Orochimaru left after that, taking his intel with him.
That intel made Yorin more interested in the coming campaign against Kusagakure—and for Grass, that was absolutely not good news.
A casual punch and a punch thrown in earnest don't land with the same weight.
If Kusagakure had any chance of leaving survivors before, then now Yorin had already decided: he was going to apply the "steamroller" solution and flatten them completely.
Takigakure could at least change its face and keep living on. Kusagakure couldn't.
Their nature was far worse than Taki's. They needed to be fully purged and settled—thoroughly.
Of course, before that, Uchiha Yorin still had a lot of work to do.
Just like Orochimaru said: Konoha drew too much hate right now.
If he didn't handle that properly, it would become a serious obstacle to his plan to unify the shinobi world.
Which meant…
"Which means we need to send envoys and call the leadership of the Five Villages together. Before we attack Kusagakure, we're holding a Five Kage Summit."
…
With Yorin's order, Konoha mobilized at top speed. Envoys rushed back and forth between villages, carrying Uchiha Yorin's intent and inviting the other Four Kage to Konoha for a conference.
The situation was completely different from the original timeline, so there was no need to go through the motions and meet in a "neutral" place like the Land of Iron.
Mifune would probably be disappointed.
But that had nothing to do with Yorin.
If even shinobi were destined to become relics of history someday, then samurai, even more so.
Uchiha Yorin set the summit location in Konoha.
Konoha would—must—become the center of the world.
In a sense, it already was.
When the Kage of the other four villages arrived in Konoha with their guards and attendants—and of course a flood of diplomats—nothing displayed "shinobi unity" more starkly than that scene. And nothing made nobles and daimyō more anxious than seeing it with their own eyes.
Next to the Hokage Tower, a newly built Five Kage Conference Hall rose up, constructed in the symbolic colors of fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning. It was breathtaking—hard to believe something that grand had been built in such a short time.
"Even knowing this building uses Iwa's techniques… seeing it in person is still hard to believe," Ōnoki said, looking up.
"Yeah. It's also a reflection of Yorin's ambition," the Fourth Raikage A replied. His missing arm looked "normal" only because it had been replaced with a mechanical one—ninja-world black tech, no need to overthink it.
"So do any of you know why Yorin dragged us all here?" Kazekage Rasa asked irritably.
Compared to political meetings, he'd rather stay in Sunagakure working on climate projects, tree planting, and desert control.
If Yorin hadn't handed him desert "miracle tools" like straw checkerboard grids and saxaul shrubs, he wouldn't have bothered showing up for this mess.
"Hmm. Either way, we're Konoha's allies," Mei Terumī said with a smooth smile. "Showing support is only natural."
The other three Kage could only respond with a dry, wordless heh.
In their eyes, Mei Terumī and Uchiha Yorin were basically one household. Mist and Leaf were practically on the verge of political union. Of course she'd follow his lead.
They even felt that if Yorin announced, "We're starting a world war," Mei would still support him without hesitation.
…
Yes—Mei really would support him. But not for the shallow reason the other Kage assumed ("because she's his woman").
It was because she and Yorin were both members of Ninshū.
That secret organization was gradually moving from the world's shadows into the light. Harvest season was coming—and if Kushina didn't want to be "Ninja World Empress," fine. Mei did.
In that case, why would she ever back Kusagakure over Yorin?
Seriously.
"I support Yorin's proposal!" Mei said exactly that at the summit.
And despite being called a "Five Kage Summit," the one presiding over it wasn't any of the Kage—it was Uchiha Yorin, the Five Kage's "advisor."
Five Kage advisor—one step closer to them than the Kage themselves. Sure, you could argue it makes sense.
And the agenda was simple: crush Kusagakure—this evil, cannibalistic, reactionary village—and erase that criminal regime from history forever.
"Any village that eats people can't be called human anymore. For evil villages like that, we have to hit them with a heavy fist!" Yorin declared.
He did not get cheering approval.
Other than Mei—who supported him immediately—everyone else stayed quiet, thoughtful, cautious.
(And "everyone else" didn't include Minato. Minato obviously supported Yorin.)
…
"Of course," Yorin continued. "All of Kusagakure's secret techniques and stored resources will be split evenly among the Five. Same for mission quotas and special resources—ah, except for the Box of Ultimate Bliss. That one isn't on the table."
"I trust you've all heard of it. In reality, it isn't some wonderful treasure—it's a sealed object containing a deranged monster. The best solution is to keep it sealed.
Of course, I'm not naïve enough to think you'll believe me just because I say so. Once we obtain it, we can open it once, let everyone confirm I'm telling the truth, and then seal it again. That should settle it."
"Exactly!" Mei again, loudly. "No objections at all!"
Yorin frowned when the others still didn't respond.
"So. Do you have a problem with my plan? Or is there something I missed—some interest of yours I failed to account for?
If you're dissatisfied, say it out loud. I'm a very open-minded person. I won't get angry and flip the table over something like this."
He'd put it that plainly—so Raikage A finally forced himself to speak.
"It's not that, Yorin-sama. Your terms are the same as always—very generous, and they fully account for our interests. If we look only at that, we're satisfied."
Yorin: "So you don't believe me when I say the box is dangerous?"
A: "We're not saying we doubt you. If you say it's not a good thing, we assume you aren't lying about that."
"Then I really don't get it," Yorin said, voice sharpening. "If that's the case—why won't you support my plan?"
…
"It's fear."
Once it reached that point, they might as well speak plainly.
After the Raikage, Ōnoki spoke too:
"You know this, Yorin. Before this, the world order—shinobi politics—didn't change this quickly.
But two years ago, when you rose… everything changed. After the Fourth Shinobi War, small villages started getting wiped off the map one after another…
If it were just one or two, or if you'd merely beaten them down instead of uprooting them entirely, maybe it would be fine, but—"
Then the Raikage took over again.
"And the real problem is this."
Rasa still hadn't spoken. From start to finish, he acted like world affairs had nothing to do with Sunagakure.
In a sense, it was true. Right now, everyone in Sand was obsessed with greening the desert and planting forests, barely aware of anything else.
But even so—even Rasa was tense, staring at Yorin.
Because if—just if—Uchiha Yorin ever had a "moment" and decided to conquer the shinobi world by force, then Sand wouldn't be spared either.
…
Only then did Uchiha Yorin understand:
They didn't care about Kusagakure's life or death.
What they cared about—what they feared—was that they didn't know what Uchiha Yorin ultimately intended to do.
If he promised them he wasn't planning to conquer the world—if he offered them any explanation that soothed that fear—then they'd support the war against Grass.
But the problem was: Uchiha Yorin really was planning to conquer the world.
So he couldn't make that promise.
He could lie right now, stabilize everyone, and buy time—but that stability wouldn't last forever. Sooner or later he'd have to reveal the truth, and the political damage to his credibility would be massive.
So Yorin fell silent.
He thought carefully about how to phrase it—how to persuade the three (really four) Kage in front of him.
Because while Minato knew more than the others, Minato was not a Ninshū member, and didn't fully understand Yorin's full plan.
In that light, Kusagakure wasn't the real issue anymore.
Compared to the question of "conquering the world," Grass Village was just a tiny nobody.
At last, Yorin spoke.
"Here's the thing.
Give me some time. I'll explain my plan to all of you—properly, in detail."