He said, somewhat embarrassedly, "It seems the meeting won't be held today…"
"Why don't you all go back and rest? We can reconvene tomorrow at nine."
Everyone nodded in agreement and dispersed.
On the way back to the residence, Tsunade glanced sideways at Morkel and said with a half-smile, "Only you could pull off something as dramatic as flipping the Five Kage Summit table."
Morkel no longer had the intimidating aura from earlier. He blushed slightly and muttered, "I was just… worried about Sasuke…"
"How could someone like Sasuke—who saved the Cloud Shinobi—be wrongfully accused?"
Naruto chimed in, nodding emphatically, "I support what Morkel did! It was so satisfying!"
"My blood was boiling! I almost wanted to charge in and punch the Raikage myself!"
Kakashi rolled his eye, "Just shut up. You're always the first one to stir trouble."
Naruto frowned, "Come on, I'm being honest here!"
As the Konoha group chatted, a dark-skinned man with snow-white hair approached, flanked by two guards. It was the Raikage.
Naruto stiffened.
He'd spoken so loudly earlier—did the Raikage hear him?
The Raikage walked up to them with his entourage. Darui and C, his guards, wore sour expressions—Naruto's bold claim of wanting to punch the Raikage hadn't gone unnoticed. But they couldn't act now. They needed Morkel's help.
The Raikage spoke: "Morkel, since you know the Flying Thunder God Technique, can you take me to Cloud Shinobi to see with my own eyes that Killer Bee is safe? I'll be at ease… It's not that I don't trust you, but—"
"Alright," Morkel said simply.
Before anyone could react, Morkel grabbed the Raikage's shirt and instantly teleported.
In the Raikage's Office...
The elders were staring at the Flying Thunder God mark embedded in the table, deep in thought.
"This thing is a security risk," the Great Elder muttered. "If Konoha ever becomes our enemy, that red-haired boy could appear at any moment and attack our leadership."
Another advisor agreed, "He's right. But how do we remove or destroy it?"
Wooden Golem stepped forward and placed her hand gently on the seal. "This was left by Morkel?"
She spoke softly, "Rather than destroy it, why not move it outside the village? I suggest Lingmao Peak—where I live."
Everyone knew what was going on—Wooden Golem was clearly collecting Morkel-related items.
Fantasy filled her thoughts: Morkel would attempt to teleport into the Raikage's office but accidentally end up in her home instead…
What a heartwarming scene that would be.
Just then—
"ABU!"
Morkel reappeared in the office with the Raikage.
Unbeknownst to him, Wooden Golem's hand had still been touching the seal. As Morkel teleported, his hand overlapped hers.
Instinctively, he gripped the hand in transit.
Suddenly, the room's atmosphere changed—it now looked like Morkel was gently holding Wooden Golem's hand. They looked like a perfect match…
Beside them, the Raikage scowled in awkward silence.
"Ahem. Alright, you two, that's enough," the Raikage grumbled as he glanced around the room.
Upon seeing Killer Bee, the Raikage nearly teared up. "Bee!"
Killer Bee responded, "Brother."
As the two moved to embrace, the Raikage suddenly punched Bee in the forehead.
"Do you know how much trouble you've caused the village?!"
Killer Bee rubbed the bump on his head and muttered, "You guys were the impulsive ones."
While they exchanged words, Morkel let go of Wooden Golem's hand and greeted her casually, "What a coincidence. You're here too?"
Blushing, Wooden Golem replied shyly, "Actually… I came to the office just to look for you."
Morkel blinked. "To look for me? Why?"
He wasn't particularly familiar with the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki.
Wooden Golem turned redder. She hesitated, unable to say it outright.
After a long pause, she finally said, "You… guess."
Morkel sighed, "Guess? Really?"
Wooden Golem screamed inwardly: Fool! An idiot who doesn't understand romance!
Meanwhile, the Raikage had finished scolding Killer Bee. When he glanced back at Wooden Golem, he was stunned.
Is this still the same Wooden Golem?
Killer Bee leaned in, "Yo, bro… This is what we call a girl in love."
The Raikage scoffed. "Please. I've seen everything."
But inside, he was conflicted. On one hand, he was relieved that Morkel wasn't kidnapping their Jinchūriki. On the other hand, Wooden Golem had thrown herself at Morkel—and he didn't even seem interested!
The Raikage finally said, "Alright. Let's head back."
Morkel nodded and reached for his sleeve again.
Wooden Golem suddenly panicked. It had been months since Morkel's last visit. If he left now, who knew when they'd meet again?
Resolute, she closed her eyes and shouted, "Morkel! I like you! I can wait two years for you!"
But…
Silence followed.
Not a single response.
Killer Bee broke the silence with a teasing "Tsk, tsk, tsk…"
"Our Two-Tails Jinchūriki is so brave. What a shame—the Konoha genius didn't even react. He didn't glance at you."
Wooden Golem was heartbroken. She'd prepared herself for rejection, but it still stung.
"I'm going back to Lingmao Peak for seclusion. Don't bother me unless it's important!" she cried and rushed out.
Killer Bee looked at the others and said, "Should we send someone to protect her? The Akatsuki have been active lately."
No response.
"She must be really upset," he sighed. "We'll arrange protection later."
The elder turned to Killer Bee, "You're just sabotaging her confession! Morkel didn't even hear what she said clearly, and you twisted the whole thing!"
Killer Bee shrugged. "It's better to cut the pain short. Besides, Morkel's not into her."
Back in the Land of Iron…
Morkel and the Raikage reappeared beside Naruto.
Morkel looked confused. "Did anyone say anything before we left?"
The Raikage shook his head. "How should I know?"
But deep down, he had a vague idea. Still, now wasn't the time to bring it up.
And even if Morkel had heard her, he doubted the boy would accept her feelings.
I'll have to comfort Wooden Golem later, the Raikage thought.
Morkel and the Konoha team returned to their residence.
Since the Iron Country hadn't prepared a room for Morkel, he had to share a bed with Naruto.
That night, as they lay on the bed, Naruto asked, "Is Sasuke really gone?"
Morkel nodded. "I searched the Land of Lightning, but found nothing."
He couldn't stop thinking about the masked man from Akatsuki.
Where had he taken Sasuke?
Elsewhere…
Sasuke awoke, severely injured.
Although he had transplanted Itachi's Sharingan, his head throbbed painfully after overusing its power during his last battle.
Karin offered her finger. "Bite me—it'll speed up recovery."
Prideful, Sasuke shook his head. "No need."
He forced himself to sit up and looked around. "Where are we?"
Shuigetsu and Jugo also looked puzzled. "We don't know," Shuigetsu said. "This place is like a maze. Dark and silent."
Sasuke frowned, recalling the battle.
The masked man's techniques had made their efforts useless.
Then he activated some eye power and sucked them into this strange dimension…
"Could this be the masked man's eye-space?" Sasuke wondered aloud.
"All Uchiha eyes this ridiculous?" Shuigetsu muttered.
Then he remembered Morkel's massive 200-meter-high crown technique…
"They're all monsters…"
Karin asked, "Since it's an eye technique, can you break it?"
Sasuke shook his head. "Even I barely know the full extent of Sharingan's power."
"Do we know where the Eight Tails went?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Shuigetsu said, "Don't worry about the octopus. It used ink to escape."
Sasuke nodded. "Protecting Jinchūriki was Morkel's mission for me."
Shuigetsu rolled his eyes. "You're still thinking about him?! Let's figure out how to get out first!"
Suddenly, the masked man appeared, but vanished just as quickly.
Where he had stood were food and supplies.
Sasuke scowled. "He doesn't want us dead. He must have plans for us…"
Back in the Land of Iron…
The Five Kage Summit resumed the next morning.
Mifune glanced behind the scenes, wondering whether to invite the red-haired troublemaker again.
After all, Morkel had almost fought the Raikage yesterday.
The Kage didn't seem to mind his outburst though…
Mifune had heard rumors about this powerful Konoha prodigy. Now that he'd met Morkel, he realized the rumors weren't exaggerated—they were understatements.
Such power… It was intimidating.
Tsunade smiled, "Mr. Mifune, shall we begin?"
Mifune nodded, wiping nonexistent sweat. "Yes, let's proceed with yesterday's discussion."
The Kage's tones were noticeably more civil this time.
Behind them, Naruto and Kakashi stood on guard.
Morkel lounged in a chair beside them, completely at ease.
Xi, one of the Raikage's guards, frowned. "Why is he allowed to sit?"
Darui explained, "He's not a bodyguard. He's been given the title of 'Conference Order Maintenance Specialist.'"
"What does that even mean?" Xi asked.
Darui sighed. "It means he's so strong that the Iron Country didn't want to offend him, so they made up a title."
Meanwhile, Naruto whispered, "Morkel, want to switch? My legs are numb."
Kakashi scolded him, "Quiet! This is an honor!"
But Morkel shrugged, "Sure. Let's transform into each other and rotate."
He looked at Kakashi. "You too, sensei?"
Kakashi blurted, "Yes!"
Finally, some rest.
At the summit, Tsunade said, "The Akatsuki are deeply rooted. Eradicating them won't be easy."
Mifune proposed, "Let's form a Ninja Coalition to fight Akatsuki together."
Mizukage supported the idea.
Raikage questioned it: "Isn't that overkill?"
Gaara retorted, "Your brother was nearly taken. Do you still think it's unnecessary?"
The Raikage growled, "Watch it, boy. Want me to discipline you like your father should've?"
Tsunade intervened, "Let's not argue seniority here."
The Raikage grumbled but stayed quiet—not out of fear of Tsunade, but of Morkel, seated behind her..