Hiashi's expression didn't change. Of course the Hyūga knew the Uchiha Clan had its own ambitions—so did every shinobi clan in Konoha.
The Hokage's seat.
But having a lofty goal didn't mean the Uchiha would actually take concrete steps toward a real exchange of interests.
They had been like this for decades.
What Fugaku considered some great revelation sounded to Hiashi like pointless chatter.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Hiashi turned toward the command room door. Fugaku, having received no reply, sat in silence for a moment more before standing to follow and greet the newcomer.
"Roshi-san."
"Roshi."
The man they addressed inclined his head politely. "Fugaku-san, Hiashi-san."
The atmosphere upstairs was noticeably calmer than downstairs, which Roshi had expected. After all, Fugaku's presence meant the issue might at least be contained.
With someone of Fugaku's standing, the problem wouldn't truly be solved, but it wouldn't spiral out of control either.
At worst, the Police Force branch lobby would stay a bit tense. Situations like this always arose, and they had to run their course.
If an Anbu messenger hadn't come with the message that "someone" didn't want any accidents during the event, Roshi wouldn't have bothered to come in person.
"Good, you're both here. Let me brief you on security for the Five Kage Summit."
"The outermost early-warning perimeter will be handled by Village patrol squads. From the third defensive ring inward, the Police Force takes over, up to the outer security line of the summit building."
"Deployment, screening, and personnel allocation in that zone fall entirely under the police force's responsibility."
"Security of the building itself and the innermost core area will be jointly handled by each Kage's personal guard and the Village's Anbu."
"Coordinate the detailed implementation of these two defense layers and submit a joint document within one week."
Fugaku nodded. "Headquarters will draft a plan promptly and coordinate with the branch."
Hiashi inclined his head. "Understood."
"Very well." Roshi had no objections.
He turned to leave.
"Roshi-san, please wait," Hiashi said suddenly. "Both my daughters are here. It would be remiss of me not to let them pay their respects."
He moved to slide open the training room door.
Roshi paused. From the noise next door, he could tell there was quite a crowd. Fugaku's gaze shifted from Hiashi to Roshi, then back again.
When Fugaku had raised this matter earlier, Hiashi's attitude had been openly dismissive. Now his sudden enthusiasm was a stark contrast.
'Hokage…'
"Once Headquarters drafts the patrol plan, we can discuss it further," Fugaku said, lowering his voice. "I'll take my leave now, Roshi."
Without waiting for Hiashi's response, he turned and left at once.
Hiashi's hand stilled on the door. He turned toward the back of the departing Fugaku.
"The branch will be ready."
Even though Fugaku could no longer see him, the head of the Hyūga still maintained courtesy, bowing slightly as he watched him go.
The Five Kage Summit construction site was drowned in a crashing tide of sound.
Metal clanged, rammers pounded earth, timbers locked into place—the noises fused into a dusty, sweltering roar.
Yamato crouched in the shadow of a half-finished beam frame, Anbu mask on, hood pulled low. Pressing his palms to the ground, he let chakra seep into the wood fibers.
He'd had a few complaints about the workload lately, but he stayed focused; the schedule was tight and the mission critical.
Even so, today his gaze kept drifting toward a figure not far away.
That person was leading the village captains on an inspection of the site.
"At this pace, the main structure will be finished in five days. Interior partitions and décor will proceed in parallel."
"Starting tomorrow, squads from each village can begin patrols and sector checks."
Baki's gaze settled on Yamato, who was guiding a thick wooden beam into place with practiced ease. His expression grew complicated.
Every other time he'd witnessed Wood Release, it had torn battlefields apart. Now, for the first time, he was seeing that same power quietly shaping a construction site.
"Using Wood Release for building… that's a surprise, Roshi-kun," Mei remarked, eyes flicking to the nearly completed dome overhead.
"It's standard work. Earth Release can dig trenches, Water Release can redirect rivers," Roshi replied evenly.
Fūga spoke up, cautious but serious. "Will the venue area be fitted with barriers?"
"No. With every Kage present, barriers aren't part of the security plan."
"Then," Fūga pressed, "if we notice traces of ninjutsu while on patrol, can we treat them as incidents and investigate immediately?"
"Yes." Roshi turned to face him. "There are no preset jutsu in this area. Any that are detected will be treated as top-priority alerts."
Samui said nothing about a Wood Release user doing carpentry, and she didn't ask about patrol regulations. Her blue-green eyes simply swept the site, taking in every corner.
From time to time her gaze met Roshi's mid-explanation, then passed over him without a ripple.
"The Joint Combat Exercise ends the day after tomorrow," Roshi said as he moved on to the next work area. "Konoha will begin clearing the grounds. Visitors, merchants, anyone unrelated will be temporarily evacuated."
"Then—"
He halted, looking toward the main hall rising at the center of the grounds.
"Konoha welcomes the Kage."
——
After receiving Fūga's report confirming the Summit's time and location, Ōnoki found he had little to complain about.
That Senju from Konoha was troublesome enough to stir up an old memory—of another Senju he'd once crossed paths with.
Not Senju Hashirama. The other one.
Reforming the Joint Exercise was both what Ōnoki wanted and what Iwagakure needed.
Since he'd chosen to sit at the negotiating table, he'd already sketched out plans to match the new situation.
But the reform initiated by Konoha and Kumogakure was not the shape he'd envisioned.
His original plan had been to keep the existing hosting rights in place for now—without first seeking Kumogakure's support and without directly provoking their interests in a way that would only tighten the Konoha–Kumo alliance.
That would have done nothing but make their partnership stronger.
What he had intended was this: before next year's rotation, he would back a proposal to keep the venue in Konoha's venue district, rather than snatching the hosting rights outright.
The justification was solid—Konoha's location was ideal, and its arena was vast.
Even if all venues were expanded equally, Kumogakure's eight thousand seats could never match Konoha's capacity.
For non-hosting villages, ticket sales were the main source of income. Such a proposal would win over Sunagakure and Kirigakure, and Konoha, as the biggest beneficiary, would have no reason to object.
First drive a wedge between Konoha and Kumogakure, then carve out space for Iwagakure.
He'd been ready to put that plan into motion, only to find the outcome he wanted delivered to him before he could act.
So what now?
If they wanted a five kage summit, then he would attend, listen to the new proposals, and redraw his plans.
A Kage had to secure his village's interests—that was his sensei's lesson, and his own creed.
Since the other side had generously reopened negotiations, Ōnoki saw no need to stir up trouble just for its own sake.
As for his traveling companions… Kitsuchi had to remain behind to guard the village, and taking either Jinchūriki was out of the question.
After ruling out the younger ones, Akatsuchi and Kurotsuchi, that left him with only one option: Deidara.
Bringing the boy along to see how other villages operated might sand down some of his impulsiveness… perhaps.
The office door flew open without a knock.
"Old man! You called me? Hm!"
A blond youth burst in, tool pouch clattering at his waist, eyes alight with barely contained excitement.
Ōnoki suppressed the twitch of a vein at his temple. "Five days from now, you'll accompany me to Konoha."
"Oh!" Deidara's hand clenched into a fist. "You're finally letting me show real art, yeah? Hm! But the Exercise is almost over—so a special closing performance? They invited me, right? Hm!"
"If we don't leave today, will we miss it, hm? Is the venue big? Enough spectators…?"
Ōnoki told himself to be patient—after all, that Konoha brat had managed to calm Sunagakure at fourteen.
"Shut up!"
He slammed his palm down on the desk.
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