Chapter 291: Long Time No See
"Does anyone have anything to add?"
The conference room remained silent.
Onoki studied the lines covering the defensive map.
The position of every watchtower, the direction of every supply route, and even the territorial divisions assigned to each village had all been marked clearly.
He tried to find a flaw in the deployment.
After searching for a long time, he couldn't discover even half an opening.
Onoki looked again at Kitahara Kaede's excessively young face.
What was wrong with this brat?
The First Hokage's Wood Release combined with flawless military planning...
When had Konoha raised a monster like this?
An indescribable frustration blocked his chest, accompanied by an even stronger sense of helpless admiration.
Today's negotiation had truly been led by the nose by a young man.
Onoki sighed inwardly.
Forget it.
He was the first to break the silence.
"Iwa has no objections. We will execute Konoha's plan."
His voice remained flat, but Ay, seated nearby, could hear the dryness hidden within it.
Ay had no desire to mock the old man.
The situation was stronger than any individual.
"Kumogakure has no objections either."
Rasa had spoken very little from beginning to end.
As Kazekage, he understood his village's current position.
Sunagakure's foundation was too weak. They possessed no leverage for bargaining.
Following Konoha's pace was the most practical choice.
He nodded without expression.
"Sunagakure agrees."
Minato observed the reactions of the three Kage, and the corners of his lips rose slightly.
He stood and finalized the decision.
"Since no one objects, the general framework of the joint defense is formally established."
"Every village will immediately send word to its headquarters and mobilize its main forces toward Konoha."
As soon as he finished, a dark figure silently appeared beside him.
A Konoha ANBU knelt on one knee and lowered his voice.
"Hokage-sama, delegations from the large, medium, and small Ninja Villages have arrived. They are currently waiting outside Konoha's gate."
Minato nodded and gestured for the ANBU to withdraw.
Kaede rose as well and looked toward him.
"Since everyone has arrived, I'll construct the remaining three allied encampments now."
His tone was casual, as though he were merely going to move several chairs.
The center of Onoki's brow twitched violently.
A single encampment had already left him deeply unsettled. Now the young man intended to produce three more at once?
Kaede ignored the complicated expressions on the Kage's faces.
"Leaving this many foreign shinobi crowded outside the gate will cause trouble if it continues for too long."
Minato nodded.
"Go. Leave matters here to me."
The meeting ended.
Chair legs scraped against the floor one after another.
The Kage began leaving the room.
In the corridor, Mei walked among the group at an unhurried pace.
Her gaze remained fixed on Kaede ahead.
Since the previous meeting, Kaede had somehow stopped deliberately avoiding her.
He greeted her when they met.
If she occasionally approached and spoke to him, he no longer stepped backward.
But what did that amount to?
The corners of Mei's lips turned slightly downward.
This level of contact was far less than before and nowhere near enough for her.
Kaede deliberately slowed.
When Mei reached his side, he turned and casually asked,
"What are you doing next?"
The dissatisfaction in Mei's heart instantly disappeared.
She smiled faintly.
"I plan to help Hokage-sama receive the other villages' delegations. Kirigakure is also a member of the allied forces, after all."
Kaede nodded.
Mei's eyes shifted as she moved half a step closer.
"And you? After finishing the remaining three encampments, do you have any other plans?"
Her tone was light, as though she were only asking casually.
Warning bells rang in Kaede's heart.
He and Tsunade had arranged for her to come to his house for dinner tonight.
It would be her first visit.
For that reason, he had deliberately cleaned the entire house yesterday.
But how could he tell Mei the truth?
Without the slightest movement in his expression, he answered directly.
"After constructing the encampments, I still need to verify the new personnel lists sent by every village. I don't know how late I'll be working."
Mei didn't frown as she normally would.
She nodded with exceptional obedience.
"Then focus on your work, but don't exhaust yourself."
Kaede released a long breath inwardly.
Mei was unusually easy to deal with today.
They descended the stairs and separated outside the Hokage Building.
Mei remained where she was and watched Kaede disappear around the street corner.
The obedient curve of her lips gradually faded.
In its place appeared an unreadable smile.
She had failed to arrange time with him, but that didn't matter.
She had a more important plan now.
...
Outside Konoha's gate, delegations from various medium and small Ninja Villages crowded both sides of the official road.
They carried their villages' flags, and noisy voices mixed with footsteps into complete disorder.
Kusagakure shinobi shouted for the official responsible for receiving them.
Takigakure's delegation had become packed together with people from Yugakure. Both groups inspected the other's forehead protectors with wary eyes.
Konoha's ANBU moved through the crowd, attempting to maintain order.
But there were too many people for them to manage at once.
Mei entered the crowd with two Kirigakure guards.
The authority surrounding her caused the packed people nearby to unconsciously open a path.
She didn't exchange pleasantries with the representatives of the smaller villages.
Her gaze rapidly swept across the crowd.
It passed several unfamiliar faces and a few arguing shinobi.
Soon, she locked onto one particular delegation.
They wore matching Amegakure forehead protectors and gray uniforms.
A young woman with blue hair stood at the front.
Her face was cool and detached, with purple eye shadow extending slightly upward at the corners.
She watched the surrounding chaos indifferently, as though none of it concerned her.
Konan.
Mei's gaze passed over her and settled on another person beside her.
The woman had straight black hair cut in a neat princess style.
Her figure was slender, her arms crossed over her chest, and she appeared equally uninterested in the surrounding noise.
Pakura.
The corners of Mei's lips rose.
She walked calmly through the crowd toward Amegakure's delegation.
Pakura stood in place, feeling somewhat irritated.
She had secretly hoped to see Kaede waiting at the gate when she arrived in Konoha.
After looking around, she understood that he was now one of Konoha's senior officials and was probably too busy to receive delegations.
Just as boredom began settling over her, footsteps stopped several paces away.
Pakura turned her head.
Mei wore a smile whose depth was impossible to read.
Her beautiful eyes curved as her red lips parted.
"Pakura, long time no see."
Pakura raised her brows slightly when Mei approached her directly.
Their gazes met amid the noisy crowd.