"Amemiya Ruri?"
Hashirama scratched his head, indicating he didn't recognize the name.
"Amemiya Ruri? Is that the shinobi known as the strongest in the Land of Waterfall?"
The First Tsuchikage, Ishikawa, stroked his beard. The Land of Waterfall bordered the Land of Earth, so he had heard of Amemiya Ruri's reputation, though the man was supposed to be very low-key.
"Tch, the Land of Waterfall? Takikage? Just a small country."
Byakuren still wore a look of disdain. Although he now felt that Amemiya Ruri might possess strength on par with their own, the Land of Waterfall's national power was far inferior to the Five Great Nations.
Unless Ruri truly possessed strength at their level, or even higher, the Land of Waterfall's attempt to establish a Takikage was somewhat wishful thinking.
"The Land of Waterfall, that's a good country."
The First Kazekage, Reto, said with a smile. He was the only one among the five, besides Hashirama, who held no hostility towards Ruri.
The Land of Wind was far from the Land of Waterfall, and the two countries had never had any conflicts before. Furthermore, unbeknownst to anyone, Reto was acquainted with Ruri.
About two years ago, when Sunagakure was founded, it was well-known that the Land of Wind had poor geography, covered in yellow sand. In an effort to develop Sunagakure rapidly, Reto exhausted all his efforts, negotiating with various countries, which included the Land of Waterfall.
At that time, the Land of Waterfall had not yet established a shinobi village, but already had the intention to do so. Although Sunagakure was arguably the weakest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, its support was hard-won. After discussing with Ruri, the Daimyo sent out a small amount of Hero's Water, diluted many times over.
The diluted Hero's Water didn't increase chakra but could alter the geographical environment and create water sources. Reto used this Hero's Water to solve Sunagakure's water problem.
In exchange for the Hero's Water, the Land of Waterfall received Sunagakure's support.
Reto was also sighing inwardly. At the time, he didn't know that the Land of Waterfall would establish the position of Takikage after founding Takigakure, because he was well aware that Ruri didn't possess Kage-level strength back then. Who would have thought that in just a few years, such a big change would occur?
To effortlessly block the Mizukage's sneak attack… and he never expected the Daimyo of the Land of Waterfall to be so bold as to challenge the Five Great Nations. However, there was no conflict of interest between Sunagakure and Takigakure. Given their prior cooperation, they might even maintain a cooperative relationship in the future. Using this as a starting point to secure more Hero's Water for Sunagakure wouldn't be a loss.
"How long are we going to linger here? I don't want to be seen as a monkey in the eyes of these samurai."
The Raikage, A, who had been silent until now, spoke up. He had been observing Ruri and had found no flaws so far. Coupled with the crowds of samurai watching them, he had long lost his patience.
"Ah, right, we have official business. Ruri, was it? Today is the day of the Five Kage Summit, so we'll have to catch up later!"
Hashirama clapped his hand to his forehead, but his words did not acknowledge Ruri's status as Takikage.
If Hashirama had acknowledged Ruri's title and status as a Kage, he wouldn't have addressed him by name nor used the Five Kage Summit as a reason to ask him to leave.
Ruri shook his head slightly internally. It seemed Hashirama wasn't completely naive, relying solely on charisma and strength to become Hokage; he possessed the necessary political instincts. While not acknowledging his status as Takikage, he didn't directly drive him away either, as needlessly offending a country wouldn't align with his vision for peace in the shinobi world.
It seemed the move earlier had shocked the other four Kage but not Hashirama. The God of Shinobi truly was well-informed.
Ruri formed hand seals and slammed his palm on the ground. His seal speed, honed since childhood, reached five seals per second, but Hashirama still saw it clearly. However, when he recognized those specific seals, he was stunned.
"Wood Release: Four-Pillar House Technique!"
A wooden mansion rose from the ground. This meeting spot was a location Ruri had scouted beforehand—very spacious, so an extra building wouldn't seem or block pedestrians.
At worst, the Land of Iron might send someone to seal the unauthorized construction, but by then the summit would be over.
"This is Big Brother's Wood Release?"
Tobirama, who had been following Hashirama, showed an expression of disbelief. Wasn't this Big Brother's unique Wood Release ninjutsu? How had this guy reproduced it?
This was a technique even he couldn't learn… and besides, wasn't Wood Release the Kekkei Genkai of the Senju clan?
The four Kage all looked at Hashirama, their eyes seemingly questioning who this guy was. They knew the power of Hashirama's Wood Release and had been subdued by it, hence today's summit. In their eyes, Wood Release represented Hashirama.
Now, even Reto was uncertain. Was Amemiya Ruri's appearance arranged by Hashirama? How else to explain this Wood Release that had only appeared in Hashirama's hands?
Could they be long-lost cousins? They looked completely unlike each other!
Hashirama scratched his head and gave an awkward laugh, saying nothing. Any explanation would be unclear now; he himself didn't know what was happening.
He had developed Wood Release through his own training and had once thought it was a Kekkei Genkai. But seeing this now, it seemed that might not be the case.
No one else in his clan could train in Wood Release, including the exceptionally talented Tobirama.
He was sure there were no branch families in the Senju clan. In this era before Orochimaru was born, before black tech was developed, and before Hashirama Cells were widespread, the only conclusion was that Amemiya Ruri possessed the same ability as him and had developed Wood Release through his own training.
"Well, isn't everyone here for the Six Kage Summit? It's not good to stay outside. Let's go in."
Ruri gestured invitingly, though no one knew the bitterness in his heart. He lacked the water and earth chakra natures that combined to form Wood Release.
Although he could use the Wood Release ninjutsu rewarded by the system, the consumption was enormous. Combined with the chakra used earlier for the Truth-Seeking Ball to block the Water Dragon Bullet, he only had forty percent of his chakra left.
"Well said, let's go in!"
Hashirama laughed heartily and was the first to step into the mansion. He had originally planned to use Wood Release to create a house here himself; Ruri's action had saved him some chakra.
However, because of this, the status of the Land of Waterfall and Takigakure needed to be reassessed. The Takikage could use a mysterious ninjutsu to block Byakuren's Water Release and even use Wood Release. This level of combat power was among the top even among the Five Kage.
The other four Kage entered expressionlessly, following Hashirama. Ruri had both the ability to easily block Byakuren's sneak attack and possessed Wood Release; they didn't dare to think further.
Perhaps Ruri's strength surpassed theirs. As one of the Five Kage, their strength might be inferior to this Takikage who had suddenly popped out of nowhere; it was somewhat embarrassing.
Only then did Ruri breathe a sigh of relief. The fact that the Five Kage were willing to enter the house created by his Wood Release meant his plan was more than half successful. At the very least, the title of Takikage had to be acknowledged now, because in their eyes, Ruri wasn't an ordinary Kage-level fighter; his strength was sufficient for the Five Kage to take seriously.
Then, Ruri also entered, followed by the Kage's guards.
Kakuzu, who entered last, might have had a slow reaction, as he now showed a dumbfounded expression. He didn't know when his big brother had learned Wood Release, but he didn't dwell on it. The stronger his big brother was, the more ninjutsu he could help him develop.
He could see that the current situation was advantageous for them. From this day forward, the title of Takikage would be recognized by the entire shinobi world. As the unofficially designated Second Takikage, he felt this was very promising.