Mito Uzumaki gave Uchiha Hikaru, sitting beside her, an odd look.
She had lived a long life and thought she'd seen it all.
But this… this was a first.
If only Hashirama Senju had this kind of emotional intelligence back in the day, even she wouldn't have been able to keep away the swarm of admirers.
Not that she managed to keep them away anyway—if Hashirama hadn't been so naïve (or maybe just had Madara on his mind), Mito wouldn't have stood a chance against all those women throwing themselves at him.
Though, in truth, she was overthinking it. Uchiha Hikaru had no such emotional intelligence.
He simply figured: since it was already a hassle, might as well treat them all equally.
So he casually created two Shadow Clones—one for each of them. Very fair.
With everything sorted, Uchiha Hikaru calmly resumed sipping his tea.
The sight made Mito's eyelid twitch. He looked even lazier than she was.
Just when they thought the afternoon would pass uneventfully, Chinatsu and an Anbu came rushing over.
"Mito-sama! Urgent report!"
At those words, Mito's relaxed demeanor vanished instantly.
She stood up in a flash, eyes sharp as blades, fixing them on the two newcomers.
Chinatsu handed her a document and reported:
"We've received intel that the other nations' Kage held secret communications last month. The content of those discussions remains unknown."
"And today, an envoy arrived in Konoha to convey that the other Four Kage wish to convene a Five Kage Summit."
"This document is the official invitation from the Four Kage."
Mito said nothing. She quietly opened the scroll and read it carefully.
Her expression grew more serious with every line.
Then she turned to Chinatsu and said:
"Looks like we'll be convening another Jōnin Council."
"Chinatsu, go and call all the Jōnin still in the village."
Chinatsu, understanding the urgency, nodded and quickly left with the Anbu.
Mito then turned to Uchiha Hikaru standing beside her. After a moment of thought, she decided to ask his opinion.
After all, in previous incidents, he'd made several insightful suggestions.
She no longer saw him as just a child.
"Hikaru, the Four Kage are proposing peace talks, with the meeting to be held in the Land of Iron. What do you think?"
When Hikaru first heard about peace talks, he thought it might be worth a try.
But the moment he heard the location, he replied without hesitation:
"Peace talks are fine, but we should choose the location—not the Land of Iron."
Uchiha Madara was most likely hiding in the Land of Iron right now.
If Mito went and Madara saw it as a chance to reclaim the Nine-Tails—and maybe even eliminate the other Four Kage while he was at it…
Hikaru didn't even want to imagine the chaos that would follow.
Even if he went along, the slightest misstep could lead to injuring one of the other Kage.
Then it wouldn't be a peace talk—it would be the spark of a new war.
Not that he feared war, but time was on his side.
In just a few more years, he could crush everything head-on.
Why cause unnecessary sacrifice and complications now?
Seeing how firm his stance was, Mito recalled something.
Tobirama Senju had been ambushed by the Gold and Silver Brothers during peace negotiations and had sacrificed himself for Konoha's future.
And now there was intel that the other Four Kage were communicating in secret.
Letting them choose the meeting location did seem unsafe.
Though her reasoning differed, she still agreed with Hikaru's proposal.
Mito nodded in approval.
Seeing her agreement, Hikaru exhaled slightly in relief.
Then he began to think. The summit would definitely involve negotiations.
Any division of benefits would be settled on the spot.
And as a six-year-old kid, he obviously wasn't suited for such occasions.
So, Mito likely wouldn't take him along.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed in his mind.
He said:
"I recall that Lord Tobirama created the Chūnin Exams to assess whether Genin were ready for promotion."
"The goal of the summit is to divide benefits. Why not let strength do the talking?"
"We could host the next Chūnin Exams jointly across all five villages and divide the benefits according to the results."
"No matter how it turns out, the other villages wouldn't be able to complain."
Mito's eyes lit up.
Indeed, as Hikaru said, it was a fair method—and one the other villages could accept.
Let strength speak. If they didn't like the outcome, too bad.
If they lost, they'd get a smaller share. That was only fair.
She gently patted Hikaru's forehead and praised him:
"Little Hikaru is so clever. That's a great suggestion. I'll bring it up at the council."
With that, she glanced at Tsunade and Nonō Yakushi, who were still training, and added:
"I'll leave them to you."
"Don't worry, Grandma Mito."
With Hikaru's reply, Mito left.
Hikaru returned to his spot and basked in the sun once more.
But after a short while, he smacked his forehead and groaned.
"Damn it. I played myself."
His idea to divide interests via the Chūnin Exams was a good one.
But due to the rush earlier, he hadn't thought it through.
Now he realized the consequences.
If benefits were on the line, the event would become a big deal.
To ensure victory, each Kage would definitely send their strongest of the younger generation.
Even Jōnin-level participants wouldn't be out of the question.
Other people might not get it, but Mito certainly would.
And right now, the strongest among Konoha's younger generation was none other than six-year-old Uchiha Hikaru.
So, she'd definitely use him as insurance.
That was why Hikaru had just facepalmed in regret.
'Figures. No matter where you are, capable people always end up working overtime.'
He sighed deeply, much to the delight of Tsunade nearby.
She thought it was her clever plan that had reduced Hikaru to this state.
Little did she know, one of Hikaru's clones had taken note of her smug face and added it to his mental ledger.
...
Time passed quickly, and after dinner, Mito finally returned.
After eating the meal Chinatsu had saved for her, she called Hikaru over to discuss the council meeting.
First, the proposal that Konoha would choose the summit location was unanimously approved.
After all, the lesson from Tobirama was still fresh.
Second, Hikaru's Chūnin Exam proposal was also accepted by most of the council.
The reason the meeting had gone so late was because they were debating the list of participants.
Mito had come to find him for that very reason—she wanted him to be the ace up Konoha's sleeve.