui agreed, the advisor duo had no objections.
Kakashi had completed numerous S-rank missions over the years, becoming the de facto leader of the younger generation. Additionally, with his status as the son of the Byakuya and the Fourth Hokage's disciple, it wasn't impossible for him to become Hokage in the future.
After hearing everyone's opinions, Tsunade nodded and said, "Then it's settled. Jiraiya, Shisui, and Kakashi's team will attend the Five Kage Summit, while the rest will remain in Konoha for defense."
At this point, Shisui spoke up, "I won't attend the summit. You three go ahead. I prefer to stay in the village and not be in the spotlight."
After considering Shisui's request, Tsunade and Jiraiya agreed.
The previous list was somewhat flawed. If Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Shisui all attended the Five Kage Summit, there wouldn't be enough strong ninjas left in the village.
Once the participants for the summit were confirmed, they began discussing the travel plans.
Attending the Five Kage Summit was no small matter. Any small mistake in the details could have far-reaching consequences.
---
More than ten minutes later, Kakashi, who was resting at home, received an order from Tsunade.
Upon hearing that Killer Bee had been attacked and that the Fourth Raikage had invited the leaders of the major ninja villages to the Five Kage Summit, Kakashi was momentarily stunned, but his expression soon darkened.
He knew the true identity of the masked man, Obito Uchiha.
It was precisely because of this that he felt sorrow for his dear friend's fall from grace. He couldn't understand why Obito would attack the Tailed Beasts and why he would embark on this irreversible path.
Could he stop Obito?
As Kakashi pondered this, Kushina's voice echoed through the room, "Kakashi, did someone from the Hokage Tower come by? What happened?"
When he saw Kushina, Kakashi's heart eased.
After Kushina returned to Konoha, she had been living in his house, teaching Naruto. With Kushina, his "master's wife," around, he didn't have to shoulder all the pressure. After all, his master's wife was a compelling figure.
Thinking about this, Kakashi relayed everything he knew to Kushina.
After hearing his explanation, Kushina frowned and said, "Obito even attacked the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki? He really wants to oppose the entire ninja world. But he's always been chased by the Byakuya. What courage does he have to show up again? Kakashi, you've known Obito the longest. What do you think Obito is trying to do?"
"I don't know either..."
Kakashi scratched his head. He truly didn't understand what Obito was thinking.
At this moment, Kushina suddenly remembered something and said to Kakashi, "Kakashi, do you remember when Orochimaru used Edo Tensei on the First and Second Hokage during the Chunin Exams?"
Kakashi nodded, "Of course I remember. If the Byakuya hadn't intervened, Konoha would have had no way of stopping the First and Second Hokage's ninjas."
"But isn't Orochimaru one of Byakuya's subordinates? What's his connection with the masked man?"
"Orochimaru does have some kind of cooperative relationship with Byakuya, but their relationship isn't unbreakable. Orochimaru betrayed Konoha and also betrayed his ally, Danzo."
After a pause, Kushina continued, "Now, betraying Byakuya isn't out of the question. I recently visited the black market within the Hokage's domain, and suddenly there was a bounty targeting Orochimaru, apparently released by Amegakure."
"Orochimaru betrayed Byakuya..."
Kakashi continued to think along these lines and soon came to an astonishing conclusion. He said, "You mean Orochimaru betrayed Byakuya because he got in touch with the masked man? And the reason the masked man dares to attack the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki is because of Edo Tensi?"
Seeing that Kakashi had arrived at the same conclusion, Kushina nodded and said, "Exactly. It's Edo Tensei. Jiraiya-sensei and I have some concerns about the identities of the deceased, so we wouldn't use it lightly. But Orochimaru and Obito have no such concerns. They can freely manipulate the souls of the dead."
Kakashi turned to Kushina and asked, "So what should we do? Should we report this information to Jiraiya-sama? As long as it doesn't involve my presence, you can do whatever you want."
Kushina didn't care whether Kakashi reported the information; she just didn't want her own presence exposed.
Kakashi asked in confusion, "Kushina-sama, why do you refuse to reveal yourself? Even if it's for hiding your identity, you could tell Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama."
Kushina's expression shifted slightly, and then she said, "This is a deal I made with that person. It's none of your business. Besides, if I show myself in Konoha, what will Jiraiya-sensei and Tsunade-sama do?"
From Kushina's words, Kakashi could hear a sense of helplessness.
He knew that it was Byakuya who had saved Kushina back then, but why wouldn't Byakuya let Kushina meet Jiraiya-sensei? What secret lay behind this?
At this moment, Kakashi seemed to realize something, and his expression became extremely serious.
Kushina noticed Kakashi's change in demeanor and sighed softly, "It seems you've guessed the relationship between Byakuya and Obito. Your guess is probably similar to mine. Byakuya and Obito might not actually have an opposing relationship, as it seems, but they may have actually formed some kind of cooperation."
Upon hearing this, Kakashi was left in shock.
It was hard for him to imagine that Byakuya, who had been opposing the masked man all this time, could actually have a cooperative relationship with Obito. Yet, all the evidence pointed in this direction.
Suppressing his shock, Kakashi asked in confusion, "With the strength of both Byakuya and Obito, if they were cooperating openly and secretly, they should be able to achieve their goals. But what exactly are they trying to do?"
"This is what I want to know as well..."
Kushina sighed and said, "The Akatsuki's goal is to end the wars in the ninja world and bring about long-term peace. Obito doesn't seem like the type to want to destroy the world. If both of them are aiming for peace, why are they attacking the Tailed Beasts of each village?"
Kakashi took a deep breath and then said, "Kushina-sensei, this is too important. Can I report it to Tsunade-sama?"
Kushina said with vigilance, "It's better not to. Tsunade and Jiraiya may not believe us. Byakuya has already helped Konoha many times, and even I was saved by Byakuya. If we attack him rashly, it will only backfire. If the secret leaks, we may even face Byakuya's hostility.
We just need to maintain the current situation. There's no need to complicate things. Let the Konoha ninjas handle Konoha's matters. I just want to watch Naruto grow up now."
"But wasn't it Obito who tried to attack Naruto back then?" Kakashi asked, somewhat confused. He didn't understand why Kushina had become so indifferent.
Kushina looked at Kakashi and then said, "Byakuya won't harm Naruto. He had many opportunities but gave up every time. Although Byakuya and Obito have formed an alliance now, I have a feeling they will eventually clash with each other."
"They are allies, but they can't be allies forever."
"Before the next war breaks out, let's just accumulate strength slowly. Your Sharingan is the key to defeating Obito."
---
At the Root base, Shisui, busy with paperwork, was visited by an unexpected guest.
This person was none other than Orochimaru, who had failed to attack Pain and, after escaping the Land of Rain, decided to seek refuge with Shisui.
Firstly, he had worked with Shisui to eliminate Danzo, so their relationship was not bad.
Secondly, staying with Shisui allowed him to maintain contact with Byakuya and avoid being abandoned by him as a pawn.
When Shisui saw Orochimaru, his brow furrowed, "Orochimaru, you just attacked Nagato and betrayed the organization, and now you're here? Aren't you afraid that I'll join forces with Jiraiya and Tsunade to eliminate you?"
Orochimaru casually found a seat and said leisurely, "It was Byakuya-sama's order. He told me to leave the Akatsuki, maybe because of the organization's future plans. Did Byakuya-sama not tell you the specific plan?"
Shisui shook his head and replied, "I haven't received any notification from Byakuya-sama. However, Obito has attacked several Jinchuriki recently, and the Fourth Raikage is planning to call for a Five Kage Summit."
"A Five Kage Summit?"
Orochimaru's eyes lit up, and he chuckled, "They're holding a Five Kage Summit over something like this? Raikage is really impatient, just like his father. But what are Byakuya-sama and Obito thinking? With their strength, there's no way Killer Bee could have escaped. Why is this happening?"
"I don't know…"
After a brief pause, Shisui continued, "Obito's goal is to collect the Tailed Beasts, but I feel like Byakuya-sama isn't too interested in collecting them. It seems like he's just using the excuse of hunting the Tailed Beasts to bring the five great ninja villages under his control. He doesn't really want to resurrect the Ten Tails."
Shisui then added, "So these attacks are probably Obito acting on his own."
Upon hearing this, Orochimaru fell into deep thought. He soon cleared his thoughts and said, "That explains why Byakuya asked me to leave the Akatsuki. Do you think Byakuya-sama wants us to side with the five great ninja villages?"
"That's a possibility…"
Just as Shisui and Orochimaru were deep in thought, Shisui's ring began to heat up. Soon, he received an order from Byakuya.
The order was simple: stay low and remain hidden for now.
After receiving this order, Shisui didn't react much, but Orochimaru was struck with a storm in his heart. He had already taken off the Akatsuki ring. How did Byakuya know his exact location?
Did Shisui report to Byakuya after he entered the Root base, or had Byakuya left a trace on him that he couldn't detect?
After processing Byakuya's order, Shisui finally looked at Orochimaru and said, "Orochimaru-sama, you'll stay here for now and wait for Byakuya-sama's next order. Don't think about running around."
Orochimaru pretended to stay calm and said, "I have planned to stay here for a while anyway. I have no intention of leaving. However, I still have many experiments to finish. Do you have a laboratory here?"
"Of course we do…" Shisui replied without hesitation.
"They're all state-of-the-art equipment we've only recently procured. However, you'll need to find your own experimental materials. I won't provide them. Also, you must not experiment on civilians!"
In Shisui's mind, Orochimaru was still a mad scientist with a notorious history.
Orochimaru rubbed his hands and grinned, saying, "You don't need to worry about the materials. I've long since stopped using ninjas for experiments. I've mastered the most advanced cloning technology, and now all my experiments are conducted on cloned bodies made from human cells."
"Cloned people?"
This was the first time Shisui had heard of this term, but then he realized it was essentially like White Zetsu. He wasn't unfamiliar with Byakuya, and all the Wood Style experiments at Root over the years had been conducted using White Zetsu.
White Zetsu wasn't a ninja or a civilian; it was no different from laboratory mice.
After confirming that Orochimaru wouldn't cause trouble, Shisui finally relaxed. His Root organization had only recently gained a good reputation in the village, and he didn't want to ruin it just yet.
"If it's cloned people, then it's fine."
After thinking for a moment, Shisui seemed to remember something and asked Orochimaru, "By the way, Orochimaru-sama, the Third Hokage is still being held at the Root base. Don't you want to meet him, you and your former master?"
Orochimaru stopped in his tracks, looking at Shisui in surprise and asking, "You didn't kill the old man? I thought you'd take care of the old man who issued the order to exterminate the Uchiha clan."
Shisui glanced at Orochimaru and replied, "Why would I kill the Third Hokage? He's not like Danzo. Besides, even you aren't planning to kill him, so there's no need for me to. I want him to live so that he can see the difference between the Uchiha and the Senju."
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