In the sky, Tongren's bow was visibly worn down from overuse.
[Golden Arrow] had consumed far too much of Tongren's chakra. Right now, he could barely launch any effective attacks.
Of course, "effective" here was by Seiki's standards.
If it were other enemies, his remaining strength would still be considerable.
After exchanging a few half-hearted blows with Seiki, Tongren said tiredly to Pain, "My chakra is almost gone. The rest is up to you!"
"Hasn't been three minutes yet, has it?" Pain muttered inwardly. However, he knew just how hard it was to keep a monster like Seiki at bay for over two minutes. Plus, at this point, there was no way they could catch up to Sasori and Tobi.
Thus, Pain nodded slightly, "Thank you, sir."
Hearing their conversation and recalling the Masked Man's earlier words about receiving compensation, many began suspecting, "Isn't the Masked Man actually a member of Akatsuki? Was he merely hired by them?"
"If that's the case, could he actually be from the Hyuga Clan?"
It wasn't hard to understand why they would think this way. Provoking a powerhouse like Seiki Shimaseki over mere benefits would be extremely unwise, but if those benefits were interpreted as assistance in revenge against someone, then everything would make sense!
"Still, why didn't the Masked Man attack the Hokage himself? Could it be that those two from Konoha's founding forced him into a contract forbidding attacks against the village?"
Thinking this, A couldn't help but grimace.
Could their Cloud Village be this guy's next target for revenge? He had no confidence at all in facing such a monster!
In the sky, Tongren flapped his wings and flew into the distance.
Pain gave Seiki a deep look before declaring, "We will meet again!"
As he finished speaking, the [Four Paths] of Pain blocking the group and the Statue battling the [Daibutsu] instantly vanished, summoned away by his main body and the Animal Path.
In the blink of an eye, the once-bustling battlefield was left in complete disarray.
Seeing this scene before them, everyone felt an emptiness in their hearts.
Although they had driven off the enemy, no one felt the slightest joy.
Because defeating Akatsuki had been entirely thanks to Seiki's efforts. Without him, even the combined forces of the [Five Great Hidden Villages] might not have been able to withstand the enemy.
Everyone knew that Seiki couldn't act as their constant bodyguard.
What if Akatsuki struck again and Seiki didn't arrive in time? Would they just wait for death?
Thinking this, everyone's heart grew heavy, filled with fear and confusion about the unknown future!
In the heavy silence, A suddenly spoke, "Seiki, I suggest your Konoha shouldn't try to retrieve that Hokage. Even if you do, never hand over [Impure World Reincarnation]!"
Upon hearing this, Tatsuma glared angrily at him, "Damn it, you know how important the Hokage-sama is..."
However, before he could finish, the other three [Kage] cut in simultaneously.
"That's right. The threat of Akatsuki is too terrifying. If they gain [Impure World Reincarnation] and use it to revive those powerful figures from history, we'll have a hard time resisting!"
"This matter is no longer just Konoha's internal affairs—it will shape the entire [shinobi no sekai]!"
"Besides, isn't there a famous saying from the Fifth Generation Hokage? For the sake of Konoha, any cost or sacrifice is worth it! So now, for the future of Konoha and the shinobi world, let him die nobly!"
Hearing Terumi's final proposal, Tatsuma's eyes widened. This woman had a heart of steel, using a strategy of turning one group against another!
The problem was, he truly had no way to argue against this.
Danzo-sama had indeed repeated these words many times. There was no reason to deny it happening now just because it involved him personally.
Seiki nodded solemnly. "I understand, but this isn't something I can decide alone. We need to hold a Jonin Meeting in the village to discuss it!"
Hearing this, Tatsuma's heart sank like a stone.
If it were a Hokage Summit, then the two Elders and the Third Lord would likely fight hard to protect Danzo-sama. But if it became a Jonin Meeting, Danzo-sama was most likely finished.
Tatsuma struggled to speak, "The Akatsuki organization was even bold enough to attack the Kage Summit for the [Impure World Reincarnation] technique. If we don't hand it over, Konoha might face their retaliation!"
"Isn't this simple?" A laughed heartily. "Let Brother Seiki take over the Hokage position and defend Konoha! Do you really think those bastards would dare come knocking on our doorstep looking for death?"
Tatsuma's eyes widened—had he said the wrong thing?
The Jonin that came with Danzo-sama glared at him angrily. The Hokage hadn't even died yet, and his first loyal subordinate already wanted to switch sides?
A shrugged, not dwelling on this matter. "As for the main agenda of this Kage Summit, I'm sure you all understand the threat of the Akatsuki organization by now. Though we're unsure whether their claimed objective of 'awakening' is actually their true goal, whatever the enemy wants to do is what we must stop. I suggest we open up chakra training and access to mid-level and low-level ninjutsu to everyone!"
"That's not something that can be easily changed with just words!" Onoki frowned. "The shinobi in our villages have always relied on completing missions and accumulating Contribution Points to exchange for the precious ninjutsu left by our predecessors. Now if you open up access to ninjutsu training, how would they feel? How would the village mission system continue operating?"
A rubbed his chin, "What if we still kept the high-level ninjutsu exchange system?"
Rasa shook his head. "Those who desire high-level ninjutsu are in the minority anyway. For most Genin and Chunin, mid-level and low-level ninjutsu are already their limit!"
A scratched his head. He was only good at solving problems in straightforward, brute-force ways. Coming up with ideas wasn't really his strong suit!
"Maybe I should go back and make Dodai work overtime to figure something out..."
As he was thinking about ways to torment Dodai, Seiki suddenly suggested, "By the way, have you heard about my developed Dream World?"
"Of course we've heard of it!" Three pairs of resentful glares shot his way.
With mutual espionage being standard practice among the ninja villages, there was no way they could ignore Seiki's so-called 'groundbreaking' masterpiece!
Sure, the effects of the Dream World weren't obvious right away, but it definitely helped with self-discipline.
Not to mention that the Dream World also lets users log in during emergencies for help, and access learning resources anytime, anywhere.
Therefore, they would naturally dream of having such a capability.
Seiki nodded slightly. "I plan to update the system by building a network that connects all Five Great Hidden Villages. Members from each village will be able to download corresponding Ninjutsu training experience through this network using their Contribution Points earned from completing missions. This knowledge will then project directly into their minds, even manipulating their bodies for practical demonstration!"
"For most Ninja, obtaining Ninjutsu is difficult, but what's even harder is the process of cultivating Ninjutsu! Even Ninja who receive guidance from a teacher often struggle to master certain Ninjutsu within a short time—let alone those who have to figure things out on their own without any mentorship!"
"The very purpose of my network is to shift the importance of Contribution Points from merely exchanging for Ninjutsu to actually guiding cultivation practices!"
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