Of course.

Obito's decision was, in essence, born of indifference.

Indeed!

He had always considered Nagato a mere pawn in his hand, never believing Nagato had the ability to escape his grasp.

Disrupt the Five Kage Summit?

Although he didn't care much and even vaguely felt something was wrong, he didn't think it would affect his plans.

Especially considering that if this operation succeeded, it could further elevate the Akatsuki Organization's prestige, so after some thought, he decided to agree.

"Anyone else have a problem?"

Seeing that Obito did not object, Nagato then looked at the others present.

Seeing this, the others remained silent.

They had no interest in thinking about such trivial matters; as long as they were allowed to destroy and kill, it was enough.

And so...

Looking at the silent crowd, Nagato spoke slowly.

"Good!"

"Move out!"

After speaking.

He was the first to head out the door, with the others following closely behind.

The Akatsuki Organization's actions were just that swift; they executed the mission immediately after the meeting ended.

The reason was simple!

The Akatsuki Organization followed an elite-focused path. With only these few people on hand, they didn't need to deal with the logistical hassles and mobilization arrangements of a regular Ninja village.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side.

While the Akatsuki Organization was taking action, the Five Kage Summit was being held on the border of the Land of Lightning, completely unaware of the approaching danger.

Inside a reasonably spacious meeting room, the four Kage sat around a tea table.

Yes!

There was no specially arranged formal meeting site, nor were there any Ninja Village totems behind the Kage—just a tea table that wasn't particularly large.

This was unavoidable; after all, this Five Kage Summit was not a public meeting like those in the past.

It was more like a secret meeting!

If they had made a grand spectacle of it, it wouldn't be good if Konoha found out.

Of course.

The Kage present didn't care about such things; they were simply drinking tea while nursing headaches.

"Konoha is too strong!"

"And with the Akatsuki Organization's recent frantic activities, my Iwagakure has vaguely detected that Konoha has begun very secretive minor maneuvers at the border."

"I imagine everyone here has likely encountered the same problem."

"And that is the very issue I, this old man, wish to truly discuss with you all by convening this secret meeting."

"Although it feels a bit pathetic, we must unite!"

"Konoha's current strength is far too immense. Especially under the leadership of Uchiha Jin, it has infinitely approached the strength it had when Konoha was first founded."

"No single Ninja Village is currently a match for Konoha. In fact, even if we unite, we can only barely contend with Konoha at best."

"So, everyone!"

"The situation facing our respective villages is very dangerous. For survival, we must unite this time—and it cannot be the superficial alliance of the past, but a thorough union in the truest sense."

"Relinquish all the lands and resources of our respective villages, move everyone together completely, and even establish a new leadership and power structure."

Ōnoki's tone was serious, and his eyes flickered with deep concern.

After finishing.

The look he gave the three people in front of him was naturally filled with expectation and hope.

Unlike the Kage of other villages, he had been in power for a very long time.

Having lived through the era of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, his sense for danger was naturally incomparable to the Kage of other villages. Although he had yet to find evidence of Konoha's secret actions, he had still keenly perceived the bizarre situation at the border of the Land of Earth.

Later, after an investigation, he discovered to his horror and dismay that the border was not as chaotic as he had imagined.

On the contrary!

The border, which should have been the most chaotic, gave him a sense of eerie order.

Furthermore, the closer a region was to the border and to Konoha, the more it felt like a time of peace.

This was very wrong!

Ōnoki immediately dispatched elite Iwagakure Anbu to investigate. Although they still found no proof of Konoha's intervention, they did find some clues related to Konoha.

Following that.

He began to investigate Uchiha Jin's background, especially the entire process of his rise. Finally, by putting himself in Uchiha Jin's perspective, he instantly understood Uchiha Jin's true ambition.

This greedy bastard wants to unify the Ninja World!

After realizing this and re-examining the border situation, Ōnoki broke into a cold sweat and couldn't sit still. However, he also knew that even if there were evidence—let alone the fact that there wasn't—could they really force Konoha to back down?

Therefore.

Understanding this, he decided that while maintaining a relaxed exterior but tightening internal security, he would seek cooperation with the other three Great Ninja Villages. Only then would there be a glimmer of hope to truly challenge the current Konoha.

This was the final resort; if the alliance couldn't be formed, then everyone might as well lie down and wait for death!

Unfortunately, however.

Faced with Ōnoki's proposal, there was dead silence among those present; no one spoke first.

And so...

Ōnoki didn't push, because he understood well that making this happen was too difficult.

A moment later, Rasa spoke with a heavy expression: "First, Sunagakure has no objection to forming an alliance. But the problem is, if we establish a new management structure, how will we four Ninja Villages distribute power?"

"Voting definitely won't work. Who gets to be the Kage?"

"How will the heads of various departments be assigned? What proportion will each village hold?"

"..."

As Rasa spoke, the brows of everyone present furrowed deeper.

Even the corners of Ōnoki's mouth showed a hint of bitterness; clearly, he had long anticipated this troublesome issue. To be honest, he couldn't think of a solution for the time being.

Mei Terumī's brow furrowed slightly; she also wanted to ally with the other villages.

Similarly...

She wanted to retain internal power, so after thinking for a moment, she spoke.

"I have no objection to the alliance, but let's forget about establishing a new structure."

"Just like the Ninja Clans within each village now, in the alliance we form next, the Civilians and commoner Ninja will be completely integrated. The current management structures of each village will be retained, regressing into a model like the current Ninja Clans to manage the major clans and elite Ninja within each village."

"It just so happens that our four Ninja Villages can divide the new alliance base into four, with each village occupying one corner."

"In the center, we'll build an alliance legislative body, with each village sending some personnel."

"This legislative body will have no internal administrative power—that remains with the respective villages. This body will only have the power to handle external matters, such as declaring war."

"What do you all think?"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com