"Well…" Shikaku Nara considered, "Yoruha does make some good points. But even if Pain doesn't possess the full legendary power of the Sage of Six Paths, his Six Paths of Pain technique is still extremely dangerous."
As he spoke, Shikaku pulled out six miniature figurines from his coat and arranged them neatly on the table.
"We've identified the abilities of four of the Six Paths. But the other two are still a mystery, so we should be cautious when preparing our strategy."
Yoruha and Jiraiya had already faced Pain in battle. The powers of the Animal Path, Asura Path, Preta Path, and Deva Path had all been displayed.
The remaining Human Path and Naraka Path were more support-oriented, which is likely why they hadn't shown much offensive strength.
"I think our main focus should be on the Deva Path and the one that handles summoning," Yoruha offered. "They're the real threats."
While each of Pain's Six Paths had unique abilities, the Deva Path and the Animal Path formed the core of his combat strength.
"Agreed," Shikaku nodded. "With the Rinnegan, he can summon an army of massive beasts. It's terrifying. Those creatures feel no pain, no fear—they could overwhelm most of our ninja forces."
"What about the Deva Path?" Tsunade asked. "That gravity-based technique—Shinra Tensei, was it? Seems like a single-target or small-scale move. Couldn't we just dodge it?"
"You're underestimating it," Yoruha said, shaking his head. "From what I saw in battle, Shinra Tensei can be charged up. There's no telling what its upper limit is."
Few truly understood the real power of Shinra Tensei.
But Yoruha had seen it with his own eyes in his past life: an entire village erased from the map in one devastating blast.
"Wait—Shinra Tensei can be charged?" Shikaku's eyes widened, stunned. "You mean it can scale up to a large-scale attack?"
"Exactly," Yoruha confirmed.
He wasn't even exaggerating. Compared to the standard version, the Super Shinra Tensei was a completely different beast.
And this time, Yoruha wasn't going to let Nagato get the chance to unleash it.
"I see," Shikaku nodded slowly. "I'll start working on contingency plans to prevent that kind of disaster."
As Konoha's head strategist, this kind of intel was priceless.
Since Yoruha had already brought back such detailed information about Pain, the burden of tactical preparation now fell squarely on Shikaku's shoulders.
"…Actually," Yoruha suddenly said, "since we've already confirmed where Pain is hiding, why not just launch a preemptive strike on Amegakure?"
Why wait for Nagato to come to them?
Wouldn't it be better to bring the fight to his doorstep?
After all, in his home turf, Nagato would be more cautious.
Tsunade shook her head. "If we want to start a war with the Hidden Rain, we need approval from the Land of Fire's Daimyō. And we'd have to coordinate with the other major Hidden Villages first. If we act rashly and they take advantage of our distraction, we could end up fighting more than just Amegakure."
Though she had already started drafting letters to the Daimyō and other Kage, Tsunade knew full well…
These leaders were seasoned political animals.
Even if Konoha warned them about Pain, they'd spend time weighing the political pros and cons before making any real moves.
No one would commit without guarantees.
Which meant, for now, Konoha's main forces couldn't afford to leave the village.
If they did—and Pain struck while their guard was down?
The results would be catastrophic.
"…I really don't know what your grandfather was thinking," Yoruha muttered bitterly. "Back when he had the chance, Hashirama could've unified the entire shinobi world. Instead, he let the ninja become tools for different countries."
He shook his head.
Back then, Konoha had everything—Hashirama and Tobirama, the power of multiple Tailed Beasts, and unmatched prestige.
If Hashirama had had the political will, he could have united the Five Great Nations under one banner.
And all the chaos that followed might never have happened.
"Yoruha," Shikaku said mildly, "you can't blame the First Hokage. He was a fighter, not a ruler. Leading people into battle is one thing—but governing a country? That's a different skill entirely."
Even a genius like Shikaku struggled with political management.
Running an entire country—keeping its systems stable, laws fair, economy balanced—required more than ideals and strength.
And ninjas weren't trained for that.
They lived for battle and power—not bureaucracy.
"Well, then I guess I'll have to do it myself," Yoruha said flatly, his eyes narrowing as he stared out the window at Naruto.
"When winter comes, I'll spearhead a reform of the education system."
"Ninjas can't afford to be ignorant anymore."
Both Tsunade and Shikaku glanced at each other, silently wondering the same thing:
Isn't Yoruha basically the village's strongest thug?
What's with the sudden reformist attitude?
After leaving the Hokage's office, Yoruha thought carefully about what needed to happen next.
Tsunade was right—Konoha's current position was delicate.
If he took the village elites and launched a surprise attack on Amegakure now, Obito would surely use the opening to strike Konoha from behind.
That couldn't be allowed.
So the only option was defense.
And the Flying Thunder God Markers—those needed to be spread out in greater numbers.
They could be life-saving when the time came.
Over the next two days, Konoha's upper ranks were extremely busy.
Especially the Barrier Corps.
They worked around the clock, monitoring for any enemy presence and reinforcing the village's defenses.
Tsunade also had Shikaku draft letters to officially propose a strike on Amegakure.
Those letters were dispatched to the Daimyō of the Land of Fire and all the other major ninja villages.
And just like Tsunade had predicted—
Only Sunagakure responded positively. The others?
Complete silence.
Like tossing a rock into a bottomless pond.
"Damn it!" Tsunade slammed her fist on the desk. "Are Onoki and the rest just brain-dead at this point?!"
"I spelled everything out in the letters—the Akatsuki's goals, the danger they pose, the threat to the Tailed Beasts!"
"And they still ignore us?"
"Are they just sitting around scheming instead of facing the real problem?"
"Fine! Let them get wiped out first, then!"
She was furious.
The Akatsuki were aggressively capturing Tailed Beasts—it was obvious they had a massive plan in motion.
And yet the other villages were pretending not to see it.
Were they too scared to act?
Or just too busy calculating how they might profit from the chaos?
Either way—
If they waited too long, no one would be left to profit from anything.