Saitama stared at the approaching White Snake Sage, his body instinctively tensing up.
As it drew closer, the White Snake Sage's massive frame gradually shrank into something much smaller and more delicate than expected.
This sudden transformation caught Saitama off guard. He had braced himself for fangs as large as a full-grown man to pierce into him, but apparently the White Snake Sage had been bluffing.
"This process is extremely painful. If you cannot endure it, your sanity will vanish, and your body will slowly transform into a snake until you completely lose all humanity!"
The White Snake Sage's breath blew onto Saitama's face as its yellow eyes locked onto his calm, slightly smiling expression.
"Go ahead!"
Saitama shrugged, signaling the White Snake Sage to proceed. At the same time, he tilted his head slightly to give it space to bite.
"Fascinating..."
A cruel glint flickered in the White Snake Sage's eyes. Its mouth stretched open to an absurd width, then snapped shut in an instant.
"Hmmph..."
Saitama grunted coldly as he immediately felt a cool yet violent force spreading from the wound on his neck.
Simultaneously, an energy distinctly different from chakra surged into his body.
"Hiss—" Saitama let out a strange sound before collapsing helplessly onto the ground.
The White Snake Sage showed an amused expression, twisting mid-air back to its original form before returning to its seat.
White smoke continued to spread as it lit a cigarette without even glancing at Saitama lying on the floor.
...
Konoha Village, Hokage Building.
Minato Namikaze sat on one side of the large table while representatives from Sunagakure and Iwagakure — Ebizō and Jonin Kitsuchi — occupied the other two sides.
This was a tripartite meeting discussing recent events.
Both villages had lost their tailed beasts, and the person who obtained them was none other than Saitama Uchiha — originally from Konoha but now a rogue ninja.
The representative from Iwagakure this time was Onoki's son, Jonin Kitsuchi.
He was a Jonin — very powerful, tall, imposing, and sported a full beard that exuded masculinity.
Right now though, he sat with furrowed eyebrows listening quietly to Ebi Zang speaking on behalf of Sunagakure.
"I believe our three villages should form an alliance, share intelligence, and jointly investigate and pursue Saitama Uchiha and his organization."
Ebi Zang served as Sunagakure's representative. Originally, Rasa had wanted Chiyo to come and negotiate with Konoha, but she declined.
Due to past experiences, Chiyo never developed positive feelings toward Konoha and had once sworn never to step foot in the village again.
"Konoha has already issued an arrest order for Saitama Uchiha, but recently he seems to have vanished completely without trace. Our scouts have found no information related to him."
Minato rested his right elbow on the table with his left hand supporting his chin.
His eyes betrayed a hint of fatigue — even for someone as energetic and vigorous as him. Recently, he had been trying to mediate between the Uchiha clan and the Third Hokage, which had truly worn him down.
"I heard the two tailed beasts who came into Takigakure Village the other day were still unidentified."
Kitsuchi spoke up, pressured by his father. Iwagakure had lost Four-Tails and was equally anxious.
"Not yet. They just vanished after their last run-in."
Minato sighed helplessly.
"As for that rogue ninja from Takigakure, we've got some intel. He's apparently a bounty hunter active in the underworld with an extremely high success rate—he hardly ever fails at all!"
Ebizo provided some information about Kakuzu, though it was only superficial details.
"We identified his name by eliminating names from Takigakure's missing-nin list. He should be called Kakuzu!"
"But he's someone from several decades ago… By all logic, he should be older than Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage!"
Minato Namikaze added, having exhausted all available intelligence.
This ninja named Kakuzu maintaining such formidable combat strength at his age was even more astonishing than Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage!
"Hasn't Takigakure sent anyone out? They lost the Seven-Tails Beast—have they simply accepted this?"
Kitsuchi expressed confusion at the end, puzzled that Takigakure could maintain morale after such a major incident?
Although Takigakure lay between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire, Iwagakure didn't have strong ties to Takigakure, so he wasn't aware of internal village affairs.
"You know how those people are…" At this, Minato looked even more frustrated.
After all, the more the merrier—it'd make our operation much stronger.
But aside from the young leader currently serving as Village Headman, no one else from Takigakure showed the slightest courage to leave the village, so ultimately Takigakure gave up participating in these negotiations.
"Well then, let's head back and begin our respective operations! The organization our enemy belongs to isn't simple. From all intelligence gathered so far, every member of this organization are powerful rogue ninjas."
Minato lowered his hand and scanned the room. This three-way summit was wrapping up.
Plans targeting Saitama Uchiha and his organization would be finalized within the next couple of days. Everything now depended on the Intelligence Division gathering intel on the enemy!
"The Anbu Reconnaissance Squads recently picked up some information in the Land of Lightning that might relate to this organization!"
Kitsuchi dropped his final bombshell—an intelligence report collected by Iwa's Anbu Reconnaissance Squads dispatched widely after Roshi's attack and subsequent disappearance.
"Then we'll send someone to inquire about Raikage's situation. This enemy assault might genuinely involve more than just Suna and Takigakure!"
Minato frowned slightly, somewhat displeased that Kitsuchi had withheld this critical information until the end, but his mind continued working through related issues.
...
In Kumogakure Village.
Bang! A thunderous explosion shattered the top floor's large window of Raikage Tower into countless shards raining down toward the ground.
A tall figure clad in a white robe with golden arm guards wrapped around both arms appeared at the broken window.
It was indeed A, the current Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure!
His short white hair stood straight upright, with blue arcs of electricity crackling atop it.
"Phew, Raikage-sama. If you keep this up, I'm just going to quit. You really need to control that temper of yours!"
Mabui stood holding a folder against her chest, her mid-length white hair complementing her cold, distinguished features, giving off an immediate impression of a capable businesswoman.
She served as Raikage's assistant and secretary, managing village affairs, and was widely respected as a sharp and capable kunoichi.
Additionally, she specialized in [Heavenly Transfer Technique], which allowed her to transport supplies across long distances.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, it was this very jutsu she used to teleport Raikage and Tsunade directly onto the battlefield to face off against Madara Uchiha.
"I understand, Mabui! But look at the intelligence we received on Dodai—there wasn't even a single clue left behind at the scene. I'm just really frustrated!"
Fourth Raikage exhaled deeply, clenching his right hand into a massive fist.
Steam rose from his head, and his face flushed alternating shades of red and black—clearly struggling to hold back his rage.
"Dodai-san visited the site himself. Yugito must be in serious trouble, and the enemy vanished without a trace."
Mabui placed the folder she was holding on the Fourth Raikage's desk, then stepped back a few paces.
Her deep complexion didn't take away from her beauty in the least—if anything, her professional attire made her even more appealing to men.
"These are reports from Konoha and Iwagakure. You should take a look."
Mabui pointed toward the documents lying on the table, signaling for Raikage to check them.
"Hmm."
Ay grunted softly, then inhaled deeply before sitting down on his chair.
Among previous Raikages, he was known as one of the sharper minds around. While he had inherited the fiery temperament of his predecessors, he still managed to control his impulses through sheer willpower.
"Bring Dodai in—I've got something for him to handle. Also, reinforce our defenses at Kumogane Ravine—no one is to leave!"
Raikage began flipping through the documents while speaking to Mabui who remained standing nearby.
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