Watching Hoshiyomi and the other two walking over from the distance, Mifune gave a bitter smile and took the initiative to greet them:
"Compared to you, I fall far short. As expected, Hoshiyomi-kun, you are a true genius of the sword. Such unfathomable blade techniques—I sincerely concede defeat. No, rather, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't even dare to imagine that a human could deliver such a slash.
On the path of sword and blade, Hoshiyomi-kun can truly be called divine, having entered the realm of sainthood!"
It could only be said that without comparison, there is no sense of injury.
Before witnessing that slash, Mifune still harbored a trace of luck in his heart, believing that although his strength was inferior, he shouldn't be left too far behind Hoshiyomi in terms of swordsmanship.
But after seeing that strike with his own eyes, he finally realized that the gap between himself and Hoshiyomi in swordsmanship was nothing short of heaven and earth.
However, the main purpose of their visit was ultimately the Five Kage Summit, not a mutual exchange of swordsmanship flattery. Thus, after a round of courteous praise, Hoshiyomi entered the city in advance together with Minato and Hashirama.
Two days later, all five great ninja villages' Kage had arrived. At this point, the Five Kage Summit officially began.
Led by Mifune and a group of samurai, the Kage of each village, accompanied by their two guards, entered the conference hall one after another.
This Five Kage Summit was nothing like the chaotic one in the original story—there was no Danzō, no Sasuke with his middle-school-level edginess. Everything proceeded very smoothly from the outset.
After the five Kage had taken their seats, Mifune consciously assumed his role as the moderator. He stood up, cleared his throat, and said:
"Please place your hats on the table before you so that your identities may be distinguished."
The five Kage simultaneously removed the hats from their heads and gently placed them on the table. The five differently colored hats were arranged in front of them, forming a perfect pentagram.
After removing their hats and sitting down, everyone present froze in surprise. They realized that the one representing the Hokage at this meeting was not the familiar Fifth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, but a face that felt both familiar and unfamiliar.
Seeing the startled expressions around him, Hashirama scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly before speaking somewhat apologetically:
"Actually, I didn't want to sit here, but Minato insisted, so I had no choice. Perhaps everyone here doesn't recognize me, so let me introduce myself first.
My name is Senju Hashirama, the First Hokage of Konoha."
Upon hearing this, the others present were dumbfounded.
The First Hokage, Senju Hashirama? What kind of joke is this?
Just as the other three Kage were half-believing and half-doubting, Ōnoki suddenly floated up into the air, the movement so abrupt it nearly strained his old back:
"That's enough! How long does Konoha intend to toy with the other four Kage?! The First Hokage? What kind of joke is this? Since when does the dead come back to life in this world?
Though Konoha is powerful now, we are not something you can knead and mold at will!"
As he spoke, the light of Dust Release lit up in Ōnoki's hand—he had clearly decided to strike first.
Though his words sounded righteous and imposing, Ōnoki was calculating his own interests deep down.
By doing this, he intended to suppress Konoha, expose what he believed to be their deception, and at the same time draw the other three great ninja villages to his side. That way, he would have greater leverage in the negotiations to come.
As for this so-called resurrected Senju Hashirama, Ōnoki did not believe it for a second.
I, Ōnoki, am no fool!
On the contrary, he wanted to turn the tables and seize the initiative.
A real Senju Hashirama, you say?
Then take one of my Dust Release attacks and let's see!
If this Hashirama were fake, then taking his Dust Release would surely reduce him to ashes. And if he were real—if he truly were Senju Hashirama—then as a highly respected elder, surely he wouldn't just kill him outright, right?
With this line of thinking, Ōnoki chose to strike first. He directly unleashed Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique straight at Hashirama.
To the surprise of both Ōnoki and the other three Kage, neither Hoshiyomi, nor Minato, nor the man who called himself Hashirama made any move to stop it.
Hashirama stared blankly at the incoming Dust Release—and just like that, half of his head was blown away.
Seeing half of Hashirama's head missing, Ōnoki burst into loud laughter:
"So this is Konoha's so-called God of Shinobi?"
Ōnoki was laughing heartily, but suddenly noticed that not a single person in the hall was laughing along with him—not even his own son Kitsuchi or his precious granddaughter Kurotsuchi.
Feeling annoyed, Ōnoki lowered his head to look again. One glance nearly sent him tumbling back into his chair—this time he truly strained his old back.
Across from him, Hashirama, missing half his head, had turned toward Hoshiyomi behind him and said with a grin:
"I really love this technique! This is way too much fun! I'm in this state and I can still talk! Eh!"
As he spoke, countless white paper-like fragments flew back toward Hashirama's head. His head regenerated at a speed visible to the naked eye, restoring itself completely in moments.
Ōnoki was utterly dumbfounded. One hand clutched his lower back, the other pointing at Hashirama as his face filled with disbelief:
"How is this possible? This makes absolutely no sense!"
The fully restored Hashirama then turned back to Ōnoki and said: "I've seen this technique before. During the very first Five Kage Summit, the First Tsuchikage's guard used this technique."
Seeing Hashirama's completely off-beat demeanor, Minato, standing behind him, shook his head helplessly. It was clear that expecting Hashirama to behave normally was unrealistic—this would still have to fall on him.
With that thought, Minato lightly coughed to draw everyone's attention and spoke:
"Everyone, after witnessing what just happened, you should more or less believe what I wrote in my letter. If you can accept this, then please continue listening.
What I'm about to say is not for the benefit of any single village. What I'm about to discuss concerns the survival of the entire shinobi world."
After Hashirama's little performance, everyone present was already thoroughly shaken. Hearing Minato speak now, who would dare voice objections? One by one, they nodded like chicks pecking at rice.
After all, when an unkillable First Hokage is standing right there smiling at you, who would dare object? Are you tired of life and want your grave overgrown with weeds?
Seeing the other four Kage behaving even more obediently than ninja academy students, Minato nodded in satisfaction and continued:
"After reading my letter, you should all already know that Madara has been resurrected. What I'm about to say next is also related to him.
Before I move on, I must first mention a mysterious organization based in Amegakure known as Akatsuki. I believe everyone here is already quite familiar with it."
As expected, the moment the name Akatsuki was spoken, the expressions of everyone present darkened. Gaara's face in particular sank so deeply it seemed water might drip from it.
The pain of having his tailed beast forcibly extracted was still etched vividly in his memory.
...
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