Although he didn't finish the sentence, everyone else present already understood the Raikage's meaning: take advantage of the fact that he was alone and strike first to gain the advantage.
"My information is roughly the same as yours, but have you considered one issue? Why have we obtained intelligence about the Akatsuki leader so easily?
Doesn't he know that once his whereabouts are exposed, a significant risk will follow? I feel like this isn't the case. I have a sense that this is deliberately luring us into something."
"Tsuchikage, what you said is indeed a possibility, but what can we do about it? Are we just supposed to sit here waiting for them to finish preparing and then attack us?
The war between us was never going to have a one hundred percent chance of victory anyway, and precisely because of that, we should seize the initiative ourselves instead of waiting indefinitely like this."
Hearing Ōnoki's concern, A first nodded in agreement. He also knew there was this issue, but as he had said, they actually didn't have many choices.
"My thinking aligns with the Raikage's on this point. Rather than sitting and waiting for death, I prefer to take control of my own fate. It's like gambling—as long as the odds of winning reach a certain level, you can make the decision."
"Indeed."
"..."
After the Raikage, Tsunade, Mei Terumī, and Chiyo each expressed their views, and one common thread among them was a clear inclination toward taking the initiative to strike.
"Indeed, perhaps it's because I'm getting old, but I've become somewhat hesitant and overcautious. You're right—we truly cannot keep sitting and waiting for death.
We must show them some color. After all, those guys are merely missing-nin who couldn't establish themselves in their villages back then. How could we possibly be intimidated by them?"
As he spoke, Ōnoki could not help but sigh inwardly that he might truly be getting old. Moreover, unlike the other villages, the Hidden Rock Village was now clearly in a state of generational gap.
Even if he wanted to step down, he couldn't find a suitable Tsuchikage successor. He couldn't possibly let Kurotsuchi take over in the end, could he? Just imagining that scene made Ōnoki's heart tighten.
"Since there are no objections, then it's decided. While the Akatsuki is still scattered across various locations, we will combine our forces to first eliminate the possessor of that Rinnegan.
With those eyes, even if he isn't the leader, he is undoubtedly one of the top in strength within the Akatsuki. Taking him out first will definitely make subsequent battles much easier."
"Mm, that's correct. However, Hokage, as you just said, it's like gambling—before we act, we must also make every effort to prepare as thoroughly as possible. We have to minimize any potential risks to the greatest extent."
"Indeed."
...
In the following period of time, the comings and goings of ninjas in the villages became increasingly frequent, while the other members of the Akatsuki very "cooperatively" appeared here and there across the ninja world from time to time, yet in perfect tacit understanding, none of them approached their leader.
During this period, some obscure and unknown ninjas successively left their villages, then covertly gathered together, ultimately forming a team of more than a dozen people.
But strangely, although they all appeared to be ninjas with no reputation, their traveling speed was extremely fast—even ordinary jōnin might struggle to keep up.