Chapter 402 Long-lost reunion

"More powerful than Admiral Mifune?"

The samurai were extremely surprised. In his mind, Admiral Mifune was already the strongest samurai in the ninja world. Those who could defeat Admiral Mifune were all ninjas at the top of the ninja world, such as Hanzo of the Salamander who had the title of demigod from the Hidden Rain Village, the leaders of the five major ninja villages, and the legendary Three Ninjas.

But Bai Ye looks so young, does he actually have such strength?

Seeing his subordinates showing this expression, the samurai captain shook his head, feeling helpless about his subordinates' reactions. These were common sense that ninjas needed to know, but his subordinates were so surprised.

The Iron Country still communicates too little with the outside world, so it doesn't even know this information.

But the ninja world belongs to ninjas. It is already very difficult for the samurai to defend the Iron Kingdom. Moreover, the existing samurai are, after all, just a group of ninjas holding samurai swords.

Both the tactical system and the way of training samurai are no different from ninjas.

Bai Ye and Yahiko, who were sitting in the carriage, heard the conversation between the samurai team. Bai Ye had nothing to say about these rigid samurai from the Iron Kingdom.

After the establishment of the Ninja Village, the era of samurai came to an end completely, and the country could only protect itself by relying on its status as a neutral country.

When Akatsuki expands further, it will definitely deal with this neutral samurai country.

A few hours later, Bai Ye and his group arrived at the meeting place smoothly. The place where the Five Kage Conference was held was a fortress in the Iron Kingdom. The fortress was extremely steep and was guarded by hundreds of samurai.

Soon, Bai Ye and his group saw Admiral Mifune standing at the gate of the fortress.

Admiral Mifune was wearing armor from the Warring States period, with bandages wrapped around his head. He was a skinny old man who looked like he could be blown down by the wind at any moment.

Bai Ye glanced at Admiral Mifune several times, and memories of Admiral Mifune emerged in his mind.

Admiral Mifune challenged Hanzo of the Salamander when he was young, but he was defeated by Hanzo because of his lack of strength. In the end, he was spared by Hanzo of the Salamander because of his firm belief.

After years of rigorous training, he has acquired the strength of a shadow-level figure.

However, unlike the Five Kage, the Three Ninjas and others, Admiral Mifune's style is similar to Kakashi's father, Konoha White Fang. He is good at using fierce physical techniques to prevent ninjas from having to use ninjutsu.

After seeing Bai Ye and the others, Admiral Mifune immediately came over and said:
"Is it Yahiko, the leader of the Hidden Rain Village? And Byakuya and Konan jonin?"

Yahiko nodded slightly and said to Admiral Mifune, "I am Yahiko. Thank you Admiral Mifune for coming to greet me personally. There is no need for such a grand ceremony."

Admiral Mifune smiled and said, "Captain Yahiko, you are joking. The Hidden Rain Village has come all the way to the Land of Iron to attend the Five Kage Tournament. As the host, I naturally have to give them a good welcome."

"If it weren't for the existence of the Hidden Rain Village and the Akatsuki organization, the northern part of the continent would not be so stable in these years."

Hearing this, Yahiko also started to brag about his business: "This is all thanks to everyone. If everyone does not recognize the Hidden Rain Village and the Akatsuki organization, we will not be able to maintain peace in the north."

"I wonder if Admiral Mifune has any thoughts on joining the Akatsuki organization?"

Admiral Mifune shook his head and said, "The Land of Iron is a neutral country. If it joins the Akatsuki organization, we won't have to mediate the conflicts in the Ninja World. We really have no choice."

After a pause, Admiral Mifune seemed to remember something and asked, "Captain Yahiko, I wonder how Hanzo-sama of your village is doing now?"

Yahiko fell into silence and looked at Bai Ye beside him.

He really didn't know how Hanzo was doing now. He hadn't seen Hanzo for several years, and he didn't know whether he was dead or alive.

Bai Ye took a step forward, looked at Admiral Mifune for a few seconds and said:

"The teacher is in good health. When he left the village, he mentioned you to me. He asked me to ask you if you still have the same faith as before."

After hearing that Hanzo still remembered him, Mifune smiled and said:

"I didn't expect that Master Hanzo would still remember a small person like me. Over the years, I have never forgotten Master Hanzo's teachings. I have always adhered to my own beliefs and reconciled the conflicts between countries as the leader of a neutral country."

Bai Ye stared at Admiral Mifune and said sharply:

"As the leader of a neutral country, I will mediate the conflicts between countries. However, the premise of mediation is that both sides want to negotiate. If a full-scale war breaks out in the ninja world in the future, where will the Iron Kingdom go?"

"Well..." Admiral Mifune didn't know what to say.

Unlike other samurai of the Land of Iron, he has access to a lot of information about the outside world and knows that there is an organization of masked men in the ninja world that hunts tailed beasts.

And Akatsuki is not a true peace organization.

In name, Akatsuki is a subordinate organization of the Hidden Rain Village, but in reality, the Hidden Rain Village is Akatsuki's subordinate organization. Also subordinate organizations to Akatsuki include the Land of Grass, the Land of Hot Spring, the Land of Tung, and the Land of Snow.

The Hidden Mist Village and the Hidden Sand Village also have economic ties with the Akatsuki organization.

The heads of these countries and ninja villages were either supported by Akatsuki or were highly dependent on Akatsuki economically. If all these forces were counted, Akatsuki's strength had surpassed any of the five major ninja villages.

But if Akatsuki wants to truly be among the top five ninja villages, it still needs a war to prove its strength.

He just doesn't know whether Akatsuki's enemy is one of the five major ninja villages, or the masked men's organization that hunts the tailed beasts. Even Byakuya, the leader of Akatsuki, has begun to force him to take sides.

After a long silence, Admiral Mifune said slowly: "The Iron Country is a permanent neutral country. Even if an unprecedented war breaks out in the Ninja World, I will do my best to mediate between the countries and maintain peace in the Ninja World."

Hearing this, Bai Ye suddenly smiled and said, "Admiral Mifune, it seems that you are stronger than the teacher. The teacher has long lost his original beliefs, but you have never changed."

"I am looking forward to your performance in the upcoming Ninja World War."

Hanzo once lost his faith... Admiral Mifune was filled with shock, but what shocked him even more was Bai Ye's prediction of the Ninja World War. He asked in confusion:

"Bai Ye Jonin, are you so sure that the Ninja World War will break out? Is the masked man really qualified to be the leader of the five major ninja villages? Didn't he lose to you? Isn't he a big threat to the five major ninja villages?"

"It is precisely because I understand him that the Ninja World War broke out."

After a pause, Bai Ye continued, "And Admiral Mifune, have you ever thought about one thing? The masked man tried to attack the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki twelve years ago. So many years have passed, it is impossible that he did nothing."

"Perhaps the attack on the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki was a fake, and the real purpose was to bring the Five Kage together."

"Gathering the Five Kage together..."

Admiral Mifune pondered over Bai Ye's words, then chuckled and shook his head, saying: "Bai Ye is still too cautious. How could anyone in the ninja world be a match for the Five Kage?"

Bai Ye spread his hands and didn't care about it:
"I was just saying it casually. Admiral Mifune, please don't take it to heart. I came here this time to find a qualified opponent to spar with. You can just treat me as an ordinary Genin."

"Who dares to treat you as a Genin..." Admiral Mifune complained helplessly in his heart.

Just then, footsteps were heard in the distance, and a group of people from Konoha appeared from the distant road and soon came to Admiral Mifune, Byakuya and others.

The visitors included Tsunade and Jiraiya, as well as Yamato, Kakashi and several other Konoha teams. After seeing the Hokage Tsunade, Admiral Mifune smiled professionally and walked over to greet Tsunade.

Yahiko and Konan looked at Jiraiya and said with a smile: "Long time no see, Jiraiya-sensei, how are you?"

After seeing his two disciples, Yahiko and Konan, Jiraiya was also very happy and said excitedly:

"I have been in good health and recently published a new book."

"If Yahiko is interested, you can take a look, but forget about Konan. The teacher's book is not suitable for girls."

Hearing this, Yahiko and Konan looked a little embarrassed, because they knew the name of the Intimate Paradise.

At this time, Jiraiya noticed that Nagato was not present, and asked in confusion: "Konan, why didn't Nagato come this time? Isn't he coming to participate in the Five Kage Tournament?"

Yahiko nodded and said, "Nagato stays in the village, and his identity is very special. If something unexpected happens outside, the entire ninja world will be in danger."

Jiraiya's face suddenly turned serious:

"That's right. Nagato is the child of prophecy. If anything happens to him, it will not be good news for the ninja world. It's a pity that we didn't get to meet him. I don't know when I can meet him again."

"There will be a chance. After this meeting, why don't you come to the Hidden Rain Village?"

Yahiko and Konan invited Jiraiya.

Jiraiya shook his head and said, "We'll talk about it when the time comes. I don't know if this meeting can produce any results. Even if it does, it will be very difficult to find the trace of the masked man. It's really a troubled time."

"Brother Jiraiya, stop sighing all the time..."

Bai Ye came in front of Jiraiya, patted Jiraiya on the shoulder, and said: "The masked man was defeated by me before. Even if he has developed some new ninjutsu in recent years, he is still not my opponent."

"Brother Bai Ye..."

Looking at Bai Ye beside him, Jiraiya said with a complicated expression:

"I'm not just worried about the masked man, but also Orochimaru. I'm worried that Orochimaru will go further and further down the wrong path."

Seeing Jiraiya falling into depression, Bai Ye spoke to comfort him: "Don't worry, brother Jiraiya, the next time we meet, I will kill Orochimaru directly, and grind his bones to dust. I won't give him the opportunity to make more mistakes."

"Let's just grind them to ashes..."

After being comforted by Byakuya, Jiraiya felt his emotions even more complicated. At most, he wanted to use his iron fist to awaken Orochimaru's love for Konoha, and then let Orochimaru go to the teacher's spirit to admit his mistake.

Bai Ye didn't even spare Orochimaru's soul.

Seeing Jiraiya's awkward expression, Yahiko and Konan hurried over to reminisce with the teacher. After shifting the topic to the past, Byakuya couldn't get a word in and could only go to Kakashi's team.

When Kakashi saw Bai Ye's figure, his heart skipped a beat.

He had just talked with Teacher Kushina a few days ago and knew that Bai Ye was the mastermind hiding behind the masked man, and he might have reached many agreements with the masked man in secret.

When Konoha encountered the Nine-Tails more than ten years ago, Byakuya was lurking in Konoha.

Many subsequent major events in the ninja world have the shadow of Bai Ye. Even this Five Kage Conference may be part of Bai Ye's plan.

Kakashi shuddered at the thought.

Unlike Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura are much more enthusiastic towards Byakuya. The former knows about the agreement between Byakuya and Kushina, while the latter knows nothing and has a fearless spirit.

Walking up to Kakashi, Bai Ye frowned and said, "Strange, where did Sasuke from your team go?"

Sakura replied, "After the Chunin Exams, Sasuke was taken away by Shisui-sama. He said he was going to take Sasuke to receive the Uchiha inheritance. I haven't seen him for some time."

"So that's it..."

Bai Ye nodded, looked at Naruto and said: "Naruto, your aura has stabilized a lot. It seems that you have grown a lot during this period of time. Your strength has surpassed Kakashi."

"Naruto's strength surpasses that of Kakashi-sensei?"

Sakura was very shocked, and then looked at Naruto, who smiled bitterly and said:
"After training under Master Jiraiya, I have reached a reconciliation with the Nine-Tails. With the help of the Nine-Tails' power, I can indeed defeat Master Kakashi, but this cannot be considered my true strength."

"You are the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, so the Nine-Tails' power is naturally your power."

After a pause, Bai Ye continued, "And the power of the Nine-Tails can be said to be an external force, but natural energy can't be considered. I sense the aura of Mount Myoboku on you."

"Lord Bai Ye can see this?" Naruto was also very shocked.

Bai Ye nodded, and then said: "Although I have not learned immortal arts, I have fought with ninjas who have mastered natural energy, so I naturally know the aura of immortal arts."

"With your current strength, you can protect yourself if you encounter a masked man."

When the masked man was mentioned, Kakashi came to Bai Ye as if he had heard a key word. He looked at Bai Ye and said, "Bai Ye, have you found out where the masked man is recently?"

"Not yet, but I think the masked man will show up at the Five Kage Tournament."

"The masked man will appear at the Five Kage Tournament!"

Kakashi's expression changed slightly, and then he said to Bai Ye: "What exactly does the masked man want to do this time? Why does he want to attack the Jinchūriki? Is his goal to provoke a war in the ninja world?"

Kakashi seemed to be asking the masked man, but he was actually asking Bai Ye.

Bai Ye glanced at Kakashi and said calmly:

"I don't know what the masked man is thinking, but after fighting him for so many years, I can roughly guess some of his thoughts."

"He seems to be disappointed with the ninja world for some reason, so he hunts Jinchuriki to take revenge on the five major ninja villages, but only he knows what the purpose of collecting the tailed beasts is."

"If Kakashi wants to know more information, he might as well defeat the masked man to find out the truth. It can also be regarded as a contribution to the ninja world. I don't have the Sharingan, but even if I defeat him, I can't get the truth."

Should I still take action against Obito... Kakashi muttered to himself.

He knew that he would definitely face off against Obito, and in the entire ninja world, he was the only one who could defeat Obito because he possessed another Kamui Sharingan.

But he didn't know what to do after defeating Obito.

(End of this chapter)