Hayashi had only mentioned that a mysterious force was collecting the Tailed Beasts, yet the other four Kage immediately imagined a conspiracy aimed at destroying the Five Great Nations.
It was not because they were overly suspicious. History had taught them that such fears were entirely justified.
Ever since the Tailed Beasts first appeared, countless people had coveted their overwhelming power.
Before the founding of the Five Great Ninja Villages, aside from Shukaku, the other Tailed Beasts still roamed freely.
Kumogakure, for example, had once attempted to capture the Nine-Tails.
During that operation, Kinkaku and Ginkaku were swallowed alive by the Nine-Tails. They survived inside its body for two weeks, feeding on its flesh and absorbing its chakra. As a result, the Gold and Silver Brothers permanently gained a portion of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
It was arguably the most successful attempt to harness a Tailed Beast's power before the creation of the Jinchuriki system.
Inspired by that incident, the Second Raikage later mobilized the village to conduct experiments using the Eight-Tails' tentacles, hoping to replicate the result.
However, countless volunteers died during those experiments. Eventually, the Second Raikage was forced to abandon the project, and every related record was sealed away as one of Kumogakure's darkest chapters.
There had been many other attempts throughout history to exploit the power of the Tailed Beasts, but every one of them ended in failure.
Everything changed after the battle at the Valley of the End.
Uzumaki Mito successfully sealed the Nine-Tails within herself, becoming the world's first true Jinchuriki.
From that moment onward, humanity finally found a way to control the power of the Tailed Beasts.
To preserve peace in the ninja world, the First Hokage gathered the Tailed Beasts and distributed them among the Great Ninja Villages, establishing a balance that endured for decades.
But now...
Without anyone realizing it, that balance had already been shattered.
Seven of the nine Tailed Beasts had already fallen into the hands of an unknown organization.
No one present doubted its existence.
Every attack that had been reported was real. The evidence was impossible to deny.
The real question was, who exactly was this mysterious organization capable of accomplishing such an impossible feat?
"What kind of organization?" Hayashi replied calmly. "Ever since Uchiha Fugaku attacked Konoha, we suspected there was a hidden force operating behind the scenes. We immediately began investigating."
"It didn't take long before we discovered that Uchiha Fugaku had joined a strange organization."
"At first glance, it appeared harmless. But the deeper we investigated, the more shocking the truth became."
"The organization had recruited numerous S-rank rogue ninja, including Sasori of the Red Sand, Uchiha Fugaku, Biwa Jūzō, Kakuzu, and many others."
"What?!"
The Fourth Raikage and the others were visibly stunned.
Only Ōnoki narrowed his eyes in silence.
He had already guessed which organization Hayashi was referring to.
In the past, Iwagakure had secretly employed this group for certain missions. He simply had not realized that they possessed such terrifying strength.
Just those S-rank rogue ninja alone...
Even Iwagakure could not assemble such a lineup of elite fighters.
"What is this organization's name?" Mifune asked gravely.
Hayashi no longer kept them in suspense.
"It is called... Akatsuki."
"Akatsuki..."
The Fourth Raikage frowned.
"Why does that name sound familiar? If I remember correctly, Akatsuki's leader is one of Jiraiya's disciples, isn't he?"
"That's correct."
Hayashi nodded without hesitation.
There was no point concealing that fact.
Although Yahiko had long since died, Nagato remained Akatsuki's true leader. Even now, he continued using Yahiko's body as the organization's public leader.
Moreover, Akatsuki's connection to Jiraiya was no secret throughout the ninja world.
There was a reason for that.
During the Third Great Ninja War, Hayashi had fought alongside the Third Hokage and Hanzō. Together, the three of them crushed an army of two thousand Sunagakure shinobi, creating one of the greatest disparities in military strength ever witnessed during the war.
That battle had shaken the entire ninja world.
Its origin lay in the conflict between Sunagakure and Akatsuki, which ultimately forced Ebizō and Rasa to invade Amegakure.
Every major village had thoroughly investigated the incident.
Naturally, they had also investigated Akatsuki's leader.
Rasa, in particular, remembered that day all too well.
He had personally seen Yahiko and the others, and had nearly died at Hayashi's hands.
Now that Hayashi had openly mentioned Akatsuki, Rasa could not help but feel alarmed.
After a long silence, the Fourth Raikage spoke again.
"The leader of Akatsuki is Jiraiya's disciple. Even the Fourth Hokage has acknowledged that."
"Furthermore, according to your own account, both Uchiha Fugaku and Danzō joined Akatsuki after defecting from Konoha."
"Forgive my bluntness, but under these circumstances, I cannot help suspecting that Konoha has some connection with Akatsuki."
Hayashi fixed his gaze on him.
"So, Fourth Raikage, are you suggesting that Konoha is secretly controlling Akatsuki and using them to gather the Tailed Beasts?"
The Fourth Raikage met his eyes without flinching.
"That is indeed my suspicion."
"Every major village has already lost Tailed Beasts."
"Kumogakure still has Killer Bee, but that is merely because we were fortunate. We already lost the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, and the Three-Tails disappeared long ago."
"Only Konoha's Nine-Tails remains completely safe."
"And Akatsuki has undeniable ties to Konoha."
"If this information became public, anyone would be suspicious."
"The Fourth Raikage's doubts are understandable," Rasa said cautiously. "However, the Fourth Hokage should at least be given an opportunity to explain. I believe he deserves that."
His words sounded supportive, yet remained deliberately ambiguous.
He still feared provoking Hayashi.
After all, Hayashi had nearly killed him before.
Ōnoki also spoke.
"Fourth Hokage, I believe an explanation is appropriate."
Although Ōnoki personally believed Konoha had nothing to do with Akatsuki's plans, he still had to apply pressure.
After all, Konoha clearly possessed intelligence that the other villages lacked.
Hayashi let out a cold laugh.
"Fourth Raikage, your accusation once again proves nothing except your ignorance and stupidity."
"I suppose I can understand."
"After all, Kumogakure has always enjoyed stealing other villages' shinobi and coveting their Bloodline Limits."
"It is only natural that someone who judges others by his own behavior would make such baseless accusations."
"You..."
The Fourth Raikage's expression darkened with rage.
"You what?"
The Mangekyō Sharingan appeared in Hayashi's eyes as an overwhelming killing intent flooded the room.
"Did I say anything untrue?"
"Has it already been so long since the Hyūga Incident that you've forgotten it?"
"You continue slandering Konoha."
"Then tell me."
"Why would Konoha need to work with Akatsuki to collect the Tailed Beasts?"
"During the Third Great Ninja War, I defeated the One-Tails Jinchuriki in the Land of Rivers and captured Shukaku."
"In Kirigakure, I personally extracted the Five-Tails from its Jinchuriki."
"On the northern front in the Land of Earth, I captured the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Roshi."
"When the Fourth Mizukage attacked Konoha, I personally sealed the Three-Tails."
"When I attacked Kumogakure, I beat the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee, into submission."
"If not for the sake of our past acquaintance, your brother would already be dead."
Hayashi spoke slowly, every word as cold as a sharpened blade.
"Konoha wanting to collect the Tailed Beasts?"
"What a ridiculous joke."
"Nearly every one of the Nine Tailed Beasts has already fallen into my hands at one point."
"If Konoha truly intended to gather them all, we would have completed the task long ago."
"Why would we bother relying on Akatsuki?"
"You only returned those Tailed Beasts because you feared becoming the enemy of the entire ninja world..."
Before the Fourth Raikage could finish, Hayashi cut him off.
"Is that so?"
"Then what happened during the Third Great Ninja War?"
"Weren't the Four Great Nations and Amegakure united against Konoha?"
"And what was the outcome?"
"Konoha defeated all of you through overwhelming strength on the battlefield."
"Afraid of becoming the enemy of the ninja world?"
Hayashi laughed mockingly.
"So what if Konoha became everyone's enemy?"
"So what if we had refused to return the Tailed Beasts?"
"The Third Great Ninja War already proved one thing."
"Konoha stands unrivaled in the ninja world."
"It is not that we lack the strength to dominate."
"It is that we simply have no interest in doing so."
"So do not use that weed-filled brain of yours to judge Konoha's decisions."
"You are not qualified."
His icy words swept through the meeting hall like a freezing wind.
Every shinobi present felt a chill run down their spine.
Not one of Hayashi's statements could be refuted.
Only two years earlier, Konoha had single-handedly crushed the Four Great Nations until they were forced to beg for peace.
That so-called peace treaty had never been an agreement between equals.
It had been a surrender.
Given Konoha's strength, there was simply no reason to secretly rely on Akatsuki or manipulate the Tailed Beasts.
Under those circumstances, the Fourth Raikage's accusation that Konoha was colluding with Akatsuki sounded nothing short of absurd.