But this time it was different; the pressure came from outside, and those Renegade Ninja wouldn't give them time to sit around and discuss.
Before the Five Kage Summit, if they didn't agree to those Renegade Ninja's demands, they'd just have to wait to collect Jiraiya's corpse—or maybe not even get the chance to collect the body, and send him straight to the operating table for dissection.
"Got it. Leave this matter to me to arrange. Once everything's set, I'll go attend the Five Kage Summit."
Hiruzen closed his eyes and let out a sigh, tacitly acknowledging Danzo's proposal.
If Chiba Hakushi's pressure was enough to leave him unable to breathe, then Tsunade's stance was the final straw that crushed his resolve, forcing him to compromise on this matter.
"What about the choice of Guards?"
"Use the Ino–Shika–Cho trio. Have them head to the Land of Iron in advance, and from Anbu, mobilize a squad of Anbu Ninja to join them."
Hearing Hiruzen's arrangements, the three around Danzo nodded without voicing any objections.
◎
One day later, in the early morning.
The harbor.
A rather luxurious ship was already sailing toward the shore; accompanying Yagura were two Jonin from the Hidden Mist Village, Ao and Hozuki Mangetsu.
As the Mizukage's official Guards for this trip, this lineup was already sufficient, while the covert Guard detail consisted of a squad of Anbu Ninja. Together with Ao and Hozuki Mangetsu, there were eighteen Elite Ninja in total.
With the Mizukage's own deterrent power added in, presumably no fool with a death wish would come to cause trouble.
Hozuki Mangetsu glanced up at the sky; the annoying sunlight was piercing through the thin mist and pouring down, making him instinctively sip from the straw in his water cup, replenishing his body's fluids.
On his back rested a Ninja Blade of peculiar design.
Twinsword: Hiramekarei.
One of the seven Ninja Blades passed down through the generations of the Hidden Mist Village.
Currently it was entrusted to him, a member of the Hozuki Clan.
Besides that, until a suitable Sword Master was found, the Bluntsword·Kabutowari, which had likewise lost its owner, was also in his care—stored in a Summoning Scroll in normal times, only taken out for use during battle.
"Your body holding up okay, Mangetsu?"
Ao asked.
Hozuki Mangetsu glanced at Ao, baring his sharp teeth in a grin. "I'm fine. As long as we get to the Land of Iron quickly. That place is an ice-and-snow Country; I shouldn't end up too badly dehydrated there."
Ao nodded. This really was one of Hozuki Mangetsu's quirks.
Not just Hozuki Mangetsu—the majority of the Hozuki Clan members had this trait, constantly needing to replenish water.
He wondered if the late Second Mizukage Hozuki Gengetsu had the same preference.
"Anyway, it's my first time attending such a high-level meeting. The Five Kage Summit—what important matters are they going to discuss?"
Hozuki Mangetsu asked.
As part of the Hidden Mist Village's pure-blooded Hozuki Clan, every generation produced outstanding figures, practically the foundation stones of the Hidden Mist Village.
Especially during the reign of the Second Mizukage Hozuki Gengetsu, ties between the Hozuki Clan and the Hidden Mist Village were further strengthened, raising the clan's status within the village to one of great prestige.
However, even after becoming one of the Fourth Mizukage's Guards, Mangetsu had no interest in attending meetings. He focused solely on continuously honing his synchronization with the Ninja Blades.
From a very young age, he had already come into contact with all seven Ninja Blades and adapted to each one extremely well. It was just that at the time, the Blood Mist Faction was at its peak, and even the Hozuki Clan had maintained a neutral stance, not daring to overly offend that group of lunatics.
As a result, his covetous desire for the seven Ninja Blades had cooled down.
Yet his training in Swordsmanship continued relentlessly, every single moment.
He hadn't paid particular attention to recent affairs in the Ninja Realm.
Knowing that Mangetsu was an obsessive collector of Ninja Blades, Ao replied, "It's to deal with certain issues between the Land of Wind and the Land of Demons. When the time comes, we just follow the will of the Mizukage-sama."
"The Land of Demons, huh…"
Mangetsu narrowed his eyes slightly, nodded, and then fell silent.
Soon, the ship docked at the shore.
Yagura spoke to the two behind him who were muttering among themselves. "The ship's here. Let's hurry up and depart; if we're late, it'll be troublesome."
Ao and Mangetsu prepared to board together with Yagura.
Just as Mangetsu was about to go up, Yagura suddenly took out two Scrolls from his robe and tossed them to Mangetsu.
Mangetsu caught them, eyeing Yagura suspiciously.
"Mizukage-sama, these are…"
"The Long Blade·Sewing Needle and the Blastsword: Shibuki. Since we haven't found suitable wielders, you'll hold onto them for now. After all, Kuriarare Kushimaru and Munashi Jinpachi—those two Blood Mist supporters—have been dead for quite some time."
"That's quite an astonishing welcome gift, Mizukage-sama."
Mangetsu chuckled, tucking the two Scrolls carefully into his robe like treasured valuables.
Yagura said nothing more and walked onto the ship.
◎
While Yagura was taking a ship to the Land of Iron, Hakushi had also finished his preparations to leave at roughly the same time.
At noon, Hakushi, together with Ayane and Akago, entered the territory of the Land of Birds. They took a short rest in a small town, then continued on their way.
But since they still had plenty of time, Hakushi only maintained a normal travelling pace as they headed toward the Land of Iron.
For Hakushi, having Ayane and Akago as his visible Guards was already enough. As for the hidden Guard detail, that role was filled by the Shadow Dancer lurking in his shadow.
If a battle situation arose, he could summon his other clones at any time to fight in coordination, so there was no need to increase the size of his Guard force; that would only make the group look bloated.
Moreover, if he could leave the other Kage besides Yagura with the impression that the Land of Demons lacked many capable Ninja and was being held up by only two or three people, that would be even better.