More than ten villages were participating in this Ninja World Summit, with each village's leader accompanied by their own personal bodyguards.
Coupled with the samurai from the Land of Iron guarding the perimeter, the scene was truly grand and imposing.
As the representative of Amegakure, Yahiko couldn't help but feel the weight of his past naivety when he saw this scene.
So blindly advocating for peace really was nothing more than a joke to the major villages?
If you wanted to talk about peace with these people, you first had to become strong.
Otherwise, you wouldn't even have the right to speak.
"I have nothing to say!" Ōnoki said helplessly upon hearing Mifune's words. "We are all from defeated nations and have no right to speak at all."
"That's right. Hokage, we were defeated this time by you, Konoha. Our skills were inferior, so just tell us how you want to handle it." The Raikage spoke directly.
As he finished speaking, he instinctively glanced at Orochimaru, who sat across from him as the representative of Otogakure.
The Fourth Raikage prided himself on his combat strength, ranking among the top in the entire ninja world. On the battlefield, he had always been someone who could fight without fear.
But when he faced Orochimaru, things had been completely different.
From the very beginning, he'd been utterly suppressed.
Even he had to admit Orochimaru's overwhelming power. What surprised him more was that this man, Orochimaru, was actually the one behind the powerful Otogakure.
Wasn't it the blond-haired boy who had previously represented the village?
What exactly was going on?
The Fourth Raikage was thoroughly confused.
But one thing was certain: everything happening here was orchestrated by Orochimaru.
After hearing their remarks, Tsunade took a deep breath and spoke: "In that case, I'll get straight to the point."
"First of all, I want to clarify that in this war, you were not defeated by Konoha, you were defeated by Orochimaru."
"Is there really a difference?" Mei asked.
After all, everyone in the ninja world knew about Tsunade's relationship with Orochimaru. Wasn't it all the same?
"Of course, there's a difference," Tsunade said seriously. "Because Orochimaru no longer belongs to Konoha."
She proceeded to explain Orochimaru's current status in detail. When she finished, she cast a sharp glance at the three people sitting closest to her.
"In the end, everything that happened back then was thanks to the three of you."
"Yes, we were indeed responsible for what happened," Ōnoki admitted. "But at the time, we were all acting for the sake of our villages. Hokage, there's no point in rehashing the past now."
"You're right. There's no point in looking back," Tsunade said calmly. "The reason I brought it up is simply to make it clear that Orochimaru's current position isn't part of some scheme by Konoha."
The room fell into brief silence at her words. But no one interrupted her, everyone knew Tsunade wasn't finished.
Sure enough, she continued: "Orochimaru has his own independent village, his own independent power. Everything he has today, he achieved with his own strength."
"Therefore, the true power to decide the fate of the ninja world isn't in Konoha's hands, it's in Orochimaru's."
At these words, all eyes turned toward Orochimaru.
So, it really was him.
Tsunade was just his partner, his subordinate.
Though Tsunade's explanation caught them off guard, it wasn't entirely unexpected. But before anyone could fully process it, Tsunade gestured toward the person standing behind her.
Mikoto stepped forward with a stack of documents and, at Tsunade's nod, began reading.
"Now, we will announce the measures to handle the aftermath of the war…"
As Mikoto read aloud, the atmosphere grew heavier.
"A new city…?"
"Formed by the five great ninja villages…?"
"A city gathering the elites of the entire ninja world?"
"Dividing the current ninja villages into two…?"
New ideas came one after another, overwhelming everyone present.
The ninja world was about to undergo earth-shattering changes.
Tsunade spoke with gravity: "Yes. This city will be built in the center of the Land of Frost."
"Each of the five great villages must send one-third of their elite ninja to this city. These elites include the Kage-level figures sitting here right now."
The meeting stretched from morning until evening. After hours of heated discussion and a brief dinner break, some conclusions were reached.
Orochimaru's intentions were crystal clear.
The five great ninja villages had too many shinobi. Merging all the villages at once was obviously unrealistic.
The plan was to start by integrating the upper echelons of each village, implementing centralized management that would gradually spread downward.
This new city would function like a ninja-world "United Nations," where elites from every village would work together.
However, it would be jointly managed by Otogakure and Konohagakure.
Since Orochimaru and Konoha controlled the city, the other villages' forces would be limited from the start.
With Orochimaru's methods, assimilating and reeducating those ninjas over time would be effortless.
Faced with this decision, none of the other villages dared object.
After all, Amegakure, Otogakure, and Konohagakure were already united in their stance. Even Kirigakure had aligned itself with them.
Against such overwhelming power, the other villages had no real authority, only the ability to voice suggestions, not make decisions.
The true decision-maker was Orochimaru.
This was what it meant when they said, "The victor becomes king; the defeated become bandits."
This was what it meant when they said, "History is written by the victors."
From today onward, Orochimaru was the master of the ninja world.
Even the five Kage were now little more than his lieutenants.
The meeting went on without any unexpected disruptions, no interference from Sasuke, no declaration of war from Obito.
Everything that could have caused chaos had already been preemptively eliminated by Orochimaru.
"I've prepared accommodations for everyone," Mifune's voice echoed in the hall. "Please rest, and we can continue discussing the finer details tomorrow."
"Thank you for your efforts."
"Much appreciated."
The five Kage responded with unexpected politeness.
Orochimaru followed Tsunade and Mikoto to the room Mifune had arranged for them.
"Orochimaru," Tsunade said after they settled in, "so you've finally decided to manage this new city yourself?"
"Of course not. I'm not interested in that kind of responsibility."
"Huh? You're not interested?" Tsunade was stunned. "But this is the position of the ruler of the ninja world. If you don't take it, who will?"
"I'm good at conquering, not governing. It's better to leave it to someone with a kind heart."
"What… what do you mean?"
"Simple. We'll hand it over to Jiraiya's disciple—Namikaze Minato."
***
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