"..."
Hearing Fuu's innocent words, Kurotsuchi's expression stiffened for a moment.
She really couldn't refute what Mei Terumi said, but Fuu's unintentional remark clearly hit even harder.
And after hearing Fuu's words, the smile on Mei Terumi's face actually became even brighter.
"Aoba-nii, can I join the next Five Kage Summit?"
Karin lay in Aoba's arms. She didn't care much about Kurotsuchi's situation and was instead very interested in the next Five Kage Summit.
She hadn't tried it yet.
From what Temari said, it sounded like the more people there were, the more fun it would be.
Aoba pinched her little nose and said irritably, "Then you can come sit in on it tomorrow in the conference room."
"Huh? Tomorrow? Conference room?"
Karin froze for a moment.
"Yeah, today's Five Kage Summit was interrupted due to unforeseen circumstances, so it's been postponed to tomorrow and will be held in the conference room."
Aoba said it as if it were obvious, "So, do you want to come sit in?"
"I'll pass."
The moment Karin heard it was going to be a proper Five Kage Summit, she immediately lost interest.
Aoba: "..."
Fortunately, no one was paying attention to them right now.
Fuu also noticed the strange looks from the others and Kurotsuchi's stiff expression. She tilted her head, completely puzzled.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"Ahem! No. Dinner's already prepared. Everyone's been working or at school all day, so let's eat first."
It was Uzuki Yugao who stepped in to help Kurotsuchi out.
They were all family here, so they couldn't really let Kurotsuchi die of embarrassment.
Although, among the people present, the only ones who didn't know what was going on were probably Fuu and Uchiha Hikari…
"Oh, okay."
"..."
With Yugao speaking up, Mei Terumi naturally didn't say anything more.
The whole group sat down at the table to eat.
Nothing else happened after that.
Only when it was time to sleep did Fuu pull Kurotsuchi back home with her, planning for the two of them to sleep together.
Then Samui and Mabui were also dragged away by Yugito.
Aoba had no idea what the three of them had been secretly planning before dinner.
He only found out when the moment came later.
This was a trial.
———
[The Next Day]
It had been pouring rain the night before.
Now, everything was calm, and it was a clear, sunny day.
Right on time, Aoba brought Mei Terumi, Kurotsuchi, Samui, and Shizune to the conference room in the Hokage building.
However, Gaara and Kankuro had clearly arrived early.
"You two came pretty early."
Aoba raised his eyebrows slightly.
Yesterday, he had already given them a reasonable explanation in advance for why the Five Kage Summit was postponed by a day.
He had also told them the new time and location.
Yet they still arrived ahead of time.
"Mm, we're not very familiar with Konoha. There's nothing much to do staying in the guesthouse, so we came early."
Gaara's face didn't show much expression.
He didn't really mind the postponement of the Five Kage Summit.
After all, yesterday's hot spring experience had been quite enjoyable for both him and Kankuro.
It just meant they might have to stay in Konoha for a couple more days.
Which made him feel a bit apologetic toward Granny Chiyo, who was filling in for him.
"In that case, after the meeting ends, let Temari show you around Konoha."
Aoba wasn't some kind of devil.
Since his two brothers-in-law had finally come to Konoha, he also gave Temari a break and let her take them around properly.
"Then thank you, Lord Hokage."
Hearing that, even Gaara's usually expressionless face showed a faint smile.
Aoba didn't say anything more. He just nodded slightly and sat down at the head of the conference table.
"Alright, take your seats. The meeting will begin now."
Mei Terumi, Kurotsuchi, and Samui all took their seats.
Seeing this, Aoba turned to Shizune, "Shizune-nee, begin."
"Mm."
Shizune stepped forward with the documents in her arms, "The main content of this Five Kage Summit can roughly be divided into two parts. If you have any questions during the process, you can raise them at any time."
"First, the matter of integrating the five great ninja villages."
As her words fell, aside from pressing their lips together slightly, no one showed much reaction.
After all, this was something they already knew.
However, what Shizune said next made several of them reveal looks of surprise.
"Regarding the method of integration, Konoha will not merge the other four great ninja villages. The four villages will remain in their original locations and retain their administrative status."
"This…"
Not just Gaara, even Mei Terumi, Kurotsuchi, and Samui were somewhat surprised.
After all, they hadn't known this beforehand either.
Shizune glanced at them and continued.
"However, the other four great ninja villages will, like Konoha, come under the jurisdiction of the Land of Fire."
This was essentially just a change in wording.
After all, Aoba was now the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. Whether they belonged to Konoha or to the Land of Fire, they were ultimately under his authority.
But once it was phrased this way, it became much easier to accept.
In the future, the relationship between Konoha and the other four great ninja villages would be somewhat like that between directly governed cities and prefecture-level cities.
After addressing the matter of village jurisdiction, the ninjas within the villages also needed to be reorganized.
Shizune continued.
"Second, as a military force, from now on, each ninja village's intake per class must not exceed five hundred."
"Mm?"
Like a diligent student, Gaara raised his hand before asking his question.
"Then how should the surplus ninjas be arranged?"
Sunagakure might rank at the bottom among the five great ninja villages, but even excluding those who only learned basic ninjutsu, they still had two to three thousand ninjas.
If limited to five hundred, many people would be left without work.
"Career reassignment."
Shizune's answer was simple.
But Gaara still didn't fully understand.
Shizune then handed each of them a copy of the documents she was holding.
"Regarding the abilities of ninjas, in many cases, they can be far more effective in other fields than simply being used for combat and killing."
"On this point, I believe the Tsuchikage has plenty of experience."
As she spoke, Shizune even used Kurotsuchi, who was also one of the Five Kage, as a real-life example.
Kurotsuchi: "..."
Kurotsuchi shot Shizune a somewhat resentful look.
Fortunately, when she had been in Konoha back then, she had used a transformation technique while working at the construction site.
Otherwise, another piece of unofficial history would have spread across the ninja world, about how the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure had once worked construction in Konoha in her early years.
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