Chapter 210: The Allied Shinobi Forces Against Kara
On one side, the liquid-metal robots were gradually replacing the villagers of the Hidden Leaf Village according to plan. On the other, the fall of the Land of Iron had caused a growing atmosphere of war to spread across the ninja world.
The daimyōs of various nations—excluding the Land of Wind—were connecting via video conference.
"Daimyō of the Land of Water, you owe us an explanation for what happened in the Land of Iron and the Land of Wind!"
The daimyō of the Land of Fire glared sternly at the screen as he addressed the daimyō of the Land of Water.
The daimyō of the Land of Water, now in his fifties, was at the ideal age for politics—neither too young to lack experience nor too old to risk sudden death.
Since the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the current daimyō of the Land of Water had come to power with the slogan "Make the Land of Water Great Again," and indeed, he had been living up to it. Take the Hidden Mist Village, for example—nowadays, it was almost unrecognizable from its former reputation as the "Village of the Bloody Mist."
"An explanation? Kara was behind all of this. What are you demanding from the Land of Water?"
The daimyō of the Land of Water narrowed his eyes, and a shrewd glint occasionally flickered from the corners of his gaze.
"What about your security guard? If I remember correctly, his name was Ao. According to our intel, Ao was also a member of Kara!"
The daimyō of the Land of Fire pressed on.
"In truth, we had long identified Kara as a dangerous organization. The only issue was the lack of evidence. That's why Ao was sent on a secret infiltration mission to gather intel from within Kara. Unfortunately, just as he had successfully embedded himself, his cover was blown by the sudden appearance of shinobi from the Hidden Leaf Village..."
The daimyō of the Land of Water said this without the slightest change in expression.
Although the daimyō of the Land of Fire was fully aware that the man was spouting nonsense, he had no evidence to disprove the lie.
"Then explain this—when I invited you to the Land of Iron for negotiations, why was it that Kara showed up instead?!"
The daimyō of the Land of Fire clenched his fists. If it weren't for the screen separating them, he might have punched the man right then and there.
"That's because Kara intercepted your message. Even worse, they used someone transformed to look like me to attend the meeting! It's obvious—this was all part of Kara's conspiracy!"
The image of the Land of Water's daimyō on the screen looked furious as he slammed his desk for effect.
"I propose that the five great nations form an alliance of shinobi villages to eliminate Kara!"
The destruction of a small nation and the complete annihilation of a major nation's daimyō bloodline—these were outcomes the other daimyōs could not tolerate. After all, if a small country could be wiped out today, what would stop a major country from suffering the same fate tomorrow? If a daimyō could be assassinated today, who was to say they wouldn't be next?
Some things must never be allowed to happen, not even once.
This was precisely why, even when the ninja world had been embroiled in chaos and war in the past, the daimyōs of each nation had always remained safe and untouched.
The daimyō of the Land of Water clearly understood this. That's why, rather than wait to be targeted by the remaining four nations in retaliation for the fall of the Land of Iron and the death of the Land of Wind's daimyō, he preemptively proposed the formation of an allied force to go after Kara.
Not only did this deflect the risk of a joint assault on the Land of Water, but it also gave him an opportunity to conspire with Kara to set a trap—and potentially wipe out all the shinobi forces of the other nations in one move.
The other two daimyōs—those of the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning—glanced at each other and nodded in agreement.
While the destruction of the Land of Iron and the assassination of the Land of Wind's daimyō were shocking, both the Earth and Lightning nations were currently in peaceful development and had little desire to get deeply involved. Besides, with the Land of Water's daimyō saying what he had, it was difficult to find a justifiable reason to go to war with him.
Taking down Kara would be enough of a response to satisfy public and political pressure in the ninja world. What, were they really going to wipe out the entire Land of Water over this?
"Thank you both for your support. As for the details of the alliance, it's best to leave that to the village Kage to discuss. After all, professional matters should be handled by professionals."
The daimyō of the Land of Water spoke in his usual elegant and affable tone.
With the daimyōs of the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning in agreement, the daimyō of the Land of Fire had no choice but to follow suit.
Within the daimyō's residence in the Land of Water, the video conference ended amid light laughter and casual small talk.
"You didn't have to put the Land of Water in danger for my sake, Lord Daimyō."
Ao stepped up behind the daimyō of the Land of Water, his face full of guilt.
"Ao, do you still remember our slogan?"
The daimyō of the Land of Water spoke without turning his head.
"Make the Land of Water Great Again."
"That's right." The daimyō nodded, then rose from his chair and turned to face Ao. "It's to make the Land of Water great again. But if I can't even protect my own subordinates, how can I ever hope to make my nation great?"
Tears welled in Ao's eyes as he stared at the daimyō. "My lord, I... I..."
"Alright, alright. Honestly, at your age, seeing you cry in front of me is kind of unsettling," the daimyō of the Land of Water joked, clapping Ao on the shoulder. "Oh, and do me a favor—contact Kara. I need to discuss this alliance with them in detail."
"Yes, sir!"
Ao wiped his eyes and replied with an awkward but grateful smile.
Hidden Leaf Village – Hokage Office
Naruto sat in the center, with Shikamaru and Sasuke standing to either side of him.
"It's been a while, everyone."
Naruto smiled and greeted the other village leaders through the screen.
"There's been a lot going on lately," Gaara said coldly. With the death of the Land of Wind's daimyō, he had even more problems to handle—namely, all the factions within the Land of Wind scheming to take power.
Although Gaara had grown far more stable in recent years, people shouldn't forget—before meeting Naruto, Gaara was someone who didn't bat an eye at killing.
"I'm sorry, Gaara. And to you too, Naruto…"
Chōjūrō offered his apology to both.
"No worries, Chōjūrō. Besides, didn't the daimyōs already come to a decision? That's why we're having this Five Kage Summit again, right?"
Naruto reassured Chōjūrō. Despite any grudges or rivalries among the daimyōs, the village leaders generally maintained cordial relations with one another.
"Still can't believe I've lived to see two Allied Shinobi Forces in one lifetime."
Kurotsuchi, the leader of Iwagakure, propped her chin on her hand with a sigh.
"Let's not underestimate the threat. According to the intel, this mission won't be any easier than the battle against Kaguya Ōtsutsuki."
Darui, the leader of Kumogakure, wore a grave expression.
"Agreed," Naruto nodded. "After all, the leader of Kara is a member of the Ōtsutsuki Clan. And now, Isshiki Ōtsutsuki has also taken over the body of an exotic beast."
"Word is that Isshiki Ōtsutsuki was nearly defeated in the Land of Iron by two armored warriors. Naruto, will those two be joining the mission against Kara?"
Gaara asked.
"They will." Naruto nodded. "In fact, during this operation, those two armored warriors will serve as our main force against Isshiki Ōtsutsuki."