The Raikage, like a roaring beast incarnate, bellowed once more:
"Danzō, that old bastard!"
At these words, Naruto's expression darkened instantly. For the first time, he rose from his seat, his tone solemn and uncompromising:
"Raikage, I'll give you one warning. If you dare insult our Fifth Hokage, Danzō-sama, again—we will take it as a declaration of war from the Hidden Cloud against the Hidden Leaf."
"Are you prepared for open war with Konoha?"
At the same time, Sasuke stepped forward, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword, body tilted slightly forward, his gaze locked on the Raikage. His whole bearing radiated restrained violence, as though he was a heartbeat away from unleashing it.
Dressed in black, cold as frost, his eyes gleamed with a star-like, deadly light.
Inside Sasuke's mind—
Naruto: Sasuke, whatever you do, don't laugh.
Sasuke: ...Yeah.
While everyone's eyes were fixed on Sasuke, Neji had already struck. With precise Gentle Fist strikes, he sealed Mei Terumī's chakra points, disabling her completely. He then plucked the Byakugan from Ao's right eye and secured it, before calmly returning to stand at Naruto's side.
His sharp gaze swept the room. Under the penetrating stare of those pale eyes, everyone present felt as if their secrets were being laid bare.
"You want a fight? Then I—" the Raikage roared, ready to answer the provocation. But before he could finish, C seized his arm in desperation, holding him back.
Fight my ass, Raikage-sama! Didn't you see? That single boy just crushed the entire Mist delegation, and even severed one of your arms?
Of course, C couldn't say that aloud. Mabui had warned him before their departure: if the Raikage lost his temper, he had to do whatever it took to cool him down. They were here to form alliances, not start wars.
C leaned in quickly, whispering:
"Raikage-sama, Bee-sama is still waiting for us to rescue him."
"Damn it!" The Raikage shot Naruto a hateful glare.
But he could do nothing. The truth was undeniable: the balance of power was against them. The Cloud could no longer claim supremacy over the shinobi world.
Their village had already suffered heavy losses—jinchūriki missing, elites slain in droves. They could not afford another great shinobi war.
"Ōnoki, Kazekage! Are you just going to sit there and watch this happen?" The Raikage turned his wrathful gaze on the other Kage, who had until now been content to watch the drama unfold.
He didn't bother appealing to Mifune. The general of the Land of Iron was neutral by principle, and neutrality meant staying out of such disputes.
As for the Mist? He had just stood up for them, and what was the result?
Of their delegation of three, one had lost an eye, one was beaten into the ground, and the Mizukage herself lay immobilized by Neji's chakra strikes, unable even to mold chakra.
The Mist—once the Blood Mist—had already ruined itself. And now even their Kage was humiliated, defeated one against three by mere "brats" from Konoha.
The Mist Village had fallen.
Once they finished dealing with this so-called "Kashin Koji," he would find an excuse to invade the Land of Water and take their territory.
"Raikage brat," Ōnoki chuckled, shaking his head, "why don't we all just sit back down and talk this over calmly?"
Neither siding with the Cloud nor with Konoha, the old man deliberately deflected, playing diplomatic tai chi.
Having already confirmed that this so-called disciple of Uchiha Madara didn't have the Sharingan and likely wasn't a true Uchiha, Ōnoki judged the Cloud to be the greater threat to the balance of power.
And who knew if the Raikage was even being honest? He claimed there was only one chakra cannon—but could anyone be sure there weren't more? A second, a third, or something even more devastating?
Noticing the Raikage's scowl, Ōnoki tossed the question to Rasa instead:
"What about you, Kazekage? What's your stance?"
He fully expected the Sand to hedge their bets, just like him.
But Rasa's eyes lit up, seizing the chance to speak.
"You ask me? Well then, let me be perfectly clear: the Sand and the Leaf have always shared a bond of blood and spirit. Since ancient times, we have been Konoha's most loyal allies."
Bullshit!
Ōnoki nearly choked on his own spit, sputtering wordlessly.
Too many contradictions—he didn't even know where to start.
The Sand, the Leaf's most loyal allies? Since ancient times? In all three great shinobi wars, the fiercest fighting was always between Suna and Konoha!
And that ridiculous "Sound Village conspiracy" from a while back? Who were they fooling? Obviously it had been the Sand conspiring with the Sound to attack the Leaf.
Judging from how things stood now, the Sand had simply gotten thrashed—and thrashed hard.
Ōnoki was utterly speechless.
"Please, everyone, calm yourselves." Mifune finally spoke up, though his eyes flicked briefly toward the Mist delegation.
He hadn't intervened earlier when Neji struck, nor had he grounds to.
After all—if the Mist had stolen a Byakugan, they should've kept it hidden. Instead, they flaunted it openly here of all places, right in front of the Hyūga heir.
That wasn't just reckless—it was like parading another man's stolen wife in front of him.
Of course the Leaf would fight them to the bitter end.
If you lack the strength to protect your spoils, then you deserve to lose them.
It seems this summit is beyond salvaging. Mifune already knew the outcome, but as host, he still had to go through the motions.
"Our purpose in convening this Five Kage Summit was to discuss how to deal with the organization founded by Madara's disciple, was it not?"
"What's there left to discuss?" The Raikage exploded again, pointing at the roomful of shinobi. "None of you ever intended to form an alliance in the first place!"
"In that case, the Hidden Cloud will not waste another moment here. C, Kamo—we're leaving!"
With that, the Fourth Raikage stormed out with his two guards, not sparing a backward glance.
"Raikage-sama!"
Mifune called after him again and again, but was ignored.
"Tsuchikage, Kazekage… shall we…?"
Helplessly, Mifune looked between Rasa and Ōnoki, then at Naruto.
But with the central figure gone, what point was there in continuing?
With the Raikage's stormy exit, the Mist delegation broken and humiliated, the Five Kage Summit collapsed into ruin.
Unlike the first summit years ago—when the five great nations forged a hollow "alliance"—this summit ended in bitter discord.
Before long, Naruto and his group departed the Land of Iron. The Sand, under Rasa, followed soon after. Then Ōnoki left with Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi.
Last were the Mist. Once Mei recovered enough to stand, she left Iron Country as well, taking the battered Chōjūrō and the now half-blind Ao with her.
Of all the villages, the Mist had lost the most face.
Already, voices of dissent against Mei's leadership had been growing back in her village. Only Master Genji's support had kept them at bay.
Now? Not only had she disgraced the Mist before all the nations, she had also lost the prized Byakugan they'd gone to such lengths to acquire.
Her political ruin was sealed.
As she walked out under the gray, heavy sky, Mei raised her head.
This position as "interim Mizukage"… may very well be at its end.
Not long after leaving Iron Country's borders, Naruto suddenly stopped in his tracks. Turning toward an empty stretch of land, he called out:
"Zetsu-senpai, you've been watching underground all this time and even followed us this far. Don't you think it's about time you showed yourself?"
"Or must I drag you out personally?"