บท 443: 408. Kage Summit Part-1
"I have never been to the Land of Iron. I am so excited!" Hanabi is excited as the ship nears the land.
"There is nothing special about it!" Tsunade scoffs.
"Huh? Why?"
"What's it like, Tsunade baa-san?" Naruto asks her.
"The land of Iron lies among three mountains known as the Three wolves and shares a border with the Land of Medicine. It has its own culture, its own jurisdiction, a powerful military, and maintains neutrality." Minato answers him.
"Huh?! If it has its own culture and power, then what makes it different from the rest of the nations?" Sakura questions.
"There is a longstanding rule that shinobis will not meddle with this nation. This rule was established during the Warring Era. It's part of the reason this nation doesn't rely on shinobis. Instead, it is protected by the combatants known as Samurai."
"Samurai? Like the one from stories." Yakumo asks him.
"Yes, those samurai. They are a group of combatants who enhance their body using chakra rather than expelling it out of their body. Samurais wear heavy, segmented plate armor to cover their entire body. They are skilled in the arts of various weapons and channel chakra into their weapons to fight. Their physical attributes are superior to shinobi and it will be a foolish decision for any shinobi to challenge them in close combat since they can draw their blade faster than the hand signs of a shinobi." Tsunade explains the abilities of samurais.
"Woah! They sound quite cool." Naruto remarks.
"Well, the fighting style of samurais isn't ideal for shinobis since the heavy armor restricts the movements and thus the samurais tend to be less agile. A shinobi can easily escape from the pursuit of a samurai." Minato dashes his hope.
"Finally, the ship docks on the port of Land of Iron."
Swoosh…
Chill pervades the surroundings. A blast of cold air greets the group in the face.
Brr…
Naruto, Sakura, and the rest of the group shiver from the cold.
"Why didn't anyone tell me that it will be so cold here?" Naruto rubs his hands to warm them.
"I was expecting such a situation. So, I came prepared." Tsunade, Minato, and Kushina take out warm cloaks made of snow bear from their storage.
They pass these cloaks to the rest of the group.
"Wear these! It will protect you from the cold. Also, there is a fuinjutsu seal on it to regulate your body temperature. Just channel your chakra into it." Kushina explains the functions of the cloak.
The group quickly covers their body with the cloak and infuse their chakra in it to warm their body.
"Much better!" Ayaka opens her palm. Snow falls on her palm and melts.
"But what about Mei Nee-san?" Ayaka asks her.
"Don't worry, I already gave it to her. Her group will arrive an hour later than us. It might lead to unnecessary gossip if both our groups arrive at the same time." Kushina explains to her.
Hmm…
The group turns towards a group of samurais walking towards them.
"Hokage-sama, please follow us!"
A samurai with horns on his helmet greets them.
"Please!"
Minato issues some instructions to the captain of the ship and the group follows the samurais.
"Lord Mifune has been waiting for you. Your group is the second last to arrive." The samurai captain informs them.
"Hmm… who was the first group to arrive and when did they come?" Minato asks him.
"It was Lord Tsuchikage's group who arrived before everyone else. They have been waiting for other for the past four days. The next group to arrive was Lord Kazekage's group three days ago, followed by Lord Raikage's group two days ago." The samurai informs them.
"Heh… so that muscle brain Raikage somehow made it on time." Tsunade mocks the Raikage.
The samurais escort them through the town.
Soon, they arrive at the foothill of a small hill.
"We have been awaiting your arrival, Hokage-sama!"
An old man in his early sixties greets them. He has long, grey hair almost reaching down to his waist, with bandages wrapped around his head. He has black eyes with distinct wrinkles underneath them, a grey goatee, and a mustache. He wears a simple purple kimono with black sandals.
"My name is Mifune, a general of the Land of Iron." Mifune introduces himself. Two bodyguards with similar outfits stand beside him.
Tsunade steps forward and greets him.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Tsunade Senju, the fifth Hokage of Konoha."
"Please follow us to the inn. Some hot tea and coffee will warm you up in this cold weather…"
Mifune pauses as he stares at the condition of the Konoha shinobis.
"Looks like that will be unnecessary, but still please allow us to show our hospitality."
"Very well!"
Tsunade and the rest of the group follow after him. The group enters the inn. The inn is quite large, with various residential facilities split into different buildings.
Mifune leads them towards one of the buildings as he explains.
"This is a special inn built to entertain and host foreign delegations."
The group enters the inn. Tsunade turns to Kushina and Izumi and signals them. Both nod their head and inspect every corner of the inn with their eyes and chakra while Minato, Tsunade, and the rest of the group silently sit in the hall.
Mifune doesn't pay any attention to them since he knew it is a part of the custom to thoroughly inspect the residential place while staying in a foreign land.
"We are sorry for the intrusion!" Minato apologizes to him.
"It's fine, Lord Fourth." Mifune waves his hand.
A few seconds later, a maid serves some tea and coffee to the group as Izumi and Kushina return after the inspection.
Sasuke and the rest of the teen group walk upstairs while dragging Naruto as a tacit understanding.
"Hmm… Mifune-dono, so would you shed some light on tomorrow's arrangements for the Kage Summit." Tsunade turns to Mifune.
"Yes, Hokage-sama. That's the reason I am here. The meeting will be held at the facility on the top of this hill. There is a staircase leading to the meeting place in front of every building. Only three people from each village can participate in the building, the Kage and his two bodyguards. If any party violates this rule or if someone unrelated to the meeting attempts to infiltrate the place, they will be executed without any excuses.
Weapons are allowed during the meeting. However, we will prefer if there is no violence during the meeting. Also, I will be the overseer of the meeting, and I will declare the start and the end of the Kage Summit. The meeting will continue until the majority of the village reaches a common consensus. However,"
Mifune raises his head and stares at the group.
"If there are some unique circumstances involved then, the final decision will lie in my hands and the common decision of the five villages will become void."
Mifune continues to explain one rule after another.
"That's all!" He ends the discussion.
"Very well! We will follow your arrangement since that's what all of us five great nations agreed upon." Minato nods at him.
While the group is discussing with Mifune, a samurai enters the room. One of Mifune's guards, who is standing beside him, walks towards the Samurai.
The samurai whispers something in the guard's ear. The guard returns to his position and reports to Mifune in a low voice.
Hmm…
Mifune turns towards Tsunade.
"Pardon my discourtesy, but something came up."
"We understand!" Tsunade nod in affirmation.
Mifune leaves the inn building with his bodyguards.
"Looks like Mei is here!" Kushina remarks.
Sigh…
Tsunade heaves a sigh of relief and sprawls on the table.
"These delegation meetings are such a headache." She waves her hand and pulls out a sake bottle from her storage.
Gulp… gulp…
She chugs down a mouthful of the alcohol.
Haah…
"I wish I could leave these troublesome things to others. After this war, I will retire from this position."
"Tsunade Nee-san, no drinking!" Kushina snatches the bottle with a scary smile on her face.
"Tch… what a bother!" She harrumphs and turns away.
"Hey, Minato! Why don't you take back your position as the Hokage after the war is over? You had the shortest tenure of all Hokage." Tsunade asks Minato.
Minato raises his head and stares at the ceiling.
"I already fulfilled my dream of being a hokage and now I am not interested in the position. I would rather pass this position to a worthy successor." Minato shakes his head.
"Oh! Do you have someone in mind?" Tsunade asks him.
"Well… Izuna is the best candidate, but knowing him, he will outright refuse me."
"That's right! It's just like him." Kushina chuckles.
"Also, Mei won't allow it. She wants to retire from her position as a Kage and spend time with her family.
"So that only leaves the other option as my only choice."
"Huh… who is it?" Tsunade curiously asks him.
"It's Itachi Uchiha."
"Itachi?"
"Yes, Itachi! He is the most suitable candidate after Izuna. Also, it will ease the bitter feelings of the Uchiha clan towards the village."
"Hmm… that makes sense."
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