After hearing Kubisaki Ichiro's words, everyone present showed a knowing expression.
Amemiya Ruri, you are strong, but only stronger than us. You can only lord over this small Land of Waterfall.
If you're so capable, why don't you go to the Five Kage Summit? You can beat us, but can you beat Senju Hashirama?
As the people present thought this, they still only believed that Ruri's strength was limited compared to theirs, and he was far from being a match for the Kage of other villages, let alone the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama.
If Ruri went to the Five Kage Summit, he would most likely be humiliated. If he was lucky enough to escape back to the village with his life, he would also voluntarily ask to have the title of Takikage removed after realizing the disparity.
As for Ruri being able to gain a certain status at the summit, or gaining the recognition of the Five Kage, they had never considered it. This was simply a fantasy. If he had that ability, why would he have only focused on developing in the Land of Waterfall before?
His reputation had already been established during the Warring States Period, and there wouldn't be so many people making things difficult for him. Of course, if he really succeeded in gaining a place at the summit, then accepting him as Takikage wouldn't be out of the question. A person who could stand as an equal with the Five Kage wouldn't cause any objections.
Kakuzu snorted disdainfully. Among these people, only one or two were worth looking at. As for reputation, everyone combined could only compare to him, so how could they be mentioned in the same breath as Ruri, whom he regarded as his elder brother?
Ruri was very low-key, and his true strength was unknown even to him. Just the endless stream of novel ninjutsu had already made him take notice. In his mind, Ruri's strength was completely on par with the Five Kage, otherwise he wouldn't have sent him to investigate the news of the summit.
Kakuzu even felt a little excited. Following this trend, Ruri was definitely going to participate. If the Five Kage didn't agree, would they fight?
He didn't know why, but in the depths of his being, he really wanted to fight Senju Hashirama.
"The Five Kage Summit? Interesting. I will make it the Six Kage Summit."
Ruri said these words calmly, and everyone could see the powerful confidence in his eyes, as if making people feel that he was meant to participate.
Upon hearing this, Kubisaki Ichiro's heart skipped a beat. This development didn't seem right. No matter what, Ruri shouldn't have agreed to participate so decisively. It should have been a normal plot for him to refuse several times and then be forced to participate! Could he really have strength comparable to the Five Kage?
Impossible! Impossible! Kubisaki Ichiro repeatedly emphasized in his heart, constantly reassuring himself that if Ruri really had this strength, he would have shown it long ago. Now, he must only be agreeing out of pride, and putting on a confident and calm facade. He would definitely find some excuse to escape later!
Ruri rubbed his nose, as if he had seen into Kubisaki Ichiro's thoughts. Escaping was impossible. Even before the system was activated, he wouldn't have escaped. However, before the system was activated, he was only seeking the support of the Five Kage, but now he wanted to be an equal.
Truth-Seeking Ball, a genuine Truth-Seeking Ball. Even if the usage time was limited, it was a Truth-Seeking Ball with Six Paths power. Even Hashirama wouldn't be able to withstand a single hit, right?
"Kakuzu, prepare. Let's set off now." Ruri stood up, intending to leave. Staying here any longer was meaningless, unless a Kage-level expert suddenly appeared and wanted to fight him to the death, but that was clearly impossible.
"Huh? Yes, Takikage-sama." Kakuzu was startled at first, then overjoyed. After this mission, he had a deep understanding of the summit.
The guards who accompanied the Kage were basically the designated successors, like the future Second Hokage. Takigakure was a small village, but the Takikage was still a Kage!
Shinobi pursue strength and the corresponding status. Only six people in the entire shinobi world hold the title of Kage. Even others who possess Kage-level strength cannot obtain the title. For a shinobi, being a Kage is the greatest honor, representing the highest recognition.
What? This script is completely wrong? Under the puzzled gazes of Kubisaki Ichiro and others, Ruri and Kakuzu left the conference room one after another. The Land of Waterfall was not far from the Land of Iron, but this was a last-minute trip, so more preparations were needed.
After Ruri left, Kubisaki Ichiro, who had recovered, showed a fierce expression and muttered, "Takikage? Non-existent. The entire Takigakure will be under my control."
The people in the conference room left in twos and threes. With Ruri, the new Takikage, gone, there was no need for them to stay. Hagane Maemori seemed to have sensed something and looked at Kubisaki Ichiro thoughtfully. He felt that he had made the wrong choice.
The Takikage was not as easy to deal with as he had imagined. Perhaps he still needed to observe for a while. For the safety of his family, even a little less profit didn't matter.
"Kakuzu, your timing was pretty good!"
Back home, Ruri laughed and patted Kakuzu's shoulder, saying that with the Truth-Seeking Ball given by the system, all the previous preparations were unnecessary, which saved a lot of trouble.
"It's all thanks to Big Brother's good teaching," Kakuzu scratched his head, picked up the quilt on the floor, and rolled it into a ball.
"By the way, Big Brother Ruri, are you really confident in facing the Five Kage?"
Kakuzu, who was tidying up, suddenly said with a solemn expression. If it was just facing one Kage, he had absolute confidence in Ruri, but what if all five came at once?
Especially the Hokage of Konoha, Senju Hashirama, that man who had almost become a myth. Even with his self-confidence, he only had the intention to challenge, and couldn't even think of fighting him as an equal.
"Have you been investigating for so long for nothing? Actually, my only opponent is Senju Hashirama. He alone subdued the other four Kage. I just need to show him that I have the strength to talk to him as an equal, plus the legitimacy of the Land of Waterfall, he won't make things difficult for me, and the Five Kage are not monolithic."
Ruri seemed very relaxed. With the Truth-Seeking Ball in hand, he could protect himself without the previously prepared items. He knew Hashirama's character better than anyone.
The rise of the Land of Waterfall and Takigakure was a good thing, letting all small countries and small shinobi villages know that even with a small territory, they could gain respect. For Hashirama, this was a necessary step for shinobi world peace.
Perhaps Hashirama's decision to give the Seven-Tails to Takigakure in the original story was also out of this consideration.
"That's true," Kakuzu thought for a moment, agreed, and then laughed, "Then on this journey, as Big Brother's guard, I will definitely protect Big Brother well!"
"It would be good if you didn't randomly take on bounty missions along the way."
Ruri shook his head and laughed. Kakuzu had a habit from way back: halfway through a mission, he would go to the Bounty Station to take on extra missions for money.