At that same moment, the Akatsuki teams scattered across the shinobi world were advancing their tailed-beast hunts - each moving in silence, guided by their own methods, their own arrogance… and their own blind spots.
Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand had drawn a target that looked simple on paper: Yugito Nii, the Nibi Jinchūriki of Kumogakure.
In practice, nothing about Kumogakure was simple.
The Cloud's strength was notorious, and with Akatsuki's intentions long since suspected, their defenses had tightened to a suffocating level. Yugito was treated like a living weapon - protected, monitored, rarely allowed to appear without layers of security. Even for two S-rank missing-nin, finding an opening felt like trying to crack stone with bare hands.
Elsewhere, Yakushi Kabuto and Zetsu were assigned to Uzumaki Naruto - the Kyuubi Jinchūriki of Konohagakure.
But Naruto had already passed through Takigakure and left with Jiraiya to train far from prying eyes. Kabuto and Zetsu found only absence and dead ends. There was no trail to grab - only empty air.
The operation against Iwagakure unfolded differently.
Kakuzu and Shimura Danzō set their sights on Han, the Gobi Jinchūriki - and unlike the others… they succeeded.
Han wasn't as far removed from his village as Rōshi, the Son-Goku Jinchūriki who wandered the world as a monk. Yet Han wasn't safely behind Iwa's walls, either. He traveled through the Land of Earth on his own schedule, moving alone and without the village's full protection.
Ōnoki issued an urgent recall.
Han didn't make it back in time.
Kakuzu and Danzō had already found him.
The clash was savage - steam and blood, earth splitting beneath their feet, killing intent thick enough to choke on. Han fought like a walking fortress, and he had the strength to justify it.
His Boil Release made his raw power monstrous - so overwhelming that only a few shinobi in the world, like Tsunade, could truly meet him head-on. With that boiling force driving him forward, his speed surged into something brutal and immediate, crashing through defenses before they could properly form.
And his defense was worse.
Superheated steam wrapped his body like armor, swallowing impacts and turning clean hits into partial measures. On top of that, he could draw on the Gobi's chakra - an extra reservoir that pushed his stamina into something almost cruel.
Among the nine Jinchūriki, Han stood comfortably above average.
But even a fortress collapses when it's surrounded.
In the end, two opponents with complementary pressure were too much. Kakuzu's Jiongu ("Earth Grudge Fear") and Danzō's relentless, layered attacks ground Han down piece by piece until he finally fell. They dragged him back to Akatsuki's hidden base like a trophy carved from defeat.
Inside the secret headquarters, Pain's expression was darker than stone.
This round had been a disaster.
Out of four Akatsuki squads, only Kakuzu and Danzō had delivered a tailed beast. The other three groups failed completely. Worse still, the team of "Tobi" and Uchiha Itachi hadn't merely failed - they'd been crushed by Chiba, leaving "Tobi" grievously wounded and barely clinging to life.
Now the Sanbi, Rokubi, Chōmei, and Kyuubi were effectively under Chiba's protection - or under the banner of forces aligned with him.
Pain could feel the noose tightening, yet even he couldn't strike recklessly while his enemy held so many pieces on the board. The situation demanded caution. It demanded patience.
With no better option, he gathered the remaining ten Akatsuki members and began the sealing - channeling their combined power into Genryū Kyū Fūjin ("Phantom Dragon: Nine Seals"), forcing the Gobi's chakra into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
…
By then, Akatsuki had secured three tailed beasts: the Ichibi, Son-Goku, and the Gobi.
Sunagakure had always possessed only one - and now it was gone.
Iwagakure's humiliation cut deeper. They had held two tailed beasts… and both had been taken.
Ōnoki's rage detonated the moment the reports confirmed it. He had once treated Akatsuki like a tool, cooperating with them when it suited him to pressure rivals. Now that same "tool" had turned and sunk its teeth into his village's most valuable assets.
Any trace of past pragmatism vanished under hatred.
Immediately, Ōnoki contacted the other four great nations, calling for a new Five Kage Summit to coordinate a unified response against Akatsuki.
As before, it would be held in the Land of Iron.
The replies came quickly.
Chiba left Terumī Mei to oversee Kirigakure and traveled with Hoshigaki Kisame and Hōzuki Mangetsu as his Mizukage guards.
Konoha's Godaime, Tsunade, arrived with Hatake Kakashi and Might Guy.
Sunagakure's acting Kazekage, Maki, came with Gaara and Kankurō, while Temari remained behind to stabilize Suna's internal affairs.
Kumogakure's Yondaime Raikage brought Darui and C at his side.
And Ōnoki arrived with Akatsuchi and Kurotsuchi as his guards.
The shift was impossible to miss: a new generation of Kage, and younger guards beside them - an unmistakable sign that the shinobi world was changing, whether it welcomed it or not.
In the summit hall, Ōnoki spoke first.
"Our greatest enemy is no longer each other," he said, fury and shame weighed into every word. "It is Akatsuki!!!"
He slammed the truth down like a boulder.
"Han, the Gobi Jinchūriki, and Rōshi, the Son-Goku Jinchūriki - both have been captured. This is humiliation beyond words. And it's a crisis for all five great nations!"
The Raikage's mouth twisted into a cold sneer. "Tsuchikage… isn't this what you wanted? Using Akatsuki against other nations?"
Ōnoki's eyes sharpened, pride bristling - yet he didn't deny it. "Yes. I made mistakes. But this is not the time to gloat."
His voice rose, cutting harder.
"Your village has also been targeted - two Jinchūriki, including your own brother. Are you truly so calm?"
The Raikage snorted, but didn't refute it. His silence answered for him.
Tsunade spoke next, expression grim. "Akatsuki is now a threat to the entire shinobi world. They aren't capturing tailed beasts just to weaken villages. Their real objective is worse."
As her words settled, the room's attention drifted - inevitably - toward Chiba.
By now, everyone had heard the rumors: his intelligence network, his ability to see through fog others couldn't pierce. If anyone could speak clearly about Akatsuki's endgame, it was him.
Chiba smiled faintly.
"Akatsuki's purpose?" he repeated, almost amused.
Then his tone sharpened - not hostile, just precise.
"I can tell you."
"But tell me… what would it change?"
Ōnoki frowned. "Mizukage, what do you mean?"
Chiba's gaze swept the room, lingering on pride, fear, and grudges that had outlived generations.
"I told you years ago," he said evenly. "I even helped establish the Dawnbreak Alliance to oppose Akatsuki."
A pause - long enough to sting.
"And what happened?"
"It still ended like this."
The room cooled. No one enjoyed being confronted with failure - especially when it was true.
Back then, Chiba's warning and the Dawnbreak Alliance had forced Akatsuki into hiding.
What shattered that fragile stability?
War.
Konoha's invasion of Kirigakure broke the uneasy peace, provoking retaliation and igniting the Three-Way Alliance War - Suna and Kumo joining forces, pushed forward under Sarutobi Hiruzen's pressure.
Akatsuki watched the five great nations tear at each other again.
And they moved.
They used Suna's attack on Konoha to abduct Gaara, the Ichibi Jinchūriki. They captured Rōshi, who had already been at odds with Ōnoki. Then, as the world destabilized further, they launched broader operations to hunt the remaining hosts one by one.
If the great nations had truly maintained the Dawnbreak Alliance - if they had guarded their Jinchūriki with uncompromising seriousness - Akatsuki would never have found such easy openings.
Ōnoki exhaled, regret heavy in the sound. "The Mizukage is right."
His shoulders sagged slightly - only slightly.
"But peace between the five great nations… with all our history… is difficult to sustain."
Then his eyes hardened again.
"Still. Now is different. Akatsuki is our shared enemy."
"So we set disputes aside and unite - completely."
The other Kage nodded one after another.
Even Sunagakure, burning with hatred toward Kirigakure and Konoha, understood revenge could wait. Partly because Akatsuki had become the world's common enemy. Partly because they had stolen Shukaku and taken Gaara.
And partly because of a quiet, uglier truth:
Even if Suna wanted revenge right now… they didn't have the strength.
The lesson of the Yondaime Kazekage Rasa's end had already proven that.
The Raikage's anger simmered beneath his restraint. The Three-Way Alliance War had cost Kumogakure dearly, but this wasn't a room where impulse could rule.
And for him, it wasn't only politics.
Killer B - the Hachibi Jinchūriki - was his brother.
His hatred of Akatsuki ran deeper than strategy. The earlier rampage incident involving the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, Blue B, had devastated Kumo. Then the Third Raikage's death left scars that never truly healed. The Yondaime Raikage's protectiveness had become almost suffocating - he'd confined Killer B in the Cloud–Lightning Gorge under the excuse of "training," when in truth it was protective captivity.
That alone revealed how personal this was.
"You're right," he said, voice heavy. "Now is the time to stand together."
"After we destroy Akatsuki, we can settle whatever comes after."
His gaze swept the room like a warning.
"But until then - whoever obstructs the five great nations' fight against Akatsuki becomes the enemy of the five great nations."
Tsunade nodded once. "That's the logic."
Then she looked toward Chiba, expression thoughtful - calculating, and quietly decisive.
"I have a proposal," she said. "We restore the Dawnbreak Alliance. But this time, we unite the full strength of the five great nations and launch a complete counterattack."
Ōnoki nodded immediately. "Agreed."
Tsunade continued, voice steady. "We can't repeat last time - each village sending only a portion of its forces, acting separately, with no unified plan."
She leaned forward, pressure rising in her words.
"I propose we form a single allied force of the five great nations."
"And we appoint one leader - one Supreme Commander - someone who can command the alliance as a whole. Only then can we truly fight as one."
The room stirred.
Everyone understood what she meant.
Chiba.
For a moment, thoughts churned - reluctance, resignation, grudging acceptance.
Ōnoki didn't particularly mind. The reality was obvious: Chiba held the strongest influence, the greatest prestige, and the broadest power among them. His individual strength had been called the greatest in the shinobi world for years.
More importantly, his intelligence network was unmatched. Much of what they even knew about Akatsuki had come from him. If anyone could lead… it was difficult to argue against it.
The Raikage felt the sting of pride, but facts were facts - and he wanted Akatsuki crushed, for his village and for his brother.
The hardest pill to swallow was Sunagakure.
The hatred between Suna and Kiri ran deep enough to drown a generation. The Yondaime Kazekage Rasa had died at Chiba's hands - blood that could not be forgotten.
They didn't want to see Chiba grow stronger.
But Akatsuki was also Suna's enemy.
They had taken Gaara. They had stolen Shukaku. They had killed Granny Chiyo, leaving wounds the village could barely carry.
So the acting Kazekage's silence wasn't agreement so much as bitter admission:
They needed this alliance - whether they liked it or not.
Besides… even if Suna refused, their voice among the five great nations had already dwindled to something nearly negligible.
Ōnoki allowed himself a faint, measured smile. "I agree. And I nominate the Mizukage to lead this Allied Army."
He'd already predicted the outcome. Better to step forward first and earn a favor from the inevitable.
Tsunade saw straight through him, but her own smile carried no malice. "I also nominate the Mizukage."
Then she looked toward the Raikage.
He gave a sharp grunt, pride resisting even as reality pressed down. "If it's for dealing with Akatsuki… I won't object."
Maki exhaled slowly, like a man swallowing something bitter. "Sunagakure also agrees."
Chiba's expression softened into calm inevitability. "Since you all trust me this much… I won't refuse."
And so -
After an entire day of debate, the summit's final decision was set in stone.
They would restart the Dawnbreak Alliance, reborn under a new name:
The Allied Shinobi Forces of the Five Great Nations.
Mizukage Chiba would serve as its leader.
In other words -
He would be the Supreme Commander of the Five Great Nations.
Against Akatsuki, all command authority would flow through Chiba. Every nation would be required to support him fully, cooperating without reservation.
As for the remaining tailed beasts and Jinchūriki - under unified command, they would be consolidated and moved to Turtle Island, off the coast of the Land of Lightning.
At the same time, Chiba would personally assemble the strongest lineup possible from the five great nations to guard them.
No more isolated targets. No more easy abductions.
If Akatsuki wanted the beasts and their hosts, there would be only one path left:
A frontal assault.
No tricks. No openings.
Only war.
And in truth, this wasn't merely defense.
It was bait.
A deliberate invitation to a final, decisive battle.
Once the summit concluded, the five great nations moved immediately.
Kumogakure acted first.
Yugito Nii, the Nibi Jinchūriki, and Killer B, the Hachibi Jinchūriki, were transferred under heavy escort - swift, quiet, and secure, before Akatsuki could adjust.
After that, the Jinchūriki under Chiba's protection arrived one by one: the Sanbi Jinchūriki, Yagura's successor; the Rokubi Jinchūriki, Utakata; the Chōmei Jinchūriki, Fū; and Uzumaki Naruto, the Kyuubi Jinchūriki.
Turtle Island - spoken of in legend - was not merely an island at all.
It was a living, colossal turtle.
And upon its back sprawled a hidden world: a wilderness like an ancient primeval forest, dense and untamed, as if sealed away from history itself. Strange beasts roamed its depths. Unfamiliar plants twisted toward the sun. Life existed there in forms that looked like myth made flesh.
It was here that Killer B had faced the Trial of the True Waterfall - step by step forging himself into a perfect Jinchūriki.
Chiba personally escorted the four Jinchūriki under his direct protection onto Turtle Island. Then, standing at the center of the new command structure, he led the elite shinobi selected from all five great nations and established the Allied Forces' encampment across the island.
The news spread fast.
It rippled through the shinobi world like a stone dropped into still water.
And naturally… it reached Akatsuki.
For the first time in a long while, even Pain felt cornered.
His original plan - isolating targets and crushing them one by one - had been shattered completely.
Now there was only one option left.
Akatsuki would have to strike as a whole.
A full-scale offensive.
A final assault.
A decisive battle to the death.
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