Chapter 994: Chapter Nine: Where Does He Get That Confidence?

In the Leaf Village, inside the Hokage’s office, an old man sat behind his desk. Though seventy-two years old, his jet-black hair was as thick as a youth’s; the single visible eye, half-lidded, revealed a man of deep cunning.

The old man wore a simple black-and-white kimono, his head wrapped in bandages—he was Danzō, the current acting Hokage of the Leaf Village.

“At the Five Kage Summit, the Cloud Village proposed the Iron Country as the venue. Are they preparing to assign blame?”

Danzō, upon merely learning the basics of the situation, immediately grasped the Fourth Raikage’s intent—this was the gap between strategy and intellect.

“At this sensitive time, the other three Kage won’t refuse. If we represent the Leaf Village, it will greatly aid our voting position later.”

Danzō began weighing the gains and losses of this Five Kage Summit. His thought was: the Leaf Village had just been attacked by Akatsuki, publicly a victim, but in truth a beneficiary. With multiple nations eyeing the Land of Rain, now was the chance to stabilize the other ninja villages first. Once the Leaf’s post-war reconstruction was complete and the Land of Rain had settled, the Leaf could reclaim its position as the top of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

“Opportunity.”

Danzō made his decision: he would attend the Five Kage Summit.

Among all past Hokages, the Second Hokage was the most capable—he not only brought the Uchiha clan to heel, but also, despite fierce opposition from the major clans, established the Ninja Academy and shared jutsu with commoners. Looking back, this was a vision far ahead of its time.

The Third Hokage merely held the line. The Fourth Hokage? He was little more than a hero, bringing no real change to the Leaf—though that had much to do with his early death in battle.

Originally, the Second Hokage had intended Danzō as his successor, not Sarutobi Hiruzen. But during the Second’s trial, Danzō hesitated—and lost the chance.

Defeat is defeat. Danzō retreated underground, serving as the Third Hokage’s shadow. This was also the main reason the Third allowed Danzō to establish Root: Danzō was indeed a flawed man, but Sarutobi knew one thing—he would never betray the Leaf. That was enough.

Danzō had endured in silence. When the Fourth rose to power, Danzō’s patience snapped—he bared his fangs. But the moment he did, the Fourth Hokage struck him down with a Rasengan. Danzō endured again. When the Fifth Hokage took office, his composure shattered completely. Today, he stood just one step away from becoming the Sixth Hokage.

Danzō’s rise could be summed up in one phrase: the last-ditch counterattack of a defeated dog.

…

Like Danzō, the Fifth Mizukage, Chōmei, received the news and agreed to attend the summit. For her, too, this was an opportunity—she had only recently assumed power.

Coincidentally, the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, also needed this opportunity. Though he had served as Kazekage for some time, he had only recently won the people’s trust.

Unlike the Mizukage and Kazekage, the Third Tsuchikage, Oonoki, was still hesitating. This old man, barely 1.3 meters tall, possessed immense depth. Among the Five Kage, only his cunning rivaled Danzō’s. If they clashed in strategy, it would likely be a perfect stalemate.

Oonoki rubbed his forehead. He had already guessed the other four Kage would attend. If the Iwa Village alone were absent, it would surely be seen as weakness.

“No choice. Kurotsuchi, prepare to depart.”

…

All five Kage had made their decisions: they would attend the Five Kage Summit.

The Five Kage Summit was not held for the first time. The first summit was convened by Hashirama Senju, to discuss the distribution of the Tailed Beasts. The other four villages had no choice but to agree—back then, the Leaf possessed the power to annihilate them all.

The God of Shinobi was not a title earned lightly. Hashirama Senju maintained peace across the shinobi world for a time.

This summit, however, carried a sense of shame before the predecessors. Nearly all present Kage had lost their villages’ Tailed Beasts, and the agenda was far from friendly.

In truth, the summit had another purpose: the balance among the ninja villages had been shattered, and war might erupt. All Kage must sit down, coolly negotiate, and do everything possible to avoid war.

Tailed Beasts were like “nuclear weapons.” Suna, Kirigakure, Iwa, and Kumogakure were like nations that had lost theirs. The Leaf wasn’t much better—it had just been struck by Nagato, a “nuclear” force. Under such circumstances, war was hardly surprising.

…

Neighboring the Land of Fire: the Iron Country.

The Iron Country was neutral. Its military strength did not come from ninja, but from samurai—or rather, a group of close-combat specialists skilled with long blades, who could also use chakra, though they rarely practiced ninjutsu.

A fierce wind howled, sweeping up vast snowdrifts. The Iron Country was deep in winter.

Across the snow, a group moved at high speed, leaving footprints before vanishing into the swirling blizzard.

The group was Su Xiao and his companions. Tobi and White Zetsu were temporarily missing. Deidara sat atop a clay bird, far ahead. Su Xiao, carrying Bubu Wang and Am, could not ride the clay bird with him.

Su Xiao now sat on a snow sled. And who pulled it? Not Bubu Wang—Am.

The sled had originally been built for Bubu Wang. But Bubu Wang had refused with a look that said: “Riding on me is fine. Making me pull the sled? That’s going too far.”

Ropes were tied to Am’s shoulders as it pulled the sled. Steam puffed from its mouth, snow flew in all directions as it ran, and its expression clearly showed it found pulling the sled oddly enjoyable.

Bubu Wang sprinted across the snow. Once in cold regions, its intelligence unlocked dramatically—it became unusually sharp-witted.

Su Xiao rode the sled, biting into an apple now and then. Meanwhile, Sasuke, Karin, and the others had to run on foot.

Su Xiao casually tossed away the apple core and pulled out the map provided by Tobi.

This Kage Summit was being held in secret. Only high-ranking members of each village or a few Jonin knew of it. The location: Snowwind Mountain in the Iron Country.

Though called Snowwind Mountain, the Kage would not meet in the freezing wilderness. That would be an insult to their dignity.

Snowwind Mountain was a peak whose center had been hollowed out. Inside, a tower resembling a military fortress had been built. The surrounding mountain range, carved into a ring, acted as a protective wall, shielding the tower from view. From afar, it looked like nothing but a mountain—only aerial observation revealed the tower within.

Su Xiao would not arrive at Snowwind Mountain after all five Kage gathered. He had to arrive early and lie in wait nearby. Ideally, he would ambush and kill a Kage en route.

Killing a Kage was unlikely. Even the reckless Raikage had planned his route with extreme secrecy, let alone the others. White Zetsu had obtained no intelligence on their routes.

About five hours later, snow fell thickly, the wind howled, and ahead loomed a towering mountain: Snowwind Mountain.

“We’re here.”

Su Xiao signaled Am not to approach Snowwind Mountain—the area was heavily guarded by samurai.

“What’s the next plan?”

Sasuke, having run for over ten hours at high speed, was slightly out of breath. Even as a ninja, he couldn’t sustain such intensity. Su Xiao led too fast, ignoring whether they could keep up.

“White Zetsu.”

Su Xiao seemed to be speaking to thin air.

Click-click-click…

Snow exploded as a giant pitcher plant burst through the surface.

“Oh? You found me?”

“Same as planned. You’ll operate with Sasuke’s team.”

Su Xiao had already coordinated this plan with Tobi.

“What’s the exact plan?”

Sasuke still didn’t know the details.

“Plan? There’s no exact plan. Improvise. By the way—Danzō is now acting Hokage.”

Upon hearing this, Sasuke’s gaze instantly turned icy. Danzō was his top target. He now knew the truth about Itachi—Danzō had forced Itachi into self-sacrifice. Danzō had also been watching Sasuke’s Sharingan. Without Itachi’s protection, Sasuke’s eyes would have been stolen long ago.

Sasuke moved silently toward Snowwind Mountain, his expression set on killing Danzō. Behind him followed White Zetsu, Karin, and the others.

Bubu Wang watched Sasuke fade into the distance, its dog face filled with resignation. It turned to Su Xiao, as if asking: “Master, where does this kid get his confidence? Bubu Wang and Am together could beat him half-dead. I’ll bet fifty cents—without Tobi threatening him, Danzō could kill him easily.”