"Are... are you joking?"
"How is such a thing possible?"
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about?"
"I won't agree to this regardless!"
"This is just sheer madness!"
After the silence, it was as if a stone had been cast into water, creating a thousand ripples.
Voices of doubt and opposition rose one after another.
"This old man also feels that this is somewhat inappropriate..." Onoki also expressed his opposition euphemistically.
"This is simply impossible! Our Hidden Mist Village will not agree!" Mei Terumi, who was already somewhat emotional, spoke out in direct opposition.
If they truly did as the other party requested... wouldn't their own hidden village be subservient to others? Bound by them?
"Ahem." Lexon coughed slightly, suppressing all the noise in the room.
Everyone stopped talking and focused their gaze on him.
"I am not saying this to seek your consent; I am merely informing you." Under everyone's gaze, Lexon spoke these words calmly.
"Even if you slaughter all of us here, you won't be able to..." Mei Terumi stood up and slammed the table, her face full of rage.
But before she could finish, she was interrupted by Lexon.
"Your villages are already under control." Lexon took out a communicator connected to Orochimaru, checked it, and said.
"What?" Upon hearing Lexon's words, Mei Terumi's expression froze instantly.
"Are you joking? Uchiha Lexon..." Onoki also looked at Lexon with a solemn expression and asked.
"I am not," Lexon replied while putting away the communicator. "If you don't believe me, you can go back and check now. I won't stop you."
"But..." Mei Terumi wanted to say something more.
"There are no 'buts'; this is a fact." Lexon said leisurely, his hand supporting his chin on the round table.
Mei Terumi fell silent.
"And to the Kage of the other hidden villages..." Lexon looked at the many Kage of the smaller hidden villages. "Some of you should have witnessed my power... why don't you tell those beside you about it?"
Hearing this, the pupils of some of the Kage standing in the meeting room couldn't help but shrink.
They seemed to recall unpleasant memories.
"Grandpa..." Kurotsuchi, standing behind Onoki, couldn't help but speak up, wanting to ask for her grandfather's opinion on the next course of action.
She herself absolutely would not agree to such an unreasonable demand.
But Kitsuchi, who was on the other side, reached out to stop her, preventing her from disturbing Onoki's thoughts.
"Hokage and Raikage... don't you plan to say anything? Do you actually agree with Uchiha Lexon's words... to unite all the hidden villages into one?" Onoki asked Sarutobi Hiruzen and Ay seriously.
"Just as Lexon said, whether we agree or not makes no difference," Sarutobi Hiruzen replied in an aged voice.
"True, Uchiha Lexon is from your Konoha. Konoha will surely benefit," Onoki said with a grim face.
"Old man, agreeing to this won't do us any harm," Raikage Ay said to Onoki.
These words clearly indicated that the Hidden Cloud Village supported this decision.
"You should have been the one with the most fierce opposition..." Onoki gave him a deep look.
"Hmph..." Raikage Ay snorted and avoided Onoki's gaze.
Having witnessed Lexon's power and been spared once, Ay naturally agreed with Lexon's ideas.
"The purpose of having you here today is just to see if you will cooperate," Lexon said. "Those who do not cooperate will be treated just like I treated Rasa."
His voice was indifferent and calm, yet it sent a chill to the heart.
Treat them like Rasa?
Turning a ninja into an ordinary person who cannot use ninjutsu and has lost their chakra?
Such a punishment...
"Tsuchikage..." Mei Terumi looked towards Onoki, wanting to see the reaction of this old man who temporarily shared the same opinion.
Then she discovered that Onoki actually broke into a smile and said to that Uchiha Lexon, "Our Hidden Stone Village will, of course, be very cooperative."
"Tsuchikage... you!" Mei Terumi didn't even know what to say.
"This old man has lived long enough to naturally understand the principle of not striking a stone with an egg," Onoki said while stroking his beard.
He didn't feel bad at all about his flip-flopping behavior.
"A wise choice," Lexon said leisurely, then shifted his gaze to Mei Terumi and asked, "So, what about you?"
"A union of hidden villages... the Daimyos of each country won't just stand by..."
"They will agree."
"..."
Under the gaze of Lexon, Mei Terumi's facial expression changed for a while before she slightly lowered her head and said dejectedly, "Our Hidden Mist Village will also cooperate..."
Of the Five Great Hidden Villages... Konoha, Cloud, and Stone had all chosen to cooperate...
That only left the Sand and the Mist...
But seeing Rasa's lack of rebuttal, it seemed he had also given his tacit consent.
Then only the Mist remained...
Mei Terumi, under such pressure, could only agree.
Moreover, if it were truly as the other party claimed...
If the hidden villages were already under his control, then whether these Kage agreed or not didn't really matter anymore.
Keeping them now was likely for the sake of governing the hidden villages more easily.
'Sigh... so annoying... I haven't even been Mizukage for that long and I'm encountering this kind of mess... it's really making me unhappy...'
Mei Terumi's cheeks puffed out slightly as she sat back down in a huff.
After the Kage of the Five Great Hidden Villages basically chose to cooperate, most of the smaller hidden villages in the meeting room also followed suit.
After all, the demands proposed by the other party were actually beneficial to the small hidden villages.
They had mostly been surviving precariously in the gaps between the great hidden villages.
No matter what, the situation after the union wouldn't be much worse than it was now...
"Good, it seems everyone is quite cooperative." Lexon gave a smile to the various Kage in the meeting room, then stood up and walked toward the exit.
"Where are you going?" Mei Terumi was a bit dazed seeing his behavior.
What was he doing? Leaving right after saying his piece?
Wasn't there anything else to explain?
For example, what would happen after the union... what they should be doing...
He had to say something, right?
"Going home... what else would I do?" Lexon looked at her with a puzzled gaze when Mei Terumi called out to stop him.
"..." Mei Terumi was choked up by this answer, not knowing what to say.
"After Lexon leaves, I will be the one to tell you about what needs to be done..." At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke up.
"Then I'll leave it to the Hokage," Onoki said.
Just now, he had also been a bit bewildered to see Uchiha Lexon leave so suddenly.
"Leave it to our Lord Hokage. I'm off." Lexon waved his hand and continued walking out of the meeting room.
His remaining tasks were now completed.
Now, this conflict-ridden territory was also under his control.
He believed that this world of ninjutsu would have some surprising developments once the conflicts decreased...
Lastly, there was the promise with the three genin.
Lexon thought about it while walking toward Naruto's apartment.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]