----
As Naruto followed Minato out of the Daimyō's estate, he couldn't help but marvel at how cool his father had just been. He had seen the admiration practically overflowing from Shisui's eyes.
Shiranui Genma, Yūgao Uzuki, and Iwashi Tatami were assigned to stay behind as the Daimyō's personal guards.
All three were highly capable shinobi and proficient in the Flying Thunder God Technique, meaning they could evacuate the Daimyō immediately if necessary.
Naruto could have done the job himself, but there were plenty of things only he could do he couldn't be responsible for everything.
Back in the meeting room, the Daimyō leisurely fanned himself again.
One of the ministers asked, "Lord Daimyō, do you really believe the Fourth Hokage can accomplish what even the First Hokage could not?"
"Who knows?" the Daimyō chuckled. "But he did remind me of a dream I once had when I first inherited this position."
"Your dream?"
"Yes. Back then, I also wanted to surpass my predecessors and achieve something greater," the Daimyō reminisced with a touch of nostalgia. "But as the years passed, I nearly forgot about it."
The ministers fell silent, reflecting on their own aspirations. Had they, too, once dreamed of something more?
---
Meanwhile, the other Kage were also meeting with their respective Daimyō.
The Daimyō of the Land of Lightning was the most decisive. Upon hearing the Raikage's request, he immediately approved it.
As a ruler of a great nation, he valued maintaining their status among the Five Great Shinobi Countries.
"The coalition isn't a problem, but is the Hidden Cloud still strong enough to stand alongside the other villages?" the Daimyō questioned, his confidence in the village somewhat shaken.
"Our elite forces remain intact! We will not bring shame upon the Land of Lightning!" the Raikage declared with absolute conviction.
"Then it's decided," the Daimyō affirmed his support.
The Daimyō of the Land of Earth was also easy to persuade. He believed in Ōnoki's judgment, trusting that the Tsuchikage's decisions would ultimately benefit their nation.
Even when Ōnoki emphasized that this time, he was thinking of the entire shinobi world rather than just the Land of Earth, the Daimyō remained supportive.
"If the entire shinobi world becomes more stable, that can only be beneficial for us as well. Do what you must," he agreed.
The Daimyō of the Land of Water, on the other hand, was visibly anxious. Seeing the grim expressions of Yagura and Zabuza made him uneasy.
In truth, neither of them intended to intimidate him. The recent attack on the village had left many dead, and they had been sombre ever since.
But with Yagura's prominent scar stretching from his left eye to his jaw and Zabuza's face partially covered by bandages combined with his lack of eyebrows, their natural resting expressions were enough to terrify the already nervous Daimyō.
"Since all five Kage are in agreement and the Mizukage has made his decision, I will not object. The Akatsuki are indeed a dangerous force," the Daimyō conceded, albeit hesitantly.
Only the Daimyō of the Land of Wind was reluctant because war meant spending money, and spending money pained him.
Amusingly, while the Land of Wind was the poorest among the Five Great Nations, its Daimyō was the most overweight.
If someone wrote a large 食 ("food") kanji on his chest, he wouldn't look out of place as a member of the Akimichi Clan.
"Kazekage, I understand your desire to eliminate threats to the shinobi world, but don't you think forming an allied force is excessive? You must consider that our budget is very tight," the Daimyō said, clearly trying to shift the burden onto the other villages.
Temari and Kankurō glared at the Daimyō's jiggling belly where exactly is the budget tight?
Gaara, however, remained unfazed. "They are a powerful group that will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. It's not impossible that they would attack the Daimyō of each nation as a means of exerting pressure on us. Working with the other villages is the best course of action."
"Ah… uh…" Suddenly, the budget didn't seem so tight. The moment his own safety was on the line, the Daimyō became remarkably clear-headed.
Now was definitely not the time for penny-pinching any more frugality and he might end up saving himself into a grave.
He coughed awkwardly and declared, "If they are truly that dangerous, then I approve!"
---
Hidden Rain Village
Konan and Pain (Tendo) stared at the three items placed before them, unsure of what to say.
The three "offerings" were:
1. A mutated White Zetsu.
2. Samehada looks like it had indigestion.
3. A barely alive monk, Fā Yi.
"Are you sure this will work?" Pain asked the massive Venus flytrap-like figure in front of him.
Konan's expression mirrored the sentiment: Are you joking?
"It doesn't have to be a full-tailed Beast so long as we have sufficient chakra, it will suffice," Black Zetsu insisted, eager to explain. "This White Zetsu absorbed a significant amount of the Three-Tails' chakra using the Spore Technique. Samehada has taken in chakra from the Six-Tails. And this monk well, Fā Yi is impressive"
"He once single-handedly trapped both the One-Tail and Seven-Tails' Jinchūriki and sealed away a large portion of their chakra. Stealing him away took considerable effort."
He continued, "As long as we have them absorbed into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path… Hey, Kisame, don't look at me like that. If you don't want to part with Samehada, you can just transfer the chakra to White Zetsu instead."
Kisame withdrew his murderous gaze. If it were truly necessary for the plan, he could part with Samehada, but the sword had been his companion for years he had grown attached to it.
Using White Zetsu as a substitute was preferable; after all, those things were disposable.
Black Zetsu pressed further, "We should at least try. The Five Great Nations are already moving. We don't have much time left."
After a moment of silence, Pain nodded. "Very well."
There wasn't much time left indeed. Pain summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
Samehada obediently transferred the Six-Tails' chakra to a sacrificial White Zetsu before gleefully hopping back to Kisame's side.
Meanwhile, Deidara had successfully reattached a new arm. The stitches hadn't fully healed yet, but that didn't stop him from assisting with the sealing process.
Since they weren't sealing full Tailed Beasts this time, the process was much faster. The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path hungrily devoured the chakra, and Black Zetsu even tossed the White Zetsu and Fā Yi inside for good measure.
The statue had nine eyes, with one opening each time a Tailed Beast was sealed. Previously, the Two-Tails, Four-Tails, Five-Tails, and Eight-Tails had been sealed, so four eyes had been opened.
But after this sealing, the statue's eyes didn't fully open they only half opened.
Everyone turned to stare at Black Zetsu with suspicion. What kind of bizarre outcome was this?
"What… is this?" Their expressions practically screamed the question.
Black Zetsu awkwardly cleared his throat. "Uh… maybe there wasn't enough chakra? But this should still be enough to awaken the Demonic Statue."
All they needed now was the Nine-Tails. Then, everything would change.
Though sceptical, the group had no choice but to go along with it.
Deidara, however, found the half-open eyes utterly displeasing. He scowled and muttered, "They look like dead fish eyes… Not artistic at all, hm."
----
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