Start with a Zanpakuto and build the strongest Mist Village.

"Minazuki Yoru requests that both sides hold a 'Shadow Conference' in the Land of Iron. Furthermore, to ensure the smooth running of the conference and avoid unnecessary trouble, each side may bring a maximum of one guard in addition to the required Kage. The meeting is scheduled for three days from now..."

"So the location was chosen to be the Land of Iron?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured, his expression somewhat complicated.

The Land of Iron is one of the few neutral countries in the ninja world, so choosing this location is not a problem.

However, this location, coupled with the fact that it was only accompanied by one guard and had the special name of "Shadow Meeting," inevitably brought back some memories for Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Decades ago, after the initial establishment of the Five Great Nations, in order to resolve the issue of the distribution of the Tailed Beasts, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, invited the First Four Kage of each nation to participate in the unprecedented 'First Five Kage Summit' in the history of the ninja world!

The meeting was held in the Land of Iron, and each Kage was only allowed to bring one bodyguard. The meeting was also called the 'Kage Meeting'!

"Is this kid... calling himself the First Generation?!"

Danzo also saw through the subtext of Minazuki Yoru's request, and his expression became quite gloomy.

"Perhaps, but I must say it is indeed a good suggestion. In the Land of Iron, it can certainly avoid a lot of trouble."

"As for the people I will protect..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, not dwelling on the matter for long. His gaze shifted, eventually settling on Minato Namikaze.

"Minato, this time, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you with the escort mission."

"I will protect the Third Hokage with my life." Minato Namikaze was taken aback at first, then nodded vigorously and said in a firm voice.

Although it was a humiliating meeting of surrender and reparations, it was also a conversation between shadows.

Protecting the Third Hokage at the Kage Summit is something that Konoha ninjas would do with their lives no matter what!

"Watergate is indeed a good choice."

Konoha is really short of people right now, and Minato Namikaze, who has mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, can also protect Hiruzen Sarutobi's life well. If Yoru Minazuki really has any bad intentions, Minato can also retreat with Hiruzen in time.

Danzo nodded, not giving it much thought, but then seemed to notice something and said in a deep voice, "Hiruzen, what about the two days you were away from the village..."

"I'll have to leave the village in your care for the next couple of days, Danzo."

"Wha, what?!"

Danzo's body trembled, and his single eye emitted an incomparably dazzling light.

His old partner really didn't abandon him. All that talk about taking control of his roots was a lie. Their relationship is still the best in the world!

"Don't worry, I will absolutely not let anything happen to the village!"

Danzo could not hide his excitement and made a solemn vow.

Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and patted his old friend on the shoulder: "With you here, I feel very at ease."

There is some distance between Konoha and the Land of Iron, and Minato did not leave any Flying Thunder God mark there. In addition, the time allotted by Minazuki Yoru is only three days.

Therefore, on that day, the Third Hokage set off with Minato Namikaze and left the village.

After watching his old buddy Minato Namikaze leave, Danzo Shimura instantly returned to the Hokage Building. After dismissing everyone, he walked step by step towards the seemingly ordinary Hokage's desk.

then……

Please take your seats!

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha……"

Feeling the feedback from the chair beneath him and looking at the thick stacks of documents on either side of the table, a hearty laugh burst from his mouth. At that moment, even a few tears welled up in the corners of Shimura Danzo's eyes!

"Is this where the Hokage is located...?"

Danzo Shimura couldn't describe his feelings at that moment; he felt his whole body trembling.

Fortunately, he dismissed the surrounding ANBU; otherwise, if they had seen him like this, the image of the Dark Ninja he had built up over time would probably have collapsed.

After a long while, Shimura Danzo finally calmed down his agitated emotions, opened a document in front of him, and began to examine it.

With just one glance, Danzo's brows furrowed deeply.

One serving, two servings.

Half an hour later, Shimura Danzo slowly rose from his Hokage seat, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked out the window.

Hmm, so this is what Konoha looks like from this perspective. This feeling is really awesome...

However, these chaotic thoughts only lasted for a moment before being suppressed. Danzo's gaze was extremely solemn, and his brows were tightly furrowed.

He hadn't expected the situation at the front lines, or the pressure from the Daimyo, to be this intense. No wonder Hiruzen even accepted surrender and reparations to appease Kirigakure as quickly as possible.

When Iwagakure unleashed its full power, it displayed unimaginable combat strength. Their expertise in Earth Release ninjutsu made them no less formidable than the Konoha ninjas on the battlefield.

Several times the number of ninjas of Konoha!

Explosion Release and Lava Release are two top-tier combat bloodlines!

In addition, there are the Four-Tails Jinchuriki and the Five-Tails Jinchuriki.

It's a miracle that Konoha managed to hold out for so long thanks to Orochimaru, only suffering repeated defeats and shrinking battle lines instead of being completely routed!

"No, this absolutely cannot continue. Even if we appease Kirigakure, we might still lose this war..."

Danzo muttered to himself. His first thought was to use the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki in combination with Minato Namikaze in a battle, but Iwagakure also had a highly mobile humanoid calamity.

The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki of the Two Scales!

Although that old guy didn't master space-time ninjutsu, he could fly, and his Dust Release was even more advanced than a bloodline limit, namely the Bloodline Elimination!

Without a doubt, Onoki was a natural disaster no less devastating than Mizukiyo.

Once Minato Namikaze joins forces with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Onoki will definitely make a move as well, and then everything that happened on the Kirigakure battlefield will probably be repeated!

"Is this the pressure you've been carrying, Hiruzen..."

Danzo took a deep breath. At that moment, he finally understood what his old friend had endured all these years.

"With great power comes great responsibility. Perhaps that's why the teacher chose you over me."

"But now I can feel your pressure, and I can't do nothing!"

After a moment's thought, Danzo took out a scroll from his robes and began to write something.

A moment later, Danzo sealed the entire scroll with a special incantation.

"Someone is coming."

"Lord Danzo."

A member of the secret service then appeared.

Danzo paused when he saw that it wasn't a member of Root, but rather an Anbu member.

"Have Shisui come over here for a moment."

"Yes, Lord Danzo."

A moment later, Uchiha Shisui appeared in the Hokage's office. Looking at Shimura Danzo sitting in the Hokage's seat, Shisui was slightly taken aback, but still lowered his head and respectfully said, "Lord Danzo!"

"Shisui, I'm afraid this mission can only be undertaken by you."

Danzo picked up a scroll and pushed it in front of Shisui: "Send this scroll to Hanzo in Amegakure."

"Amegakure... the legendary Hanzo, known as a demigod?!"

"Yes, that's the guy."

Danzo nodded and said in a deep voice, "We had previously made contact and reached a cooperation agreement with him. We helped him deal with a newly emerging force in his village, and he helped us relieve the pressure on the battlefield in Kirigakure."

"But no one expected that the Kirigakure battlefield would develop to this extent, causing the cooperation to be put on hold... And now the situation on the Iwagakure battlefield is not optimistic. We need the assistance of Amegakure. As long as we can get Hanzo to send troops to help us, we will be able to greatly alleviate the pressure on the front line!"

Danzo gave a general account of the situation. If it were a Root ninja, he could simply give the order, but things were different now.

Now that he is the 'Acting Hokage', he naturally has to act in a proper and reasonable manner.

"Because this involves taking action against the target force, you alone are definitely not enough, but the village doesn't have many spare people left. So, Shisui, I hope you can recruit some people from the Uchiha clan to assist you in carrying out this mission..."

"That's it, I understand!"

Shisui nodded solemnly and took the scroll: "I will complete the mission, please rest assured, Lord Danzo!"

"Okay, it's up to you now..."

……

Chapter 94 The Shadow Meeting! Mizuki Yoru: Stop babbling and pay up!

Iron country.

This country is extremely unique. Although it borders large ninja nations such as the Land of Fire, the Land of Waterfalls, and the Land of Fields, it is a neutral country with its own culture, authority, and military strength.

Yes, the main military force of this country is different from the ninjas of other countries.

It is a land of warriors!

Its system, so different from that of other countries, coupled with its neutral stance, makes this country one of the few neutral nations in the ninja world.

Furthermore, the Land of Iron is a special country that witnessed the First Hokage holding the first Five Kage Summit here. As a country that witnessed the First Hokage forming an alliance with the other four countries and distributing the Tailed Beasts to each country, the Land of Iron has become a permanently neutral country in the ninja world, tacitly recognized by all nations.

While the outside world was fighting to the death because of the Ninja War, the Land of Iron seemed to be detached from it all, living its own quiet life.

However, in the last couple of days, this country has started to get lively.

The reason is simple: Konoha and Kirigakure are going to negotiate peace!

Upon learning that the Third Mizukage had designated the Land of Iron as the location for the peace talks, the overjoyed general of the Land of Iron immediately accepted the commission from Kirigakure and enthusiastically began setting up the meeting venue and the ceremony to welcome the Hokage and Mizukage.

This is a great opportunity to make a name for ourselves in the ninja world and to vigorously develop tourism and commerce.

The place where the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and the other four Kage held their meeting has long since become a famous historical site. Every year, tourists who come to pay homage to the glory of their predecessors bring a lot of extra revenue to the Land of Iron.

Now that such a good thing has come up, how could the Land of Iron refuse?

However, the general of the Land of Iron soon became troubled by the security arrangements for this meeting, which only involved the Land of Water and the Land of Fire.

Although it lacks ninjas, the Land of Iron's overall strength is quite good among small countries, and it is confident that it can handle ordinary security work.

However, the current situation in the ninja world is chaotic. Konoha is willing to negotiate with Kirigakure, but the other ninja villages will not want to see this happen.

The recently defeated Sand Village obviously wouldn't mind causing some trouble for Konoha, let alone the Iwa Village, which is currently locked in a fierce battle with Konoha.

It's clear that the Land of Iron alone cannot withstand a sneak attack from two of the Five Great Nations at the same time, not to mention the smaller nations that are always ready to cause trouble.

Just as the general of the Land of Iron was so worried about this matter that he couldn't sleep, one of his subordinates offered a suggestion.

"Admiral Mifune, it is indeed quite difficult for the Land of Iron to ensure the safety of this meeting with the strength of our country alone. Why don't you ask for outside help?"

"foreign aid?"

Mifune was taken aback: "Ura-kado, you mean mercenary organizations? But which mercenary organization can shoulder this responsibility?"

Ordinary mercenary groups are mostly composed of rogue ninjas and ronin. These ninjas are indeed somewhat intimidating to ordinary people, but this is the 'Kage Council'! How could these mercenary forces with only rudimentary skills possibly handle it?

"If it were them, it might not be so certain."

The samurai named Rikka said in a deep voice, "You may not know this, but recently there has been a mercenary organization that has risen to prominence in the ninja world. Even the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, often hires them. The reason why Iwagakure has been able to achieve such results in the war with Konoha is largely due to the efforts of that mercenary organization!"

Mercenary organizations like this exist?!

Upon hearing this, Mifune's face lit up with joy.

The mercenary organization that even Onoki hired must have some merit. If we could get their help, the safety of this meeting would obviously be greatly increased.

"Lijiao, do you have any information about them?"

"Their name is 'Akatsuki,' and their recent activities should be limited to the territory of the Fire and Earth kingdoms. They should be easy to find if we accept their missions."

"Then what are you waiting for? Let's act now!"

"Yes, Admiral Mifune!"

Li Jiao immediately set off, and he actually found it.

In just one day, Rikka brought a group of well-equipped and excited young people to Mifune.

Seeing how young these people looked, Mifune couldn't help but feel a little uneasy, unsure of what to do.

"You should understand what this mission represents, right? This is a meeting between two 'Shadows,' a meeting that absolutely cannot go wrong!"

"Don't worry, Admiral Mifune, our Akatsuki organization is incredibly powerful!"

The orange-haired boy pointed at himself, a confident smile on his face, and said boldly, "After this peace talk, we will make sure that everyone in the ninja world knows the name 'Akatsuki' and hears our thoughts and goals!"