Naruto passed the message to Raikage. Raikage got so hyped he instantly activated his Lightning Armor and nearly blew the roof off the place.
Honestly, if A hadn't looked so pissed when he heard the news, the whole scene would've been kinda funny.
All Naruto could do was pray for Gyuki and Killer Bee, hoping they could survive Raikage-sama's iron fists.
About ten minutes later, Mifune, the leader of the Land of Iron, walked in with a serious face.
He wasn't trying to show off in front of the Kage. The Land of Iron was a country of samurai, and proper samurai tended to act formal and stiff. But thanks to the ninja, samurai had basically become outdated. So when facing the Five Great Ninja Villages, Mifune actually kept himself pretty humble.
The so-called pride of the samurai was long gone.
Even though Mifune's sword skills could match a ninja's, that was just him alone. If it came down to a real war, the Land of Iron would definitely lose.
"As you wish, the meeting hall is ready. Tsuchikage-sama is already waiting in the reception room," Mifune said as he entered, bowing slightly to the four Kage—giving them plenty of respect.
The Land of Iron may not be powerful, but it was a truly neutral nation. It was also where most of the world's ninja tools were made. Kunai, shuriken, short swords, katana—basically all the standard gear for the Five Great Nations came from the Land of Iron. That's why ninja tools all looked more or less the same no matter where you went.
Back in the Warring States period, the major clans were already buying weapons from the Land of Iron. So the Land of Iron had never been unimportant in the ninja world—it just wasn't as influential as the Five Great Nations.
Of course, this only applied to standardized ninja tools.
So how has a place like this managed to stay peaceful? Why hasn't it been taken over?
First, the geography. The terrain in the Land of Iron made it hard for most ninja to fight at full power. Not everyone is used to snow and ice. It's tough to invade.
Second, the leadership.
Right now it's Mifune. Before him, who knows—but clearly the past leaders weren't weak either. Mifune himself could put up a fight against a Kage, and with the terrain advantage, invading the Land of Iron just wasn't worth the cost. No village would be that stupid.
So when a strong and respected elder like Mifune gave them so much face, the Kage naturally responded politely. Everyone instinctively bowed back.
"Thanks for your trouble, Lord Mifune," said Terumi Mei.
Mifune nodded. "Please, follow me."
With that, he turned and walked outside.
The others exchanged looks. Terumi Mei and Tsunade stopped arguing and followed with serious expressions.
Mifune led the way up front and spoke as he walked, "I'm sure you all understand how important the Five Kage Summit is."
"So no matter what happens, please control your emotions. If there are any problems you need to settle, wait until you've left the Land of Iron to handle it."
"At the very least, while you're in the Land of Iron, don't act like you usually do." As he said this, Mifune glanced over at the group.
There was no warning or killing intent in that glance—it was as calm as still water. But even though the words were simple, they somehow carried a strange sense of authority that made people take them seriously.
Mifune's movement was barely noticeable, but behind him, Naruto suddenly stopped in his tracks, staring at Mifune's back with a shocked expression.
The others didn't seem to feel anything. They just nodded and kept walking.
Gaara noticed Naruto's reaction. He slowed down a bit and turned his head. "What's wrong?"
"This guy… he's scary…" Naruto gulped. "It's not his power or presence… it's weird. Kurama, why does this old man seem so scary to me?"
There was barely any chakra coming from him, and he didn't feel strong at all—but somehow, Naruto felt like a blade was at his throat. Especially when Mifune looked at them—his eyes were calm, but they felt as deep and unreadable as the ocean.
"Heh~ You actually picked up on Mifune's 'intent'?" Tobirama, who had been keeping himself hidden beside Naruto, suddenly spoke up.
"Intent?" Naruto looked at him, confused.
Gaara was curious too. "What does that mean?"
"Put simply, it's a person's mindset," Tobirama crossed his arms and explained as they walked. "If I get too detailed, you won't get it, so let me put it this way—like my big brother. Even though he acts dumb, anyone with a bit of awareness can tell he's strong, even if he hides his chakra."
"This has nothing to do with raw strength. It's something that gets etched into a person's bones from the moment they start training. Even a regular person, when doing something they're good at or confident in, can give off a vibe that makes people know not to mess with them—that's 'intent'."
Tobirama looked at Naruto. "You've got that too. Your chakra might be too advanced for regular folks to sense now, but when you face strong opponents, even if they can't sense your chakra, they still know you're powerful."
Then he turned his head like it was nothing. "Of course, it's not always reliable. A good liar can fake being strong by convincing even themselves—and that fake 'intent' can still fool people."
"I think I get it." Gaara nodded slightly.
Naruto was stunned. "You do?"
Gaara didn't answer, just stared thoughtfully at Mifune's back. "So this guy isn't just some random samurai."
"Hey, what exactly do you get?" Naruto was totally lost.
Tobirama gave a tiny smirk. "Well, even if samurai are bound to be replaced by ninja in the long run, I have to admit—samurai from the Land of Iron do have their own unique strength. It's just a shame…"
The shame was that training as a samurai was too slow and costly compared to being a ninja. It just couldn't spread widely, and their ceiling wasn't high. They were at a huge disadvantage next to ninja.
Put it this way: would you rather take 40 years to reach jonin-level strength with talent, or get there in 20 years with talent as a ninja?
"Kurama, they're leaving me out." Naruto went straight to complaining.
"Do you really have to keep up this idiot act over something so minor?" Kurama sighed hard.
"But I honestly didn't get it." Naruto threw up his hands. "When did the ninja world add this kind of thing? Nobody told me."
Kurama facepalmed. "Let me sum it up for you. Everything Tobirama just said in that long-winded explanation—boils down to one thing: acting cool."
Naruto: "..."
Somehow that made way too much sense…
In every possible way.
"No wonder people always think Sasuke seems more dependable when we show up together," Naruto said, suddenly understanding.
"At least you're a little self-aware." Kurama looked at him with total disgust. "The day you drop this dumb act and start learning how to act cool like Sasuke, you'll be the brightest kid in the ninja world."
I told you!
——
ps1: In the original story, Mifune was strong enough to fight Hanzo. Even though he lost at first, later on when Hanzo was reanimated, Mifune defeated him head-on. Sure, there were other factors involved, but you can't deny Mifune was strong in his own right.
ps2: The setup for the Land of Iron is fan-made. In the original, each country has its own ninja tool production, but the details weren't explained, so I added a bit myself. Otherwise, the Land of Iron would feel pretty pointless.
ps3: I forgot to label the "note" in Chapter 363—here's the correction.
Turtle Island *does* have a barrier, but it's mainly used to hide the island itself, not to block chakra. This was mentioned when Naruto first arrived there in the original story. What I added was fan-made, because otherwise there's no good reason Kisame didn't let White Zetsu pass on the info and insisted on doing it himself, even though it cost him his life.
White Zetsu's hiding ability is top-tier. Even Naruto couldn't sense him before getting Sage of Six Paths powers. His good/evil sensing only works when a Zetsu clone is already standing in front of him.
Of course, that's just my take. If it's different from the original, then treat it as a fan-made adjustment. After all, everyone knows Naruto's story has lots of contradictions.
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