Land of Water.
Kirigakure Village.
It had been a full month since the Whitebeard Pirates spread the news across the world.
As one Kage after another and Daimyo from various ninja villages arrived in Kirigakure Village, the entire village became extremely lively.
When a Kage from a village comes, they definitely bring at least a few guards, right?
And when a Daimyo comes, the number of guards they bring is definitely not less than double digits.
Moreover, in their eyes, this trip was almost like venturing into a dragon's lair, so the number of guards they brought was several times more.
This led to many foreign ninjas in Kirigakure Village recently.
Those who didn't know might think the next Chunin Exam was being held in Kirigakure Village!
"Sarutobi Hiruzen..." By coincidence, Iwagakure Village's Tsuchikage Oonoki ran into an old acquaintance on the streets of Kirigakure Village. It was none other than the Third Hokage of Konohagakure Village, Sarutobi Hiruzen!
"Tsuchikage, it's been many years."
Compared to Oonoki's scrutinizing gaze, Sarutobi Hiruzen showed a more polite expression. "I didn't expect our meeting this time to be in such a manner."
Oonoki glanced at the Anbu ninja behind Sarutobi Hiruzen and said, "I heard that someone named Shimura Danzo from your village was killed by Whitebeard. In this situation, are you still going to respond to the Whitebeard Pirates' call?!"
The relationship between ninja villages was naturally not friendly.
After all, the last ninja world war hadn't ended that long ago!
So Oonoki's words carried a bit of sharpness, even a hint of mocking Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes flickered with a strange light.
The anger rising in his heart was rationally suppressed.
Sarutobi Hiruzen also spoke, "Shimura Danzo was a criminal of Konohagakure. He orchestrated the Uchiha clan massacre. Would Tsuchikage turn against the Whitebeard Pirates for a criminal?"
"If Iwagakure Village truly has such courage, I wouldn't know whether to praise Lord Tsuchikage for his bravery or question Iwagakure Village's principles."
In just a few words, the tension was palpable.
The Anbu ninjas behind the two Kage immediately became tense.
These Anbu ninjas were clearly worried that the two elderly Kage might suddenly start fighting.
This was not their territory; this was the territory of the Whitebeard Pirates.
If a big fight broke out here, they would have to quickly cover their respective Kages and then escape from Kirigakure Village.
"Ha! Why are this two old men still sitting in the Kage's position, and not willing to move and give the young people in their villages a chance!"
A sudden voice, with a somewhat rude tone, interrupted.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Oonoki almost simultaneously looked in the same direction and saw another group of people walking over.
"Raikage?!" Oonoki recognized the man leading the group. He saw that some parts of Raikage's body were still wrapped in bandages, and his walking posture was a bit limping.
Oonoki crossed his arms and retorted in a deep voice, "Because the young people now don't have the ability to inherit the mantle of us old folks. I don't want to pick a young person only for that young person to be crippled by a cadre of the Whitebeard Pirates."
Indeed, the older, the wiser. When it came to verbal sparring, Oonoki, the Third Tsuchikage, was second to none.
His pointed words made the Fourth Raikage "A" who was walking over, have several veins pop out on his forehead.
A's temper was already very fiery, and he was ready to fight this old man from Iwagakure Village.
Clearly, Oonoki's stubborn temper was no better.
Seeing A's aggressive stance, Oonoki squinted his eyes and said unceremoniously, "What? Want to fight? Konohagakure might fear your Kumogakure Village, but that doesn't mean my Iwagakure Village will fear your Kumogakure Village!"
Compared to the weakness Konohagakure Village had shown to Kumogakure Village in the past, Iwagakure Village had never shown weakness to Kumogakure Village.
It should be known that even the mighty Third Raikage was besieged and killed by tens of thousands of ninjas from Iwagakure Village!
"Ahem! How about everyone says a few less words? If the people of Kirigakure Village see us like this, who knows how they'll laugh at us."
An old woman's voice sounded, and the people from Sunagakure Village arrived, led by none other than Granny Chiyo.
This meant that the four major ninja villages, Konohagakure Village, Kumogakure Village, Iwagakure Village, and Sunagakure Village, had all gathered in Kirigakure Village!
Nearby, there were also people from other smaller ninja villages watching the commotion.
For example, Takigakure Village, Amegakure Village, Kusagakure Village, and so on...
Chiyo walked over and shifted the confrontational topic. She continued, "Everyone... does anyone know the real purpose of Whitebeard inviting all of us here?"
A was the first to shake his head and said, "Who knows! Anyway, it doesn't look like they want to kill us."
If they wanted to kill these Kage, they would have ambushed and killed them halfway. Why wait until now without making a move?
Oonoki also shook his head and walked down the steps, "Gathering the Kage from each village, they probably want to discuss something related to the entire ninja world."
He looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen and said, "The Whitebeard Pirates have the most people from your Konohagakure Village. Haven't you, the Hokage of Konohagakure, received any useful information?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's mouth twitched. If he could get any information, he would have gotten it long ago!
The Konohagakure ninjas who joined the Whitebeard Pirates were basically all traitors.
How could these people possibly reveal information to him, the Hokage?
"No," Sarutobi Hiruzen said gloomily, "But I think we'll find out soon. After all, everyone is here, and the so-called ninja world meeting should start soon."
As if to confirm Sarutobi Hiruzen's guess, the people from Kirigakure Village appeared just after he finished speaking.
Terumi Mei led a group of ninjas, smiling as they approached the Kage from each village.
The appearance of these Kirigakure ninjas immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Terumi Mei smiled happily. She never thought that one day, Kirigakure Village would become the center of the ninja world in this way.
All the big names in the ninja world were gathered in Kirigakure Village.
Terumi Mei knew very well that all of this was because of their connection with Whitebeard-sama.
Without Whitebeard-sama, Kirigakure Village wouldn't have received such treatment.
"Hokage, Tsuchikage, Chiyo, Raikage, and other leaders of the ninja villages..."
Terumi Mei said to them, "Welcome to Kirigakure Village. Please follow us!"
...
Before long, under the guidance of Terumi Mei and others, everyone arrived at a very large conference room in Kirigakure Village.
They could see that many Daimyo and nobles from various countries were already seated in the conference room. These Daimyo had arrived early.
Moreover, they also saw a few people wearing Akatsuki uniforms sitting quietly in the corner.
Although they were sitting in a very remote location, those uniforms were too eye-catching.
"Akatsuki..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen squinted his eyes, thinking of Uchiha Itachi.
Back then, Uchiha Itachi proposed to infiltrate the Akatsuki and bring back information about the organization to the village.
At that time, he had tacitly agreed.
However...
What he didn't expect was that Uchiha Itachi, after being an undercover in the Akatsuki for several years, not only failed to bring back any information but also died recently.
"Big Brother A, it's that guy!" Suddenly, Killer Bee, who was behind the Fourth Raikage, said to A.
A followed Killer Bee's direction and looked over, his pupils shrinking, "Katakuri?"
The reason for such a strong reaction was because the injuries on A's body, left by Katakuri, had not yet fully healed.
Seeing this man made him feel a faint pain in his wounds!
Not far away, Katakuri seemed to sense something and turned his head, his cold gaze meeting the Fourth Raikage's.
Their eyes clashed in mid-air.
A lost the stare-down.
He couldn't help but look away.
It was a natural reaction of his body, something he couldn't control.
Oonoki also saw a familiar young man.
"Isn't that the kid with the ridiculously powerful 'Fire Release'? I think his name was something like Ace?"
An Anbu ninja behind Oonoki whispered, "Tsuchikage-sama, he called himself Portgas D. Ace."
Oonoki pursed his lips. "What a hard name to remember. It's too difficult for an old man like me with a bad memory."
At this moment, someone else walked into the large conference room.
The first to enter was a blond-haired kid.
His young age made him seem out of place among the others in the room.
"Naruto?!" Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had just found a random place to sit, suddenly froze because he recognized him.
Next came Sasuke, Tsunade, Orochimaru, Shizune, Marco, and others.
One by one, people appeared, some familiar to Sarutobi Hiruzen and some strangers.
This made the expression on his old face very complicated.
"Hehe, Sarutobi-sensei, long time no see."
Orochimaru, upon seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen, even had the interest to smile and greet him.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression was complex. He hadn't expected this rebellious disciple to join the Whitebeard Pirates.
In that case, the order to capture Orochimaru from Konohagakure would have to be canceled...
"Orochimaru, do you know Whitebeard's purpose this time?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath, hoping to get some information from his disciple.
"Hehe..."
Orochimaru smiled mysteriously. "Of course I know, Sarutobi-sensei... but you'll find out soon enough, so why ask me?"
Soon.
Everyone saw some very important figures appear.
When Whitebeard's tall and burly figure appeared before everyone, it almost took their breath away.
Especially the noble Daimyo, who turned pale.
Even though they were surrounded by many ninja guards, those guards didn't give them any sense of security.
After all, this Whitebeard was known to actually kill Daimyo!
In fact, Whitebeard had a history of it.
Then they saw that Whitebeard was accompanied by two people, both wearing Akatsuki uniforms.
One of them was in a wheelchair.
Another person was pushing a wheelchair.
"I never thought that one day I would appear in front of these people in such an open and honest way," Nagato, sitting in the wheelchair, murmured with some emotion.
His face was no longer so gaunt, clearly having received treatment from Tsunade during this time.
However, his legs had not yet been replaced with new ones.
If he had new legs, he wouldn't need the wheelchair and could stand and walk freely.
"Gurarararararaa!"
Whitebeard swept his domineering gaze over the crowd and laughed before saying to Nagato, "Stupid son... start realizing your lifelong dream!"
Yes, Nagato had acknowledged Whitebeard as Pops.
In the end, he couldn't resist Whitebeard's temptation.
"Alright... Pops."
Although he had been trying to get used to it for over a month, Nagato still felt a bit awkward calling Whitebeard Pops. It seemed he needed more time to get used to it.
Nagato came to the podium in the conference room. Sitting in his wheelchair, he could see a diverse group of people.
The crowd below, hearing the conversation between Whitebeard and Nagato, finally understood that Whitebeard had gathered all the big shots of the ninja world to fulfill a son's wish?
Wasn't this a bit too reckless?
Wasn't this a bit too domineering?
But...
Who exactly was this guy?!
"Everyone..." Nagato's voice wasn't particularly loud, but it echoed throughout the conference room. "My name is Uzumaki Nagato, and... I am the leader of Akatsuki!"
Nagato's words caused an uproar.
The leader of Akatsuki was the man in the wheelchair before them?
Was this the person who created such a powerful Akatsuki?
"I won't waste your time with nonsense." Nagato's voice was slightly deep, and his Rinnegan eyes carried a chilling aura that made everyone present uneasy.
"The original ideal of Akatsuki was to achieve peace in the ninja world. Whether in the past or now, that ideal has never changed. Today, gathering the Kages of various ninja villages and the Daimyos of various countries here is for the future peace of the ninja world!"
Nagato's words were shocking: "Everyone here needs to sign a peace agreement. No one can violate any of its terms. If any party breaks the agreement, they will face the combined forces of the Whitebeard Pirates and Akatsuki!"
"I know very well... peace is never on the negotiation table or in the conference room. To achieve peace in the ninja world, one must have the power to sweep through the entire ninja world!"
"Coincidentally, the Whitebeard Pirates and Akatsuki have that power."
Nagato continued, "Truth lies within the sight of the Rinnegan and within the range of the vibrating force!"
"I've said my piece. Whoever is willing to sign this peace agreement for the ninja world, and whoever isn't, can freely express their opinions."
As his words fell, the room fell silent.
...
...
(End of Chapter)
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