That evening, the banquet began.
However...
The Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages each looked at the others with distaste, and Mifune of the Land of Iron put on an air of being on equal footing with them, showing no intention of acting as a mediator between them.
Consequently, this banquet was naturally very dull.
Everyone just ate a bit, went through the motions, and then returned to their respective quarters; likewise, no one gave that idiot Mifune any face.
On the way back, facing the swirling snow, Kakashi spoke up in confusion, "Hokage-sama, I have a question."
"Speak!" Uchiha Jin said.
At this moment, his hokage robe and hokage hat were already covered in quite a bit of snow.
Facing the biting cold wind, Uchiha Jin pulled down his hokage hat and looked at Kakashi by his side.
In response...
Kakashi glanced at the swirling snow before saying doubtfully, "I just have a faint feeling that Mifune's behavior was very irrational. Tonight, he didn't show the grace a host should have."
"And the way the Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages looked at Mifune..."
"It was very strange!"
"I can't quite put my finger on it!"
Hearing these words from Kakashi, Uchiha Jin showed a look of satisfaction.
He could feel that Kakashi had truly begun to think.
Although he had only scratched the surface, it was already quite an achievement for Kakashi.
After pondering for a moment, he spoke slowly.
"Strange?"
"You could say that!"
"But what I can tell you is that the look everyone gave Mifune was the look one gives to a dead man."
"The Samurai as a group are nearing their end!"
"In the past, everyone tolerated the existence of the Land of Iron merely to give face to the Daimyo of the Five Great Nations."
"After all, the Land of Iron is not a normal country; it's not even as good as a small nation with a Daimyo."
"But now?"
"The Daimyo of the Five Great Nations are gone. Now, those who can truly decide the fate of the Land of Iron are actually just our Five Great Ninja Villages."
"If the Land of Iron wants to continue existing, it should be trying its best to curry favor with the Five Great Ninja Villages."
"But in reality?"
"Mifune of the Land of Iron might have guessed this, but with his Samurai pride, he could bow to a Daimyo yet is clearly unwilling to bow to us Ninjas."
"So, he's a dead man!"
"The future protagonists of the Ninja World are the Ninjas. Since Mifune gave up his ticket to board the new ship, the Land of Iron will soon become history!"
Uchiha Jin's tone was calm.
Based solely on Mifune's performance tonight, he could directly issue a death notice to the Land of Iron!
Even if Konoha didn't act, the other Four Great Shinobi Villages would never allow the existence of something that doesn't follow the orders of the Ninja villages, especially since there are no longer any Daimyo to back them up.
To continue existing, one can only rely on strength!
However, it's a pity.
Perhaps Mifune truly is a genius, having managed to become a powerhouse as a Samurai even when Ninjas have become the protagonists.
But compared to the various Ninja villages, the gap is simply too vast!
Facing an assassination attempt from the Ninja villages, the Land of Iron won't be able to hold out.
Kakashi fell into deep thought after hearing this, while Shisui couldn't help but say, "Isn't the Land of Iron a neutral country?"
"Shisui, you're overthinking it," Uchiha Jin said faintly. "What is a neutral country?"
"In the past, the Land of Iron could be a neutral country only because it had the backing of the Daimyo, so the Five Great Ninja Villages were willing to give the Daimyo face."
"This isn't something where others will allow you to be neutral just because you want to be!"
"As long as someone wants to destroy you, being neutral is useless."
"To use a simple analogy, if my Konoha wanted to attack the Land of Iron, if I didn't care about appearances, I could just send a Ninja army over."
"If I wanted to be a bit more formal, it wouldn't be much trouble either. I'd just say a Ninja of ours went missing in the Land of Iron and order them to hand over the Konoha Ninja within three days."
"Otherwise—it will be considered an act of war!"
"But the Land of Iron wouldn't be able to hand anyone over, because no one from Konoha actually went missing."
"Then, after three days, I would send Ninjas to occupy the Land of Iron on the pretext of searching for the missing Konoha Ninja."
"If Mifune chooses to endure it, then my Konoha can conduct extensive searches."
"The homes of various Samurai, official institutions, and even Mifune's home—we'd cause some destruction while searching."
"If Mifune continues to endure, I will continue to slowly encroach upon them."
"If the other party is unwilling to endure, then as soon as the Land of Iron dares to take action, their 'neutral' label instantly becomes void."
"Following that would be a full-scale invasion!"
"And the Land of Iron has too few powerhouses; there are only a handful of Samurai who can resist Ninjas."
"In less than a day, the Land of Iron would completely disappear!"
"In this world, whoever holds the blade possesses absolute control."
"History—is written by the victors!"
"And the other Kage certainly understand this logic as well. This is the fundamental reason why everyone's look toward Mifune tonight was as strange as Kakashi described."
"Presumably, everyone has the intention of finishing off the Land of Iron in their hearts!"
"After all, although the environment in the Land of Iron is harsh, it possesses abundant iron ore resources and quite impressive Ninja tool manufacturing capabilities."
"An ordinary man is innocent, but treasuring a jade ring becomes his crime!"
"Of course."
"Our Konoha has no interest in attacking the Land of Iron. After all, we must maintain the demeanor of a great power."
"So, let's leave this matter to the Other Ninja Villages!"
After saying this...
A cold sneer appeared at the corner of Uchiha Jin's mouth, and then he headed straight for the Villa the Land of Iron had arranged for Konoha.
Hearing this, Kakashi and Shisui couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.
Logically speaking... during their time in Old Konoha, they had also witnessed much darkness in the Anbu.
But compared to the coldness and darkness of the Anbu, this kind of power play between great nations pales in comparison; even the darkness of Root couldn't compare.
After all... Root was merely disgusting, just some petty tricks!
...The next morning, early.
By the time Uchiha Jin and the others were ready to depart, the Other Ninja Villages had already left early in the morning.
Once everything was ready, Kakashi asked, "Hokage-sama, shall we leave?"
"Yes, let's go," Uchiha Jin said flatly. "Setting out for the Land of Whirlpools."
"We'll find the Shinigami Mask along the way; it's time for Minato Namikaze to make his appearance."
After speaking...
Uchiha Jin took the lead and headed out, with Kakashi and the others naturally following close behind.
However... thinking of his teacher, Kakashi's gaze couldn't help but turn hazy.
If it had been back in the days of Old Konoha, he would never have allowed such a desecration of a dead person's soul, but now in New Konoha, it was quite the opposite.
Such thoughts had completely faded!
After all, in the current New Konoha, the number of powerhouses brought back by Edo Tensei was not small; Kakashi was almost getting used to it by now.