Multiversal Wanderer: Starting in Naruto-Chapter 57: The Beginning of the Five Kage Tournament

The water dragons from the Nine Water Dragon Bullet easily ripped through Shamon's defense—an undisputed, clean hit.

"Stop!" shouted Kazekage Reto, his voice loud and abrupt.

Uzumaki Asaoka's eyes narrowed with annoyance. Back when Shamon was provoking him, Reto had said nothing. But now that his golden boy was getting his ass handed to him, the man had the nerve to interfere? No wonder Brother Su Xiuyu always said the ninja world was full of shameless hypocrites—you only earn respect when your fists do the talking.

Ignoring Reto's call, Asaoka locked Shamon inside a Water Prison. The guy was already unconscious, but Asaoka didn't care—he began preparing a sealing technique to keep the loudmouth down and out for the next two days.

Reto misread the situation completely. Thinking Asaoka was going too far, he immediately launched an attack.

"Wind Style: Infinite Sand Breakthrough!"

Reto knew this move could stir up serious consequences. But in his eyes, it didn't matter. Even if Shamon had just lost to Asaoka, he was still Sand Village's most promising young talent—he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

"Tch. Beat the little one, now the big one jumps in," Asaoka muttered, unimpressed.

He clapped his hands together. "Summoning Technique: Kaijuu Fate!"

Boom.

The sky seemed to darken for a second as Fate descended.

Fate was a Level 5 Kaiju, built like a tank with unmatched durability. Not only was its hide thicker than a mountain wall, but the damn thing could fly. When it landed, the ground quaked violently.

Senju Hashirama and Tobirama instantly leapt out of the way, dodging the shockwave from the beast's arrival.

"What the hell kind of summoned beast is that? That thing's massive!"

"Hokage, your guard isn't as simple as he looks!"

"That thing's bigger than the One-Tail! If it didn't lack a tailed beast's chakra signature, I'd have mistaken it for one!"

"Hokage, are you sure this kid's just your guard? With that kind of summoning jutsu, chakra control, and combat skills, he's got the makings of the next Hokage!"

"Hahaha! That's the strength of our village's new generation! Konoha's future is in good hands!" Hashirama beamed with pride, clearly thrilled by Asaoka's performance.

But Tobirama stepped on his foot, hard.

"Ow—what was that for?!" Hashirama shot his brother a wounded look.

Tobirama didn't answer. His expression was complicated. As a Konoha shinobi, the Uzumaki clan's power should've been a blessing—but now that they were getting cozy with the Uchiha clan, Tobirama had mixed feelings. It only strengthened Uchiha Madara's influence in the village, something Tobirama definitely wasn't excited about.

Still, even he had to admit Konoha's power had skyrocketed. He just hoped Madara wouldn't use this to dominate the village.

This was what made Tobirama different from the future Third Hokage—or that twisted bastard Danzo. Tobirama might be cautious around the Uchiha, but he was fair. If he wasn't, Su Xiuyu and Uchiha Madara would've taught him real humility by now.

Back on the battlefield, Reto barely dodged Fate's impact by a hair's breadth. Had he been a second slower, he might've ended up in the hospital—or worse.

Asaoka stood with Shamon's limp body in his arms. Black, tadpole-shaped sealing runes crawled across Shamon's skin, binding both his chakra and physical strength.

"This bastard really thought I was just some weak pushover," Asaoka scoffed.

Reto sighed in relief when he saw that Shamon was still breathing. No fatal injuries. Just sealed up tight. Today had turned into a nightmare—a total loss of face. First, one of his best young shinobi gets steamrolled, and now this summoned beast the size of a damn mountain is blocking the way.

Worse still, Reto's Wind Style move hadn't done jack to Fate's thick hide. Poor Kaiju had basically just been summoned to tank a hit like a living shield, roaring in frustration.

"Kazekage, you don't need to be so tense. He's just unconscious," Asaoka said casually.

He made a few hand signs and tossed Shamon's body back to Reto.

Reto caught him and quickly checked for damage. Nothing life-threatening. But the runes etched across Shamon's body drew his attention.

"What are these? A sealing technique?"

Given the reputation of the Uzumaki clan, it wasn't hard to connect the dots.

"Just a simple chakra seal," Asaoka replied, brushing it off. "He won't be able to fight for the next three days. After that, the seal breaks on its own."

Reto eye twitched. "Young man, you handled things cleanly. This time, we from the Sand Village were in the wrong."

Despite his words, Reto didn't really feel any remorse. It was just lip service.

Asaoka had already accomplished what he came to do, so he didn't bother engaging in any back-and-forth.

"Return, Fate."

With the summoning cancelled, Kaijuu Fate disappeared in a puff of smoke, vanishing into the summoning space. Asaoka didn't even glance back. He just walked straight toward Senju Hashirama.

Reto stood there watching that young figure—his face still boyish, yet his power felt monstrous. A cold jealousy began to stir in Reto chest. He wanted to erase this threat now, while it was still possible—to remove the obstacle for the next generation of Sand shinobi.

But he held back.

Not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't. Not with Senju Hashirama standing right there. Not when he couldn't even guarantee he could kill Asaoka in a single strike.

Sometimes, it's not that your enemy doesn't want you dead—it's just that he physically can't kill you.

The Five Kage Summit hadn't even started yet, and the other Hidden Villages were already feeling like they'd swallowed something nasty. They'd planned to let Konoha and the Sand tear each other apart, sitting back to reap the rewards either way. Instead, it turned into a Konoha showcase—and Sand Village got their pride stomped into the ground.

That night, the mood in the Hidden Villages' camps was gloomy. While Konoha slept peacefully, the other four villages tossed and turned, haunted by thoughts of Uzumaki Asaoka. The kid's performance had struck a nerve, and none of them could shake it off.

What none of them noticed, however, was Uchiha Izuna watching the battle from the shadows. His Mangekyō Sharingan glowed faintly, tracking Asaoka's every move with precision.

--------------

At the large round table sat the Five Kage. The air was tense following yesterday's incident—Sand Village's representative, Shamon, had been soundly defeated by Uzumaki Asaoka. The humiliation made the village a laughingstock, though Reto, the Kazekage, didn't blame Shamon too harshly. Truth be told, Asaoka's strength was overwhelming. He'd beaten Shamon with sheer force, and even Reto had to admit it.

"I believe everyone here understands the purpose of this Five Kage Summit," Tobirama began, his tone direct. "We're here to discuss how to end local conflicts between the great nations and work toward regional peace. Another key issue on the table is the distribution of the nine tailed beasts."

No one questioned why Tobirama was the one speaking. It was no secret that Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, wasn't suited to political negotiations. Letting his younger brother handle it made perfect sense. And frankly, no one here had the authority or nerve to argue with Tobirama. Strength, after all, was what spoke loudest in this world.

"We have no objection to the first matter," someone said. "We've all seen enough war to want peace."

The others nodded in agreement. Reaching a consensus on peace was the easy part. But the second issue—the tailed beasts—was where the real storm was brewing.

"Then let's move on to the matter of the nine tailed beasts," Tobirama said, as if expecting the shift in mood.

It was Ishikawa, the Tsuchikage, who cut straight to the heart of the matter. "My question is for the Hokage. Where exactly are the nine tailed beasts now?"

Tobirama didn't flinch. The other Kage—Raikage, Mizukage, and Kazekage—all looked his way, signaling they too were ready to hear more.

"The tailed beasts are currently in our possession," Tobirama said plainly. "The topic for discussion now is how to distribute them. Of course, any village that wants one will have to pay."

The room fell silent.

That single statement carried a lot of weight. Everyone now knew for certain that Hashirama Senju had captured all nine beasts—and was essentially proposing to sell them. While everyone was aware of Hashirama's reputation as the God of Shinobi, few had witnessed his power firsthand. Those who had lived to talk about it were mostly from Konoha.

But the fact that Hashirama could capture all nine tailed beasts and talk about them like items on a market shelf spoke volumes. It was insane strength. Still, putting a price tag on them? That threw everyone off.

"I object," the First Mizukage said sharply, voice laced with sarcasm. "These beasts are creatures of nature. And now Konoha wants to sell them like property? That seems more than a little unreasonable."

The Kazekage was stunned by the audacity. In his view, it was already generous that Konoha was offering to distribute the tailed beasts at all. But here was the Mizukage, not only questioning it but acting like he deserved one for free. Shameless didn't even begin to describe it.

"What the Mizukage said isn't wrong," the Kazekage added a moment later, turning on a dime. "These creatures aren't your property, so how can you sell them? And asking for a high price on top of that? How convenient for you, Konoha."

The other Kage followed suit. Raikage and Tsuchikage both jumped in, voices raised as they criticized the Hokage, painting themselves as victims—as if the tailed beasts had once been theirs and were stolen away by Konoha.

Within moments, the room erupted into a shouting match, more chaotic than a marketplace.

"Quiet!" Tobirama barked.

The room went still.

"Yes, the tailed beasts are creatures of nature," he said coldly, "but it took significant effort to capture them. If the Mizukage thinks it's so easy, we in Konoha are happy to let you try. Pay us first, and you can handle the capture yourselves."

The Mizukage's face darkened. Tobirama had thrown the sarcasm right back at him. And while the Mizukage wasn't afraid of the challenge, it was obvious it would take time and resources—not to mention lives.

As tempers flared again, the Kage started arguing over specific beasts—before even asking what the prices were.

"We in Konoha only want the Nine-Tails," Tobirama declared. "The other eight beasts? You can negotiate among yourselves."

That statement sparked immediate outrage.

"Why does Konoha get the strongest beast?" the First Raikage demanded. "That's not fair!"

The Tsuchikage joined in. "Exactly! You're claiming the Nine-Tails before we've even started real discussions. Do you think we're all fools?!"

Tobirama's frown deepened. He had expected this pushback, but that didn't mean he liked it. They were all here chasing their own interests, and yet they had the nerve to cry about fairness and justice?

What a joke.

He couldn't call them out directly for their hypocrisy, though. Not now.

If only Uchiha Madara were here, he thought bitterly. Madara would've summoned his Susanoo by now and put every single one of these clowns in their place. They'd be groveling like dogs. But no—his brother had to be a soft-hearted fool.

"You're welcome to discuss among yourselves," Tobirama said with a biting tone, "but the Nine-Tails is Konoha's bottom line. And let me remind you—none of you have even mentioned monetary compensation yet. It seems you're not that interested in the tailed beasts after all. If that's the case, we can just keep them."

The message was clear: stop playing games. Either pay or shut up.

"Hmph! Konoha clearly isn't sincere about peace. Then forget it! If it's war, so be it!" the Tsuchikage snapped.

"The Land of Earth fears no war!" the Raikage growled. "If it comes to battle, we'll meet you on the field!"

"Since no one here is negotiating in good faith, there's no need to keep talking!"

As tensions reached a boiling point, Hashirama finally stood, his voice desperate.

"Please—everyone, I beg you. For the sake of peace, don't be so impulsive!" His tone was raw. "We've all crawled through blood and corpses to get here. I know I have. That's why I know peace is priceless. Please... don't throw it away."

The four Kage stared at him—this man, a legend, now bowing his head for the sake of the future. For a moment, something shifted in the room.

Even the hardest among them were briefly moved by Hashirama Senju's humility.

Tobirama watched the scene silently, conflicted. His brother's idealism frustrated him, yet he couldn't bring himself to stop him.

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