A's POV (Kage Box of Iron Arena - Land of Iron)
A watched silently as the battle raged below. Anyone knowledgeable of A knew an extended silence from him was a rare and purposeful instance. The man was perplexed, simply put. This match significantly altered A's thoughts about the power of his enemies and the future of his homeland.
Enemy wasn't quite the right word. At least for the current situation, but he thought differently. Like all his predecessors, A had made his village solid and profitable. As such, he embraced all outsiders as what they were. Past enemies who have been subjugated and conquered, present enemies he had yet to have the pleasure of crushing, and future enemies he must plan for. Most fell into either the first or second category. The other four villages represented such well. The Leaf and Stone were present enemies, ones he needed to subjugate or crush. The Sand and Mist were lesser problems. Indeed, A was annoyed they were in the same league as his village. But the Sand had been weak for a while now; it was why they had fathered such a close relationship with the Leaf. The Mist were like them, doubtless stronger but busy fighting themselves. Even if Yagura's faction did win, it was questionable how strong they would be.
Oh, A had signed the agreement for peace just as the other Kage had done. And similarly to them, he did so for his own reasons, primarily unrelated to peace. But A had been convinced simply because he believed his village was the strongest. The Leaf had mainly lost the Uchiha, their most prominent Hokage, and were led by the weak and feeble Hiruzen. The Mist was too busy killing themselves to be a factor. The Sand was weak, and the Stone needed a powerful, long-lasting leader. This could only lead to the gap between them increasing.
Now, A questioned his previous thoughts. A had been confident that his village contained the strongest and most experienced jinchuriki. He had been right, but now he noticed a problem. Naruto Uzumaki, Gaara of the Sand, and Fuu of the Waterfall were powerful despite their lack of experience. Fuu had even shown an impressive level of mastery over her beast. And the other two seemed incredibly powerful without using much of their beast. One of them even came from a minor village. If Fuu could fight at a level more comparable to a powerful Jounin than a Chunin now, how much stronger would she be in a few years… Strong enough to make her weak home a much more valid threat. I had a feeling the other two would also grow to be a much larger problem. Soon, his powerful brother Bee and the ever-loyal Yugito may have rivals.
Sasuke Uchiha and, to a lesser extent, his family member Yuno represented another problem. Not only were Suna, the Leaf, and Taki looking like they were stronger than he had thought. But the Leaf looked to be even more troublesome. Despite their recent failed Coup, the Uchiha clan still has loyal and skilled members. They would return with some level of their former glory in some time. Not to mention, number-wise, the Leafs were dominating the exams.
There was little to be done for now. But it would be interesting to see which enemy would need an eye kept on them. Was the determined Uchiha the potential victor? Or one of the monstrous jinchuriki. A would watch for now, but these exams proved to him that a time of peace may need to end!
"What are your thoughts, you muscle-bound freak?" Onoki asked bitterly. The older man was still sour about his daughter having lost her battle. Onoki doubted she was fully ready but never imagined she would be so thoroughly embarrassed. While A had been musing over the exams, the other had been discussing the battle before them and picking the likely winner.
"That your daughter was crushed by a nobody!" A roared with anger. "Seems the Stone may be the new weakest village."
"Bah! She made a mistake, you fool. Your own are mostly gone as well." Onoki sniped back.
A felt the anger swell at that; truthfully, it annoyed him but bothered him a little. But it was best to let them think him a mindless brute. Before he could sell further, Rasa offered his own opinion.
"We all are doing relatively poorly compared to the Leaf." Rasa admittedly easily. "Luckily, the victor isn't based on the number of men but their skill. Something you shall all see when my son wins these exams."
A wanted to refute such, but as skilled as Samui was, he doubted she could contest with the jinchuriki she would have to fight against. But A could use this. He just needed the other two to do it for him. "When the hell did we agree to have Jinchuriki here anyway?" A added ensuring to sound as incensed as possible. He subtly saw the flinch of Hiruzen and Rasa; they had likely hoped to avoid this argument.
"A fair point; this could be construed as a villainous thing to do." Yagura agreed with a frown and raised brow. "They are often not on the same level as their peers."
"There is no rule regarding the use of them." Rasa countered quickly. "I looked through the rules about these exams myself. It is only discouraged due to the damaged mental state usually held by them. Something I believe all three have shown to be mostly stable."
"Didn't your son kill several during the Trial of Nio?" Mifune asked, confused.
"Killing is part of our job descriptions, samurai." Rasa snapped back.
"To further support my ally and to avoid continuing that conversation," Hiruzen chimed in. "The former point was true: The jinchuriki present are not guilty of anything other than being uniquely skilled. Simply because they are powerful does not mean they are unstoppable."
"Of course, the two guilty of such are defending it." Onoki chimed in with a frown. "My daughter is a skilled and powerful kunoichi. I wonder if she lost only because her opponent was a jinchuriki."
Inwardly, A chuckled at such. In truth, he doubted Naruto Uzumaki's victory had anything to do with the Kyuubi. No, the blonde reminded A of someone…
"A fair point as a jinchuriki myself. I can confirm we are unlikely to lose to just any human." Yagura agreed. This snapped A out of his mind, listening to see if his seeds would bear fruit.
"Certainly, this isn't worthy of discussion," Rasa complained. "It's within the rules, and they have competed reasonably enough. None of them have gone on a rampage. Even if they do, we ARE all Kage here. There are literally armies worth of Jounin and Anbu here. Is there truly any need to be concerned? Hell, Hiruzen even brought some shadowy new unit."
"So you don't mind if we kill your tools if they act out?" A asked savagely. The situation Rasa described could prove valuable in weakening his foes within political confines.
"It seems like an apt solution." Yagura agreed.
"Ehh, seems like a dreadful solution," Onoki complained. "They've caused little harm; we have no right to impede them."
"He is correct." Mifune agreed. "As per agreement during these meetings. No unallowed harm is to fall onto any shinobi. This is a peace-seeking meeting, after all."
"Fine!" A complained. He had expected this wouldn't bear fruit, but at the very least, it caused tension.
Yagura frowned but nodded at this as well.
"I am personally surprised by Fuu's strength," Hiruzen spoke to break the tension around them. "Taki has always survived off their hidden location and supposed secret weapon that fuels their leader. I didn't expect they would produce a jinchuriki this strong."
"Now that you mention it, they haven't had too many battles with it present. It was assumed they kept it hidden due to poor host." Rasa continues. "Perhaps they simply didn't wish to let their true power show. A risky play from a smaller village to risk their best weapon."
"There is no risk; any aggressive movement toward any villagers will have a heavy cost." Mifune interfered seriously. Rasa snorted but was silent at the reminder.
"To think your founder gave away such a powerful beast to such a weak village." A sniped yet again at Hiruzen. " A waste of potential, I'd say."
"Taki is privy to too many things that are wasted with them." Yagura agreed darkly. "Not just the jinchuriki but the Hero's Water as well."
"Say what you wish, but the clever bastards have never been crushed or invaded. Even during the wars." Onoki explained. "They used gorilla warfare to fight, and since we could not find their home, they did so fearlessly. Giving them a beast they should struggle to contain was a small compromise. I'd say the "Last of the Uchiha" is in a fair bit of trouble."
"Power isn't everything." Hiruzen countered plainly. "They are both powerful, but there is a difference."
The others looked at the Hokage questionably.
"Well said Hiruzen." Mifune agreed readily. "Let's see if the former famed Uchiha can show us."