Chapter 110 (Patreon)

“You’re late, Hokage!”

The moment Tsunade and Mihawk entered the conference hall, the Fourth Raikage’s impatient voice thundered through the room.

“Ahaha… Sorry about that,” Tsunade replied with a strained laugh.

This wasn’t the first time the two of them had met.

Years ago, the Fourth Raikage had asked Tsunade to treat one of his subordinates. During that encounter, they had also competed in both arm wrestling and speed.

Under normal circumstances, Tsunade would never have allowed his attitude to pass without responding.

However, a major reason behind this Five Kage Summit was Kumogakure’s demand that Konoha provide an explanation for Sasuke Uchiha’s actions.

Even though Sasuke had already been declared a missing-nin, he had still originated from Konoha.

Because of that, Tsunade’s position was somewhat weaker than the Raikage’s.

“Hmph.”

The Fourth Raikage snorted but didn’t continue pressing the matter.

Tsunade walked over and took her designated seat.

Mihawk joined the other Kage guards at the back of the chamber. As they settled into their positions, they quietly studied one another.

Mihawk stood with his arms folded, his calm gaze carrying a faint yet unmistakable pressure.

Aside from Temari and Kankurō, who had already witnessed Mihawk’s strength firsthand, most of the guards from the other villages found their attention naturally drawn toward him.

There wasn’t a single ordinary shinobi in the room.

The five people seated at the table were the leaders of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

Anyone selected to serve as a Kage’s personal guard was at least an accomplished jōnin.

Several of those present even possessed enough strength to threaten a Kage under the right circumstances.

Even among such people, however, Mihawk’s presence stood out the most.

Those skilled in gathering intelligence already knew his identity.

Nerona Mihawk.

The Konoha swordsman whose mysterious Ranged Slashes were said to possess power comparable to—or perhaps even greater than—S-rank ninjutsu.

Much like Kakashi Hatake’s Chidori, Mihawk’s Ranged Slash had already become the technique most closely associated with his name.

Few people outside Konoha had ever met him in person, but information about him had long since reached the leaders of the other nations.

From the moment Mihawk entered the hall, Mifune, the general of the Land of Iron, repeatedly glanced in his direction.

As a lifelong samurai, Mifune was deeply interested in Mihawk’s swordsmanship.

Had the Land of Iron not maintained strict neutrality and avoided forming close relations with any particular shinobi nation, Mifune might already have approached him to ask about the secret behind those extraordinary Ranged Slashes.

Mihawk paid no attention to those looks.

After taking his position behind Tsunade, he quietly released his Observation Haki throughout the building.

His awareness spread in every direction, as though he were searching for something hidden nearby.

At the same time, Mifune rose to formally open the meeting.

“I am Mifune, general of the Land of Iron.”

His eyes swept across every person in the chamber.

“I hereby declare the Five Kage Summit open.”

“Heh…”

Ōnoki was the first to speak.

“The Five Kage certainly have changed quite a bit.”

The Third Tsuchikage looked across the leaders gathered around the table, his tone making it difficult to tell whether he was impressed or mocking them.

“To become a Kage at such a young age… how frightening.”

Although he addressed the entire room, his gaze remained mostly fixed on Gaara.

The Five Great Shinobi Villages had indeed undergone considerable change over the past several years.

The Fourth Kazekage had died.

The Third Hokage had also died.

Going back a little further, the Fourth Mizukage had met his end as well.

Aside from the Third Tsuchikage and Fourth Raikage, nearly every Kage position had changed hands.

“Thank you for the compliment,” Gaara replied without reacting to the mockery in Ōnoki’s voice.

His expression remained calm.

“My age is irrelevant. I sit here because I am the Kazekage.”

“Hahaha!”

Ōnoki laughed.

“What confidence.”

Mei Terumī rested her interlocked fingers on the table.

“So, what exactly is the main purpose of this summit?”

She looked around at the other Kage.

“Are we here to discuss taking action against the Akatsuki, or are we going to focus on recovering the tailed beasts they’ve captured?”

“As a jinchūriki, there is something I need to say.”

Gaara’s voice immediately drew everyone’s attention.

“I was captured by the Akatsuki and had my tailed beast extracted. I even died once because of them.”

His gaze remained steady as he continued.

“They are an extremely dangerous organization.”

“I sent requests for cooperation to the other Kage on several occasions. However, aside from the Hokage, all of you ignored those requests.”

“And because of that, the jinchūriki from each village were captured one after another—”

Boom!

Crack!

Before Gaara could finish, the Fourth Raikage slammed his fist down and shattered part of the table.

“Enough of this endless complaining!”

Broken pieces of wood scattered through the air.

In that same instant, the guards stationed behind each Kage vanished.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

When they reappeared, every guard stood protectively in front of their respective leader, weapons ready as they faced the others.

Mihawk appeared before Tsunade with his katana drawn.

His crimson eyes settled on Chōjūrō, who held Hiramekarei tightly in both hands.

The moment their gazes met, Chōjūrō’s entire body tensed.

A cold sensation ran down his back.

Mihawk’s expression remained calm, but a controlled wave of Conqueror’s Haki spread from him.

He didn’t release its full force.

It wasn’t enough to render anyone unconscious, nor was it directed at the Kage themselves.

Even so, the pressure was more than enough to make the other guards feel as though the air around them had suddenly grown heavy.

Drops of sweat appeared on several foreheads.

Mihawk’s killing intent, sword aura, and controlled Conqueror’s Haki blended together into a presence that could almost be felt physically.

In only an instant, the guards from the other villages understood something.

Among all the Kage guards gathered in that chamber, Mihawk was the most dangerous.

Even the Five Kage looked toward him with varying degrees of surprise.

A person’s presence could often reveal just as much as their actions.

There were shinobi whose mere arrival was enough to change the atmosphere of an entire battlefield.

Even when facing an overwhelming numerical advantage, their enemies could still feel fear before a single technique had been used.

That was the kind of pressure Mihawk now gave off.

In the past, a single serious look from him had nearly frightened Hinata into losing consciousness.

Mihawk didn’t know whether he possessed the natural disposition of a king, but as his swordsmanship continued to advance, the pressure contained within his gaze and presence had grown increasingly difficult for weaker people to endure.

Now, with Conqueror’s Haki added to his sword aura, his presence became impossible to ignore.

“Hey…”

Kankurō swallowed nervously.

“This guy’s gotten even stronger again.”

Temari didn’t answer immediately.

She found it difficult to look directly at Mihawk, and a faint trace of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.

After a moment, she gave a small nod.

“Nerona Mihawk…”

Kurotsuchi muttered his name with an unusually serious expression.

“So that’s him.”

Darui had also lost his usual lazy demeanor.

His eyes remained fixed on Mihawk as he spoke quietly.

“The swordsman from the reports…”

“The one who can casually unleash slashes said to surpass even S-rank techniques.”

His gaze sharpened.

“Seeing him in person is far more troublesome than reading about him.”

The atmosphere inside the conference hall grew increasingly tense.

No one spoke.

Even so, the confrontation alone was enough to make an ordinary person struggle to breathe, perhaps even collapse under the pressure.

More than ten seconds passed before Tsunade finally broke the silence.

“Mihawk, stand down.”

Mihawk withdrew his Conqueror’s Haki and calmly returned his katana to its sheath.

The oppressive pressure filling the chamber immediately faded.

He stepped back and returned to his original position behind Tsunade.

Mei Terumī also addressed her guards.

“Chōjūrō, Ao, that’s enough. Both of you, stand down.”

“Yes, Mizukage-sama.”

Cold sweat still clung to Chōjūrō’s forehead as he lowered Hiramekarei and retreated.

A trace of shame appeared in his eyes.

He had promised himself that he would protect the Mizukage, yet a single look from the opposing guard had caused his body to freeze.

I’m too weak…

As though sensing what Chōjūrō was thinking, Ao gently patted him on the shoulder.

“Don’t let it bother you.”

His voice was quiet but reassuring.

“That man defeated Sasori of the Red Sand.”

“He also killed the leader of the Akatsuki.”

“Ah…”

Rather than comforting him, Ao’s words only made Chōjūrō feel even more helpless.