At the routine Five Kage Summit, the Third Tsuchikage and Fourth Raikage arrived at the meeting venue early, engaging in casual conversation.
"What's going on with Hidden Leaf Village lately? It's just a Chunin Exam, yet they've turned it into a chaotic mess!" Onoki chuckled lightly, his tone dripping with mockery.
The Fourth Raikage snorted, "Didn't they boast about their new generation being full of prodigies? Guess they're just reaping what they sowed!"
Undoubtedly, Hidden Leaf's struggles brought the most joy to Hidden Rock and Hidden Cloud. For the relatively weaker Hidden Mist and Hidden Sand, their conflicts with Hidden Leaf were sharper, rooted in both past grudges and the struggle over who would lead the Shinobi Village Alliance.
Soon, the Third Hokage, Fourth Mizukage, and Fourth Kazekage arrived at the venue one after another. With all Five Kage present, the meeting officially began.
The first agenda was, naturally, sharing the latest intelligence each village had gathered on the Akatsuki organization.
The Third Tsuchikage spoke first, "In the past week, our Hidden Rock Village raided over a dozen suspected Akatsuki hideouts, but came up empty-handed."
The Fourth Kazekage added, "Same for us!"
The Fourth Mizukage, with a grim expression, shook her head as well.
Seeing this, the Fourth Raikage slammed his fist on the table with a bang. "Those Akatsuki bastards—are they hiding underground or what?"
Despite the massive efforts of the five great shinobi villages, not a single piece of useful intelligence had been gathered, leaving the Kage visibly frustrated.
As the atmosphere in the meeting room grew heavy, the Third Hokage spoke up, "Our Hidden Leaf intelligence team, after compiling a vast amount of reports and rumors, uncovered a critical piece of information: over the past year, there have been multiple cases of Bloodline Limit shinobi going missing across the shinobi world. This includes rare Bloodline Limits like Dark Release, Swift Release, and Steel Release!"
At the Hokage's words, the other Kage sharpened their focus.
It was no secret that Hiruko, through some mysterious ritual, had been stealing and fusing other shinobi's Bloodline Limits. Thus, Hidden Leaf's discovery clearly pointed to Hiruko. And if they could find Hiruko, the five great shinobi villages could follow the trail to Akatsuki's hideout.
The hot-tempered Raikage cut to the chase, "Just tell us—have you found that guy's hiding place?"
The Third Hokage replied, "Based on our analysis, Hiruko is likely hiding in the Land of Iron."
The Third Tsuchikage frowned, "The Land of Iron sits at the center of our Earth, Fire, and Lightning nations. He's got some guts hiding there! But the Land of Iron is vast, with many uninhabited icy wastelands. Even if we know he's there, what can we do? Send shinobi to search every inch of it?"
The Third Hokage responded, "Our Hidden Leaf intelligence team is still analyzing further. We may have new leads soon."
The Kage nodded in unison. At the very least, there was some progress in the hunt for Akatsuki.
After sharing intelligence on Akatsuki, the discussion shifted to the upcoming Chunin Exams.
The Third Tsuchikage smirked, "When are you starting the Chunin Exams? Keep delaying, and I'm worried no one from Hidden Leaf will dare show up!"
The Third Hokage's face darkened. The Tsuchikage wasn't wrong—delaying further would only worsen things for Hidden Leaf.
Not wanting the summit to turn too tense, the Fourth Mizukage stepped in to diffuse the situation, "That said, the shinobi sent by Hidden Grass Village for the Chunin Exams are indeed quite capable!"
The Fourth Kazekage, curious, asked, "Hokage-dono, why isn't Uchiha Shinji, who took down Akatsuki's Kurosuki Raiga, participating in the Chunin Exams? With his skills, he should be able to handle those arrogant Hidden Grass shinobi, right?"
The Kazekage was poking at a sore spot, and the Third Hokage, unwilling to air dirty laundry, brushed it off, "As the First Chair of the ninja academy, he will naturally participate in the Chunin Exams."
The Fourth Mizukage added, "Regardless, I'll ensure my village's shinobi refrain from issuing random challenges before the Chunin Exams officially begin."
The Fourth Kazekage chimed in, "Hidden Sand will do the same!"
Seeing Hidden Mist and Hidden Sand take a stand, the Third Tsuchikage and Fourth Raikage followed suit, agreeing to restrain their shinobi to prevent further escalation. After all, the purpose of the Chunin Exams was to select outstanding new-generation shinobi to combat Akatsuki, not to spark infighting among the five great villages.
With all four Kage making their promises, the Third Hokage quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Though Hidden Leaf had lost face, Hidden Grass had been privately warned to stop causing trouble, and with the other four villages now pledging to control their shinobi, the frequent challenges would likely subside for now.
Suddenly, a Hidden Leaf Anbu burst into the meeting room, whispering urgently into the Third Hokage's ear. The Hokage's brow furrowed, and for once, his usually composed face betrayed a flicker of anger.
Rising abruptly, the Third Hokage addressed the others, "My apologies, I have urgent matters to attend to. Let's conclude today's meeting here."
Without waiting for a response, he strode out of the room.
The four remaining Kage exchanged glances, their expressions tinged with amusement.
"Hey, hey, hey! Are all you Hidden Leaf shinobi just hiding in the hospital? Not a single one dares to face me?" Kidomaru stood alone, blocking the entrance to Hidden Leaf Hospital.
A short distance away, Sakon and Ukon, Tayuya, and Jirobo leaned against a tree or stood with arms crossed, coldly watching the hospital.
Inside the hospital, Yakumo rose from her bed and approached the window. With her current condition, yesterday's injuries had already healed by sixty to seventy percent—enough for her to fight if needed.
At that moment, Shizune entered the room and said, "Lie back down. Your injuries haven't fully healed."
Yakumo pointed below. "What about that?"
Shizune glanced out the window, glaring at Kidomaru below before turning to Yakumo. "Don't worry, we'll handle it."
In another hospital room, Sasuke leaned against the window, his face ashen as he stared at the taunting Kidomaru outside.
Sakura, standing beside him, gripped his arm with concern. "Sasuke, calm down. Your body can't handle another fight right now!"
Sasuke gritted his teeth. "So we just watch these lowlife Sound shinobi block the hospital gate and mock us?"
Sakura replied, "Shion, Hinata, and the others have gone to find Naruto! He may not be the strongest, but dealing with a few Sound shinobi shouldn't be a problem for him!"