Konoha Village.
Hokage Tower.
Two figures slowly pushed open the office door.
Lady Tsunade, who was at her desk buried in paperwork, heard the commotion. When she saw the two individuals, a hint of joy finally broke through the frown that had creased her brow for days.
"How did it go?" she couldn't help but ask.
"Since we're here, it obviously means we succeeded," Jiraiya said, hooking an arm around Kakashi's neck with a boisterous laugh.
Kakashi scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. Taking this long just to master the basics of the Flying Thunder God Technique truly made him feel a bit ashamed. To be constantly praised as Konoha's number one technician, yet take so long to learn a single ninjutsu...
"Excellent!" Tsunade slammed her hand on the desk and stood up, her face beaming with delight. "You two are to immediately set out as envoys to the other Four Great Shinobi Villages."
"Huh...?" Jiraiya and Kakashi exchanged glances, somewhat bewildered. What direct connection was there between mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique and being sent as envoys to the Four Great Shinobi Villages?
"I'm going to convene a Five Kage Summit!" Tsunade declared gravely.
"Why?" Jiraiya asked.
Tsunade handed them an intelligence report from her desk. Puzzled, they took it, opened it, and began to read. A moment later, they slowly looked up at her, unconcealed shock in their eyes.
"That old geezer Onoki actually lost to the leader of Akatsuki?" Jiraiya clicked his tongue in disbelief. Who was Onoki? He was a top-tier powerhouse who had fought through the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars and mastered Kekkei Tota.
It was well known that the reason the Five Great Shinobi Villages had allowed Akatsuki and the Dragon Heritage Organization to run rampant, aside from their formidable strength making annihilation a messy affair, was another crucial factor: the true powerhouses of the Five Great Shinobi Villages had yet to make their move. They were confident that if old monsters of Onoki's caliber intervened, Akatsuki and the Dragon Heritage Organization wouldn't be able to stir up any trouble at all.
But now, reality had delivered a harsh slap in the face.
In the battle for the Jinchuriki in the Land of Grass, Onoki had intervened and engaged in direct combat with Akatsuki's leader, Pain. Fair and square, without resorting to any tricks or schemes, the Akatsuki leader, relying on his own immense power, had defeated Onoki, the master of Kekkei Tota, in a head-on battle.
In other words, the Five Great Shinobi Villages' last fig leaf had been torn away...
"Exactly. That's why I'm so desperate to convene a Five Kage Summit," Tsunade sighed lightly.
"Convening a Five Kage Summit at this time is indeed appropriate," Jiraiya nodded in understanding. "But what about Kirigakure? Will they agree?" Since the end of the Third Great Ninja War, Kirigakure had been absent from the public eye for a long time.
"They will." Tsunade nodded, her delicate hand pulling another document from a drawer and handing it to them. "This is an alliance proposal submitted not long ago by Kirigakure's Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi."
"When did you contact Kirigakure?" Jiraiya asked, surprised. Good heavens, Tsunade is actually working this hard... Is this still the Tsunade he knew?
"It wasn't me. Kirigakure's Fifth Mizukage contacted me proactively," Tsunade shook her head slightly. "From what we currently understand, the Fifth Mizukage seems to want to change people's perception of Kirigakure as the 'Village of the Bloody Mist' and has recently been conducting extensive foreign diplomacy."
"It seems a lot has happened in Kirigakure over these years," Jiraiya couldn't help but remark.
"Probably quite a lot." Tsunade nodded in agreement. "Whether it was the strange abdication of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, or the accession of the current Fifth Mizukage, Kirigakure made no external announcements. I've also sent out many spies recently, but haven't received any information at all."
"If I recall correctly, the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, was the Three-Tails Jinchuriki," Kakashi suddenly interjected. "And the Three-Tails only recently appeared on the battlefield."
"..." Tsunade and Jiraiya were instantly alarmed, exchanging a look. This information seemed... a bit chilling! A Jinchuriki's life was bound to their Tailed Beast. Once the Tailed Beast was removed from the Jinchuriki's body, it meant...
"Ahem! Let's prepare for the Five Kage Summit first!" Jiraiya coughed lightly. "I'll take care of Kirigakure and Kumogakure."
"Then I'll notify Iwagakure and Sunagakure," Kakashi said.
Amegakure.
Naruto struggled to swim to the surface, gasping for air. The undercurrents were terrifying; he had almost been done for. He had just taken a direct hit from Shinra Tensei and been blasted to the seabed.
In the distance, the Deva Path Pain clasped his hands together. Chakra from his body surged wildly towards his hands, and a small, jet-black sphere slowly began to form between them. Naruto wiped the seawater from his face. Although he hadn't seen this technique before, its sheer power made it clear his opponent was preparing a major attack.
"Chibaku Tensei!"
The Deva Path Pain gently tossed the black sphere in his hands towards the sky. Vast amounts of seawater, reef fragments, and marine life were drawn upwards into the air, defying gravity.
"He's even using that technique. It seems Nagato has been pushed to his limit," White Zetsu remarked from afar.
"It's time to prepare. Nagato can't afford to have anything happen to him right now," Black Zetsu said. The pitcher plant figure slowly merged into the earth.
"Kurama, ever seen this technique?" Naruto asked, leaping between the floating chunks of reef.
"Haven't seen it, but I've heard of it," Kurama replied. "Look up at the moon."
"Don't tell me the Sage of Six Paths used this technique to create the moon?" Naruto glanced at the high moon, clicking his tongue in amazement.
"Still marveling! And you're not even using Flying Thunder God to escape!" Kurama berated him, frustrated by his lack of urgency.
"No rush. This is a legendary-tier technique; I haven't gotten a good look at it yet," Naruto said, a massive amount of golden chakra gathering around him. After a few breaths, a giant golden fox appeared in mid-air.
VMMM!
A vast amount of Yin-Yang chakra rapidly coalesced in front of its mouth and shot fiercely towards the central black sphere. He couldn't remember which book he'd read it in, but when faced with a ninjutsu you couldn't counter, attacking the source of the jutsu with an even stronger one was never wrong.
BOOM!
A terrifying shockwave, accompanied by blinding white light, surged in all directions. The sea churned madly, roaring!
Naruto was blasted right out of his Kurama form, sent flying into the distance, and slammed into the sea. The Deva Path Pain fared little better, carving a scar several li long across the sea surface before disappearing among the cliffs.
Inside the high tower, in a dimly lit room, the gaunt Nagato suddenly vomited a large mouthful of blood.
"Nagato!" Konan, standing by his side, couldn't help but exclaim upon seeing this.
"I'm fine." Nagato shook his head slightly, gasping for breath, his gaze seemingly penetrating the walls to look at the distant battlefield. "Konan, help me retrieve the Deva Path's body." Of the Six Paths of Pain, all but the Deva Path could be replaced by any random corpse.
"...I understand." Konan created a paper clone, which flew towards the location where the Deva Path Pain had last disappeared.
The pitcher plant figure slowly emerged.
"What is it?" Konan, upon seeing him, slowly moved to stand in front of Nagato. Among all Akatsuki members, aside from Uchiha Madara lurking in the shadows, this was the guy they needed to be most wary of.
"It's time to leave. The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki will be here soon," Black Zetsu said, looking at Nagato.