Chapter 343: Subsequent Meeting: The Four Kages Regret Their Choice!

The people present wore complex expressions.

Although we ultimately killed Jiraiya, consider the enormous force we had to deploy to do it.

Four Mangekyo users were mobilized, alongside three Edo Tensei masters acting in unison.

Especially since Hashirama Senju was the former God of the Ninja World, and Uchiha Jin is currently the strongest in the ninja world.

Such a lavish force, just to kill one Jiraiya—hardly worth boasting about.

After all…

Anyone with eyes can see Jiraiya clearly had a killing move he hadn’t used yet.

So, sigh!

Under these circumstances, how could anyone’s mood not be complex?

But regarding this—

Uchiha Jin offered no explanation; he simply spoke calmly.

“Alright, everyone, return to your posts.”

“Lift Level One alert; revert to Level Two alert.”

“Heads of departments and theater commanders, proceed to Conference Room One.”

After speaking,

Uchiha Jin left first. The others, though puzzled, still went to organize their personnel before heading to Conference Room One.

As for the Kages of the other ninja villages, though they weren’t needed to fight, they were granted the right to observe.

Of course,

it wasn’t their fault for not acting—this entire operation was arranged by Uchiha Jin.

The reason was simple!

They had only just joined Konoha; no one could be certain they wouldn’t betray Konoha at a critical moment.

Such a crucial matter naturally required Konoha’s reliable forces.

The elite ninja from the other major villages only needed to handle perimeter security—Lin Mo never intended for them to fight at all.

On the contrary,

he only needed to ensure these major villages didn’t cause trouble during his battle with Jiraiya.

Yes!

Officially, they were invited to join the operation; in reality, it was a way to bind them, preventing them from stabbing us in the back.

…

Half an hour later, Conference Room One.

Uchiha Jin sat at the head of the table; Konan had no right to sit at the main table, so she sat at a small table behind him.

At this point, her position resembled that of a secretary.

Hashirama Senju and the other three Edo Tensei masters, along with Kakashi and the major theater commanders, now sat in their assigned seats.

The Hidden Sand, Hidden Mist, Hidden Stone, and Hidden Cloud…

The current Kages of the four ninja villages sat on the observation benches on either side.

This arrangement was most appropriate!

After all, this wasn’t a Five Kage Summit—the four ninja villages had fully joined Konoha, yet they held no official positions.

By normal standards, they had no right to attend.

But considering we’d still need them to help stabilize the newly joined ninja villages, after brief thought, we granted them attendance.

At this moment, the four men wore complex expressions.

After exchanging glances, their lips involuntarily curled into bitter smiles.

Yes!

In the past, wherever they were, they had always been entitled to sit at the main table.

But now?

They didn’t even have the right to sit at the main table—forced instead to settle for the observation benches.

This gap in status was truly hard to put into words.

Yet, unfortunately,

Uchiha Jin had no intention of comforting them; for him, allowing them to observe this meeting was already an act of mercy.

This was only because the four ninja villages had joined Konoha—if not, such top-secret Konoha intelligence would never have been accessible to them.

“Gentlemen, the meeting is now in session.”

“First, I must say: regarding the fact that the enemy side sent only Jiraiya, I am both surprised and disappointed, yet secretly relieved.”

“I’m relieved because the enemy looked down on us—otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent only Jiraiya.”

“Not only did their hidden forces stay out of this, but even Mount Myoboku didn’t participate.”

“I’m surprised and disappointed because just one Jiraiya nearly toppled us!”

“We must understand: what is Jiraiya’s true strength?”

“Without Sage Mode, he was merely a Kage-level fighter; even with Sage Mode, he was at best a high-end Kage.”

“Yes, Itachi heard correctly!”

“In my view, even with Sage Mode, Jiraiya’s power never reached the Super Kage tier.”

“And what about us?”

“Myself and Hashirama are among the strongest in the Super Kage tier; Tobirama barely entered it; Shikamaru, Fugaku, Shisui, Orochimaru, Itachi…”

“And also Ro Sha , Omoi, and others—strong within the Kage tier.”

“Kakashi, Itachi—they barely entered the Kage tier.”

“And yet, with such a powerful force, we nearly fell to Jiraiya alone!”

“Gentlemen, what does this mean?”

“It means they merely used unknown forces to rapidly mature Jiraiya, gave him one talisman and one jutsu—and nearly toppled Konoha.”

“We must be vigilant!”

“The enemy didn’t even lift a finger—they only sent Jiraiya, spent negligible resources, and still unleashed terrifying power.”

“What if the enemy sends their own forces next?”

In an instant,

as Uchiha Jin spoke, the faces of everyone present grew darker, their hearts heavy as if crushed under a boulder.

Even Hashirama Senju and the others wore grim expressions.

Clearly!

They had previously heard faint hints from Uchiha Jin about hidden secrets of the ninja world, knew of Hagoromo and Hamura, and were aware of Mount Myoboku’s existence.

But before, though they had been wary, they hadn’t truly felt it.

Now, it was different!

Though the enemy hadn’t appeared directly, merely sending one pawn—Jiraiya—nearly toppled our entire group of Konoha elites.

Yes.

Everyone knew clearly: had Uchiha Jin not used his Mangekyo Sharingan, the three Edo Tensei masters would already be dead, and the subsequent Death God could have wiped out everyone.

The gap was simply too vast!

Unlike Konoha’s people, the four Kages from other villages looked utterly bewildered.

What?

What exactly are Itachi talking about?

Enemy? Or faction?

The four Kages were no fools; though their intelligence was limited, their sharp minds still pieced together a chilling possibility.

Could it be that Jiraiya wasn’t an isolated case—that behind him lurked a hidden faction?

Realizing this, their bitter smiles deepened.

Had they known Konoha had such an enemy, they would never have chosen to join unconditionally.

Wouldn’t it have been better to watch Konoha and the enemy wear each other down?

But, unfortunately,

they had already made their choice—their villagers, ninja, and families had all been scattered across the Land of Fire.

To reorganize? Impossible.

Konoha would pin them down permanently.

So, sigh!

Now, they had no path left but to fully commit to Konoha.