Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Amid a flurry of air-breaking sounds, teams of ninja wearing Hidden Stone Village headbands landed in the ravaged valley.
Leading them was none other than Loess, the son of the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki.
After receiving reports of Akatsuki members infiltrating the Land of Earth, the Hidden Stone Village had acted swiftly, dispatching a large force to support the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Roshi, and the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, Han.
The Akatsuki's intent to hunt Tailed Beasts was no secret.
It was almost certain that their infiltration targeted the Four-Tails and Five-Tails.
Surveying the devastated battlefield, Loess's face darkened. "Too late…"
Whoosh.
A Hidden Stone Anbu landed beside him, reporting, "Sir, the intelligence unit has analyzed the battlefield. Three individuals fought here—Roshi-sama and likely two Akatsuki members."
Loess asked, "Any trace of Roshi?"
The Anbu shook his head. "No sign of Roshi-sama. The intelligence unit suspects he was defeated and taken by the Akatsuki."
Loess's eye twitched.
The worst-case scenario had come to pass.
When the war in the Land of Grass broke out, the Hidden Stone Village had placed Roshi and Han under strict protection.
But as the Akatsuki went quiet after the war, the stubborn Jinchuriki, who were at odds with Onoki, gradually broke free from the village's tight oversight.
To ensure their safety, the village had assigned guards, but as time passed and the Akatsuki remained dormant, Roshi and Han—both striving to become perfect Jinchuriki—willfully evaded surveillance to train on their own.
With no incidents over time, the Hidden Stone had slightly lowered its guard.
They hadn't expected the Akatsuki to strike so swiftly, capturing Roshi, the village's second-strongest asset after the Third Tsuchikage, before reinforcements could arrive.
Suppressing his scattered thoughts, Loess ordered, "Follow the tracks and pursue them. We must rescue him!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Anbu responded.
Elsewhere.
A ninja force led by the Third Tsuchikage himself arrived at the battlefield where Moryo had fought the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, Han.
Hovering in the air, Onoki's face was grim as he surveyed the scene below, though he didn't let anger cloud his judgment.
"From the battlefield's traces, Han likely fully transformed into his Tailed Beast. If he sustained it briefly, he should've been able to hold out…"
Reaching this conclusion, Onoki's expression grew heavier.
Though the Hidden Stone's two Jinchuriki weren't perfect like the Hidden Cloud's, they could achieve brief tailed-beast transformations.
During these moments, their strength rivaled Killer Bee's.
Yet, even so, Han had been defeated and captured by the Akatsuki, underscoring their formidable power.
"This isn't an enemy the Hidden Stone can face alone. I'll have to swallow my pride and seek aid from the other villages."
Muttering to himself, Onoki landed and ordered the communications team to urgently relay news of the attack and the loss of the Jinchuriki to the other ninja villages.
Hidden Leaf Village.
After defeating Sasuke, Shinji's days returned to calm. Both eager challengers and the village's probing had quieted down.
Thus, he left a shadow clone behind and slipped out of the village.
While his shadow clone studied medical ninjutsu texts in his apartment, whoosh—an Anbu appeared on his balcony, saying politely, "The Hokage has called a high-level meeting. Please head to the Hokage Building immediately!"
"Understood."
Shinji nodded.
This was one of his privileges as First Chair: the right to attend high-level meetings.
And in the entire ninja academy, he alone held this privilege!
Soon, Shinji arrived at the meeting room in the Hokage Building.
Unlike before, he no longer had to sit behind Koharu Utatane in the observer's seat. Now, he could sit at the main table alongside department heads.
Once all attendees were present, the meeting began.
The Third Hokage shared the Hidden Stone's request for aid received by the communications team, then scanned the room with a serious gaze. "What are your thoughts on this?"
"Both the Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchuriki attacked at the same time? What's the Hidden Stone doing?"
Koharu Utatane was incredulous.
"Seriously, how could the Hidden Stone be so careless?"
"The Akatsuki's active again?"
"Didn't the Hidden Stone assign protection for their Jinchuriki?"
Not just Koharu, but others were equally baffled.
The Akatsuki's pursuit of the villages' Tailed Beasts was public knowledge, yet the Hidden Stone had allowed both of its Jinchuriki to be attacked simultaneously—an almost unthinkable blunder.
The Third cleared his throat. "The Hidden Stone's mishandling isn't the focus of today's meeting. We need to discuss how to respond to this."
Tsunade asked, "Who did the Akatsuki send?"
A communications ninja replied, "According to the Hidden Stone's report, the Akatsuki operated in pairs, with two teams striking in the southern and northern Land of Earth. The team that attacked the Four-Tails Jinchuriki in the south is suspected to include Uchiha Itachi and Juzo Biwa. The identities of the two who attacked the Five-Tails Jinchuriki in the north are currently unknown."
"Uchiha Itachi…"
The room's atmosphere shifted, with many sneaking glances at Shinji.
Tsunade frowned. "This complicates things."
If it were other Akatsuki members, the Hidden Leaf could deflect responsibility. But Itachi, a Leaf traitor, capturing the Four-Tails Jinchuriki put the village in a difficult position.
Kakashi said, "If we dispatch aid immediately and the Hidden Stone can stall the Akatsuki members in their territory, there's still a chance to rescue both Jinchuriki."
Mitokado Homura asked, "Can we make it in time?"
The Third Hokage declared, "We have to try, regardless. We can't let the Akatsuki claim the Four-Tails and Five-Tails so easily!"
The Third thought further ahead.
If both the Four-Tails and Five-Tails were lost, the Hidden Stone would no longer be a target for the Akatsuki. Knowing Onoki's cunning, they might slack off in future efforts against the Akatsuki.