Chapter114: An Unhappy Ending
The conference hall remained silent for a long while before Ohnoki slowly broke the stillness. "In other words, the Sage's Eyes are similar to the Uchiha clan's Mangekyo Sharingan in some abilities, yet different in others?"
"Hmph, who knows if it's even true," the Fourth Raikage scoffed coldly. "The Sage's Eyes have always been a legendary power, not even recorded during the Warring States Period. How could two pairs suddenly appear at the same time?"
"Believe it or not, it's your choice," Tsunade retorted, rolling her eyes. "The reason I came to this Five Kage Summit was to share this information with you all, to prevent you from falling into the mysterious person's trap."
"This incident is inextricably linked to your Konoha," the Fourth Raikage continued his accusation. "I can overlook the matter of the Root organization and Shimura Danzo, but why did those puppets use your Konoha's characteristic ninjutsu and forbidden techniques? That fellow Shimura Danzo even possessed a Mangekyo Sharingan and could use Wood Release and the Flying Thunder God Technique. Hokage, you must give me an explanation and account for this."
Without waiting for Tsunade to speak, the Fourth Raikage swept his gaze across the other Kage, his expression furious. "And you other ninja villages! The exposed members of Akatsuki are almost all S-rank rogue ninjas from your villages! You all owe me an explanation!"
Seeing the Fourth Raikage attempt to shift the blame onto them, the other Kage's expressions darkened.
Chiyo lacked the confidence to speak out, but Ohnoki showed no deference to the Fourth Raikage, retorting with sarcasm, "Unbelievable that such words would come from the mouth of a Kage. Are all the Kage of your Cloud Village uncultured monkeys? Since when can the actions of a rogue ninja be attributed to their former village? Did we fail to destroy his records, or did we fail to issue a bounty and pursue him?"
"Speaking of which, shouldn't your Cloud Village give Konoha an explanation first? As far as I know, the Second Hokage died at the hands of your Cloud Village's rogue ninjas, and I don't recall you ever offering any explanation! Furthermore, if my memory serves me correctly, the ninja tools wielded by the Gold and Silver Brothers still remain in your Cloud Village. Shouldn't such instruments of death be handed over to Konoha?"
"What did you say!" the Fourth Raikage's eyes immediately widened in fury.
Ohnoki dismissed him with disdain. "Boy, your temper is still quite immature compared to your father's. If you want to fight, whether it's a one-on-one duel or a full-scale war, this old man will gladly oblige."
Knock, knock, knock...
Just as the Fourth Raikage and Ohnoki were about to erupt into a heated argument, Mifune tapped on the table, his voice calm. "Raikage-dono, Tsuchikage-dono, please be patient. The theme of this summit is to discuss how to deal with the Akatsuki organization that has crossed the line."
"Hmph!"
The Fourth Raikage snorted coldly and sat back down, then stated directly, "I remain skeptical of the information provided by the Hokage. My suggestion is a joint attack on the Rain Village to completely eliminate this terrifying organization composed of S-rank rogue ninjas from your villages."
"This old man disagrees."
Ohnoki crossed his arms, his tone composed. "Akatsuki, I have some understanding of them. They are a mercenary organization of S-rank rogue ninjas banding together, specializing in accepting highly confidential missions in the black market. I have also collaborated with this organization a few times. They always deliberately maintained an air of mystery. Their sudden high profile and the revelation of their main base's location are highly suspicious."
"I had initially thought that their previous low profile was due to some kind of preparation, and they were finally ceasing their concealment. However, the information provided by Princess Tsunade has resolved my doubts. There might indeed be a mysterious third party attempting to use us to deal with Akatsuki."
"That's merely your speculation," the Fourth Raikage countered.
"Perhaps," Ohnoki replied nonchalantly. "This old man trusts Princess Tsunade's information, and the Stone Village has no conflict or hatred with Akatsuki. We will not participate in any subjugation."
"Hmph, I hope you won't regret it when Akatsuki sets its sights on your Stone Village!" the Fourth Raikage sneered.
"If that happens, then this old man will simply have to accept his misfortune," Ohnoki retorted with a veiled smile.
The Fourth Raikage's forehead instantly bulged with veins.
Tsunade rested her chin on her hands, her expression serious. "I also trust Jiraiya's information. After all, among us ninja villages, he is the only one who infiltrated the Rain Village and had a conversation with the leader of Akatsuki. Regardless of whether the leader of Akatsuki was lying, if the Konoha Crush, the Bloody Mist Village incident, and the events in the Cloud Village were all Akatsuki's doing, then the person who manipulated Shimura Danzo to use the Flying Thunder God Technique was a member of Akatsuki."
"The information our Konoha released last time was not detailed enough. Besides suffering heavy losses, our Konoha also had the Scroll of Seals stolen, along with a Wood Release experimental subject," Tsunade stated gravely. "That was in August, and the Cloud Village incident occurred at the end of December. That's only four months."
"If they could master the Flying Thunder God Technique, a technique mastered only by the Second Hokage and the Fourth Hokage in Konoha's sixty-one years, within four months, and even enable Shimura Danzo's corpse to unleash the power of Wood Release, then they must have also mastered the other forbidden techniques within the Scroll of Seals."
"Even if we join forces to siege the Rain Village, it will be difficult to eliminate Akatsuki, who possesses the Flying Thunder God Technique. If Akatsuki does not have the Flying Thunder God Technique, then it not only proves the existence of a mysterious third party but also completely pushes Akatsuki to the opposing side. If we can completely wipe out this organization, that would be ideal, but if the subjugation fails, we might face retaliation from the second pair of Sage's Eyes at any time."
Upon hearing this, the other Kage, excluding the Fourth Raikage, fell into silence.
The Fourth Raikage, however, erupted in anger. "Are you afraid, Hokage? And do you really believe that a rogue ninja organization possessing the Sage's Eyes will remain content as mere mercenaries?"
"Think whatever you want. In any case, our Konoha will not participate in the subjugation of Akatsuki," Tsunade retorted, rolling her eyes to emphasize her stance.
Seeing that the Stone Village and Konoha, whose combined strength was second only to the Cloud Village, did not agree to the subjugation of Akatsuki, Chiyo, who had only lost a Kazekage and some ninjas and whose own grandson was a member of Akatsuki, immediately chimed in agreement. "This old woman believes the Hokage would not speak carelessly. Furthermore, the Sand Village suffered heavy losses during the Konoha Crush due to Orochimaru and is currently in a state of decline. We are also incapable of contributing."
The Fourth Raikage's dark face grew even darker.
Seeing that three ninja villages did not agree to the subjugation of Akatsuki, Gengetsu, who had originally intended to use them to deal with Akatsuki, could only extinguish his hopes and said slowly, "Although the Mist Village has just emerged from the Bloody Mist Village era and is also in a state of decline, as long as it's a joint subjugation of Akatsuki or the mysterious third party, our Mist Village is willing to abide by the majority."
These words sounded agreeable, but the underlying meaning was clear: the Mist Village was also abstaining.
"Hmph, you will all regret this!"
The Fourth Raikage slammed his hand on the table, shattering it, and then left without looking back.
The other Kage, knowing he was venting his frustration, paid him no mind.
"Hokage, let's make a deal."
Just as Tsunade was preparing to leave with Izayoi and Hatake Kakashi, Chiyo suddenly called out to her.
"What kind of deal?" Tsunade asked, her eyes showing a hint of distaste as she looked at Chiyo.
Chiyo ignored Tsunade's gaze and, after taking a deep look at Hatake Kakashi, said to Tsunade, "Our Sand Village is willing to deepen our alliance with your Konoha and even concede command during the defense against external enemies."
"The conditions?" Tsunade inquired.
"We want a complete set of barriers," Chiyo stated gravely. "If that mysterious third party truly exists and their aim is to ignite the flames of war in the ninja world, then sooner or later they will target our Sand Village and the Stone Village. Our Sand Village needs barriers capable of withstanding meteor rain attacks."
Hearing this, Ohnoki, who was just about to leave, floated over with a smile. "Princess Tsunade, our Stone Village also hopes to make a similar deal with Konoha."
"If possible, count our Mist Village in as well," Gengetsu added, also approaching.
Normally, Tsunade would have scoffed and dismissed their requests as wishful thinking.
However, recalling Akatsuki, the mysterious individual, and the image of the Cloud Village transformed into a massive meteor crater, Tsunade's brow furrowed slightly, and she fell into contemplation.
Soon, Tsunade made her decision.
"If you want to make a deal, send people to Konoha to discuss it," Tsunade said, leaving those words behind as she departed with Izayoi and Hatake Kakashi.
Leaving the conference hall, they didn't linger in the Land of Iron but returned to Konoha without delay.
The other major ninja villages did the same.
After all, none of the Kage knew whether Akatsuki or the mysterious third party would seize the opportunity to attack their villages in their absence.
Flashing behind Tsunade, Izayoi's gaze appeared to be fixed ahead, but in reality, his thoughts had returned to the Land of Iron.
A subtle curve formed at the corner of his lips.
They've become smarter, he mused inwardly.
The scene shifted back to the Land of Iron, where the armored samurai, having concluded their duty of protecting the Five Kage, returned to their respective posts.
One of the samurai, however, went to an isolated location, his body transforming at a visible pace into a pure white White Zetsu clone.
Clearly, Akatsuki had been monitoring the Five Kage Summit all along.
Due to a White Zetsu clone being caught in the incident in Konoha, and uncertainty as to whether it was the work of the mysterious individual or Izayoi's Wood Release, Black and White Zetsu dared not allow the White Zetsu clone to use Mayfly Technique to eavesdrop in the shadows. Instead, they had preemptively replaced a samurai to openly listen in.
Izayoi's Wood Release had indeed failed to detect the White Zetsu clone initially.
It was precisely this that made him suspicious.
The Five Kage Summit could not possibly escape the notice of Black and White Zetsu.
Knowing that the Five Kage Summit was aimed at their Akatsuki, they would undoubtedly seek to obtain the summit's outcome and prepare countermeasures.
If the Mayfly Technique was unusable, then only the Impersonation Technique remained.
As for a public declaration of war like in the original story, that was absolutely impossible.
The original Uchiha Obito dared to declare war on the five great ninja villages because of the ten thousand White Zetsu and the Impure World Reincarnation army provided by Yakushi Kabuto, along with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path containing seven Tailed Beasts, and the courage granted by Kamui and the Rinnegan.
Currently, Nagato was still alive, and Akatsuki remained under his control.
Although Nagato was currently quite chuunibyou and even arrogantly referred to himself as a god, before the Three-Tails was revived, he would definitely be unwilling to stir up trouble and would not rashly offend the five great ninja villages.
The outcome of this Five Kage Summit should have greatly pleased Nagato.
As long as the five great ninja villages did not join forces, he had nothing to fear.
This outcome was also within Izayoi's expectations.
In the original story, the five great ninja villages were able to set aside decades of hatred because they shared a common enemy.
The Mist Village, manipulated by Uchiha Obito controlling the Fourth Mizukage, had created the Bloody Mist Village, a deep-seated blood feud.
The Sand Village had Gaara's One-Tail Shukaku extracted, and if not for Chiyo's sacrifice, the Fifth Kazekage would have truly died.
During that period, Konoha had just experienced Pain's invasion, and if not for Nagato's final use of the Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique, their overall strength would likely have been inferior even to the Mist Village.
The Cloud Village was even more self-explanatory. The Fourth Raikage initiated the Five Kage Summit because he believed Killer B had been captured.
The Stone Village had also lost two Jinchuriki, and the mastermind behind Akatsuki was the 'Uchiha Madara' who had once humiliated Ohnoki. Coupled with Uchiha Obito's Eye of the Moon Plan, the five great ninja villages had no choice but to take action.
But now, while Akatsuki was still a significant threat, there was also a mysterious individual possessing the Sage's Eyes.
As long as even one person believed in the existence of this mysterious individual, a ninja alliance would be impossible.
Uchiha Obito did not appear as Uchiha Madara, and Ohnoki would certainly not attack Akatsuki.
After all, only he knew that among the Akatsuki members whose identities had not yet been revealed was his own disciple, Deidara.
Although Ohnoki had already listed Deidara's defection and issued a bounty,
Everyone in the Stone Village knew that this was a disclaimer for outsiders.
Having seen the photographs of the Cloud Village's enormous meteor crater, the Sand and Mist Villages, ranking last and second to last in overall strength, were even less likely to send troops to aid the Cloud Village. Regardless of the outcome, their own ninja villages would suffer heavy losses.
If they were to succeed in the subjugation, would Konoha and the Stone Village seize the opportunity to launch a war and invade their countries?
From the beginning, the Cloud Village had been isolated and without support.
The time is still not ripe! Raikage-dono, don't let me down! Izayoi thought to himself.
Having tasted the immense profits brought by war, Izayoi found himself somewhat addicted.
His initial goal was to accumulate nine hundred and ninety thousand points before the end of Shippuden, upgrading his Otsutsuki bloodline (Red) to an unknown level, and he would have been content.
But now, Izayoi felt that his ambitions could be a bit grander, upgrading both of his red-colored entries to unknown new levels.
To achieve this goal, he could only make the ninja world endure more suffering.
After all, when the aliens arrived in the future, it would definitely be people like Izayoi, who had connections to the Otsutsuki, on the front lines.
Izayoi was merely asking for their investment now!
(End of this chapter)
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