Naruto: Kage of Kages

“Our element of surprise is gone, the enemy knows we are coming and they have made thorough preparations. Most of our elite forces were brought here to end the battle in a single assault, leaving our villages vulnerable.” The Tsuchikage elucidated the situation.

“Are you suggesting retreat, Onoki!?” The Raikage ragingly questioned.

“I am suggesting . . . That we consider our options. And perhaps reconsider our plan of attack.” The Tsuchikage calmly responded.

“Hmph.” Ay Senior just snorted.

“Abandoning the attack now leaves us with no explanation to give regarding this tremendous expense in lives and resources not to mention our trump card remains unplayed, we merely need to get to the gates of Uzushio.” The Mizukage commented from the side.

While it did not ease the tensions between the other two much, it did force them to mull over the situation again instead of antagonizing each other.

“At this point. A mass attack is unfeasible, our numbers were depleted too much and morale is low.” Onoki asserted.

The Raikage grumbled in complaint but did not argue.

“Let the lightly injured Jonin lead the survivors back with the remaining ships. At this point, we can only rely on penetrating strike using our elite forces, banking on our hidden ally to hold up their end of the bargain.” The Mizukage suggested.

“This still leaves our villages underdefended without enough high level combat power. While the Land of Water is less likely to be targeted and more easily defensible, it is not the same for my Land of Earth.” Onoki countered.

“Same for my Land of Lightning. We need to send a few true elites back to secure the homefront now that our guarantees are gone.” The Raikage proposed, showing he was far more than the muscle bound idiot he looked to be.

“Kitsuchi and Roshi will accompany the retreating forces of my Iwagakure.” The Tsuchikage firmly decided.

‘His heir and the jinchuriki of the Four Tails. Onoki is hedging his bets already. His confidence in this assault is waning.’ The Mizukage immediately concluded, his thoughts pretty much echoed by the Raikage as well.

“Then Zee and Blue Bee will be the ones from my side.” Unwilling to cede any advantage to the Tsuchikage, Ay Senior chose to send his cousin and currently most outstanding heir along with the jinchuriki of the Eight Tails.

“This will severely hurt our chances of success in this assault.” The Mizukage cautioned but the other two did not even acknowledge it.

After all, they knew what the Mizukage’s real issue with the situation was.

Even if the man wanted to, he could not do the same.

The Third Mizukage’s hold on his village was nowhere near as stable as the other two’s and it was entirely based on the man’s power and deterrence.

Once, he had been a close aide and bodyguard of the First Mizukage, someone who saw the glory and horror of monsters like Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara firsthand.

After the First’s death, he fully expected to take over Kiri’s leadership but the up and coming Hozuki Gengetsu was far more popular and edged him out on prowess as well.

After Gengetsu perished in the first war, his arch-rival Mu, the Second Tsuchikage falling along with him, the now Third Mizukage finally managed to take his seat though in a rather violent way.

Shiki liked to describe the man as a successful Danzo.

Overly hawkish in his policies, too paranoid, overreliant on intimidation and the deterring power of violence and very keen on ruining his own village’s future through very stupid decisions aimed at maintaining or securing power and authority for himself.

Though Kirigakure was not yet known as the Bloody Mist, the policies that created that reputation started with the reign of the Third Mizukage.

Namely, his suppression of the Kekkei Genkai clans as a threat to his power marked the beginning.

The second in command he brought with him to Uzu, the Land of Whirlpools, was Hozuki Shingetsu, a shinobi from the same clan as the Second Mizukage . . .

And his greatest contender for the position of Mizukage and the representative of the faction he had ruthlessly suppressed when he took power.

As a form of appeasement, the Third Mizukage appointed Shingetsu to lead the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen, promising the position would remain in the hands of the Hozuki clan so long as they could produce a worthy candidate.

Not only that, due to the faction behind him still holding considerable pull, Shingetsu had become a sort of second in command within Kiri and, should the Third die, he would take over as the Fourth.

The Third Mizukage did not dare to leave Shingetsu behind in Kiri while he himself was away, nor did he dare to send him back.

It would be like begging for a coup to take place.

On top of all of this, there was the matter of jinchuriki.

The world had, at this point, yet to know a Perfect Jinchuuriki.

Kumo’s current Two Tailed Jinchuriki was closest to it, not in perfect harmony with her Tailed Beast but capable of expertly wielding all of its power, even a full Tailed Beast Transformation, without going berserk.

While in the future, Iwa’s two jinchuriki, Roshi and Han would also reach this level, they were not there yet, being limited to the Version Two Cloak.

Kumo’s Eight Tailed Jinchuriki, as the host to the second most powerful Tailed BEast, had trouble with maintaining control but could, semi-reliable tap into Version Two as well.

Kiri’s jinchuriki however, were an entirely different matter.

The Six Tails was used in the capacity of a bomb, sealing in a random low level shinobi, tossed into the battlefield and unleashed at the cost of its host’s life, only to be recaptured and sealed inside a new jinchuriki once the fighting was done.

As for the Three Tails, it was only marginally better.

Its jinchuriki could not control its power at all but could reign it in after a rampage though each instance shaved years of his life.

Kiri used him as a sort of expendable resource. A reusable, more controllable bomb than the unreliable Six Tails.

Sending either of those two bombs back without himself being there to subdue them in case they went out of control, might just increase the risk for Kiri instead of being a safeguard like it was for Iwa and Kumo.

‘I can’t send Shingetsu back. I’m confident I can escape with my life if things go sideways as well however . . . retrieving an out of control jinchuriki at the same time? Impossible.’ The Mizukage thought to himself.

‘If the jinchuriki are both lost Kiri will no longer have the face or standing to call itself one of the Five Great Hidden Villages. At that point, Taki with the Eight Tails might take the position from us.’

‘Unleashing the Six Tails completely at the cost of its host might put it in danger of being sealed and neutralized by the Uzumaki, retrieving it after a loss would be impossible as well.’

‘The Three Tails however, that waste can still endure and might even be able to pull it back in, allowing me to collect him as I retreat . . .’

As the Mizukage mulled over his situation under the gazes of his fellow Kage, pleased to see their supposed ally in such a predicament, within Uzushio, Shiki gave his report on the situation from his perspective.

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