A special thank you to my patrons:
—Cain, Jacob Mooe, kevin Williams, ZaberZ, Jose Sierra, Acedia, kurtis newman, Fredrik Dahlman, Nithin Samuel, Little Sand, Dradin Hebrhal, Andrew Bryant, Luca August.
ad 30 chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.
P@TREON - [email protected]/lessaservantofcosmos
(just replace the "@" with "a")
ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!
-------------------------------------------------------------
After Midorima finished speaking those words, the way the others looked at him immediately changed.
The Akatsuki organization had always been shrouded in mystery. Apart from the vague knowledge that its base seemed to be located in the Hidden Rain Village, almost every other piece of information about the group had been nonexistent. Yet here was Midorima, casually listing details about each of its members. This unexpected depth of knowledge left everyone in the room feeling genuinely surprised and unsettled.
"Is this intelligence reliable?" Hiruzen asked cautiously.
Midorima shrugged his shoulders lightly. "I believe it is reliable. However, whether or not you choose to trust it is entirely up to your own judgment. I cannot force anyone to accept what I say."
"Then go ahead and tell us what you know. We will make our own assessments," Onoki, the Tsuchikage, said in a steady voice.
"Not long ago, during the battle that finally brought an end to the era of the Bloody Mist in the Hidden Mist Village, my companions and I managed to kill two members of Akatsuki. In addition to those two, the organization also includes two shinobi from the Hidden Leaf Village: one is Uchiha Itachi, and the other is the man who calls himself 'Uchiha Madara.' There is also a shinobi from the Hidden Stone Village named Deidara, a shinobi from the Hidden Mist Village named Kisame, a shinobi from the Hidden Grass Village named Uchiha, and a shinobi from the Hidden Sand Village named Sasori. Most of the remaining members appear to originate from the Hidden Rain Village. However, I cannot be certain whether they have any additional hidden members beyond this list. For now, this is roughly everything I know."
"That's impossible!" Baki stepped forward aggressively, glaring at Midorima with wide eyes filled with disbelief. "Sasori… he…"
By the end of his sentence, even Baki himself seemed to lose confidence in his own denial.
"Oh, and there's one more thing that might shock all of you. The person responsible for killing the Third Kazekage was none other than Sasori. He turned the Third Kazekage into one of his puppets."
If Midorima's previous statements had been like dropping a small pebble into still water, then this latest revelation landed like an enormous boulder, sending massive ripples through the entire room. In an instant, every single person present changed color dramatically.
The spark that had ignited the Third Great Ninja War had been the mysterious disappearance of the Third Kazekage. To this day, there had been no definitive news about his fate. Many had suspected that he might have died, but no one could have possibly imagined that his end would be so tragic and humiliating.
"Can you take responsibility for these words?" Hiruzen asked gravely.
Terumi Mei also turned her gaze toward Midorima, her expression serious.
If this information turned out to be false, then Midorima would be guilty of slandering the Kazekage's legacy. On the other hand, if it was true, then the major ninja villages—especially the Hidden Sand Village—would find themselves in an extremely awkward and embarrassing position.
Countless lives had been lost during the Third Great Ninja War, only for it to ultimately prove meaningless if the truth was as Midorima claimed.
Midorima was thinking even deeper than the others. If one traced the chain of consequences further, Sasori's murder of the Third Kazekage had triggered the Third Great Ninja War, which in turn had led to the death of Rin Nohara, ultimately causing Obito to fall into darkness. In that sense, Sasori bore a significant share of responsibility for the current chaotic state of the world.
"Of course," Midorima nodded firmly. "I will stand by every word I have spoken. But I would like to ask—if what I'm saying is true, then what responsibility do all of you intend to take?"
Midorima suddenly slammed both hands down hard on the table. His eyes sharpened with intensity, his entire demeanor shifting dramatically from the calm speaker of moments ago. "Has anyone among you ever taken responsibility for the wars you have caused?"
The others instantly fixed their gazes on Midorima, puzzled by why he had suddenly become so furious. It was as if he had become a completely different person.
Even Terumi Mei looked somewhat confused by the outburst.
"This war should indeed not have happened, but it was a matter concerning the five great ninja villages. Any casualties that resulted were tied directly to the conflicts between our villages."
"So, does that mean the people who were caught in the crossfire and suffered because of your actions deserved to die?" Midorima countered sharply. "Now, let me tell you what Akatsuki's true objective really is. Their goal is to collect all nine tailed beasts. Using the power of the Rinnegan, they plan to fuse the tailed beasts together into the Ten-Tails. Then, they intend to use the Ten-Tails to create even more devastating ninjutsu, triggering conflicts on a scale far larger than anything we have seen before. Their ultimate aim is to make the entire world remember the horrors and scars of war so deeply that future generations will do everything possible to avoid starting new conflicts. Are you all prepared to face something like that?"
A heavy silence fell over the room.
The other leaders exchanged uneasy glances with one another but said nothing.
"However… there seems to be a logical problem with that plan," Shikaku raised his hand cautiously. "Even if the war is on a much larger scale, once the people who experienced it pass away—or even before all of them are gone, once those who lived through it lose their influence and authority in their respective villages—new wars will inevitably break out again. There is no such thing as a permanent, one-time solution to end all conflict."
"Correct," Midorima nodded in agreement.
Shikaku truly had a sharp mind.
"But doesn't that go completely against their stated goal of achieving lasting peace?"
"Exactly."
"Then why would they still pursue such a plan?" Nara Shikaku pressed, steeling himself for the answer.
He had initially only raised a point of doubt, hoping to hear if Midorima had any further explanations. He had not expected Midorima to respond with two firm affirmations in a row, which caught him off guard.
"Well, I would like to know the answer to that myself. However, I do have one theory. In the beginning, Akatsuki genuinely wanted to bring about peace. Their approach was similar to that of ordinary ninja organizations. But during the process, something went terribly wrong—their original leader, Yahiko, was killed through a scheme orchestrated by Hanzo. This event likely dealt a devastating blow to the organization and caused a profound shift in their thinking. They lost faith in conventional methods and ultimately chose an extremely radical and extreme path instead."
From this perspective, Nagato was essentially someone who operated in absolutes, like a binary switch.
Midorima thought to himself.
Shikaku fell silent once more.
He found Midorima's explanation reasonable and convincing.
If the organization had suffered such a painful setback and subsequently lost trust in their previous methods, then their drastic turn toward extremism made logical sense.
"I do not approve of Akatsuki's methods, but I believe their underlying motivation is not entirely wrong. The major powers frequently erupt into wars that end up dragging the smaller surrounding nations into the suffering. The previous Great Ninja Wars may have looked like direct confrontations between the great nations, but in reality, they inflicted immense harm on the smaller countries caught in between. That is precisely why I say that the five great ninja villages have never truly recognized their own responsibility. You who possess the greatest power have never seriously considered how your actions affect the smaller ninja villages. Akatsuki may appear sinister and cunning, but in truth, it is a product born directly from the collective failures and arrogance of the five great ninja villages. It is time for all of you to start thinking seriously about how to ensure the safety and security of those smaller villages. Well, that is everything I know. What you choose to do with this information is now up to you."
After laying everything out openly, Midorima felt a noticeable sense of relief.
He had deliberately omitted Obito's personal goal of resurrecting "Madara," as that was an entirely separate and even more hidden matter. Even Konan and Nagato were likely unaware of the full extent of Obito's plans. Midorima himself did not know how to bring it up appropriately, so he decided it was best to take things one step at a time.
What surprised Midorima most was that after he had spoken at such length, the entire room fell into complete silence. Even the usually boisterous and straightforward Raikage remained quiet.
This strange, heavy atmosphere lingered for roughly five minutes before Hiruzen finally broke the silence. "Let us take a short break for now. We can discuss countermeasures afterward."
No one raised any objections.
Midorima had delivered a great deal of information in one go, including details that none of them had ever heard before—such as the true fate of the Third Kazekage. No one would have connected that tragedy to Sasori.
Moreover, when Midorima revealed Akatsuki's ultimate objective, the leaders found themselves facing an incredibly difficult situation with no immediate solutions in sight.
The Hokage's suggestion to take a break provided everyone with much-needed time to process and regain their composure.
After Hiruzen stood up and headed toward the adjacent room, the others gradually left the conference hall as well.