Inside the hall of the house was a hexagonal table, perfectly suited for the six Kage present. Hashirama and the others took their seats, while their guards could only stand and watch from behind.
This Takikage's idea is quite similar to mine? I wonder if he can also recognize my vision?
Hashirama tapped the table. The house was indeed made by Wood Release, and its structure was exactly as he had imagined, causing him to feel a sense of kinship with Ruri.
In reality, Ruri had been lazy and simply recreated the layout from his memory of the first Five Kage Summit.
Once the six were seated, placing their Kage hats on the table, Hashirama spoke. When it came down to it, aside from the powerful Land of Fire, he, the God of Shinobi, the strongest shinobi acknowledged by all, held absolute authority.
"To be able to gather like this, the Five Great Nations... oh no, the six First Kage, to hold this Six Kage Summit, I truly..."
As he spoke, Hashirama glanced apologetically at Ruri. While he could acknowledge Ruri and the title of Takikage, acknowledging the Land of Waterfall as a great nation was not his decision to make; that would require the Daimyo's agreement.
Ruri shook his head slightly to indicate it was fine. Although the Land of Waterfall was developing rapidly and its economy was approaching that of the Great Nations, its territory was indeed much smaller, with limited room for growth. This was a fact.
At that moment, Hashirama did something no one expected: he bowed his head onto the table and exclaimed loudly, "Thank you so much!"
No one had anticipated that the Hokage, the God of Shinobi, would act this way. Tobirama, standing behind him, was already displeased with Ruri's participation in the summit.
He found Hashirama's behavior utterly unacceptable and quickly leaned in, whispering angrily into his ear, "Big Brother, you are the Hokage, representing Konohagakure of the Land of Fire. How can you so easily bow your head to other Kage?"
Hashirama seemed to pay no heed to his status. He lifted his head slightly, his eyes filled with sincerity. "But I... I am just so happy!"
"Lord Hokage, please raise your head. This is not conduct befitting a leader."
A crossed his arms and spoke sternly.
"I did come here recognizing your proposal, Lord Hokage, but that doesn't mean I will sign for nothing."
Ishikawa stroked his beard and shook his head slightly. Hashirama was still too young; his ideas were somewhat naive. Just because they could sit together harmoniously now didn't guarantee future peace in the shinobi world.
"If you are too submissive, it will seem like you have ulterior motives!"
Byakuren's voice came through. He didn't trust Hashirama, or perhaps he trusted no one. Especially after Ruri had demonstrated Wood Release, his suspicions grew.
"It seems Lord Hokage thinks too highly of the other Kage," Ruri interjected at the right moment with a neutral comment. Due to the Land of Waterfall's limited strength, he had little leverage, but his personal power gave him a voice. It would be too frustrating to remain a silent observer after participating in the summit.
Reto glanced at Ruri and said, "Lord Takikage, you seem familiar with the agreement, so there's no need to explain it again. The condition for signing is that Lord Hokage distributes the Tailed Beasts he has collected to each village. This is a transaction and should not be swayed by emotion."
"Correct. The distribution of the Tailed Beasts will consider a balance of power among the villages, but each will need to provide funds to purchase..."
At this point, Tobirama directly began speaking for Hashirama, fearing what foolish remarks his brother might suddenly utter.
However, it was no use. Hashirama interrupted Tobirama, saying with great sincerity, "As for the Tailed Beasts, I can give them away for free..."
"Shut up..."
Tobirama was utterly exasperated with his idiot brother and nearly punched him. While his ideal of shinobi world peace was noble, securing benefits was also necessary.
The funds from selling the Tailed Beasts would allow Konoha to develop better. Even if the other four great nations didn't abide by the agreement, the Land of Fire could maintain its supreme combat strength. With strength, anything was possible; this was the bottom line.
"Purchasing them is acceptable. There are nine Tailed Beasts; may I ask how many Lord Hokage has captured?"
Ruri asked. The Tailed Beasts would likely be distributed as in the original story, meaning the only one not assigned to a Great Village was the Seven-Tails. He urgently wanted to know if Hashirama had captured it.
"Aside from the One-Tail already in Sunagakure, the remaining eight have all been captured."
Hashirama was straightforward. Without holding back, he directly produced eight scrolls.
The scrolls were unfurled, each bearing a number from two to nine.
Reto glanced at the scrolls. He didn't have a deep understanding of the Tailed Beasts' strength and assumed that since Hashirama captured them all single-handedly, they were probably only at a pseudo-Kage level.
He didn't mind much and said, "Regarding the Tailed Beasts, that's correct. Our Sunagakure's Mōrinji Temple has already sealed one, so we don't need another. For us to sign the agreement, unlike the other villages, we require appropriate compensation. Is that acceptable?"
"What do you want?"
A spoke up. Kumogakure had long coveted the Tailed Beasts. Although the Nine-Tails' scroll was presented, it would ultimately be kept by Konoha. He saw no need to offend Konoha over it, so the Eight-Tails was his target. Having one less village competing for the Eight-Tails was advantageous for him.
"Our country is covered in sand, so we wish to ask the neighboring Land of Fire for fertile land instead of a Tailed Beast. Furthermore, thirty percent of the funds other countries use to purchase Tailed Beasts must be given to us."
Reto stated his conditions. It didn't matter if Sunagakure was slightly weaker; the Land of Wind was easy to defend but hard to attack. What they needed most now was development funds.
"Don't be absurd, Kazekage!"
"What?Lord Kazekage, that's too much!"
A and Byakuren immediately slammed the table and stood up. The funds for purchasing the Tailed Beasts were no small amount. Thirty percent might not seem like much, but thirty percent from several villages combined was a considerable sum. They couldn't sit back and watch Sunagakure grow powerful because of this.
"If these conditions aren't met, I will not sign the agreement. Our country is a desert nation, unable to engage in production. To compete with the four great nations, we must maximize the use of our village's Tailed Beast."
Reto did not yield an inch on his village's interests.
"I think..."
Ruri had just begun to speak, intending to support Reto slightly, but was interrupted by Byakuren. This Mizukage old man was always so annoying.
"Kazekage, if you insist on this, the five nations can also join forces to attack the Land of Wind. I believe Lord Takikage agrees, doesn't he?"
Byakuren issued the threat and shifted the topic to Ruri. It seemed he had learned about the past transaction between the Land of Waterfall and the Land of Wind through some channel and sensed something amiss.
A and Ishikawa remained silent, looking at Ruri. Silently, they seemed to acknowledge Byakuren's suggestion.
"I'm afraid I must disappoint you both. The Land of Waterfall will not partake in ganging up on a friend."
Ruri said calmly. Even under pressure from three Kage, he would not retreat an inch. However, he remembered the plot; the outcome wouldn't be a complete breakdown. Hashirama would inevitably step in to mediate.
"If the Land of Waterfall lacks sufficient funds to purchase a Tailed Beast, certain items can be used for trade. Our Land of Wind will provide financial assistance. However, my conditions are non-negotiable."
Reto cast a grateful look at Ruri. He was also somewhat nervous in this situation. If handled poorly, it could indeed provoke a joint attack from three countries, which would be troublesome.
Ruri neither accepted nor rejected the trade Reto proposed. The "certain items" naturally referred to the Hero's Water, but such a precious resource was not something Ruri wanted to part with easily. The Land of Waterfall indeed didn't have much spare money to buy a Tailed Beast.
But Ruri was different. As the founder of the Bounty Station, although he had somewhat lost control over this behemoth, the funds at his disposal still amounted to trillions. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was as rich as a nation.
The atmosphere became tense, the air almost palpable with strain. Just then, a loud "BANG!" was heard.