Escape From Konoha

"After so many years, this castle still hasn't changed at all."

Entering the interior of the snow castle, Ayane looked at the familiar corridor layout, which was almost exactly the same as when she came in the past. There was no change at all. Some places were obviously damaged, but they were not renovated, only repaired.

However, the floor was spotless and looked as clean and tidy as ever, and even the corridor felt much wider and brighter.

"After all, the samurai's residence and Mifune's personality make it impossible for him to be too luxurious. Being too comfortable will make his swordsmanship dull, which is not a good thing for a neutral country caught between big countries. .”

Shiraishi responded.

Mifune, the general of the Iron Kingdom, is not only a top-notch swordsman in the ninja world, but also a meticulous character and upright in everything he does. For a samurai with a very high moral character like him, he does not value material enjoyment very much, otherwise he would not be here. Even at this age, he can still maintain the tough and fierce aura of a warrior.

Compared with the past, Mifune's current aura has completely restrained, and he looks like an ordinary old man from the outside.

But Shiraishi knows that this is a disguise that naturally forms after the opponent reaches the state of returning to his original nature. Once he really makes a move, it will definitely be a thunderous strike to destroy the enemy as quickly as possible.

Being able to carve out a samurai path and lead the samurai forward in the age of ninja is already a great honor in itself.

Ayane nodded, acknowledging this.

Although the trend of this era does not favor samurai, the strength of samurai is not weak either. If you encounter a ninja with slightly inferior physical skills or a samurai who is good at surprise attacks, it is not a problem to kill the ninja in an instant.

Mifune, the general of the Iron Kingdom, once had a dazzling record of killing dozens of ninjas in an instant.

Now that his swordsmanship is more powerful, he might be able to compete with the Five Shadows to a certain extent.

"Three of you, this is-"

The samurai who led the way came to a door and was about to take out the key to open the door for Shiraishi and the others. A burst of thunder suddenly boomed in the open corridor.

A dazzling figure of lightning rushed over in an instant, aiming directly at Shiraishi and the other three.

The shadow at Shiraishi's feet began to move, but the one who took action earlier than the shadow had already predicted the enemy's movements, and was like a loyal guard protecting Ai.

The chakra in the body surged rapidly and gathered in the palm of the hand. Then the figure flickered out, blocking the path of the humanoid thunder light. He waved the palm with a large amount of chakra condensed and detonated it in mid-air in one breath.

boom!

Galloping thunder and lightning, and explosive fluctuations in the air, immediately swept through the entire corridor, causing the floor and ceiling to tremble violently. The lights flickered, switching back and forth between darkness and light, as if they might be annihilated at any time.

"snort!"

The sturdy figure wrapped in thunder and lightning let out a snort from his nostrils, and pumped out his fist with force again.

Huge force surged into Cai's body, making him almost lose his sense of intuition in his entire arm. His face couldn't help but change, and he hurriedly dodged back to avoid the idea of ​​a head-on collision with the opponent. He retreated to Shiraishi and used a vigilant expression. Look at the attacker.

"Lei, Raikage-sama, please stop, fighting is prohibited here!"

The samurai, who was a bit slow to react, immediately reacted and came to the middle of the two sides to prevent the strong man whose body was wrapped in dense lightning from attacking again.

As if he had obeyed the samurai's request, the Fourth Raikage really stopped wanting to take action, and the dense lightning on his body slowly faded away.

"It's really disappointing. I originally wanted to see if your soft fist has deteriorated after so many years."

The Fourth Raikage twisted his wrist and made a crisp sound, giving people a very powerful beast posture.

His eyes were locked on Ayane standing beside Shiraishi, and the lightning in his eyes was faintly pulsing with strong aggression.

"...It's just that I caused you a little chaos on the battlefield in the past. Raikage, you don't need to hold on to him for so many years, right?"

Ayane was speechless at the Fourth Raikage's desire to fight, and spread her hands helplessly.

"You are the first ninja who has defeated me in terms of physical skills. Just like that bastard Yellow Flash, he can defeat me in terms of speed."

The Fourth Raikage said so.

Ever since he became famous as a young boy, what he was most proud of was his invulnerable body and his proud speed.

However, in these two fields, Ayane was first able to suppress physical skills, and his speed was severely suppressed by the yellow flash. Therefore, Ayane and Namikaze Minato were the two ninjas he wanted to defeat the most.

Because of these two people, he has been constantly pushing himself over the years, polishing his body harder and making himself faster, in order to one day be able to avenge his shame and surpass his own limits.

As he said that, the Fourth Raikage glanced at Sai, who had just fought with him. The opponent's breathing had calmed down, and the vigilance in his eyes was still there. He was on guard for something.

"This is your son. He's a pretty good kid. He has a bit of your demeanor. He doesn't seem to have practiced Soft Fist crookedly like the Hyuga clan of Konoha."

He does not hesitate to praise Cai. Although he is still far behind his level, he can receive his own punch without any injuries. For this age, it is already a very remarkable strength and has great potential. Digging.

At the same time, he highly recognized the correctness of the Hyuga clan in the Kingdom of Ghosts in his words, and expressed disdain and contempt for the conservative and stubborn Hyuga clan in Konoha.

Compared with the soft fists of this mother and son, the Hyuga clan of Konoha seems to have taken a crooked path, completely failing to tap into the power of the soft fists and the Byakugan, wasting their potential to succeed in the limit.

"Even so, I won't do anything here. I don't want to have no place to stand during the meeting at night. Besides, this is a neutral platform. It would be rude to cause trouble."

Ayane seemed polite and calm, and defused the Fourth Raikage's provocative attack.

The samurai on the side breathed a sigh of relief. After all, once a fight broke out between the two, the entire castle would be torn apart as pieces of paper.

The lightning in the eyes of the Fourth Raikage extinguished and completely ceased.

"Don't worry, I just came here to say hello. I have no serious plans to do anything here for the time being."

With that said, the Fourth Raikage put on his open white coat and turned around to leave without any hesitation.

It seemed like he really just came over to say hello with his fist.

"Well...it's really troublesome to be targeted by such a troublesome person. How about secretly killing him on the road and letting him calm down completely."

After the Fourth Raikage left, Ayane said these words, and the smile on her face became brighter and more beautiful, as if she suddenly thought of something extremely happy.

When the warrior next to him heard this, he suddenly felt cold sweat pouring down his face.

With the most touching smile, he said the most cruel and cold-blooded words, as if what he wanted to kill was not a Five Shadows, but an ant that could be easily crushed by the roadside.

This terrifying woman must not be messed with. The samurai was under great pressure.

"Don't mess around. We're not here to fight."

Shiraishi shook his head. He didn't take Ayane's words to heart. He probably just said it casually and had no intention of taking any actual action.

Ayane shrugged and did not answer.

…

"Boss, you are too messy. This will cause trouble for others."

Seeing the Fourth Raikage walking back, Darui spoke weakly, seeming to blame the Fourth Raikage for his unauthorized actions.

"Darui, Lord Raikage has his own plans, we just need to give him our full support."

Nozomi, the Jonin in charge of perception, refuted Darui's words.

"I'm talking about messing around, Xi. It's better to say that it's lucky that the other party was not successfully provoked. Otherwise, with the fighting level of the boss and the white-eyed woman, we would have to have a meeting in the ice and snow, and then spend the night."

Darui glanced sideways at Xi.

Nozomi did not respond, but looked at the Fourth Raikage and asked: "Raikage-sama, what are we going to do next? Are we going to visit the Hokage and Tsuchikage-sama and communicate with them in advance?"

Although Kumogakure and the others were the first to arrive at the castle, they had not yet met with the Tsuchikage and Hokage.

"There is no need to ventilate in advance. We will wait until the Kazekage and Mizukage arrive. Don't forget the purpose of our coming here."

The Fourth Raikage waved his hand.

Upon hearing this, Darui and Xi both looked solemn and nodded seriously.

"That organization called Akatsuki is really powerful. I didn't expect that even a powerful ninja like Kirabi-sama would be defeated by them. It really shouldn't be underestimated."

Xi said solemnly.

"Not only that, there are also a large number of humanoid soldiers controlled by them in the Kingdom of Rain. I heard that the Jinchūriki on Kirigakure's side also have problems... This is a major issue that affects the survival of all major countries."

As the captain who previously managed the Kumogakure search force stationed in the Country of Rain, Darui has a more intuitive sense of the situation in the Country of Rain than others, and his impact is stronger.

It is no exaggeration to say that with the power that Xiao is currently showing in front of the stage, even if multiple major powers unite, there may not be any hope of victory.

"In other words, except for Konoha's Nine Tails and the Seven-Tails, which is in the hands of who knows who, the other tailed beasts have fallen into the hands of the Akatsuki organization. It is indeed a very powerful force. However, speaking of the Seven-Tails , there are rumors that it is in the hands of the Kingdom of Ghosts, I don’t know whether this information is true or false.”

Nozomi thought of the rumors that had been circulated before, and pinned the whereabouts of Nanao to the Demon Country.

"They have always claimed that there are no tailed beasts in their country, although such unilateral claims seem to be just a cover-up and not at all convincing."

Darui scratched his head, also confused about Nanao's whereabouts.

"Who knows this kind of thing. But it is very simple to confirm the truth. Just ask at the meeting later. Anyway, at this time, if Nanao is really in the hands of the Demon Country, there is no point in continuing to hide it. .If the big countries don’t unite now, they will only be defeated by Akatsuki individually.”

Xi raised this point.

"United? I don't think the alliance will go as smoothly as imagined. The Kingdom of Ghosts has always been hidden in the fog, and people don't know what they are planning. Boss, maybe we should be more careful."

Darui narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I understand this kind of thing without you having to tell me. There are rumors that the Demon Country has colluded with Akatsuki, causing the Nine-Tails to go berserk sixteen years ago and assassinating Konoha's yellow flash. Although no tangible evidence has been found, there is also a lack of A powerful witness, but the attitude of the Kingdom of Ghosts towards this organization is indeed strange at times.”

The Fourth Raikage frowned and spoke his mind.

"Lord Raikage, do you need me to keep an eye on them?"

Hope to come forward.

"No, they have two pairs of white eyes now. If they want to monitor, they will be discovered immediately. Moreover, the next focus is to reach a consensus with other countries and deal with the troublesome existence of Akatsuki. Now have a good rest and wait for the meeting to start. ."

The Fourth Raikage has not forgotten the purpose of convening the Five Shadows Conference. Monitoring the Kingdom of Demons is not only of little significance, but will also cause a lot of trouble for himself.

"yes."

Darui and Nozomi looked at each other and followed the orders of the Fourth Raikage.

◎

Rasa, the fourth Kazekage, and Terumi Mei, the fifth Mizukage, arrived at the Samurai Castle in the Land of Iron at one in the afternoon and two in the afternoon respectively.

While there was still some time, the teams of Sunagakure and Kirigakure took a break in the castle to wash off the dust from their bodies. It was not until three o'clock in the afternoon that they walked towards the large conference room in the castle under the leadership of the corresponding samurai. .

Through the windows of the corridor, you can see the icy scene of snow and ice outside. The lakes are frozen, and the rocks and trees are also covered with white snow. There are hundreds of warriors wearing heavy armor and sharp blades, standing proudly in the outside world. In the wind and snow, strict patrols were carried out.

The Anbu who came with the Five Shadows were also scattered among the shadows inside and outside the castle, holding their breath and stationed together with the samurai.

The lounges of each senator are not in the same area, so in the corridor leading to the conference room, only the samurai leading the way and his own team are left.

There is a heating device in the corridor, which is different from the cold outside. It feels warm and cozy, and you can't hear the whistling wind, making the corridor where there is only the sound of footsteps even more quiet.

Just separated by a few wall panels, it seems to be divided into two worlds.

When Shiraishi brought Ayane and Sai to the conference room, the teams from Konoha and Kumogakure seemed to be prepared and were the first to arrive.

Kumogakure's side is the same standard trio as the Demon Kingdom. Except for the Fourth Raikage at the head, the two Kumogakure jonins, Darui and Nozomi, are standing behind them.

On Konoha's side, there is a group of four people. In addition to Tsunade who is sitting in her own seat, standing behind are Yamanaka Haiichi and Akimichi Haiichi from the Inaraka Butterfly... and the Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki Uzumaki Naruto.

In order not to give Nagato a chance to take advantage of him, did he bring it to the Five Kage Conference? Shiraishi's eyes glanced at Naruto and began to analyze.

Encountered the attack of Pain's Six Paths, Konoha's combatants suffered heavy losses, and Naruto, as a jinchuriki, was in an even more worrying situation.

Now that he has broken his skin, the Nine-Tails in Naruto's body may be coveted by Akatsuki at any time.

On the contrary, when he was brought to the Five Shadows Conference, he was protected by many powerful ninjas. Even if Akatsuki launched an attack here, he would not be able to take the Kyuubi away in front of everyone's eyes.

However, when Shiraishi focused his gaze on Naruto, Naruto also looked at Shiraishi. There seemed to be some strong will in his green pupils. He wanted to take action several times, but in the end he considered something. After enduring it, people felt that he was a little absent-minded.

"Why, are you looking at me like that to get news about Kakashi and the others from me?"

Shiraishi looked at Naruto with a smile, as if he was planning to use him as an entry point to talk about Konoha's tone.

However, as soon as this plan was about to be implemented, Naruto, who was about to speak excitedly, was stopped by Tsunade with her hands, and then she glared at Shiraishi angrily.

"After all, you are also a senior in the ninja world. To use such words to deal with a junior, don't you think it is too much, you brat?"

"This is an injustice to me, Tsunade-sensei. I just want to satisfy the younger generation's request for a master-disciple relationship. I don't intend to do anything bad."

Being exposed by Tsunade, Shiraishi sighed helplessly, as if he really thought about Naruto as he said.

However, in Tsunade's view, this was just the other party's nonsense, without any sincerity.

Then, Shiraishi sat down. There was a space between him and the Fourth Raikage at the circular conference table, and to the right of the Fourth Raikage was where Tsunade was.

Ayane and Cai stood meticulously behind Shiraishi. Since it was their first time, Cai started to look around curiously.

"However, you are not going out as a pure couple this time, but as a family of three. Why, is it because of the fire in the backyard?"

After Shiraishi sat down, Tsunade quickly counterattacked, provocatively and a bit teasingly at the same time.

Before Shiraishi could answer, Ayane responded with a smile that was not too serious: "Yes, Hokage-sama, the day before departure, Shiraishi-kun had a fight with Ruri. Oops, the fighting scene was really intense at that time."

"..."

Shiraishi, who wanted to say something, was immediately silenced by Ayane's words.

When she heard the words about Shiraishi and Liuli having a fight, Caiyan suddenly became confused. Didn't her mother say that the two of them worked overtime together the day before? Why did she change her story and say they had a fight? How strange.

When Tsunade heard this, she showed interest.

Kumogakure's two jounin were also interested in the gossip of such a big shot. While standing upright, they also began to listen and pass the time.

Only the Fourth Raikage folded his hands, closed his eyes and sat in his position to doze off. He was not interested in such gossipy topics, and even sneered at them.

"Boy, I told you a long time ago that there will be no good results if you try to tread two boats. Now you have to suffer."

Tsunade seemed happy to see Shiraishi deflated.

However, Shiraishi didn't pay attention, and just looked back at Tsunade calmly, with a bit of pity and sympathy.

"Hey, what does your look mean?"

Tsunade frowned when she saw Shiraishi's expression.

Just now, she was sure that Bai Shi must have thought of something extremely rude in his mind.

Shiraishi still didn't reply. He picked up the tea that had been prepared in front of him and took a calm sip to moisten his throat.

It's a pity that you can't pickle wolfberries here.

That night he had a big fight with Liuli, and although he succeeded in 'severely injuring' Liuli, he also suffered a strong backlash and needed to take supplements to recover from his injuries.

At this time, footsteps sounded and someone came in.

The third Tsuchikage Onoki, the fourth Kazekage Rasa, the fifth Mizukage Terumi Mei, and the guards who followed them, stepped forward one after another and entered the conference room.

Mei Terumi came to Shiraishi's left and sat down, between Shiraishi and the Fourth Raikage.

The two escorts who came with her were Kirigakure's Jounin Ao, and One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Onito Mangetsu.

To the right of Shiraishi is an empty seat, and to the right is where Rasa and Onoki are.

Tsunade stopped interfering in the conversation with Shiraishi, her face straightened, and she put on a very solemn expression. She inadvertently scanned everyone's faces, as if she was observing something carefully.

As the three figures entered the room one after another, the atmosphere in the conference room suddenly became much quieter, and the only sound left was the extremely long and inaudible breathing of everyone.

Shiraishi was still drinking tea calmly. Like the Fourth Raikage who was sleeping and thinking, he didn't pay attention to the arrival of the others, nor did he look at the people entering the conference room with his eyes. He just quietly thought about his own affairs.

Finally, in such an extremely quiet atmosphere, steady and powerful footsteps sounded again, and together with them, there was the sound of the conference room door being closed.

The person who entered the meeting was Mifune, the general of the Iron Country who presided over the meeting.

As a neutral party, he was tacitly qualified to preside over the Five Shadows Conference.

Arriving at the empty space between Shiraishi and Rasa, Mifune, who came with a sword, did not sit down. He glanced at everyone present, looking at this scene that seemed familiar many times. In such a meeting, he seemed to have already been here. Having hosted this event more than once in this castle, I couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

Although as the host, there is no need to join the ninjas' position. Even if these big countries go to war with the so-called Akatsuki organization, the samurai will never participate... But no matter how many times they face such a scene, they still feel extremely headache.

I can only hope that this time, I can get through it smoothly and safely, and not cause any trouble here and affect the tranquility of the Iron Kingdom.

He is over sixty and just wants to live out his old age in peace and stability.

"Everyone."

Using the opening remarks from the past, Mifune coughed lightly, focusing everyone's attention. Even the Fourth Raikage, who had been sleeping, opened his eyes under Mifune's cough.

"I won't go into details about the rules here. I believe that all of you who have been here a few times know the rules of the neutral party talks. Please regard peace as the most important thing. Meetings are meetings. If you have to use force, you will not overestimate your capabilities next time. Step forward to stop it.”

Seeing that the Gokage, who was the leader of the meeting, and the Minister of Military Affairs of the Demon Country did not refute, but just listened quietly, Mifune couldn't help but nodded. Such a peaceful scene was exactly what he wanted to see.

"Then, the meeting officially begins. As the first initiator of this Five Kage Conference, Your Excellency Tsuchikage, you will be the first to speak."

Mifune looked at Ohnoki who was sitting there. Given his height, he was basically only above the neck and was not blocked by the table.

"In that case, let me take the lead in speaking." Ohnoki did not refuse and took over Mifune's words. Then he glanced at everyone's faces with a sharp gaze and said, "About the matter of the Kingdom of Rain, I want to participate. Everyone at the meeting is already well aware that the existence of Rain Country, Rain Hidden, or Akatsuki, has now seriously endangered the safety of the shinobi world. The balance that our great country has managed to maintain has been severely damaged. In order to prevent the situation from getting out of hand, I propose that the countries of all of us here form an unprecedented alliance army to wipe out Akatsuki with the force of thunder!"

The seriousness of the matter prevented Onoki from talking nonsense, but went straight to the theme of the meeting and formally issued invitations to various countries to form an alliance of six major powers to re-continue the international balance under the rule of the major powers.

To achieve this balance, it is necessary to eliminate the Rain Country, which may become the seventh largest country, and completely nip the danger in the cradle.