After the funeral, the five Kage gathered in Hidden Leaf Village convened a new Five Kage Summit.
The atmosphere at the meeting was heavy.
The four Kage, who had initially planned to hold Hidden Leaf accountable, saw the village's devastating losses from the Akatsuki's assault and set aside their grievances.
This battle had proven Hidden Leaf's innocence.
"Those Akatsuki bastards are far too arrogant!" the Fourth Raikage's gruff voice broke the silence in the meeting room.
The Third Tsuchikage followed, "The failure of our raid on the Akatsuki shows there's a mole among us. They've been tracking our every move!"
The Fourth Kazekage nodded. "Their ability to strike Hidden Leaf at this precise moment proves they knew our movements."
The Third Hokage silently puffed on his pipe.
He had considered this possibility.
The departure of Tsunade and Jiraiya with elite forces was a closely guarded secret, known only to a small circle beyond those on the mission. Tracking down the leak wouldn't be difficult.
The Fourth Mizukage, face darkened, said, "I just received word from my village. Our Six-Tails Jinchūriki has been confirmed missing for three days."
"Damn it!" the Fourth Raikage roared, bam, slamming his fist on the table.
The other Kage's expressions shifted.
In the current climate, a Jinchūriki missing for three days almost certainly meant they'd been attacked and captured by the Akatsuki.
The thought that the Akatsuki had not only used Hidden Rain Village to toy with the allied shinobi forces but also simultaneously attacked the Jinchūriki of Hidden Leaf, Hidden Mist, and Hidden Waterfall filled the Kage with rage at their audacity.
Indeed, just yesterday, the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki, Maple, had arrived in Hidden Leaf, exhausted, and informed the village of the attack by Akatsuki members Itachi and Jūzō Biwa on Hidden Waterfall Village.
The Third Hokage said, "Fortunately, the Nine-Tails and Seven-Tails Jinchūriki are safe."
His words slightly eased the oppressive atmosphere in the room.
The Third Tsuchikage, thinking of something, asked, "Hiruzen Sarutobi, did your village's kid really kill an Akatsuki member?"
"Mm," the Third Hokage nodded lightly.
The Fourth Mizukage also turned to him. "I heard the deceased was Kurosuki Raiga, one of our former Seven Ninja Swordsmen? And his ninja blade, Fang, was seized by Hidden Leaf?"
The Third Hokage clapped his hands. "Bring it up!"
Instantly, a Hidden Leaf Anbu entered with a large tray, on which rested the twin blades Fang, one of Hidden Mist's seven ninja blades.
Seeing Hidden Leaf display Kurosuki Raiga's weapon, the Kage no longer doubted that the village had indeed killed an Akatsuki member.
The Fourth Mizukage's gaze lingered on Fang, as if choosing his words.
But before he could speak, the Third Hokage said, "These twin blades Fang belong to Hidden Mist. On behalf of Hidden Leaf, I return them as they were."
The Fourth Mizukage was momentarily stunned, then expressed gratitude. "On behalf of Hidden Mist, I thank Hidden Leaf for its goodwill!"
If the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were Hidden Mist's calling card in the shinobi world, the seven ninja blades were the titles on that card.
Thus, Hidden Mist had always been dedicated to recovering lost blades.
Among them, the Decapitating Carving Knife taken by Jūzō Biwa, a former Seven Ninja Swordsman who joined the Akatsuki, and the Thunder Blade taken by Kurosuki Raiga were top priorities for retrieval.
The Third Tsuchikage, uninterested in the blades, spoke up after the Fourth Mizukage. "What about Kurosuki Raiga's body? With Hidden Leaf's methods, you should've extracted some intel from it, right?"
The Third Hokage sighed. "We did recover Kurosuki Raiga's body, but he used a self-destructing ninjutsu before dying, severely damaging it. Our intelligence team tried many methods but couldn't extract any information."
At this, the Kage's faces darkened.
If they could have probed Kurosuki Raiga's brain for the Akatsuki's new stronghold, the five great shinobi villages could have launched a rescue operation to save the Four-Tails, Five-Tails, and the newly captured Six-Tails Jinchūriki.
The Fourth Kazekage said, "Regardless, we've taken down one Akatsuki member. That's something!"
The Fourth Mizukage asked, "Was it really Uchiha Shinji alone who defeated Kurosuki Raiga?"
…
In another meeting room...
Hidden Leaf's leadership was also reviewing the recent battle.
After reviewing the intelligence team's compiled reports, Tsunade asked a question similar to the Fourth Mizukage's. "Shinji alone defeated Kurosuki Raiga?"
An intelligence team shinobi confirmed, "Yes, there were many witnesses."
Kakashi, a witness himself, added, "Indeed, I was there."
Shizune asked, "How strong was this Kurosuki Raiga?"
Kakashi replied, "Not as strong as Hiruko, but as a former member of Hidden Mist's Seven Ninja Swordsmen, his strength is undeniable. When I tried to ambush Hiruko, it was Kurosuki Raiga who intercepted and injured me."
Shizune's brow furrowed.
If Kurosuki Raiga could injure Kakashi, he was no weakling.
Yet such a formidable opponent had been defeated by Uchiha Shinji, a mere ninja academy student. Though she knew Shinji was a genius, it was still hard to accept.
Jiraiya said, "During the Third Great Ninja War, Hidden Mist's Seven Ninja Swordsmen faced Might Dai. Only three of the seven escaped. Kurosuki Raiga was one of them. Surviving Might Dai after he opened the Eight Gates Formation means his strength wasn't weak."
Now, not just Shizune but many other leaders were shocked that Shinji had defeated Kurosuki Raiga.
Reflecting on Shinji's battle with Kurosuki Raiga, Kakashi harbored more doubts than the others.
Because only he knew that, strictly speaking, Shinji hadn't fought one-on-one but had taken on both Kurosuki Raiga and Hiruko alone.
However, with many Hidden Leaf shinobi on the battlefield and Hiruko's swift retreat after Kurosuki Raiga's death, the battle had ended abruptly. Thus, the intelligence team hadn't documented the shocking fact that Shinji had single-handedly faced two Akatsuki members.
After the meeting...
Kakashi, preoccupied with his thoughts, sought out Sasuke.
Sasuke, training at the practice field, said impatiently, "What now?"
Kakashi's face was serious. "Sasuke, I have a question you must answer directly! Is Shinji also part of your organization?"
Sasuke looked confused. "What?"