At the edge of a massive crater caused ten days ago by Kei using large-scale Wood Style ninjutsu. With a clap of his hands, he summoned intertwining roots and vines that rapidly filled the several-dozen-meter-deep hole beneath his feet.
Once the crater was completely filled, a wooden tower, covering thousands of square meters, rose up majestically.
In under a minute, it was fully formed. He casually dusted his hands off.
Kushina gasped in awe, genuinely impressed, her eyes filled with amazement.
The tower was made entirely of wood. Though the colors were a bit plain, it was adorned with dragons, mythical beasts, auspicious clouds, and blooming flowers.
Tsunade stood with one hand on her hip, admiring the ancient, dignified wooden tower before her. The more she looked, the more she liked it.
"Can we move it back to Konoha?"
"Beg me." Kei grinned, teasing her casually.
"Tch~" Tsunade rolled her eyes, annoyed.
Then she waved to the eight ANBU members standing nearby. They immediately picked up rolls of sealing scrolls and entered the building to begin setting up the meeting venue.
Though today's main players were really Iwa and Suna, they couldn't afford to appear sloppy. It wouldn't be appropriate for the high-level officials of both villages to sit and negotiate in the middle of nowhere.
People would laugh if word got out.
"Your Wood Style mastery is truly awe-inspiring! The lifelike carvings, the flawless structure—what grandeur! Even compared to the treasured artworks of my Uchiha clan, this tower may be far superior!" Fugaku, seeing Kei finishing his chat with Tsunade and Kushina, began clapping and complimenting him lavishly.
These days, the Uchiha clan was really enjoying a wave of good fortune. Though the merger of villages meant the Police Force could no longer be run solely by the Uchiha—they now had to include members from other villages to avoid inter-village conflict—he was still the department head, and Uchiha were now allowed to serve in other departments too.
The benefits were obvious.
Hearing his words, several of the Konoha higher-ups nearby glanced at Fugaku with strange expressions.
Why hadn't they realized before that this guy was such a sycophant? Back when the Third Hokage was in charge, he always had that "everyone owes me money" face!
Keep up your cold and aloof act, damn it! Don't ruin your image!
Fugaku, however, couldn't care less about their stares.
Just like Honjima had said—the Uchiha had finally clung onto a powerful golden thigh, and their future was getting brighter and brighter. Saying a few flattering words? So what?
It was not like he was being asked to fight Madara himself.
Look at the Hyūga clan—always boasting they were on par with the Uchiha clan.
They didn't even know how to read the room. Served them right!
"You overpraise me, I—hm?" Kei was about to politely respond to Fugaku. But before he could finish, he suddenly sensed several slightly familiar chakra signatures a few kilometers to the north.
"The Iwa group has arrived?" Tsunade, noticing the faint smile on Kei's lips, straightened her back slightly, exuding the dignity of a future Hokage.
"It's the Third Tsuchikage, Kitsuchi, Rōshi, Han, and Kari. Also the Third Raikage, Darui, Killer B, Dodai, and a dozen elite Kumo ninjas."
Kei listed off each person whose chakra had entered his sensory range.
Although Shikaku had already told him that there was a 60% chance the Third Raikage would personally attend today, he really hadn't expected that the top brass of Kumo would show up en masse .
With this lineup, if they were wiped out in one go, Kumo might not even have the strength to merge with them anymore.
"Iwa and Kumo came together?" Tsunade furrowed her brows, a trace of seriousness in her eyes.
Today, her grandpa, great-uncle, Madara, and Izuna were all off doing something with Orochimaru, and none of them had shown up.
Jiraiya was staying back to guard Konoha, and many of the front-line ninjas had already returned to the village. The number of people they had left now was less than before.
As for notable powerhouses—basically, only Minato remained.
If the Third Raikage were to stir up trouble and team up with Iwa to make a move... It'd just be her, Kei, and Kushina holding the line.
That felt far too risky...
"They probably met up ahead of time," Kei nodded slightly, not showing the slightest bit of nervousness.
"Can't you move a little faster and bring Grandpa and the others over?" Tsunade lowered her voice and asked.
"With your current power, you've gotta be considered beyond Kage-level now, right? Can you show a little of that 'super-Kage' aura?"
"…Still got beaten by my grandpa's wood avatar and couldn't get up for days!"
"Can't you compare yourself to someone else for once?"
"The hell?!" Kei looked at her with a face full of black lines, completely speechless at Tsunade's defeated tone.
A week ago, he had created a training field a few kilometers in front of the Training Cave, and it had since become the sparring ground for Hashirama, Madara, and the others.
After Tsunade's recent power-up, her ego had started to balloon again, so she tried joining the action twice.
No need to guess the outcome— Hashirama promptly gave her a harsh reality check!
It wasn't even clear if he was holding back.
And now? Tsunade was actually less confident than she was back when she barely scraped into Kage-level.
He rubbed his temples, visibly pained, then said:
"Let me put it this way—even if I don't step in, with your current strength, you could handle both Kitsuchi and the Third Raikage at the same time and beat them into the ground."
"The Two-Tails, Five-Tails, and Eight-Tails?"
"Kushina could beat all of them on her own."
"Oh, and the Third Raikage's son is also here."
Kei pressed his lips together and motioned for Tsunade to look behind her.
She turned—and saw a bushy-browed, wide-eyed green-skinned watermelon-head giving her a thumbs up, his shiny white teeth practically glowing.
"When Konoha needs me most, the flames of youth shall burn brightest! Even if I must bet my life, I will protect you with everything I have!"
Tsunade's face twitched slightly.
If Kei hadn't already told her that this green-browed dude could open the Seventh Gate of the Eight Inner Gates effortlessly… Who would believe he's actually strong?!
"Ahem," Fugaku stepped forward, now with a more composed tone. "With the help of Izuna-sama, my power has improved significantly during this time. I've finally managed to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. If Kitsuchi dares to act, please allow me to handle him."
As his eyes blinked open, a pair of swirling Mangekyō Sharingan emerged.
Given the current average strength of Konoha's higher-ups, no one would be unsettled by just a pair of Mangekyō eyes.
In fact, showing greater strength would only help raise his standing.
"Very good, very good! If anyone dares to cause trouble later, you two give 'em a good beatdown—ha ha ha!" Tsunade came back to her senses, realizing she might've been too tense after all.
But Kei saying she could pin down Kitsuchi and the Third Raikage?
Eh… it depended on whether those two gave her a proper chance.
She was kind of curious what it felt like to smack people around the way her grandpa did…