Obito and Black and White Zetsu had controlled Kirigakure for too long, becoming arrogant without realizing it. Gen and the others' plan was meticulous and extremely sudden.
Half an hour ago, Kirigakure was calm and peaceful, as usual. Half an hour later, the situation changed drastically, and the sounds of battle shook the heavens.
Obito's group and Yagura's die-hard supporters were caught completely off guard. They didn't even have enough time to rally their forces and were beaten back step by step, all the way to the Mizukage Tower.
Obito had no choice but to control Yagura and personally appear to intimidate the people and buy time for reinforcements to arrive.
His long and brutal rule had instilled deep-seated fear, and for a moment, he managed to control the scene.
However, Terumī Mei came rushing over and spat out a stream of yellow-white acid that could melt gold and corrode iron. Although it didn't harm Yagura, it snapped the other Kiri ninja back to their senses.
Facing a siege, Yagura's personal strength was not enough. He had no choice but to use the power of the Three-Tails.
Yagura's control over the Tailed Beast's power was undoubtedly stronger than Utakata's. In a one-on-one fight, Utakata would be no match for him.
However, with the help of Terumī Mei and many other Kiri ninja, the situation was different. Moreover, more and more Kiri ninja, upon hearing the news, came to lend their support.
Yagura was unpopular. Even with the support of his die-hard followers, he could not turn the tide.
Realizing the situation was hopeless, and at Black Zetsu's urging, Obito did not stubbornly fight to the end but chose to break through the encirclement.
However, breaking through was not easy. Terumī Mei and the others had come with the intention of killing Yagura. If they let him escape, the consequences would be endless!
Yagura's strength had not yet reached the point where he could ignore the number of ninja he was facing. Under the relentless, death-defying attacks of countless Kiri ninja, he could not break through.
In the end, to prevent Yagura from being killed, which would cause the Three-Tails to be reborn and affect his plans, Obito had no choice but to appear and use Kamui to take away the human-form Yagura.
This stunned Terumī Mei and the others...
The Kirigakure coup was successful, but the large-scale battle within the village had caused significant losses, both in terms of ninja and property. They were now certainly at the bottom of the five great ninja villages.
Before the aftermath could be fully dealt with, Gen came forward and pushed Terumī Mei into the position of the Fifth Mizukage.
In terms of the shortage of new talent, Kirigakure was the most severe among the five great ninja villages. Not only were they lacking Kage-level experts, but they also had the fewest Jōnin, and the younger generation had very few talented individuals.
Gen had no choice but to choose Terumī Mei. Besides the Six-Tails Jinchūriki, Utakata, no one else's combat power had even touched the threshold of a Kage-level expert.
Utakata could not become the Mizukage, not only because he was a former rogue ninja, but more importantly, because of the precedent set by Yagura.
Kirigakure did not know that Yagura was being controlled by Obito. They thought that Yagura's personality had changed drastically, turning from a dragon slayer into a dragon, because of the Tailed Beast's influence.
After taking office, Terumī Mei immediately abolished the policies related to the Bloody Mist in the name of the Mizukage and implemented a policy of recuperation. At the same time, she issued a series of pardons.
She pardoned the rogue ninja of Kirigakure who were not guilty of heinous, unforgivable crimes and called for them to return to the now-cleared-skies Kirigakure to serve.
When the news of the changes in Kirigakure spread, some rogue ninja who still held Kirigakure in their hearts did return, but not many. They were afraid it was a trap or that old scores would be settled.
Among them were Zabuza Momochi and Haku.
Kageyama Kogetsu's arrival had changed too much. Team 7, led by Kakashi, never encountered the two, so they did not die.
As more and more returning rogue ninja spoke of their experiences, an increasing number returned to the village to serve, which helped Kirigakure recover some of its strength.
Due to the extremely bloody, cruel, and high-pressure policies, Kirigakure had the most rogue ninja among the five great ninja villages.
Kisame Hoshigaki and Jūzō Biwa also received the news. Although they were happy about the changes in Kirigakure, they had no intention of returning.
...
Time flew by, and the year entered Konoha 66. In a hidden mountain belly in the Land of Rain.
A large part of the mountain had been hollowed out. A monster loomed in the darkness. Soon, a series of rainbow-colored phantom projections appeared on the monster's ten fingers.
These people were Pain (Yahiko), Konan, Black and White Zetsu, Kakuzu, Pakura, Itachi Uchiha, Kisame Hoshigaki, Sasori of the Red Sand, Deidara, and Hidan.
As for Jūzō Biwa, because he was the weakest and lacked Hidan's strange, first-encounter-kill ability, he and his partner were sent to manage the outer members.
In other words, Jūzō Biwa was now between the outer and core members. His partner was the same rogue ninja who was casually killed from behind by Kakuzu in the anime.
With the addition of new members, the Akatsuki's team composition had also changed slightly.
Kakuzu and Pakura were separated. The immortal duo was together, and Pakura and Konan formed a team.
It wasn't a mandatory requirement. Pain had consulted Kakuzu and Pakura, and the two had agreed in order to obtain more intelligence.
"After years of preparation, the Akatsuki is now fully prepared. It is time to begin the final step of the plan."
Pain spoke, his somewhat distorted, deep, and low voice ringing out, clear for everyone to hear.
"It's finally starting! I can't wait to offer the Jinchūriki to Lord Jashin!" Hidan exclaimed.
"Hahaha... the time has come to show the world the art of explosion!" Deidara laughed uproariously.
The others were more composed and did not speak, quietly waiting for what was to come.
"Because the situation in the ninja world is relatively stable, the organization has not found an opportunity to instigate a great ninja war in recent years. Therefore, we can only resort to direct capture as a secondary option."
"The capture operations must be as secretive and swift as possible. We cannot give the five great ninja villages too much time to react."
"The Three-Tails has already been obtained. The capture order for the remaining Tailed Beasts is: Seven, Four, Five, Six, One, Two, Eight, Nine."
"The capture order is not fixed. It will depend on the specific situation."
"Zetsu, you must do your utmost to provide intelligence support. Those carrying out the operations must also gather intelligence and adapt to the situation."
"Heh heh... no problem. I'll give it my all," Black and White Zetsu said with a grin.
"Good. Now for the mission assignments."
"The Seven-Tails is in Takigakure. No one in the organization is more familiar with that place than you, Kakuzu. So, Kakuzu and Hidan will be in charge."
"Alright," Kakuzu and Hidan said in deep voices.
"The Four-Tails is weak to Water Release, so Kisame and Itachi will be in charge."
"Alright," Itachi and Kisame said in deep voices.
"I will personally be in charge of the Five-Tails. Konan and Pakura will be in charge of the Six-Tails."
"Alright," Konan and Pakura said in deep voices.
"No one in the organization is more familiar with Sunagakure than you, Sasori. Sasori and Deidara will be in charge."
"Alright," Sasori and Deidara said in deep voices.
"I have my own arrangements for the Two-Tails. You don't need to worry about it."
In reality, Obito was responsible for the Two-Tails. Infiltrating Kumogakure and finding the right time for a sneak attack was not difficult.
"I will also be personally in charge of the Eight-Tails."
If Obito captured the Two-Tails, he would have taken two Tailed Beasts. As the nominal leader, Nagato naturally would not allow himself to be outdone by Obito.
"The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki's strength is extraordinary, and he is protected by Konoha, whose military power has returned to the top of the ninja world. He is the most troublesome."
"Therefore, no one will be specifically in charge. When the time is right, we will all infiltrate Konoha, attack together, and forcefully capture the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."
"To complete the plan, during the missions, everyone can request assistance at any time. Any available team must go to support."
"That is the current arrangement. Does anyone have anything to add?"
Pain looked around. Seeing that no one had anything to say, he announced the dismissal.
The rainbow-colored phantoms disappeared, and the dim mountain belly fell into a dead silence...
Less than half an hour after the meeting ended, the contents of the Akatsuki meeting appeared on Kageyama Kogetsu's desk.
"Hehe, they're finally making their move. I've been waiting so long the flowers have almost withered."
Kageyama Kogetsu smiled, then instructed Kakuzu and the others to cooperate with the Akatsuki's actions...
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