Danzo's resurrection was nothing more than one of Orochimaru's twisted amusements.
This was his first official use of Edo Tensei, so naturally, the first shinobi he summoned deserved a sense of ceremony.
After careful consideration, Danzo was the perfect choice.
Using the Second Hokage's Edo Tensei inside Root's headquarters to resurrect the Second Hokage's disciple, the former leader of Root, and now the rogue ninja Danzo.
Just imagining that reunion was enough to fill Orochimaru with excitement.
While Orochimaru was enjoying his long-awaited reunion with Danzo, Hayashi, far away in the Land of Iron, continued speaking with complete confidence.
He even declared that if anyone in Konoha ever used Edo Tensei, they deserved a miserable death.
What a joke.
Orochimaru sought immortality. Dying peacefully was never part of his plans.
The other Kage could only remain silent after hearing Hayashi's bold declaration. After all, even if he swore to be struck by lightning, who could prove whether such an oath would ever come true?
Hayashi continued calmly.
"I didn't bring this up to claim that the Third and Fourth Mizukage were necessarily controlled through Edo Tensei."
"There are many techniques in the shinobi world capable of producing similar results."
He turned toward Rasa.
"For example, doesn't the Hidden Sand possess one, Fourth Kazekage?"
Caught off guard, Rasa frowned.
"What exactly are you implying, Fourth Hokage?"
"Your village possesses the Human Puppet technique."
Rasa nodded.
"That is true."
"However, the creation of Human Puppets is strictly forbidden within the Hidden Sand."
Hayashi smiled.
"Even so, as far as I know, the Hidden Sand was attacked not long ago by one of its own rogue ninja."
"Sasori of the Red Sand."
"The puppet he used happened to be the long-missing..."
Rasa finished the sentence himself.
"The Third Kazekage."
His expression grew noticeably darker.
Silence once again filled the conference hall.
Mifune's eyes widened.
This summit had revealed more secrets than he had expected to hear in an entire lifetime.
Ōnoki sighed.
"I never imagined that the strongest Kazekage in history would fall to Sasori."
"If I remember correctly, Sasori was only around fifteen when the Third Kazekage disappeared."
Rasa nodded.
"That's right."
"Precisely because he was so young, we never suspected him after the Third Kazekage vanished."
Of course, that wasn't the only reason.
Chiyo had deliberately concealed Sasori's defection.
Later, Chiyo and Rasa had reached certain agreements, even using Pakura as part of negotiations with Iwagakure.
Many political dealings had taken place during that period.
As the newly appointed Fourth Kazekage, Rasa had needed stability to secure his authority. Even if he had harbored suspicions, he had chosen not to investigate Chiyo's grandson too deeply.
Naturally, none of those internal affairs could be mentioned before the other Kage.
Otherwise, the Hidden Sand's scandals would spread throughout the shinobi world the moment this summit ended.
The Fourth Raikage let out a dismissive snort.
"The Hidden Sand certainly produces plenty of geniuses."
Rasa ignored the sarcasm.
Instead, he fixed his gaze on Hayashi.
"Konoha's intelligence network is truly impressive."
"Only four or five people know about this incident, and I'm certain none of them would reveal it to you."
"So tell me, Fourth Hokage."
"How did you learn about it?"
More than anything, Rasa wanted to know exactly how much Hayashi knew about the Hidden Sand's secrets.
Hayashi merely smiled.
"I have my own sources."
"You don't need to concern yourself with them."
He continued.
"My point is simple."
"The attacks carried out by the Third and Fourth Mizukage don't necessarily reflect their own intentions."
"They may have been controlled by someone else."
"Konoha possesses techniques capable of such things."
"The Hidden Sand has similar methods."
"So do other villages."
"Even certain powerful genjutsu can produce comparable results."
Hayashi paused before continuing.
"Has anyone noticed something unusual?"
"After the Third Great Ninja War, Konoha was attacked by Uchiha Fugaku."
"His objective was the Nine-Tails."
He looked toward Rasa.
"So why did Sasori attack the Hidden Sand?"
"Surely it wasn't just to show off the Third Kazekage's puppet."
Rasa remained silent for a moment before answering.
"You're right."
"He took the sealing vessel containing the One-Tail, Shukaku."
The conference hall fell silent once again.
Hayashi smiled faintly.
"So the One-Tail was taken."
"The Fourth Raikage has also confirmed that the Hidden Cloud lost its Tailed Beast after being attacked by the Mizukage."
"The Hidden Mist lost the Six-Tails."
He shifted his attention toward Ōnoki.
"What about Iwagakure?"
Everyone turned to look at the elderly Tsuchikage.
Ōnoki nodded.
"Last year, the Hidden Mist rogue ninja Biwa Jūzō, together with Konoha's rogue ninja Uchiha Fugaku, attacked Iwagakure."
"They stole both the Four-Tails and the Five-Tails."
Hayashi let out a quiet sigh.
"Exactly."
"Beginning with Fugaku's attack on Konoha, an organized group of rogue ninja has spent the last two years systematically targeting all Five Great Nations."
"They have successfully taken every Tailed Beast except the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails."
This had been Hayashi's real objective from the very beginning.
He wasn't trying to protect the Hidden Mist Village.
Its fate meant little to him.
What he wanted was to prevent the Five Great Nations from exhausting themselves through endless internal conflict.
Without someone who already knew the truth, these incidents alone could easily escalate into another full-scale Great Ninja War.
The Fourth Great Ninja War was already approaching.
Rather than allowing everyone to realize the truth only after the enemy had already completed its plans, it was far better to unite them now.
If these villages could become obstacles for Akatsuki, they would at least weaken the organization before the final confrontation.
It would also push Akatsuki to accelerate its plans.
Konoha alone might still achieve Hayashi's ultimate goal, but doing so would come at an enormous cost in lives.
That wasn't worthwhile.
This was a crisis facing the entire shinobi world.
Every village should shoulder its share of the burden.
As everyone silently processed Hayashi's words, the weight of the situation gradually settled over the room.
If someone had claimed two years ago that a single organization could gather seven Tailed Beasts within such a short period, every one of them would have dismissed it as impossible.
Yet now the evidence stood before them.
The Fifth Mizukage, Hōzuki Senjin, finally broke the silence.
"Then... why are they collecting the Tailed Beasts?"
Rasa answered first.
"What else could it be?"
"The Tailed Beasts are the greatest military assets of every hidden village."
"If someone has gathered seven of them, they're obviously preparing to use that power against the Five Great Nations."
The Fourth Raikage nodded coldly.
"The shinobi world has never lacked people who seek to abuse the power of the Tailed Beasts."
"Anyone with such ambitions must be eliminated."
A faint smile appeared on Hayashi's face.
Even if he stood up right now and claimed that Nagato was pursuing peace for the shinobi world, not a single person in this room would believe him.
Nor should they.
In the eyes of every Kage present, if peace were ever to exist, it would be established by the Five Great Nations themselves.
Any outside organization attempting to reshape the world was, by definition, an enemy.
=≠=
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