Bab 172: You Heard The Supreme Commander
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With a grin, he picked one of the papers up and made his way towards Mei Terumi, an air of exaggerated chivalry framing his every step. Upon reaching the Mizukage, he bowed slightly, "M'lady, can I take your hand, please?"
Mei Terumi's face flushed a deep red as she looked into Koushin's intense violet gaze. She stuttered, "M-my hand?" Koushin responded with a playful nod, and, with a hesitant blush, she reached out, her fingers brushing against his.
Koushin, still holding her hand, took the paper from the table and deftly placed it on the back of her forearm. The X mark on the paper seemed to come alive, migrating from the parchment onto her skin. Mei gasped, her other hand instinctively clenching at the unexpected sensation. "T-this, what is this feeling?" She questioned, her voice heavy with surprise and confusion.
Koushin, retaining the smirk that had been playing on his face, locked his gaze with hers. "I am good, am I not?" He asked rhetorically, his tone ripe with mischief. Mei nodded, too flustered to make a coherent reply.
The air in the room was charged with tension, a palpable unease hung heavy. A growled, his patience thinning rapidly, "What the hell is going on?"
With a roll of his eyes, Koushin retorted, "Place the paper on your forearm. BACK OF IT! That is where it should go, nowhere else! And left arm!" The stern instruction was met with stunned silence, but the gravity in Koushin's voice prompted immediate compliance.
Oonoki raised a quizzical eyebrow at Koushin, "Aren't you going to do it?" He asked, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Koushin scowled back, "Hell nah! Only to ladies."
As the papers made their way around the room, each Kage experienced a similar sensation as Mei did.
"Can you feel it?" Koushin asked, the words filling the room with an eerie anticipation.
"Yes!" A answered immediately, his voice resonating with surprise and newfound understanding. His eyes fixated on the glowing mark etched onto his left forearm. "I feel the existence of similar marks on your arms. As if I know they are there without seeing them. I can feel them from afar."
Koushin nodded, confirming the intent behind the seemingly mundane act of distributing the marked papers. "As I shared before, White Zetsu can copy anyone you know, and it's almost impossible to tell them apart from the originals," he explained, his tone calm yet serious.
"This seal will allow the Shinobi Force to recognize each other without requiring confirmation of identity. If you can feel this mark on the other party, they are part of the Shinobi forces."
The words hung in the room, and the silence was quickly replaced by murmurings of astonishment and admiration. It was Mei who vocalized what everyone was thinking. "This is... brilliant," she admitted, her words carrying a sense of awe and respect.
A smirk played on Koushin's lips as he shrugged nonchalantly, "I know right. However, that's not all. I've also added a communication function. A little trick I picked up from my wifey's Yamanaka Clan technique."
Hearing his words, Mei's eyes dropped to her hands, an involuntary pang of disappointment resonating within her. "You have a wife?" she managed to ask, her voice barely above a whisper.
Koushin grinned, a playfulness back in his demeanor. "Of course, I am spoken for. Sorry ladies." His cheeky remark brought an awkward chuckle around the room, lightening the weighty atmosphere.
"This is indeed a valuable asset for the upcoming war," Mifune commented, his voice steady, reflecting the calm demeanor he maintained. "Let's continue with the next issue. Where will we be hiding the Jinchurikis of Two, Eight, and Nine Tails?"
At his words, Tsunade and Koushin snorted in unison. Koushin was the first to respond, his words punctuated by a confident smirk. "You can hide the Two and Eight Tails' Jinchurikis anywhere you want. Naruto will be fighting."
Tsunade nodded, her eyes full of agreement. "Uzumaki Naruto is one of the strongest Shinobi of Konoha and one of the three Sages we mentioned earlier. You better believe that he will be on the battlefield."
Oonoki responded, his eyes hardening, "I thought so too, but he is one of the enemy's objectives. We cannot let him show his face. We cannot let him fall into enemy's hands."
Raasa also spoke, "We four decided on this. You cannot object."
Tsunade smirked, her face reflecting her unwavering resolution. "You can decide what the hell you want to do with Bee and Yugito. The enemy needs all of them, so go ahead and hide yours. Naruto will not hide, and I will not tell him to. That is final."
Koushin grinned widely at Tsunade's bold declaration, relishing the room's palpable tension. "You heard the Supreme Commander," he said with a flourish, adding a layer of levity to the weighty discussion.
"But," Oonoki interjected, his old eyes alight with a simmering concern, "you must consider the potential repercussions of letting Naruto fight. He's a primary target."
Tsunade cut him off, her gaze as firm as her resolve. "We've considered the implications. Naruto is not a liability. He's a seasoned shinobi and one of the strongest we have."
Mei Terumi decided to step into the tense exchange. "We are not undermining Naruto's abilities. We are just concerned about the risks."
Tsunade turned to face Mei, her expression softened slightly but her eyes were just as firm. "I understand your concern. But let me make this clear. Naruto has been fighting his battles for a long time now. And I believe in him."
Koushin chuckled, diverting the room's attention back to him. "Well, Lady Tsunade, they don't call you the Slug Princess for no reason. You're just as stubborn."
He received a collective glare from the Kages. Unfazed, he continued, "But here's the thing. As Lady Tsunade said, Naruto is a seasoned shinobi. You will drop your marbles when you see him."
Raasa sighed, running a hand through his hair. "This isn't about his abilities or training, Koushin. This is about keeping him safe, minimizing the chances of him getting captured."
"Or worse, becoming a weapon in enemy hands," A added, his voice echoing the same sentiment.
Koushin rolled his eyes dramatically, earning another round of glares. "And what makes you think that hiding him will assure his safety? Do you think Akatsuki will just ignore the fact that the Nine-Tails is missing?"
"Koushin," Oonoki cautioned, his voice wavering with a mix of irritation and desperation. "This is not the time for your sarcasm."
Koushin shrugged, meeting Oonoki's gaze. "Maybe not. But it's certainly not the time to underestimate our own either. Look, I get it. You're worried about Naruto. We all are. But we can't protect him by hiding him away. He wouldn't want that. And frankly, it wouldn't work."
The room fell into silence. Even the usually stoic Mifune looked deep in thought. Tsunade finally broke the silence. "Koushin is right. And I've made my decision. Naruto will be fighting in the war."
Koushin added in a teasing tone, "And as we said before, you heard the Supreme Commander. Now, can we move on to the next agenda?"
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