One day of rest wasn't enough for Konan's team of six to fully recover.
The mission to Kirigakure had drained them heavily, both mentally and physically. A single day simply wasn't sufficient for full recovery.
In contrast, Ye Zi had recovered completely. With Hashirama cells in his body achieving perfect compatibility, and with most of the chakra consumed in the battle at Cloud and Lightning Gorge having been provided by Kuu, his own reserves hadn't taken much damage. In the few days since returning to Amegakure, he was already back in peak condition.
Even though the others hadn't fully recovered, Nagato couldn't afford to wait, like a boss squeezing every last drop of labor from his workers, he gathered everyone to begin the sealing of the Tailed Beasts.
Since all the captured Jinchūriki were in Amegakure, Nagato directly summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path into the underground space beneath Amegakure's central tower, saving them the trip to the underground cave in the Land of Rice Fields.
Unlike that naturally formed cavern, this underground space was entirely man-made. The floor, walls, and ceiling were built from bricks, every corner showed clear signs of human construction.
Without unnecessary words, Nagato summoned the statue and gave brief instructions on things to note when sealing three Tailed Beasts simultaneously, then initiated the sealing ritual.
The nine members stood atop the statue's eight fingers, steadying their minds before beginning the process.
The scroll covering the grotesque mouth of the statue unraveled, and chakra dragons surged from within. They gathered and lunged at the unconscious bodies of Yugito Nii, Utakata, and Killer Bee, who were lying on the ground.
The merged chakra cluster radiated powerful energy as it lifted the three Jinchūriki into the air, beginning the extraction of their Tailed Beast chakra. As the chakra was gradually pulled out, the countdown to their deaths had already begun.
Chakra streams trickled out from their eyes, mouths, noses, and ears, like flowing water, into the statue's gaping mouth.
Sealing one Tailed Beast takes three days. Sealing three simultaneously doesn't require nine days, but it still wouldn't be done in just three, it was expected to take around five to six days.
During this process, each participant would consume more chakra and stamina than they would sealing just one beast. The toll would be high and unrelenting.
Ye Zi and Nagato, still in top condition, could handle the intense process without issue. But for the six others, who had barely rested after returning from Kirigakure, it was brutal.
They gritted their teeth and pushed through, but by the time the sealing was over, they would likely collapse from sheer exhaustion.
In the quiet underground chamber, the only sound was the soft hum of flowing chakra. Not a word was spoken by any of them throughout the entire process.
This silence would last for days. The time wasn't long, but the repetition was dull and draining.
While Ye Zi's team carried out the Tailed Beast sealing, the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio arrived in Kirigakure only to be greeted by a heavy, somber atmosphere.
After explaining the purpose of their visit, the village quickly welcomed them inside and arranged a meeting with the high-ranking officials and elite jōnin of the village.
Inside the meeting room, everyone took their seats.
The Kirigakure representatives wore grim expressions and agreed to the proposed alliance without hesitation.
For them, an alliance among the great villages to stand against Amegakure was something they had been hoping for. Their Mizukage had just been taken, and now Konoha had arrived with a "pillow" in hand, but that still couldn't dispel the gloom in the village.
This was the second time it had happened, two generations of Mizukage Jinchūriki, both taken by Amegakure. There would be no more tolerance this time.
After agreeing to the alliance, the Kirigakure leaders explained the events of the past few days to the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
Hearing the full story, the trio were left stunned. They had felt something was off the moment they entered the village, but they never imagined the Mizukage had been abducted by Akatsuki just days ago.
The shock was enormous.
They had departed from Konoha with the mission to rally the other villages. First they visited the Wind and Earth Countries, securing agreements from Sunagakure and Iwagakure. Then they moved on to Kumogakure, only for Ye Zi to attack it, capturing two Jinchūriki in the process.
Kumogakure immediately agreed to the alliance. Realizing how dire things were becoming, the trio rushed to Kirigakure, only to find that their Mizukage had also been taken. How could they not be stunned?
The timing was simply too perfect. If they hadn't been traveling between villages for this alliance mission, they wouldn't have learned about both incidents so quickly.
Amegakure's sudden and sweeping operation, capturing Kumogakure and Kirigakure's Jinchūriki almost simultaneously, combined with the previous Tailed Beasts they'd already taken, confirmed the worst: Akatsuki's goal in collecting the Tailed Beasts must be something terrifying and secretive.
And when they thought of that, the trio's minds turned to Kushina back in Konoha.
It was now crystal clear, Amegakure was aiming to collect all the Tailed Beasts. Their next target was very likely Kushina.
"In fact, we just came from Kumogakure," Shikaku said, suppressing his shaken emotions. "The Jinchūriki were taken six days ago by Akatsuki as well."
That news hit Kirigakure's upper echelon hard.
So even Kumogakure's Jinchūriki had been taken, and around the same time as their Mizukage. This meant Amegakure had carefully planned and executed a massive, coordinated strike.
"Unbelievable…" The Kirigakure leaders exchanged glances, their expressions grim.
"We must move on this alliance immediately. We'll send a representative at once. Konoha needs to arrange the conference as soon as possible," said a middle-aged man with facial markings, his tone firm and heavy.
Shikaku nodded slightly. "Once we return to the village, we'll send word via messenger hawk. Please prepare for war in the meantime."
A white-haired elder among them replied, "We will. Please depart immediately."
At this point, Kirigakure didn't want to waste even a second. Once everything was settled, they urged the Ino-Shika-Cho trio to leave as quickly as possible and return to organize the alliance talks.
The so-called "conference" was for the Five Kage to gather and formally discuss the logistics of attacking Amegakure like...
How resources would be divided. What kind of support each village would provide. How many soldiers each would deploy. The ratios of genin, chūnin, and jōnin involved.
An alliance wasn't just a verbal agreement, it required meticulous preparation and coordination before launching a full-scale assault.
After that, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio wasted no time and began their return journey to Konoha.
From the start, they hadn't been optimistic about the alliance. But now, with everything that had happened, it had become inevitable.
And Shikaku now fully understood why this alliance had been forged.
He could already feel it in the air, a great storm was coming.
And as the trio set off on their return to the village, deep in Amegakure, the sealing of the Tailed Beasts continued to progress steadily.
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