Land of Iron.
"Lord Hokage!"
Amidst the snowy white blizzard, samurai lined the castle corridors to welcome the guests, with General Mifune leading the way, a broad smile on his face.
Seeing this, Ao of the Hidden Mist, with his Byakugan, frowned immediately, sighing helplessly in his heart.
Beside him, Mei Terumi saw everything clearly; it was obvious that the Land of Iron showed greater respect towards Konoha.
"This is the effect of strength. Konoha has once again returned to the top of the ninja world."
Mei Terumi's calm voice echoed, laying bare the naked truth of the shinobi world.
Under the leadership of the late Third Hokage, Konoha's military might have gradually weakened, even falling behind Kumogakure and Iwagakure.
But who could have expected that, after Tsunade became the Fifth Hokage and held power for three years, she would unleash her thunderous methods and consolidate authority? On top of that, she revealed her Wood Release and Mangekyō Sharingan.
Even though overall military strength did not increase, the village's Kage-level combat power soared in an instant.
Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, besides the number of ninjas, these strategic Kage-level powerhouses are a must-have.
Especially powerful bloodlines like Wood Release and Mangekyō Sharingan.
"So this is Konoha's Fifth Hokage—the so-called strongest kunoichi in the ninja world?"
When Tsunade appeared, not only did the Hidden Mist observe her, but the Hidden Sand, who had already arrived, was also secretly watching.
Inside a room, in the Iwagakure's quarters, Kurotsuchi's eyes lit up when she saw the Hokage.
"Grandpa, is that the Fifth Hokage of Konoha?!"
Sannin Tsunade—she's recognized as the strongest kunoichi in decades, idolized by female ninjas everywhere.
As the strongest kunoichi in Iwagakure, Kurotsuchi was naturally curious about this legendary woman.
However, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, looked at the figure outside the window with a heavy expression, his face somewhat ugly.
"Wood Release! Why is Konoha always so lucky?!"
Onoki's gnashing teeth made Kurotsuchi sense a strong wave of jealousy.
"Grandpa, are you jealous?"
"Me, jealous? Impossible!"
Onoki slammed the table in anger, but even a dog would shake its head at his red, envious eyes.
Who could understand his bitterness?
Iwagakure had developed well in recent years, with military strength rarely matched in the ninja world. But the matter of a successor left Onoki feeling helpless.
He was already so old, yet there was no promising talent in the village.
Thinking of this, Onoki glanced at his unreliable granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, sighing inwardly.
"This girl's carefree personality—though her talent is decent, she'd be fine to lead the village in peacetime. But if it's wartime, I'm afraid..."
As the Third Tsuchikage, he knew his granddaughter's character well.
In peacetime, she could keep the village safe, but in times of war, the village's future all depended on the Kage's decisions.
One wrong move, and it could end up like Sunagakure does now.
Thinking of this, Onoki sighed.
Down below, after a long journey, they finally arrived and were welcomed by the Land of Iron's general.
Konoha's Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, laughed heartily, taking off her Hokage hat and brushing off the snow.
"Mifune, long time no see! I didn't expect you to have gotten even older."
What a character!
Tsunade's blunt greeting left Mifune momentarily stunned—definitely in line with her personality.
As Tsunade removed her Hokage hat, everyone present was stunned by her beauty.
Especially Mei Terumi, who narrowed her eyes—no woman dislikes beauty.
Especially at Tsunade's age, yet her skin still so youthful. Even a fellow woman like Mei was envious of her medical ninjutsu.
"Lord Hokage, your room is ready in the castle. The Tsuchikage, Kazekage, and Mizukage have all arrived. Tonight, Lord Raikage will…"
Just as Mifune courteously mentioned that the only Kage yet to arrive was the Raikage, Tsunade raised her eyebrows and snapped coldly:
"The Raikage from Kumogakure sure has a lot of air. He's the one who called this Five Kage Summit, yet he's the last to arrive. Does he think Kumogakure is the world's number one now?"
Tsunade's temper—someone dared make her wait.
Her words left everyone amazed: as expected of Konoha's Kage, so imposing!
"Tsunade…"
But at this moment, Mei Terumi's emerald eyes were fixed on the figure behind Tsunade.
At the same time, Ao recognized the man's voice and his eyes widened.
"How is it possible! Mizukage-sama's husband is Senju Shirou?!"
Currently, in the intelligence of the Five Great Nations, Shirou is still known as Senju Shirou—no one knows his true identity yet.
So, when Ao saw Tsunade's bodyguard, Senju Shirou, and recalled Mizukage-sama's earlier anger over a photo, he instantly understood.
Now he understood everything!
"Mizukage-sama!"
Ao had misunderstood, glancing sympathetically at their Fifth Mizukage.
It was obvious! The man Mizukage-sama fell for was Senju Shirou, and because they weren't from the same village, they couldn't be together.
"Ao! If you keep looking at me like that, I'll kill you!"
To a ninja, that look of sympathy—as if she'd been abandoned or unrequited—nearly made Mei Terumi snap.
Facing the Mizukage's chilling tone, Ao paled and lowered his head quickly:
"Yes! Don't worry, Mizukage-sama, I'm not feeling sorry for you!"
"Shut up!"
"Yes!"
While Mei Terumi was chastising her subordinate, Shirou following Tsunade stepped forward.
"Mei, you're still as beautiful as ever."
Shirou, dressed in white, smiled warmly as he approached, greeting her as if they were old friends.
This scene, in Ao's eyes, was undeniable proof.
To outsiders, it was shocking—Konoha and the Hidden Mist seemed far too familiar!
Mei Terumi, standing face-to-face with Shirou, froze for a moment, his image reflected in her emerald eyes.
'He's even more handsome than in the photos. But I'm not that other me!'
"It's been a while."
The next moment, Mei Terumi put on her Kage demeanor, her calm voice stunning everyone present.
There's juicy gossip here—major gossip!
Ao glared at Shirou. From Mizukage-sama's words, it was obvious she wasn't the same as before. So she must have been tricked by him!
"Konoha ninja! This is our Hidden Mist's Fifth Mizukage—she won't be fooled by you again!"
Ao's outburst stunned the crowd, even the Sand and Stone ninjas gathering intelligence upstairs widened their eyes.
This was truly explosive gossip!
"Shut up!"
What was nothing before had now blown up into a huge misunderstanding thanks to Ao's words.
Mei Terumi's face turned red as she angrily hushed Ao, but to outsiders, it looked like she'd just run into her cheating lover and couldn't take it.
"Oh, who'd have thought you'd run into your little lover at a Five Kage Summit."
Tsunade saw all this and, being familiar with the other world's Mei Terumi, couldn't help but tease—she'd even delivered the photos herself.
Her joke made the atmosphere tense, and everyone's eyes went wide.
Big news! Huge news! The Fifth Hokage and Fifth Mizukage—do they share a secret? Are they fighting over a man?
"I heard Lord Hokage awakened Wood Release. Not bad—you even found yourself a man from the Uchiha clan."
Mei Terumi, not to be outdone, quickly noticed the Uchiha crest embroidered on Shirou's clothes—clearly, he was no longer hiding it.
Her words shocked everyone present, even the hidden observers from Iwa and Suna looked serious.
Indeed!
They'd noticed the Uchiha crest on Senju Shirou's clothes.
Seeing this world's Mei Terumi, Shirou smiled and nodded gently:
"Mei, the other you is just as stubborn and mischievous. You two have very similar personalities. But I was always an Uchiha—the Senju surname was just a cover."
Mei Terumi gazed deeply at the man. Countless images flashed through her mind, but in the end, she thought of her village.
She was the Fifth Mizukage!
That other Mei Terumi was not her!
"This trip has been exhausting. I'll be waiting for you in my room tonight."
With a cold snort, Mei Terumi left with her people.
Yet her simple words stunned everyone present.
Damn!
The Mizukage and Hokage are fighting over a man!
So direct—she told him to come to her room tonight!
But only Shirou and Tsunade knew what she meant: she was inviting him to confirm the truth of everything.
But outsiders thought otherwise.
In the Iwa quarters:
"Grandpa, did I hear that right?!"
Even the usually lively Kurotsuchi was stunned.
Not just her—even the wily Third Tsuchikage was dumbfounded. "Impossible!"
These were Kage, not some lovesick teenagers.
"No way! This Fifth Mizukage might be a woman, but she seized power through a coup and overthrew the Fourth Mizukage—how could she…"
How could she be a woman obsessed with men!
Onoki's mind buzzed. He couldn't figure out any underlying conspiracy.
"No, something's up here!"
"I get it now!"
Suddenly, Onoki smacked the table in realization.
"Konoha and the Hidden Mist must be planning an alliance! Dammit, I knew it—this Fifth Mizukage survived the Bloody Mist policy and overthrew the previous Kage. As for Tsunade, she's ruthless and ambitious. She hid her strength for over three years and wiped out the Sarutobi clan in one stroke. Neither of these women is simple!"
To Onoki, such capable, ruthless Kage couldn't be lovesick fools.
"Is that so?!"
Kurotsuchi looked at her grandpa in bewilderment, as if to say, "But it looks like two women fighting over a man."
Onoki just snorted, nodding confidently.
"I can't be wrong."
In the neighboring Suna quarters:
"Damn, Gaara, is this happening?!"
Kankuro was wide-eyed—how could the Five Kage Summit have such juicy gossip?
But Gaara just frowned, thinking of Naruto. Was Naruto not coming this time? He felt a bit disappointed.
...
As night fell, the blizzard in the Land of Iron only intensified, showing no sign of stopping.
In this weather, the entire forest was dead silent.
The ancient buildings of the Land of Iron, preserved from the previous era, were warm and spacious, fire basins lighting up the interior and driving away the cold.
Inside one warm room, Chojuro and Ao were staring at each other.
"What do you think Mizukage-sama is doing in there?"
Chojuro asked curiously. Ao, acting the senior, snorted coldly and replied:
"A man and two women in a room together—what do you think they could be doing?!"
This rhetorical question made Chojuro's eyes go wide in disbelief.
"No way! Could Mizukage-sama and the Hokage be sharing a man?"
"Idiot!" Ao snapped at Chojuro for his dirty mind.
"You fool! Why can't you think properly? A man and two women in a room—there can be other things besides that!"
"Uh…senior, like what else?" In Chojuro's simple mind, only that kind of novel scenario came to mind.
His look made Ao speechless, and finally, Ao waved his hand helplessly.
"Use your brain! Mizukage-sama's man is from Konoha, and now, it's clear the Mizukage and Hokage are about to…"
A catfight between two women!
And not just any women, but the two highest-ranking kunoichi in the ninja world.
Ao frowned, feeling both curious and worried—after all, there were two Konoha ninjas inside. What if their Mizukage lost out?
Should he use his Byakugan to check?
But what if he got in trouble?
But if he didn't look, he'd worry! For Mizukage-sama's safety—
Byakugan! Activate!
As Ao resolutely activated his Byakugan, he was met with the sight of a large sealing barrier.
Whenever the two Kage discussed secrets, they set up a barrier.