Chapter 221: Commander in Chief
"The Four Nations Alliance includes the four major nations of Earth, Water, Wind, and Lightning and the newly joined Land of Iron.
"What about the Land of Rivers? As the sixth nation outside of the Five Great Nations, how does the Land of Rivers' Jinchuriki feel?"
During the discussion about the deployment of the upcoming war between the Four Kage and Mifune after the alliance was formed, Mei Terumi asked.
When Hashirama Senju held the Five Kage Summit in the past, although the Land of Rivers, which was not part of the sequence of the Five Great Nations, was not as strong as the Sand Village, which had abandoned the Tailed Beasts in exchange for resources, it still earned a Tailed Beast quota.
For a few highly powerful ninja, the strength of Jinchuriki might not mean much, but with their immense Tailed Beast chakra and destructive power, they could play a much bigger role on the battlefield.
A single-tailed Beast Ball could wipe out a large number of ninjas.
Therefore, the Four Nations Alliance was interested in recruiting the Land of Rivers, which had the Seven-Tails but had been relatively inactive in the ninja world recently.
However, sometimes things don't go as planned.
Upon hearing this, Onoki shook his head and said, "I previously sent envoys to invite the Land of Rivers to the alliance, but they refused."
As a hidden village concealed by a massive waterfall and surrounded by four nations, the Land of Rivers had never been invaded by other lands due to its unique geographical location.
Compared to the former Hidden Mist Village, which bore the "Village of the Forgotten War" title, the Land of Rivers was more suitable for that name.
It was precisely because of the long period of peace that the Land of Rivers, despite having the Seven-Tails, had refused the proposal to join forces with Onoki against Konoha when it was presented.
Although they were aware of Konoha's ambitions, in their eyes, the Four Nations' combined might should be sufficient to deal with Konoha.
Furthermore, with the reminder of the heavy losses suffered by the participating lands in the previous three Ninja World Wars, those who supported the idea of neutrality, despite voicing their support for one side, were secretly aiming for both the Four Great Nations and Konoha to weaken each other to the point where they could offer an alternative. In the current state of the ninja world, every faction has its own agenda.
For Onoki, who had already suffered a loss at the hands of the Land of Grass, the Land of Rivers' response didn't come as a surprise.
Adding the tens of thousands of warriors from the Land of Iron, who were joining the Four Nations Alliance, was already an unexpected pleasant surprise.
The only regret now was that his own Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchuriki had already been captured and couldn't participate in the upcoming war.
Thinking about this, Onoki harboured a deep hatred for the mastermind behind all of this, known as "Akatsuki," especially since they seemed to have disappeared recently, and no matter how Deidara searched, he couldn't find a trace.
...
The Four Kage Summit continued.
With the decision to declare war on Konoha as soon as possible already made, the Four Kages were now discussing more specific details, such as the timing of the invasion, the direction of the attack, and intelligence sharing.
Of course, the most crucial and unavoidable point was who would become the overall commander of the Four Nations Alliance.
Since they were allying, it was only natural to select a commander who could coordinate and command everything related to the alliance properly.
Who wouldn't want to become the unprecedented overall commander of the Four Nations Alliance?
As a result, when discussing this point, unlike the swift resolution of previous issues, it became a drawn-out process.
At this moment, there was silence among the Four Kage.
Except for the Fourth Raikage Ei, who was well aware that his village's strength had declined too much to have any hope of obtaining the position of overall commander.
Onoki, Mei Terumi, and Gaara had all expressed their desire to become the overall commander.
With the three factions unable to reach an agreement, Mei Terumi, Gaara, and A waited for a while before Sanju finally spoke up.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the alliance we are forming is facing an unprecedentedly powerful opponent, Konoha. Even if we gather all our strength, the odds of success are not high. Therefore, we must ensure that we are at our best in every aspect."
"Although Mizukage and Kazekage are competent leaders, aside from Konoha, the Land of Earth has the strongest military strength in the current situation. Tsuchikage is powerful and has personally experienced the First, Second, and Third Ninja Wars, possessing extensive command and combat experience. The upcoming Fourth Ninja War will surpass all previous wars in terms of scale and challenges. I believe that appointing Tsuchikage as the overall commander of the alliance is the most suitable choice."
"I agree."
With Sanju's words, Ei immediately raised his hand in agreement. Then he looked at Mei Terumi and Gaara and bluntly stated:
"Mizukage, you have only been in office for a few years, and your experience in commanding ninja armies is almost zero. Appointing you as the overall commander of the alliance would be too risky."
"As for Kazekage, although you have more experience than Mizukage, your defeat at the hands of Konoha during the Third War speaks for itself."
"When Onoki was our enemy, I didn't like him, but I must admit that the 'Balance of the Two Scales' title suits him well. Coupled with his commanding ability and experience, which surpasses ours, I believe it's best to entrust the overall command of the alliance to him for the sake of the greater good."
Sanju and the Fourth Raikage Ei's consecutive statements undoubtedly pushed the balance for the position of overall commander firmly towards Onoki.
Naturally, Onoki was delighted and nodded in gratitude to the two of them, especially to the Fourth Raikage.
Although he had expected Sanju to support him, he had not anticipated that the hot-headed and always defiant Fourth Raikage Ei would choose him in such a rational manner.
It made him wonder if setbacks could bring about such significant changes in a person.
Looking at Deidara, who was behind him, expressing his surprise and complaining about the fact that the "old man was becoming the overall commander," Onoki couldn't help but think, when would this guy ever change?
In the following time, due to Sanju and the Fourth Raikage Ei taking a clear stand in favour of Onoki, Mei Terumi and Gaara, while feeling some regret and reluctance, ultimately chose to go along with the majority.
Thus, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, became the overall commander of the Four Nations Alliance, which had already been set in stone.
Just as Sanju, acting as the host, was about to announce this decision, an unexpected and unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out in the meeting room:
"Hello there~~~"
"Who is it?"
"Protect the leaders!"
In an instant, the Four Kage and their guards behind them were on high alert.
This place was the venue for the Four Kage Summit, and there was no way the information could have leaked. Furthermore, with many Land of Iron guards stationed outside, hardly anyone could have reached this place without being detected.
But somehow, someone had silently infiltrated, indicating that they possessed formidable strength, and the guards were not taking any chances.
"Is it someone from Konoha?" at the table, Ei asked coldly, thinking that only Konoha could have the capability to infiltrate.
"No! It's not Konoha; it's Akatsuki!" Onoki turned his head, and a figure half-black and half-white, wrapped in a Venus flytrap, was emerging from the ground. Their eyes exuded murderous intent as Onoki spoke.
He hadn't expected that they had come to him while he couldn't find Akatsuki.
"Akatsuki? What's that?" Although they had heard the name "Akatsuki," Mei Terumi and Gaara were unfamiliar with the specifics.
As the person who had the most dealings with Akatsuki at this point, Onoki quickly explained, "It's an organization that gathers numerous S-rank rogue ninja and has big conspiracies. Akatsuki captured my village's Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchuriki."
"What?" The expressions of everyone present changed, not only because of the capture of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails but also because of Akatsuki.
S-rank rogue ninja capable of capturing Jinchuriki, this information immediately raised the vigilance of Ei, Mei Terumi, and Gaara against Akatsuki.
Especially given the sudden appearance of an Akatsuki member at the Four Kage Summit.
"Old Purple and Han? What did your Akatsuki do to them? While I'm not sure why you're here if you don't give me a satisfactory answer, you won't leave this place today," Onoki said with determination as he activated his Dust Release, manifesting a square-shaped white beam of deathly light in his clasped hands.
"Oh my, can't we say hello without being so enthusiastic?" Feeling the intense aura radiating from the white beam held by Onoki, White Zetsu exclaimed exaggeratedly, "I'm just a small fry in the organization. For such important matters, let someone else tell you. Hurry up and come out, Madara! I'll be blown to ashes if you don't come out soon."
When White Zetsu's voice fell, a twisted space appeared beside him.
Under the astonished gaze of the Four Kage and the others present, Uchiha Madara, wearing a black base with a red cloud-patterned cloak and no Tobi mask on his face, walked out from within.
"What kind of ability is this?" At this point, hearing that another Akatsuki member had appeared so bizarre, Gaara questioned, his sand barrier forming behind him.
"It's the Mangekyou Sharingan's Kamui!" Noticing the blood-red eyes of the newcomer and the chakra flowing from his right eye, which connected to the surrounding space, Hyuga Neji, who had activated the Byakugan, immediately explained with astonishment.
"The Mangekyou Sharingan?" Thanks to his significant reputation in the ninja world over the years, Uchiha Madara's possession of the ultimate Mangekyou Sharingan was not unfamiliar to everyone present.
"Correct, I may have the Uchiha surname, but I am not a member of Konoha," Madara calmly explained, "In fact, Konoha is my enemy."
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