Chapter 478: Rescuing the Big Cat
While the new system in Konoha was gradually being unveiled, the "Five Mountain Sword Sects Alliance Plan" was also set in motion.
First and foremost, the alliance had to be established.
Considering that Ino had too many enemies in the Mist Village, Jiraiya sent Kakashi and Team 7 to meet with Mei Terumī. Ino, on the other hand, took Konohamaru and his team to meet with the siblings Temari and Kankurō.
First, they would win over the two half-crippled villages, and then they would have the leverage to persuade the Cloud and the Rock.
The Sand Village's forces were now split into three parts.
Baki and some of the neutral faction remained in the original Sand Village.
The pro-Konoha siblings, Temari and Kankurō, were stationed in the Land of Rivers.
The Sand elders and some of their ninja had been taken under the protection of the Rock Village.
Even the domineering Rock Village couldn't just absorb the Sand ninja who had sought refuge. Their own pie was only so big; if the Third Tsuchikage dared to share their interests, his own people would surely rebel.
"Join Konoha? Absolutely not! Even if only one Sand ninja remains, we will not abandon our pride. We would rather die than surrender. You don't need to say any more. The sea of sand is our home," Temari said resolutely.
Ino signaled for her to calm down. "It's not about joining Konoha, but about forming a grand alliance of the ninja world with Konoha."
Temari pressed, "An alliance? An alliance against whom?"
Against Shaolin and Wudang, of course!
Ino spoke with great solemnity. "Against Akatsuki, of course! I have intelligence that the Rock Village's Five-Tails jinchuriki, Han, has gone missing. Witnesses claim that the Steam Ninja was defeated and abducted by Akatsuki members. They are capturing the jinchuriki. Think about Gaara's situation; he is in great danger right now. We need to unite and see if we can rescue him."
Gaara didn't need rescuing at all; he was perfectly free. But when dealing with the somewhat doting older sister, Temari, this was what had to be said.
One Akatsuki was a bit thin. Ino added, "This involves the Fifth Hokage's privacy, so I didn't want to say it, but since we're friends... there's actually another organization hiding in the shadows, plotting against the ninja world. They've recruited the Fifth Hokage's illegitimate son, and their strength is also formidable."
The cruelty of war had hit the Sand Village hard. They truly didn't have the strength to participate in another great war.
With their small, defeated force, they also lacked the confidence to face such powerful organizations.
The alliance was a good excuse to latch onto a powerful ally.
Temari thought for more than ten minutes. "If Master Baki also agrees, we can join the alliance."
Persuading Baki was not difficult.
The Sand ninja were on the verge of being removed from the ranks of the five great villages. From top to bottom, whether they were ambitious or not, everyone wanted to see the divided village become whole again. Even if the internal rifts were huge, it didn't matter.
Ino's plan to pull them into a "Five-Village Alliance" allowed them to suppress their internal disputes to some extent. Internally, they were divided and hostile, but externally, they could at least present themselves as a single entity.
The current political struggle in the Sand Village was no less intense than the conflict between the Qi and Sword factions. Faced with the immense threats of Akatsuki and the Kara Organization, their choices were limited.
Ino had already planned it. When it was time for the "Five Mountain Sword Sects Alliance," the first to be dealt with would be the internally chaotic "Western Peak," the Sand Village.
The Sand Village agreed to join the great alliance of the ninja world and to have Jiraiya as its leader.
On the other side, Kakashi was also doing well.
He appeared just in time to prevent Mei Terumī from "washing her hands in the golden basin."
Mei Terumī had been preparing to hand over the position of Mizukage to Chōjūrō and retire to become an elder. But then Naruto showed up and, with a bit of Talk no Jutsu, convinced her to abandon the idea of retirement and continue as Mizukage.
Kakashi used the sealing scroll Ino had given him to remove the Path to the Underworld that covered the original site of the Mist Village. Originally, Ino couldn't have retrieved it either, but after studying under Teacher Six Paths, her knowledge of Yin-Yang and the five elements had increased considerably. Now, she could use Yang Release chakra to neutralize the Yin energy of the Path to the Underworld and then dispel the jutsu.
It would be difficult to restore it to its original state, but at least it was habitable again.
With both the Sand and the Mist agreeing to join the alliance, only the Rock and the Cloud remained. Both villages were tough nuts to crack.
Unless they saw a real, tangible threat, they wouldn't take the Akatsuki seriously.
"You despicable cowards! I won't let you get away with this!" Yugito Nii had been lured out of the village by Kakuzu and Hidan. Because she didn't understand Hidan's ability, she had been thoroughly defeated.
Knowing that jinchuriki had strong recovery abilities, Hidan had slashed Yugito a dozen times with his scythe before finding a hidden cave and calling for Pain.
Itachi and Kisame, and Deidara and Gaara had yet to make a move, but the immortal duo had scored the first point.
There was nothing more to say. After the Five-Tails, the Gedo Statue once again opened its mouth. The nine members of Akatsuki joined forces to use the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path Sealing Jutsu and began extracting the Tailed Beast chakra from Yugito's body.
At first, Yugito was cursing loudly, but as the Tailed Beast chakra was forcibly extracted, her own life force also rapidly drained away, and her consciousness grew weaker.
"You... you all just wait until I get a chance..."
"I'll definitely kill... kill you..."
"So... sleepy..."
Just as she and the Tailed Beast within her were about to fall into a deep slumber, a powerful consciousness suddenly burst into her spiritual world.
Yugito let out a cry of pain. Aside from Kakuzu, who glanced over, no one else thought anything was wrong.
Even Nagato, with his Rinnegan, was useless. He was already one layer removed by using the Six Paths of Pain, and now he was using the Magic Lantern Body Technique from miles away. With two layers of separation, he didn't notice anything amiss.
"Be more gentle! You're killing me!" Yugito complained in her spiritual world. Good heavens, it felt like an awl had just stabbed her, going straight to her stomach and nearly killing her.
Ino's voice followed. "...It's because your spirit is too weak right now. Hey, do you need me to save you? Look at you, you're a mess. The cute big cat is suffering along with you."
The Two-Tails: "Meow meow meow?"
Who are you? Are we that close?
"I don't need it! I was just about to see who the mastermind behind them is. It seems they're nothing special!" Yugito forced herself to maintain her last bit of consciousness, not wanting an outsider to see her weakness. She spoke with a tough attitude.
Ino, connected through the Mind Transmission Jutsu, simply said, "Oh. I see. It seems I was being nosy. Alright, Sister Yugito, you continue playing. Goodbye, big cat!"
The Two-Tails: "..."
Yugito: "..."
She cursed a few times in her mind using Cloud Village slang.
She waited for a while. Complete silence.
Did she really leave? No way! I went easy on you when I fought you and Killer B last time. You can't just leave me to die! Come back!
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