With the death of Orochimaru and Kabuto joining Akatsuki, the Hidden Sound Village's defense system quickly collapsed under the fierce assault of the Shinobi Allied Forces.
A severely injured Kimimaro was forced to retreat to other bases with a few elites, including the Sound Four, while the remaining subordinates were treated as pawns to stall the enemy's pursuit.
As for the Resistance members who had traveled from various lands for modification and training, they successfully went into hiding with the combined assistance of Kabuto, Black Zetsu, and Obito.
By the time Jiraiya, acting as the Supreme Commander, entered the underground laboratory, all valuable research data, records, and equipment had vanished. Only worthless scrap remained.
The prisoners, in particular, were utterly clueless; even direct use of ninjutsu to read their memories proved futile.
Surveying the chaotic wreckage around him, the Toad Sage, who had been exhausted by constant mobilization lately, couldn't help but sigh. In a helpless tone, he asked, "We failed, didn't we? We caught neither Orochimaru nor the high-ranking members of the Resistance."
"Yes. We failed," Gaara, who had recently become the Fifth Kazekage, replied with a dark expression.
"It seems the Hidden Sound Village is much more complex than we imagined. Especially that guy who appeared at the last moment using space-time ninjutsu and claiming to be a member of Akatsuki. He held off the combined siege of all our Jonin almost single-handedly," Darui, the representative from the Hidden Cloud, muttered, irritably ruffling his messy hair.
Clearly, he was among those who had been toyed with by Obito's dual Mangekyō Sharingan and Kamui.
Had Obito been interested in killing, at least half of the Jonin in the Allied Forces would have died here today. In the face of Yin-Yang Release, neither Kekkei Genkai nor high-powered ninjutsu held much meaning. This was precisely why the First Hokage's Wood Release and the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan were so legendary in the shinobi world.
Just as Jiraiya was about to say something more, a scream erupted from a nearby room. Immediately afterward, two scouting squads were hurled out of the room by an invisible force, slamming into the rear wall and falling unconscious instantly.
Because it happened so fast, the others didn't even have time to react.
Then, three people and two wolves stepped out of the room.
There was no need to ask: it was Allen, Neji, and Karin, who had just teleported out of a "Dungeon," accompanied by Lupos and Lupos II.
"What is Orochimaru doing? He actually let the enemies overrun his home base," Karin complained crossly.
She looked somewhat disheveled, with a significant amount of frost still clinging to her clothes and face, an obvious sign that they had just finished battling the final two bosses of Naxxramas.
"Maybe he tried to move against Sasuke and got himself killed instead?" Neji speculated, stroking his chin.
Their indifferent attitude, acting as if no one else was there, naturally infuriated the Allied ninjas who had rushed over at the sound of the commotion.
However, the reaction of the high-ranking officials, including Jiraiya and Gaara, was the exact opposite.
The former, in particular, tensed every nerve in his body instantly, asking warily, "You disappeared, didn't you? Why return so suddenly? Do you have some secret pact with Orochimaru that we don't know about?"
"Don't misunderstand. Whether Orochimaru lives or dies has nothing to do with me; I won't be seeking revenge for him.
"I just want to correct one thing: I never left. I've simply been busy with research that interests me, so I've rarely made public appearances.
"Furthermore... you've made quite a mess of the Hidden Sound Village, which puts me in a bit of a difficult position.
"After all, while Orochimaru's subordinates weren't much in terms of raw strength, they were quite proficient in intelligence gathering and logistics. Often, with just a single command, they could bring me exactly what I wanted in a very short time.
"But now, you have destroyed this place for no reason. Shouldn't you provide some appropriate compensation?"
As he spoke, Allen's tone carried a blatant, undisguised threat, showing utter disregard for the Allied Forces from the three Great Hidden Villages.
"You bastard! You have the nerve to ask for compensation after turning the entire shinobi world into this mess?" Gaara finally couldn't hold back a roar.
Although losing the One-Tailed Shukaku allowed him to finally get some decent sleep and stabilized his mental state, he lacked the guidance of Naruto, the master of "Talk no Jutsu." Consequently, his personality hadn't changed much; he was still just as irritable, bloodthirsty, and cruel.
Instead of getting angry, Allen burst into laughter. "Hahahaha! Is the current state of the shinobi world truly my doing? No. I merely took the long-standing problems and contradictions and laid them bare on the table, so even an illiterate farmer could understand why they suffer and why they never had a chance to change their fate. The ones truly messing up this world were never me, but you ninjas and Hidden Villages who shouldn't have existed in the first place, as well as those Daimyo and nobles who care only for luxury and refuse to take responsibility."
"But it's true that you used the Hidden Sound to provide training for the Resistance, isn't it?" Darui questioned, narrowing his eyes.
"I'm sorry, but that really has nothing to do with me. It was Orochimaru and Kabuto who used the people sent by the Resistance for secret human experimentation and modification. I have never met a single member of the Resistance, nor have I spoken or cooperated with them. Everything I wanted to say to them has already been recorded in that book," Allen replied cryptically.
"So you simply threw a spark onto a pile of dry kindling, then washed your hands of it to sit back and watch the world burn? It seems you are even more dangerous than the rumors suggest," Darui said, his eyes flashing with fury.
He wasn't the only one; the reaction of most of the surrounding ninjas was similar.
In their view, the chaotic situation of the shinobi world and the increasingly dire financial straits of their respective villages were, without exception, caused by the culprit standing before them.
How good life used to be!
Just by wearing a forehead protector, one could easily scare off most bandits and thieves. Often, no combat was even necessary to earn a high fee from a client. Even the lowest Genin could live without worrying about food or clothing, and even save a little.
But now?
Forget taking missions; even leaving the village carried the risk of death at any moment. At this rate, the money earned from a mission might not even cover the funeral expenses of a fallen ninja.
Furthermore, the Nen users within the Resistance had begun to systematically and strategically seize the market. Not only did they charge less, but they also provided marketplaces and order in the territories they occupied.
Combined with the massive wealth seized from the nobility, these commoner-born individuals were becoming increasingly competitive.
Gradually, some merchants began to abandon the Hidden Villages to throw themselves into their embrace...