[NTU] [ARC-26] Chapter : 331

Time passed.

Snow once again blanketed the Iron Country in a heavy, silent white.

At the gates of Land of Iron's capital, Mifune—dressed in full samurai regalia with a white cloth tied neatly around his head—stood respectfully awaiting the arrival of the Fifth Hokage.

"Welcome once again, Hokage-sama," he greeted with a formal bow.

Toshiro stepped forward, clad in light winter gear, flanked by two guards and follwed by a procession of Iron Country samurai.

"Haha, I never imagined we'd be holding another Five Kage Summit here," Toshiro said, smiling.

"Thank you for hosting us again, Mifune-senpai."

Mifune nodded. "It is an honor for the Iron Country and its samurai to host the Summit once more. Though it demands great effort and resources, the diplomatic prestige it brings is well worth the cost."

Toshiro's eyes narrowed slightly. "Have the other Kage arrived?"

This summit had been urgently convened by the Raikage himself—unsurprising, given that his younger brother, Killer Bee, had recently been targeted by the Akatsuki.

But B wasn't the only victim. One by one, the tailed beasts of every village had been seized and sealed within the Gedo Statue by the Akatsuki.

The world was on high alert.

"Yes," Mifune replied. "They've all arrived. In fact, the Raikage came three days ago."

"So eager?" Toshiro said with a chuckle. "Well, I suppose I can't blame him. His bond with B runs deep."

The following day, after a night's rest, Toshiro entered the summit chamber. There sat the other Kage—Ōnoki of the Stone, Mei Terumi of the Mist, the ever-stoic Gaara of the Sand, and the thunderous Raikage, A.

Toshiro greeted them cordially, his expression especially warm when his gaze met Gaara's. Just as in the original timeline, Gaara had been brought back to life by Elder Chiyo, thanks to Naruto's unwavering resolve.

"Raikage," Toshiro began, his tone calm and composed, "we've maintained a reliable line of communication through our envoys. Was this summit truly necessary?"

Notably, he avoided mentioning the Akatsuki directly, as if unaware that eight of the nine tailed beasts had already been captured.

A's expression tightened. "Even with our current channels, this is no ordinary matter."

"The Akatsuki now hold eight of the nine tailed beasts. If we fail to act, the consequences could be catastrophic."

The Raikage stood, his voice rising with emotion. "We must form a joint investigation team immediately. We must recover our tailed beasts—and rescue B—before it's too late!"

Toshiro observed him quietly for a moment, then asked a simple but pointed question:

"Are you certain B was actually captured?"

A froze mid-rant, the realization striking him mid-sentence. His face contorted with a mix of confusion and frustration.

"That idiot…" he muttered. "If I find him pulling some stunt again, he's going to learn the true meaning of pain!"

Though his words were harsh, a glimmer of relief flashed across his eyes. Deep down, he suspected B may have staged his own capture—once again fooling not just the Akatsuki, but his own brother.

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Toshiro said with a half-smile. "The situation is still unclear. We must investigate further before taking action."

"But one thing is certain—this Akatsuki group warrants our full attention."

"Agreed," the other Kage murmured in unison.

As Toshiro finished speaking, the young Kazekage, Gaara, turned his calm gaze toward him and quietly broke the silence.

"I was once a Jinchūriki myself. I’ve faced the Akatsuki firsthand…"

He began to recount his experience—succinct yet powerful—focusing in particular on one disturbing truth: the Gedo Statue could absorb the chakra of tailed beasts.

"I support Raikage-sama’s proposal. We must form a joint task force to bring down the Akatsuki."

"Indeed," Ōnoki muttered, stroking his beard. The elderly Tsuchikage gave Gaara a rare nod of agreement. "If all they’d done was imprison the tailed beasts or attempt to create new Jinchūriki, we could deal with that easily enough."

But Gaara’s revelation had changed the equation.

"That so-called ‘demonic statue’ absorbing tailed beast chakra is a grave threat. If they succeed in collecting all nine, the consequences could be disastrous."

From Ōnoki’s perspective, Jinchūriki were dangerous—but also manageable. Each village had long studied their behavior. If a Jinchūriki earned the full trust of their tailed beast, they became formidable. But that level of trust took years of deep, personal connection. Most Jinchūriki, without that bond, were liabilities more than assets.

In other words, Akatsuki could never realistically field nine fully synchronized Jinchūriki.

But this statue?
This was something else.

If the Akatsuki could weaponize the tailed beasts' chakra through the Gedo Statue without needing hosts, then they weren’t playing by the old rules anymore.

"The Mist Village has no objections to forming a united response," came a smooth, commanding voice. It was Terumi Mei, Mizukage of the Hidden Mist.

"But before we act, we must know both ourselves and our enemy. That’s strategy 101."
She leaned forward slightly, her tone thoughtful but edged with challenge.

"Since the last Five Kage Summit, Akatsuki has remained in the shadows. We know little beyond the fact that they once attacked you, Hokage-sama."

Her piercing green eyes fixed on Toshiro—cool, curious, and quietly intense, like the still surface of a hidden spring.

"Surely... you must know more than the rest of us."

As her voice faded, the entire conference room fell into a tense hush. All eyes shifted to Toshiro.

Even Mifune, standing at the edge of the room, grew visibly solemn.

"Hokage-dono," he said gravely, "your battle against the Akatsuki leader left behind devastation unlike anything I’ve seen."

He spoke of the battlefield Toshiro had once reduced to rubble. Even now, Mifune could picture it: a scar upon the land, carved by powers no ordinary shinobi could hope to control.

"That level of destruction…" he trailed off, shaking his head. "It felt more like a battle between gods than men."

‘Only Shinobi of the level of the God of Shinobi, Hashirama could cause such devastation’

He straightened and locked eyes with Toshiro.

"Do you have any further insight into what we’re truly up against?"

The air grew heavy with anticipation.