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After sharing all the information he felt comfortable revealing with the leaders of the five major ninja villages, Midorima fell completely silent.
He was not the leader of any ninja village and therefore had no obligation to shoulder responsibility for their decisions or the consequences that might follow.
Yet, despite everything that had been discussed, hesitation and mutual suspicion still lingered among the villages. After all, although they were all classified as one of the five great ninja villages, their actual strength and current situations varied significantly—especially in the case of the Hidden Mist Village.
During the Third Great Ninja War, Might Dai had single-handedly crippled half of the legendary Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Not long afterward, Obito had witnessed the death of Rin Nohara and fallen into darkness, resulting in the complete annihilation of nearly all the Mist shinobi who had participated in that conflict.
Only a few years later, the Mizukage had fallen under Obito's control, plunging the Hidden Mist Village into the nightmare era known as the Bloody Mist. The blow to the village had been devastating and nearly fatal.
Strictly speaking, the current Hidden Mist Village was simply not in a position to stand on equal footing with the other major ninja villages in terms of military power.
Even though the Hidden Mist harbored deep hatred toward the Akatsuki organization, it could not contribute a large number of troops to any joint operation.
It was not that they were unwilling—it was simply that they had no one left to send.
If they could only dispatch a small number of personnel, then what real purpose would the Hidden Mist Village's participation serve?
Although the other villages did not state this openly, the tone of their voices made their underlying meaning perfectly clear: the Hidden Mist did not need to send anyone. The four other villages could handle the situation on their own.
Terumi Mei bit her lip, waiting until no one else was speaking before she finally addressed the group. "We in the Hidden Mist Village are fully committed to confronting Akatsuki with everything we have. However, please understand that we cannot send our children or elderly into battle. As for our combat strength, our strongest asset was the Fourth Mizukage, but because he is a jinchuriki, he has already been captured. There is no need for me to repeat Midorima's stance toward Akatsuki. As for our remaining forces…"
Midorima stared up at the ceiling, thinking to himself that Terumi Mei was being a bit too honest for her own good.
What the Hidden Mist Village needed most right now was time to recover and rebuild its strength.
Of course, a village's dignity and reputation were important. In many situations, they could earn respect and make others view them more favorably. But for the Hidden Mist in its current weakened state, survival was far more critical than appearances.
Besides, Midorima had already decided that he would participate in the coming conflict regardless of whether the other villages agreed or not.
That decision had been made long ago.
Midorima tapped the table twice with his fingers, pondering how best to steer the conversation forward, when suddenly the sound of chaotic, hurried footsteps erupted from outside the door.
In an instant, Midorima stood up. At the same time, the leaders from the other ninja villages also sensed that something was wrong.
"Fugaku!" Hiruzen shouted through gritted teeth.
There was no response from Fugaku, who had been standing guard just outside the entrance.
The others exchanged quick glances, and every person in the room immediately became alert.
The Kazekage had been killed inside the Hidden Leaf Village. Were they about to suffer the same fate?
This village truly seemed to carry some kind of cursed atmosphere.
Even Hiruzen felt a wave of embarrassment wash over his face. "Who is out there?" he called out.
Still, there was no answer.
Shikaku turned around and reached for the door, but before he could open it, the door was pushed open from the outside. A Uchiha shinobi entered the conference hall with a complicated and distressed expression on his face.
"Where is Fugaku?" Hiruzen demanded.
"He… he has gone to the front lines."
"Front lines? What front lines?" The Hokage was momentarily caught off guard and failed to comprehend the meaning.
"Has Akatsuki already arrived?" Midorima asked urgently.
"No… it's not that…" The Uchiha shinobi hesitated, his face growing increasingly pale and strained.
"What exactly is going on?!" Hiruzen roared in frustration.
"Rogue ninja… shinobi from the Uchiha clan have betrayed us…" The Uchiha ninja spoke as if he had used up every last ounce of his strength. After uttering those words, he seemed completely drained.
"The Uchiha clan has betrayed the village?" Hiruzen clenched his teeth tightly, his gaze shifting sharply toward Midorima. "The Uchiha clan… they really cannot be trusted!"
Tsunade had strongly recommended Midorima, and her own attitude had leaned toward giving the Uchiha clan the benefit of the doubt. Moreover, it had been Midorima himself who had suggested assigning Uchiha shinobi to protect the safety of the Five Kage Summit.
The irony was bitter: the Uchiha clan had now betrayed them.
"Wait a minute—are you certain that the Uchiha clan has rebelled?" Midorima immediately sensed something was off.
"Yes! Clan Leader Fugaku has gone to deal with the situation personally."
"So, in other words, Fugaku himself was not aware of this so-called betrayal?" Midorima pressed further.
"He knew nothing about it."
"What about the rest of you? Are you planning to join your clansmen in rebellion as well? No… of course not." The Uchiha shinobi quickly scanned the faces of everyone in the room and immediately gave his answer.
If he had dared to say "yes," he knew without a doubt that he would never leave this room alive.
"Then this is strange. If this rebellion within the Uchiha clan was unknown even to Clan Leader Fugaku, and none of you had any prior knowledge of it either, that suggests this uprising was not part of any planned scheme and was completely outside their expectations. So, what could have suddenly driven them to turn against the village? Lord Hokage, this should be the most critical question right now, shouldn't it?" Midorima continued to probe.
By this point, Hiruzen had also calmed down considerably.
If the Uchiha clan had genuinely intended to betray the village, they could have launched a direct assault on the Five Kage Summit. Why would they go through the trouble of heading to the front lines instead?
Just as Midorima had pointed out, this incident had erupted suddenly. Not even Fugaku had been prepared for it.
"Go and bring Jiraiya here immediately," Tsunade instructed Nara Shikaku.
Shikaku acknowledged the order and left the room at once.
"I apologize for this embarrassing display in front of all of you," Hiruzen said to the other leaders.
Onoki waved his hand dismissively and rose from his seat. "No one wants to encounter a situation like this. But why would the Uchiha clan suddenly split apart? Why would one group continue to protect us while another group attacks their own clansmen?"
Hiruzen shook his head. That was precisely the question he wanted answered as well.
At that moment, Jiraiya hurried into the conference hall.
The Hokage wasted no time with pleasantries and asked directly, "What exactly is happening? Why have the Uchiha shinobi turned against the village?"
"Shinobi from the Hidden Leaf Village suddenly attacked members of the Uchiha clan, claiming that it was on your orders. The Uchiha believed you intended to wipe them out, so they decided to fight back with everything they had, choosing to go down fighting rather than be slaughtered…"
"I never issued any such order!" Hiruzen denied it outright. "How could I possibly give a command to hunt down and kill the Uchiha clan at a time like this?"
"However, the Uchiha shinobi were attacked on the busiest street in the village. Many civilians heard Leaf ninja openly declare that it was your command," Jiraiya said, his brows furrowed deeply.
"Something is wrong. Someone is deliberately stirring up trouble!" Shikaku suddenly interjected.
"Who?" Hiruzen asked.
Shikaku's gaze turned toward Midorima.
"It has nothing to do with me," Midorima said, spreading his hands innocently.
"No, I wanted to ask—could this be the work of Akatsuki? You are the most familiar with them among us. Is it possible that they are behind this?"
Midorima breathed a sigh of relief. At least no one was trying to pin the blame on him.
"Of course it's possible," Midorima nodded. "Don't forget that Akatsuki has been targeting the Uchiha clan ever since the death of Kimimaro. If it's not them, then who else could it be?"
"But why are they so determined to target the Uchiha clan specifically?" Onoki asked.
"I can think of two main reasons. First, within the Hidden Leaf Village, the Uchiha clan represents an unstable and potentially volatile element. If there is any weak point or opening in the village's defenses, it is most likely to be found within the Uchiha clan. Second, although Uchiha Madara left the village due to ideological differences, the rest of the Uchiha clan chose to remain. In a sense, Madara was abandoned by his own clan, which left him with deep resentment toward them. Even though Madara is dead, his will and grudges have been inherited by others."