Chapter 441: New Target
While Rasa was pondering whether to arrange a marriage alliance with Shikaku Nara...
In Iwagakure, within the hospital room, Ishiro and the others had just received the intelligence about the Two-Tails appearing. However, the Iwa intelligence ninja had been too far away and hadn't seen Obito abduct Yugito beforehand. The intelligence that came back was fragmented, chaotic, and illogical. So, when Ishiro and the others saw it, they were all baffled.
Megumi asked with confusion, "The complete Two-Tails fought Tsunade's Katsuyu and Rasa? Did Kumo have a falling out with Konoha and Suna?"
This was the same question Ishiro and the others had.
Ishiro thought for a moment. "Let's wait a bit. Wait for the follow-up battle results."
After a while, new intelligence arrived. The Gedo Statue had disappeared, and the complete Two-Tails hadn't lasted long before being sealed. Apart from that, no other major battles had occurred. The ninja from the three villages had not separated.
Ishiro speculated, "We can basically rule out the possibility of infighting between the three of them."
"If it wasn't infighting, but the Two-Tails was hostile to Katsuyu and Rasa, then there's only one possibility."
"The Two-Tails was under Obito Uchiha's genjutsu. Konoha and Suna must have been helping Kumo seal it."
"This also fits with the intel that the Gedo Statue was summoned away. It must have been Obito taking advantage of the Two-Tails' rampage."
Saka said, "If that's the case, then the Two-Tails Jinchuriki must be very weak right now. It's probably impossible for her to recover without a period of rest."
"Should we take this opportunity to make a move on Kumogakure?"
Saka was still holding a grudge about Kumo besieging Ishiro and nearly killing him.
Ishiro thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Going to war with Kumo is unrealistic. We have just become the hegemon of the ninja world. What we need to do is to transform the status brought by being the hegemon into strength."
"We need to slowly widen the gap between us and the other hidden villages. If we rashly start a war, the result will only be the same as Konoha's before."
Bella nodded. "I agree with Ishiro. Although we have annexed the Land of Waterfalls and occupied a small area in the north of the Land of Fire, these areas have not yet brought us any income. On the contrary, for the initial construction, we have incurred many more expenses."
"Once a war fails, our investment will be all for nothing."
Everyone nodded. That made sense.
Ishiro's tone changed. "However, it's not that we can do nothing. Regardless of whether Kumo and the other two parties have had a falling out..."
"It is a fact that Yugito has a problem. Since that's the case, we'll go and find trouble with Kumo's team."
"The Gedo Statue has disappeared; it must have been summoned back by Obito. I imagine Kumo will be returning soon."
"We will ambush them. Whether we kill the Fourth Raikage or Yugito, it will greatly weaken Kumo's strength."
Ikura's eyes lit up. "That's right. Especially the Fourth Raikage. If we can take the opportunity to kill him, then our position as hegemon will be truly stable."
Konoha was unable to free itself. Kumogakure was now Iwagakure's biggest enemy. Weakening them was now Iwa's basic national policy.
Megumi said with concern, "Master Ishiro, is your injury okay?"
He smiled. "Don't worry. Both Sage Mode and Tailed Beast Chakra Mode can make my injuries recover quickly. By the time we successfully intercept the Raikage's returning party, my injury will definitely have healed long ago."
Hearing this, Bella was not very reassured. She called the head of the medical department, Nakata Hajime, back in and asked for details about Ishiro's injury. Only after getting a definite answer from him did she relax a little.
But she still added, "You can go, but you must also call Lord Third back."
Ishiro nodded. "Alright. The Fourth Raikage has been through a lot; his consumption must also be considerable. Their Kumo ninja also need to rest."
"We'll wait for the Third to come back. Just like the surprise attack on Obito's base last time, this time it will be me, the Third, Han, and Rōshi."
Ikura looked at Kitsuchi. "Senior Kitsuchi will guard the village. I will go too. Your injury isn't fully healed; I'm not at ease."
Seeing that Ishiro was about to refuse, Megumi quickly said, "We can have Kawakita come back and take over for a few days. With Senior Kitsuchi and him in the village, there should be no problem."
Ishiro was helpless. "Fine. Then the five of us will go together."
Since the decision had been made, Ishiro could no longer rest his mind and recover slowly.
He called Little Saiken in from outside the hospital room, directly entered Six-Tails Chakra Mode, and began to use the Tailed Beast chakra to rapidly heal his injuries.
Ikura also went to make pre-war preparations.
Kitsuchi, Saka, and the others began to arrange for the village's security alert after Ishiro and the others left.
The next day, Ōnoki returned to Iwagakure with Kawakita and Rōshi.
He was a little exasperated; he hadn't been able to travel at all during this time. First was that ridiculously short Great Ninja War. He had led Kawakita and Rōshi to intercept Suna, and in the end, had successfully killed his old rival, Chiyo. Just as that ended, he had led a large army to directly invade the northern border of the Land of Fire, successfully occupying a piece of fertile land and directly connecting the Land of Earth to the Land of Hot Water. After that, he had gone on a long-distance surprise attack with Ishiro and the others, directly destroying one of Obito's bases in Konoha.
Just as he was about to catch his breath, now Ishiro was stirring up trouble again. What was it this time, assassinating the Fourth Raikage?
How come I've been Tsuchikage for decades and haven't had as much going on as in these past few days?
But why is there a faint trace of anticipation in my heart?
Ōnoki had returned from the northern part of the Land of Fire—now the territory of the Land of Earth—first stopping by the Land of Waterfalls to pick up Kawakita, who was presiding over the branch construction, and then returned quickly to the village with both him and Rōshi.
When Ōnoki and Kawakita heard about what had happened these past few days, they both felt as if they were in another world. Especially Kawakita; he hadn't even participated in the last surprise attack on Obito's base. The shock was even greater for him.
He couldn't help but say, "What? While I was building a branch in the Land of Hot Water, so many things happened?"
Megumi chuckled in a low voice. "You'll get used to it in the future."
Once everyone was assembled, Ishiro and the others flew off together in the direction of the Land of Hot Water.
Just as Ishiro had expected, after the Gedo Statue was summoned away by Obito, the Raikage and his group had not immediately dispersed. They continued to stay in the Land of Hot Water for one night. Both he and Yugito really needed to recuperate.
That night, the three Kage chatted about some major ninja world affairs.
For example, Tsunade and Rasa mentioned the ring on the White Zetsu that had been disguised as Obito.
"From its style, it should be an Akatsuki ring. I have seen them on the three leaders of the Akatsuki before; there's no mistake," Rasa said. "It's just that the character on the ring is different. That should be their codename in the organization."
Tsunade also nodded in agreement. "Although I haven't seen an Akatsuki member wear one, his ring is indeed just as my master said. And last time during the surprise attack on the Land of Rain, we also obtained one from the Akatsuki member, Jūzō Biwa."
After speaking, Tsunade looked at Kakashi. That ring had been obtained after he had led his men to kill Jūzō.
Kakashi nodded. "That's right. My Sharingan also observed it carefully. It is indeed an Akatsuki ring."
"Their rings are very special, possibly related to some ability of the Rinnegan. They can't be imitated by outsiders."
The Fourth Raikage frowned and asked, "So, this mysterious Uchiha is a member of that Akatsuki organization? Are they really that powerful? It's not just them bluffing?"
Tsunade said with a helpless expression, "Raikage, two of the three leaders of the Akatsuki are Kage-level."
"Among the other official members, not counting the mysterious Uchiha we saw today, there are also the former Takigakure rogue, Kakuzu, and the Sunagakure rogue, Sasori."
"Originally, there was also my old partner, Orochimaru. Fortunately, he has now left the Akatsuki."
Before the Raikage could interject, Rasa said, "What the Hokage said is inaccurate. All three of the Akatsuki leaders are Kage-level now."
Hiss~
Tsunade, the Raikage, Kakashi, Shikaku, and the others all sucked in a cold breath in unison.
Tsunade quickly asked, "Kazekage, when did this happen?"
Rasa said flatly, "Last time, when we cooperated to attack the Akatsuki, I discovered it. At that time, when they were preparing to meet us in battle, their top-tier combat power was even greater than ours, which is why I chose to withdraw."
Rasa took the opportunity to make an excuse for his betrayal.
The Fourth Raikage smashed the temporary desk in front of them to pieces with one punch.
Then he gritted his teeth. "So you're saying, if the Akatsuki fully supports Iwagakure, the combined high-end combat power of our three sides might not even be as much as theirs?"
Tsunade smiled bitterly and nodded.
A continued, "What exactly is the relationship between Iwa and the Akatsuki? Why can't our village's intelligence figure out how they got hooked up?"
Rasa also looked at Tsunade. He was also very curious about this question.
Tsunade hesitated, but considering that the three of them were now allies, this kind of information, which did not involve the village's core secrets, was not good to hide. So she said, "I do know some reasons."
"A long time ago, when the Akatsuki was just starting out, one of our Konoha's advisors contacted Hanzō of the Land of Rain."
"He wanted to gain the support of the Land of Rain on the condition that he would deal with the Akatsuki."
"But this operation was destroyed by the Tsuchikage, who was just a jonin at the time, perhaps not even a jonin."
"The Tsuchikage saved the three leaders of the Akatsuki."
"After that, the shadow of the Tsuchikage was present in both their negotiations and their confrontation with Hanzō. So, the Tsuchikage is a benefactor to the Akatsuki."
Danzō! The Fourth Raikage and Rasa exchanged a glance. They both knew who the other had guessed.
A said, "We must weaken Iwagakure or the Akatsuki. Otherwise, we will be finished."
"Don't forget, Kirigakure is also very close to Iwagakure. Once those three join forces, they will have the ability to annihilate all three of our villages."
Tsunade's and Rasa's faces became just as ugly as his.
Especially Tsunade. She also knew that they had to limit the Akatsuki's development, but she couldn't. If she could have eradicated them, she would have done so long ago, just like when she had allied with Suna.
But with a "nuclear bomb" level of a ticking time bomb in her own village, she was in a difficult position too.
Rasa seemed to have seen her thoughts. "Hokage, if you don't mind, our Sunagakure is willing to help your Konoha quell its internal strife."
The Raikage, hearing this, first thought of the last two times meat was carved from Konoha, both of which he had missed.
He cursed himself inwardly for reacting too slowly, then immediately said, "Our Kumogakure can also lend a hand."
Tsunade was very tempted. Although asking them to make a move would require Konoha to pay a huge price, compared to a high-intensity rebellion, this was nothing. She really wanted to agree immediately, but she glanced at Kakashi, who was not far away, standing with his head down. She held back and did not directly agree.
Tsunade knew about Kakashi's abnormal "Uchiha complex."
(End of Chapter)
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