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The representative from the Hidden Sand Village, Ebizo, arrived at the meeting venue accompanied by his escort.
They paused briefly outside the hall. Ebizo's sharp gaze immediately fell upon Fugaku standing near the entrance.
Fugaku kept his head lowered and remained silent. Even though the Kazekage had not actually been killed by anyone from the Uchiha clan, most people still believed otherwise. The weight of false accusation pressed heavily on him.
He felt no real guilt, yet being wrongly blamed still left a bitter taste. It was necessary to offer some form of explanation.
Fugaku drew in a deep breath and silently made a firm resolution in his heart.
When Midorima caught sight of Ebizo, a slight heaviness settled over his mood.
The death of the Kazekage, the abduction of the One-Tail, and Lady Chiyo sacrificing her own life to save Gaara—these events from the original timeline had all occurred, none of them spared. The only difference was that everything had happened several years earlier than expected.
The consequence of this early timing was that Gaara had not yet grown strong enough to shoulder the burdens of the Hidden Sand Village. Among the younger generation, no one possessed sufficient prestige or capability to step into the role of the Fifth Kazekage. Compounded by the ongoing conflicts with the Hidden Leaf Village, the appointment of a new Kazekage had been repeatedly delayed.
Ebizo was attending the Five Kage Summit not as the official Kazekage, but as the official representative of the Hidden Sand Village. If any difficult or contentious decisions arose, Baki would be there to offer advice and help reach a collective judgment.
The moment Ebizo laid eyes on Fugaku, an uncontrollable surge of anger welled up inside him.
If it weren't for the belief that the Kazekage had been murdered by a member of the Uchiha clan, the Hidden Sand Village would never have fallen into its current precarious state. And yet the Hokage, fully aware of these suspicions, had deliberately placed the Uchiha clan leader here. Was this some kind of provocation?
Still, the elderly Ebizo remained composed and patient. He knew that Sarutobi Hiruzen was not a reckless man. There had to be a deeper purpose behind this arrangement.
Although Baki also burned with indignation, since Ebizo had not spoken out, he refrained from saying too much. He decided to wait until the meeting concluded before pressing the Hokage for answers.
Once seated, Ebizo glanced briefly at Midorima and Terumi Mei.
He remembered Terumi Mei from the previous Five Kage Summit, but the young man beside her was someone he had never seen before.
Nevertheless, when the young ninja offered a polite smile as a gesture of goodwill, Ebizo responded with a courteous nod of his own.
The next to arrive was Onoki, the Tsuchikage. He took his seat beside the Raikage and began speaking with him in low tones. It seemed the direct fighting between the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Stone villages was finally drawing to a close.
Midorima was about to say something to Terumi Mei when Hiruzen entered the hall, accompanied by Nara Shikaku.
Shikaku's presence caught Midorima slightly off guard. Previously, it had been decided that Tsunade would accompany the Hokage. However, having Shikaku present offered certain advantages. His mind was sharp and flexible, and his decision-making style leaned more firmly toward the interests of the Hidden Leaf Village rather than seeking middle-ground compromises like Tsunade often did.
As the host, Hiruzen began with a brief opening address. He spoke about how honored the Hidden Leaf Village felt to host this important Five Kage Summit. Then, he smoothly shifted the topic. "The reason we have gathered everyone here today is quite simple: our common target is the Akatsuki organization. I believe each of us has been affected by them to varying degrees. However, our understanding of Akatsuki remains extremely limited. Fortunately, we have invited a young ninja who is exceptionally familiar with the group. He was once framed by Akatsuki and forced to flee the Hidden Mist Village as a rogue ninja. Later, he helped the Hidden Mist successfully thwart one of Akatsuki's schemes. He is truly one of the most outstanding talents of the younger generation—Asachi Midorima."
Midorima rose from his seat. "I am glad to be able to provide some information related to Akatsuki for this summit. Whether it proves useful will depend on everyone's judgment."
"However, before we officially begin today's discussions, I would like to address one matter first," Hiruzen said. He turned slightly and whispered a few words to Shikaku behind him. Shikaku immediately stood up, walked to the door of the conference room, and called Fugaku, who had been waiting outside, into the hall.
In an instant, all eyes in the room turned toward Fugaku.
Ebizo's eyes snapped open, blazing with unmistakable anger.
"You're not going to claim that the person who killed the Kazekage wasn't from the Uchiha clan, are you?" Ebizo demanded.
"It would be best if he explains it himself," Hiruzen said, looking directly at Fugaku.
Fugaku bowed solemnly to everyone present, his expression grave. Then he spoke in a clear, resonant voice that echoed throughout the large hall. "I am the leader of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Fugaku. Regarding the death of the Kazekage, I wish to make only two points. First, what possible benefit would the Uchiha clan gain from killing the Kazekage? Why would we want him dead? Second, and most importantly, for someone to become Kazekage, their strength must be exceptional. If we had attempted to assassinate him, there would inevitably have been injuries—perhaps even deaths—among our own people. Yet, before and after the Kazekage's death, the number of Uchiha clan members remained unchanged, and no one sustained any injuries. Lord Hokage can personally attest to this fact. Therefore, the death of the Kazekage has nothing to do with the Uchiha clan."
Fugaku's voice rang out powerfully. After finishing his statement, he glanced briefly at Ebizo, then closed his eyes and waited quietly for others to respond.
Upon hearing Fugaku's explanation, Baki clenched his fists in fury. "These are nothing but empty words from your side. I have long heard that the Uchiha clan and the Hidden Leaf Village are at odds. Wouldn't it be convenient for you to kill the Kazekage and then shift the blame onto the Leaf Village? As for the claim that no one was injured… such figures can easily be falsified. They cannot be trusted."
The atmosphere in the conference room instantly became charged with tension, thick with the scent of gunpowder.
"Be quiet," Ebizo interjected. "Lord Hokage would not overlook such considerations. He will surely provide us with a proper explanation."
Midorima raised his eyebrows slightly.
Ebizo appeared calm and detached on the surface, yet his words carried a sharp, aggressive edge. In a single sentence, he had neatly shifted the difficult question onto Hiruzen.
"This incident occurred deep in the night, so concrete evidence is naturally scarce," the Hokage replied. "However, on the morning following the tragedy, we did conduct a thorough inspection of the Uchiha clan. It is a fact that no one was injured or missing. The Kazekage is indeed dead, which can only mean that the true culprit is someone else."
"Can the culprit also use Susanoo?" Baki pressed.
Hiruzen fell silent, momentarily at a loss for words.
This was indeed a point that was difficult to explain away.
"Um… may I interject for a moment?" Midorima raised his hand politely.
Terumi Mei did not fully understand Midorima's intention, but since he had spoken up, she offered her unconditional support. Seeing the confused expressions on the others' faces, she said, "There's no harm in hearing what he has to say."
Baki looked somewhat displeased, but Ebizo gave a small nod of approval.
"I would like to ask this," Midorima began. "If the culprit truly used Susanoo, why did anyone survive at all? How exactly did the Hidden Sand Village confirm the identity of the attacker? Under normal circumstances, shouldn't the escorts have died before the Kazekage himself?"
"That's because one of the escorts was knocked unconscious. The culprit simply didn't notice," Baki replied.
"Really? In such a meticulously planned operation, the killer overlooked finishing off a witness? No matter how you look at it, assassinating a Kage is no small matter. Such a glaring oversight seems highly unlikely."
"Perhaps the culprit deliberately left this clue behind in order to spark a war between the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Sand villages," Baki countered. "After all, the Uchiha clan and the Leaf are known to be on bad terms."
"Precisely because the two sides are not on good terms, if the Uchiha were involved, the Hidden Leaf Village would certainly want to find incriminating evidence against them. Yet the facts appear to suggest otherwise," Midorima said, fixing his gaze continued on Baki. "This matter is not as straightforward as it might seem at first glance."