Chapter 175: The Summit of Kage

Inside the Hokage Rock.

Upon seeing Master Gennō fall, Danzo couldn't help but mumble to himself:

"I have saved the Leaf Village once again. It's a pity, those ignorant people outside never understand how much I've sacrificed for the Leaf. I'm growing tired of this life."

At this moment, Danzo's desire to become the Hokage grew stronger.

With a sharp look in his eyes, he walked towards Master Gennō's corpse, leaning on his cane, and solemnly declared:

"Don't worry, your careful arrangements over these years won't go to waste. I will make good use of them."

As far as Danzo knew.

Aside from the Hokage Rock, there were countless explosive tags laid out by Master Gennō around the village.

Those explosive tags were buried in the ground and walls, connected by intricate mechanisms through a network of thin wires. They were everywhere, from the Ninja Academy to the Police Force, from the hospital to the Hokage Building.

The entire Leaf Village was like a spiderweb woven with explosive tags.

In fact.

Root had discovered Master Gennō's traces early on and investigated him thoroughly.

However, after Danzo learned of Master Gennō's intentions, he became interested in the latter's plan to destroy the Leaf, wanting to see how he would execute it.

So, he didn't act against Master Gennō right away but instead had his subordinates secretly monitor him. Now, he indeed reaped a great reward.

The explosive tags that Master Gennō had planted throughout the Leaf Village were Danzo's bargaining chips.

His bargaining chips to become the Fifth Hokage.

...

Two days passed.

The armies of the major ninja villages were coming from all directions, less than a hundred kilometers away from the Leaf Village's homeland.

Looking down from mid-air.

A castle sat atop a hill, surrounded by a winding river, forming a natural barrier that was easy to defend and hard to attack.

This was Kikyo Mountain.

The area around the Leaf Village was filled with primitive forests and continuous mountains, which were very unfavorable for the movement and attack formations of large ninja armies.

The only passage that allowed large troops to move in and out was Kikyo Mountain.

For the Leaf Village, its strategic importance was self-evident.

It once housed a large number of Leaf ninjas to resist foreign enemies.

However.

During the Third Great Ninja War, the Leaf Village was once on the verge of being attacked at its doorstep, resulting in an incredibly brutal war at Kikyo Mountain.

The Leaf Village luckily won, but the castle on Kikyo Mountain was severely damaged in the war, becoming dilapidated.

After the war, for various reasons, the castle on Kikyo Mountain never got timely repairs.

This time, facing the powerful onslaught of the ninja alliance, the Leaf Village simply withdrew its troops and gave up this place.

As a result.

The Sand Village army, being the first to reach Kikyo Mountain, effortlessly took control of the castle.

Subsequently.

Rasa, in the name of the Fourth Kazekage, invited the leaders of the major ninja villages to Kikyo Mountain for a meeting.

A meeting to discuss the conquest of the Leaf Village.

In the castle's great hall, Rasa sat at the head of the conference table, with two Sand Village advisors, Chiyo and Ebizo, standing behind him.

The three of them waited in silence.

At the agreed time, the Kages from each village arrived with their guards.

The Fourth Raikage arrived in a flurry. His guards were Samui and Darui, who had just returned to the Cloud Village. They had been observing the Leaf Village and gathered a lot of information;

The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, was small in stature, but the two people he brought, his son Akatsuchi and the Five-Tails Jinchuriki Han, both exceeded two meters in height. They were even larger than the Raikage, appearing very imposing;

The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, was quiet. His guards were two Mist Village Jounin, a man with a shark-like face, Kisame Hoshigaki, and a woman with waist-length red hair, Mei Terumi.

Once everyone was seated.

"Ahem."

Rasa looked around, cleared his throat with a couple of coughs, and got straight to the point:

"The purpose of inviting everyone here is simple. It's to form a non-aggression pact and jointly deal with the Leaf Village.

I hope that regardless of any past grudges, all the villages can temporarily set them aside and not stab each other in the back.

What are your thoughts?"

Onoki's eyes flashed, and he was the first to agree:

"The Kazekage makes a good point.

The territory of the Land of Fire is so vast, its resources so abundant. As long as we conquer it, every major ninja village will have its share.

In my opinion, the reason why the Leaf Village has thrived as the victor of the first three Great Ninja Wars is simply because the other villages were not united enough.

So, if we want to make the Leaf lose once, we must work together."

In Onoki's view.

The Leaf Village and the Land of Fire occupy a large amount of resources in the Ninja World, making it hard for the other villages to survive. Only by successfully dividing the Leaf Village will everyone's lives get better.

Once life gets better, at least for a long time in the future, there won't be any more wars.

In other words.

Annihilating the Leaf Village is the path to peace.

The war that the major ninja villages are launching against the Leaf Village is a war of justice.

"I also agree."

Yagura, with his baby-faced demeanor, also voiced his opinion. He was succinct, fully agreeing with the viewpoints of the two Kages before him.

Lastly.

All eyes turned to the Fourth Raikage.

This Raikage, with a look of anger on his face, seemed to have a different opinion.

Bang!

He slammed the table, stood up, and said in a deep voice:

"The first to declare war on the Leaf was the Cloud. You all are merely jumping on the bandwagon. The ten thousand-strong army I lead is enough to destroy the Leaf. We don't need your involvement."

Apparently, the Cloud Village and its backing, the Land of Lightning, wanted to go it alone, hoping to swallow the entire Leaf Village and the Land of Fire by themselves.

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but frown.

The Cloud Village's appetite was a bit too big. They didn't seem to regard the other villages at all.

Faced with the domineering Raikage, Onoki wouldn't let it slide.

He snorted coldly and immediately retorted:

"Heh, without the Uchiha clan, the Leaf Village is nothing more than a toothless tiger, nothing to be afraid of. Not to mention the Cloud, even my Stone Village's army of fifteen thousand is confident in taking down the Leaf."

"That's right."

Rasa and Yagura also expressed similar views.

It was clear to anyone with eyes.

Over the years, the Leaf Village's strong had either died or left. It was only because of the Uchiha clan's several pairs of Mangekyou Sharingan that they could maintain the status of being the top of the Five

Great Ninja Villages.

Now, with the Leaf Village and the Uchiha clan splitting up, the two major clans that established the Leaf Village—the Senju and the Uchiha—were gone.

What's left was just a bunch of weaklings. Why should they continue to occupy the heart of the Ninja World?

"Hmph."

The Fourth Raikage snorted and made a few threats, but in the end, he conceded.

He wasn't that foolish. His performance just now was just to give the Cloud Village a reason to strive for the greatest benefits when they invade the Leaf Village.

However, the Raikage then turned serious and warned everyone:

"I've received news that Uchiha Dan has returned to the Leaf Village. I've fought him before, and his strength is formidable. He could become the biggest variable in this war."

Hearing this, Rasa shook his head, showing a look of disdain:

"Just one person, and he can change the entire battle? Perhaps the Raikage lacks confidence in his own strength. But don't forget, war is not a one-on-one fight. Combined, we have an army of forty thousand."

Onoki said:

"Indeed, if Uchiha Dan was truly that powerful, the Uchiha clan wouldn't have fled the Leaf Village in disgrace, they would have already taken control of it, wouldn't they?"

It was a simple, undeniable truth.

The reason the Uchiha clan had left the Leaf Village was clearly because their coup had failed; they couldn't stand against the entire village with their clan's strength alone.

Dan's return to the Leaf Village probably meant he saw that the Uchiha clan's days were numbered and decided to betray his family.

How could someone like that be of any threat?

"So, let's prepare to take down the Leaf Village in one fell swoop," the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, finally spoke.

No sooner had he finished speaking...

"Did you all forget about the Hidden Rain Village?"

A cold female voice echoed through the hall. A man and a woman wearing black robes adorned with red clouds, the attire of the Akatsuki, stepped into the hall side by side.

It was Konan and Pain.

The arrival of the two instantly drew the gazes of everyone in the hall.

Although Konan had spoken first, everyone's eyes instinctively passed over her, focusing on Pain.

Pain.

He had killed the former leader of the Rain Village—known as the "Demigod of the Ninja World," Hanzo the Salamander, and replaced him, proclaiming himself a "God."

Not long ago, he single-handedly wiped out a 3000-strong Leaf Village army, his fame spreading across the ninja world, and was once considered the one closest to Hashirama Senju.

This man, with his short orange hair and face full of metal piercings, was now sizing up everyone in the hall with his purple Rinnegan eyes.

His gaze was indifferent, and he radiated an air of superiority, like a mysterious and powerful god looking down upon mere mortals.

Pain's appearance changed the expressions of all the Kages present, who felt a surge of pressure.

Especially the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura.

Several years ago Obito, Pain, and Konan had visited the Mist Village together.

At that time, Yagura had been manipulated by Obito's Mangekyou Sharingan genjutsu before he could even mount any resistance.

Thus, Pain knew the Fourth Mizukage before him was nothing more than a puppet; the one pulling the strings was Obito.

Therefore, his gaze fell on Yagura, as if he was about to reveal the truth of the Mizukage's manipulation by Obito at any moment.

At that moment.

Bang!

The Fourth Raikage slammed the table again, glaring at Pain with a furious expression: "Another one wanting a piece of the pie? Our meeting is over, there's no part for the Rain Village."

The Hidden Rain Village was a small ninja village after all, not on equal footing with the Four Great Ninja Villages.

This Pain, having received some praise, couldn't possibly think that he could stand shoulder to shoulder with the "God of Shinobi," Hashirama Senju, could he?

Hmm?

Pain, sensing the Raikage's hostility, looked at him indifferently and said: "Another weakling who cannot gauge his own strength, ranting before a god. It's not bravery, it's foolishness."

This statement was undoubtedly arrogant.

The Raikage was instantly enraged.

"Bastard!"

He roared and immediately charged at Pain like a human-shaped beast.

Given the Fourth Raikage's explosive temperament, he rarely backed down to anyone.

So what if Pain defeated the 3000-strong Leaf Village army? The Third Raikage of the Cloud Village had once single-handedly fought against ten thousand ninja of the Stone Village!

The Raikage was a man who liked to let his fists do the talking; he had been wanting to test his strength against Pain for a while.

Today, he wanted to see just how powerful this so-called "God" really was.

As the Raikage charged towards Pain, he raised his right arm in a fist. His bulky arm took the shape of a bull's horn and was covered in blue lightning chakra, aimed right at Pain's neck.

Lariat.

He planned to use his incredible strength to send Pain's head flying, since he couldn't stand Pain's emotionless face.

Everything happened so suddenly.

No one else had the time to intervene.

Moreover, the other Kages present had no intention of stopping it.

They let the Fourth Raikage, the brash man, have a go at Pain and test his abilities.

With that thought, Onoki and Rasa prepared to watch the show.

Facing the Raikage who was charging at him,

Pain remained indifferent, standing still without moving an inch. He didn't even lift a finger.

Konan at his side did the same.

In the next instant.

"Shinra Tensei!"

Pain coldly uttered these words.

Boom!

An unimaginable force exploded from Pain, colliding head-on with the Fourth Raikage.

The result was...

Bang!

The Raikage was sent flying back at an even faster speed. He crashed through the hall's wall, flying out of the castle on Kikyo Mountain, his fate unknown.

"Lord Raikage!" Seeing this, Samui and Darui were horrified and immediately rushed out in a panic.

Onoki, Rasa, and the others also stood up from their seats, their faces filled with shock.

They had considered that the Raikage might not be a match for Pain, but they never expected...

The fight would end so quickly.

The Fourth Raikage... was instantly killed by Pain.

Indeed, he was... a god.

In the ensuing silence.

Onoki was the first to regain his senses. He took a deep look at Pain and Konan and said in a solemn voice: "I apologize on behalf of the Fourth Raikage for his rudeness just now. Welcome to the meeting."

Rasa also managed a smile, extending an olive branch to Pain: "Please, have a seat. With the Hidden Rain joining the Ninja Alliance, I believe taking down the Leaf Village will be much easier."

In the ninja world, strength always had the final say.

The strength Pain had just displayed forced everyone present to respect him. They had no choice but to invite him to join their alliance.

However.

Pain simply said:

"The Hidden Rain has no interest in the Leaf Village's territory, resources, or money."

"And what... do you want?" Rasa asked, taken aback.

"I want the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki," Pain answered.

Upon hearing this, everyone present fell silent, their eyes flickering but not responding.

Clearly, they all had plans for the Nine-Tails as well.

Pain seemed unconcerned, simply leaving them with one sentence: "This is not a negotiation, but a notification. Anyone who competes with me for the Nine-Tails will die."

After saying this, he and Konan turned to leave.

"Oh, and..."

As Pain reached the door, he suddenly stopped, gave Konan a look.

Understanding his intent, Konan turned around, pointed at Yagura, and coldly said:

"By the way, this man has been under the control of Uchiha Obito's genjutsu for quite some time."

With those words, Konan's body turned into countless pieces of paper, scattering in all directions. Pain also vanished in a flash.