For the matter of who should lead the elite forces, Raikage A and Onoki had been arguing for almost half an hour.
The other Kages from the three major hidden villages were just enjoying the show.
They saw it as a bit of entertainment.
Meanwhile, Mifune, the host, was getting a little anxious.
He never expected the Raikage from the Hidden Cloud Village and the Tsuchikage from the Hidden Stone Village to be bickering like two rogue bandits, throwing insults at each other in a meeting.
And over something that hadn't even been agreed upon yet—some nonsense about leadership.
Konoha, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure hadn't even agreed to it.
If they finished arguing only to find out that the other three villages disagreed, Mifune could already imagine how awkward it would get.
"Ahem, ahem, both of you, I must remind you, the villages of Konoha, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure have not agreed on the formation of the elite forces yet," Mifune said.
"Uh…"
Onoki and A froze, their heated argument stopping instantly. Their faces showed an unusual amount of embarrassment.
So, all that arguing was for nothing.
The other Kages from the three villages were being quite mischievous, not even reminding them and just enjoying the spectacle.
How ridiculous.
"Now then, Konoha, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure, do you agree?" Onoki asked, adjusting his mood and looking around the room.
"We, from Kirigakure, have no problem," said Terumi Mei, the first to speak, before glancing over at Sunagakure.
She still had a lot of respect for Gaara, who had dared to argue with Raikage A.
"What does Konoha say?"
Gaara didn't respond directly but kicked the question over to Konoha.
He was acting like he was following Konoha's lead.
Upon seeing this, Chiyo, who stood behind Gaara, couldn't help but feel proud.
Given the current state of Sunagakure, it wasn't the best time to make an official statement.
Agree to form the team. Sand Village can't produce any highly skilled talents.
In the whole Sand Village, the older generation with decent abilities are Chiyo and her younger brother, Ebizo. Among the younger generation, only Gaara and his siblings can hold the fort.
The middle-aged and current generation are in the worst shape. There's only one person, Baki.
It's really hard to come up with someone useful.
But if we don't agree to form the team, Sand Village will become the target.
After the Allied Forces deal with the Akatsuki, they will definitely come after Sand Village.
For this reason, Gaara's response is very appropriate."
Anyway, if Konoha agrees, Sand Village will agree. If Konoha opposes, Sand Village will oppose too.
Even if something goes wrong later, the trouble will fall on Konoha, not Sand Village.
Jiraiya and Minato noticed Gaara's thoughts, but they didn't mind.
With Naruto as the bridge, they both think well of Gaara.
Their attitude toward him is more like that of a younger generation.
For small thoughts like these, they wouldn't make a big deal of it.
"Have you all thought about one thing?"
Jiraiya didn't directly talk about agreeing to form the joint forces but pointed out a very serious issue.
"Since the Ninja Village era, the ninja world has gone through three great wars. In these wars, we've accumulated a lot of hatred. It's fine usually because we're not living in the same place. Even if there are conflicts or hatred, we can't do much about it. But..."
At this point, Jiraiya crossed his hands on the table, his expression serious as he continued, "Once a joint force is formed, everyone will inevitably have to stay together for a while. As the saying goes, 'when enemies meet, their eyes turn red.' Can you guarantee that when two ninjas who are enemies meet, they won't start fighting?"
Jiraiya's concern was very real. If this problem isn't solved, there won't even be a need for the Akatsuki to act. The Allied Forces themselves might start fighting.
"Do you have any suggestions, Lord Hokage?"
Tsuchikage Onoki and Raikage Ai both thought for a moment about the question Jiraiya had raised.
They realized that this question seemed impossible to answer.
Raikage Ai could suppress the hatred for the death of his father at the hands of the Hidden Stone Ninja, but that didn't mean others could do the same.
To be honest, if he hadn't constantly reminded himself that he was the Raikage, he would've already left the Hidden Cloud Village and gone after the Hidden Stone Ninjas to hunt them down.
"I'm afraid I don't have a good suggestion either."
Through the light screen, Jiraiya knew that in the original world line, the Shinobi World had still managed to form a large Shinobi Alliance.
They had set aside their mutual hatred, all for the purpose of defeating the enemy and bringing peace to the Shinobi World.
But that was then, and this was now.
The situations were different, so it couldn't be applied directly.
"How about this?"
While Raikage Ai and Onoki both fell into silence, Jiraiya spoke again: "In the fight against the Akatsuki, each of you will handle your own affairs."
"Lord Hokage means, fighting separately?"
Jiraiya nodded and replied, looking at Raikage Ai who had spoken: "That's right. Since everyone can't form an alliance because of their hatred, it's better to just fight on our own."
To be honest, this was indeed a solution.
Raikage Ai, who hated the Akatsuki the most, was ready to agree on the spot.
In his view, whether it was a joint army or not didn't really matter. As long as the other four villages agreed to send troops to fight the Akatsuki, that was enough.
"Alright, I agree with fighting separately in principle."
Raikage Ai agreed with Jiraiya's plan, and Onoki followed suit.
Terumi Mei of the Hidden Mist, seeing that both Raikage and Tsuchikage had agreed, calmly agreed as well.
As for the Hidden Sand Village, it went without saying—they just followed the lead of the Hidden Leaf.
"Alright then, let's now discuss some of the details."
The Five Kage were discussing the details of the deployment.
Meanwhile, the Akatsuki's zombie duo, Kakuzu and Hidan, had arrived in the Land of Waterfalls.
"Kakuzu-san, how does it feel to be back in the Land of Waterfalls again?"
"It's the same as before, still as boring as ever."
In a small town in the Land of Waterfalls, Hidan and Kakuzu walked through the streets without care.
This was the only town near Takigakure, and it was the perfect place for them to resupply before capturing the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki.
"Hidan, it seems like someone is watching us."
Kakuzu, who had just bought some pastries from a snack shop, immediately noticed someone lurking around the street corner, watching them.
Taking the pastries from Kakuzu's hands, Hidan casually asked, "Do you want me to take care of them?"
"No, I want to see who's behind this surveillance."
"I think it's probably a ninja from Takigakure, after all, you're a rogue ninja from there."
"If that's the case, then it's a pity. Takigakure's ninjas aren't worth much."
The two continued walking, eating as they went, and soon left the small town, arriving at a deserted area.
Here, they finally saw the so-called mastermind behind the surveillance.
"Truly blessed by the heavens, it looks like I, Kakuzu, will make money today."
"Hahaha, so it's Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin. I'm sure Lord Jashin will love this sacrifice."
Looking at the roadblock Tsunade had created, both Kakuzu and Hidan became extremely excited.
Kakuzu for money, Hidan for his faith.
At this moment, the two made the same choice.
To kill Tsunade!
*********
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