Konoha – The Secure Council Chamber
The room chosen was not in the Hokage Tower. It was deep beneath it, in a chamber used during the First and Second Great Wars for strategic planning. It was a stark, circular room carved from bedrock, lit by glowing chakra crystals set into the walls. A round table of dark ironwood dominated the space, five chairs around it. Behind each chair's position, space was allotted for two guards.
The air was cold, still, and heavy with history and impending revelation.
One by one, they entered.
For Konoha, the Hokage's Position:
Tsunade (Fifth Hokage) took the central seat marked with the Leaf symbol. Her face was set in lines of grim authority, the diamond on her forehead gleaming.
Guards: To her left stood Jiraiya, the Toad Sage, his usual levity absent, his arms crossed, his eyes sharp and assessing. To her right stood Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, out of retirement for this. He leaned on his old staff, looking aged and weary, but his eyes held a deep, simmering sorrow.
For Sunagakure, the Kazekage's Position:
Gaara took the seat. He was not yet officially Kazekage, but with his father's absence and the council's mandate, he represented the village. His expression was calm, but the sand in his gourd stirred restlessly.
Guards: Behind him stood Baki, his mentor and a trusted Jonin, face stern. Beside Baki stood Pakura (if alive in this timeline, or a similarly respected elite Jonin like Yome), a kunoichi with a reputation for scorch-style ninjutsu.
For Iwagakure, the Tsuchikage's Position:
Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage, floated into his seat, his back aching but his will unbroken. He glared around the room with undisguised suspicion.
Guards: The steadfast Akatsuchi stood like a carved mountain to his left. To his right, Kurotsuchi, his granddaughter, leaned against the wall with a casual air that didn't hide her keen observation.
For Kirigakure, the Mizukage's Position:
Mei Terumi settled into her seat, elegance masking tension. She offered a diplomatic smile that didn't reach her eyes.
Guards: The loyal Chōjūrō stood nervously, a hand on Hiramekarei's hilt. Beside him, Ao stood rigid, his Byakugan eye (sealed behind his headband) giving him a unique, wary perspective.
For Kumogakure, the Railage's Position:
Raikage A was the last to enter. He didn't sit. He stood behind his chair, his massive hands gripping its back, his presence sucking the air from the room. He was a force of nature contained by politeness.
Guards: To his left, Killer Bee stood relaxed but alert, his swords subtly humming. To his right, Indra Uzumaki-Uchiha stood perfectly still. He wore his formal Kumo uniform, his Sharingan dormant, but his gaze was like a sensor array, passively absorbing every micro-expression, every fluctuation in chakra.
No aides. No scribes. What was said here would live or die with them.
Raikage A broke the silence, his voice a low rumble that vibrated in the stone chamber. "We're here. No games. No posturing. The Chunin Exams showed you our children's edge. Now I'm going to show you the cliff we're all standing on."
He looked at each Kage in turn.
"Three years. Maybe less. That's how long we have before a war begins that will make all our previous squabbles look like playground fights. A war that won't be for land, or resources, or treaties. It will be for the right to exist. And the enemy isn't a village."
He let that hang.
Ōnoki snorted. "Dramatics, A. If you've called us here to scare us with ghost stories about some new super-weapon Kumo has found—"
"It's not our weapon," A cut him off, his eyes blazing. "It's the weapon that will be aimed at all of us. At your Jinchuriki. At your very way of life. The enemy is called Akatsuki."
A ripple went through the room. The name was known in intelligence circles—a mysterious, high-level rogue ninja group. But considered a nuisance, not an existential threat.
Tsunade leaned forward. "Akatsuki. A collection of S-rank missing-nin. Dangerous, yes. But a war?"
Indra's POV –
Tsunade is sceptical but listening. Ōnoki is dismissive but curious. Mei is calculating, already connecting dots to Kiri's past instability. Gaara is a void, but his sand is agitated—he senses a threat to his own beast. Hiruzen… his chakra spiked with grief at the name. He knows something. Jiraiya's is steady, grim—he's known.
Raikage A: "Not just a collection. A coordinated organization with a single, insane goal. Their leader is a man who calls himself Pain. He possesses the Rinnegan."
That landed like a bomb.
Ōnoki stopped floating, settling into his chair with a thud. "The Rinnegan? The legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths? A myth!"
Jiraiya spoke, his voice uncharacteristically grave. "It's no myth. I've seen them. Fought them. The man who has them… he was once my student. An orphan from Amegakure named Nagato."
All eyes turned to Jiraiya. The personal connection was shocking.
Jiraiya: "The Rinnegan grants him god-like power. He believes true peace can only be achieved through an overwhelming, shared pain—by giving the world a weapon so terrible it will force an end to all conflict. A weapon he intends to build."
Raikage A: "By gathering the Tailed Beasts."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.
Mei Terumi's pleasant mask slipped, revealing cold fury. "The Biju…"
Raikage A: "Yes. All nine of them. Their plan is to extract them from their Jinchuriki, killing the hosts in the process, and reconstitute the Ten-Tails—the primordial monster the Sage of Six Paths defeated millennia ago. They intend to become its master and use its power to enforce their twisted peace."
Gaara spoke for the first time, his voice flat, deadly. "The One-Tail is in Suna."
It wasn't a question. It was the realization of a target painted on his back.
Raikage A: "And you are their first logical target." He looked at Gaara, then at Tsunade. "The Nine-Tails in Konoha is their last. They will work from the weakest to the strongest, gathering power as they go. The Three-Tails, after the death of the Third Mizukage, is currently wild, resurrecting in the ocean. They'll target it when it reforms. The Two-Tails and Eight-Tails," he gestured to himself, "are in Kumo. We are high on their list, but we are also the hardest nuts to crack. They'll soften the board first."
He was laying out a strategic map of their own annihilation.
Ōnoki was now fully engaged, his strategist's mind overriding his skepticism. "Members. Capabilities. You would not have this intelligence without cost."
Raikage A nodded to Indra. "Show them."
Indra stepped forward slightly. He didn't use a scroll. He raised his hand, and chakra light spilled from his fingertips, forming a three-dimensional, holographic display in the center of the table—a testament to his technological prowess. Images and data began to scroll.
Indra: "Akatsuki operates in two-man cells. Intelligence is compiled from Kumo sensor networks, intercepted communications, and direct engagement." His voice was calm, analytical, a sharp contrast to the Raikage's thunder.
The first image resolved: A figure in the iconic black cloak with red clouds, wearing an orange, spiraled mask with a single eye hole.
Indra: "Codename: Tobi. Also known as Obito Uchiha."
Hiruzen let out a soft, pained sigh, closing his eyes. All eyes shot to him.
Tsunade: "Obito… Uchiha? Kakashi's teammate? He died at Kannabi Bridge."
Indra: "He did not. He was recovered, broken, and manipulated. He is the linchpin of Akatsuki's military operations. Abilities: Mastery of a unique Space-Time Ninjutsu called Kamui, which allows intangibility and dimensional travel. He is the one who attacked Konoha sixteen years ago, controlled the Nine-Tails, and killed the Fourth Hokage and his wife."
A stunned silence. Kakashi had known, and Tsunade had been briefed, but hearing it stated so coldly in this company was different.
Indra continued, the image shifting to show a red-haired man with piercing, concentric-ringed eyes. "Pain, aka Nagato. Leader. Rinnegan wielder. Capabilities: mastery of all six chakra natures, gravity manipulation, soul extraction, mechanized bodies acting as proxies. He controls the village of Amegakure absolutely."
The image shifted to a blue-haired woman. "Konan, his lieutenant. Master of paper ninjutsu. Extraordinarily lethal."
Then, a cascade of faces and data:
Sasori of the Red Sand – Master puppeteer, turned himself into a puppet. Human puppet arsenal includes the Third Kazekage.
Deidara – Explosive clay user, seeks 'transient art'. C3 and C4 capabilities can level fortresses and attack at a cellular level.
Itachi Uchiha – Mangekyō Sharingan wielder. Master of genjutsu and fire release. Susano'o, Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu.
Kisame Hoshigaki – The 'Monster of the Hidden Mist'. Wielder of Samehada, possesses immense chakra reserves, can merge with his sword.
Kakuzu – Immortal through multiple hearts. Master of all five basic natures, can combine them.
Hidan – Immortal zealot of the Jashin cult. Can kill through ritualistic curse if he obtains blood.
It was a rogues' gallery of the most terrifying individuals the shinobi world had ever produced, all working together.
Indra: "And there is one more. An anomaly." The image showed a strange, black, plant-like humanoid with a spiral-patterned face. "Black Zetsu. He is not a traditional shinobi. He acts as intelligence, infiltration, and cleanup. He can merge with the earth and plants, create white clones for reconnaissance. Our intelligence suggests he is a rogue entity from the Land of Grass with his own agenda, but he is deeply embedded with Akatsuki's leadership. He may be the oldest member."
He did not reveal Zetsu's true nature. That card was too dangerous to play… yet.
Mei Terumi's voice was icy. "You said Pain controlled the Third Mizukage. Explain."
Raikage A looked at her. "The Bloody Mist. The reign of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura. It was not Yagura's will. He was under a perfect, long-term genjutsu. Controlled like a puppet." He paused. "By Obito Uchiha."
Mei's fists clenched on the table, her knuckles white. The decades of her village's suffering, the civil wars, the purges… all the work of this ghost. Ao's stolen Byakugan eye twitched beneath its bandage.
Raikage A: "Kumo intelligence, combined with Mist rebels loyal to Lady Mei, helped identify and break that control several years ago, leading to the current reformist government. Obito's attempt to kidnap a Kumo citizen"—he glanced at Indra—"was, in part, retaliation for that disruption and an attempt to gain leverage over our strategic assets."
He was weaving Kumo's actions into the narrative, painting them as the first, proactive line of defines.
Hiruzen finally spoke, his voice ancient with regret. "Obito… he was a kind boy. A late bloomer, but he had a heart… larger than anyone's. To think he became… this." He looked at Indra. "You fought him. You saw his eyes."
Indra: "I did. His hatred is absolute. His worldview is nihilistic. He believes the current world is a hell, and he seeks to replace it with a dream—an infinite genjutsu where all pain and loss are erased. He sees himself as a saviour."
Ōnoki scoffed. "Madness. But dangerous madness." He stared at the hologram of Pain. "The Rinnegan… and a Uchiha with space-time powers… and this collection of monsters." He looked at A. "How did you get this intelligence? Specifically about the Ten-Tails?"
Raikage A met his gaze. "Through sacrifice. Through interception. And because they made the mistake of attacking my village." He didn't mention the system, the templates, or the Sage's observations. "We have a… unique sensor and analysis capability. The attempt on Indra's mother provided a wealth of data on Obito's techniques. Our summon clans have ancient memories. We pieced it together."
It was a half-truth, but a believable one.
Gaara spoke again, his sand now leaking slightly from his gourd, swirling around his feet. "Their first target is Suna."
It was a statement of grim fate.
Tsunade: "We cannot let that happen. If they capture even one beast, their power grows, and their momentum begins."
Mei: "The Three-Tails is still reforming. We have time to prepare defenses, maybe even lay a trap."
Ōnoki: "And what is your proposal, Raikage? You didn't gather us to deliver a eulogy. You have a plan."
All eyes locked on A.
Raikage A straightened, his voice filling the chamber. "A temporary alliance. A Shinobi Coalition. Not a merging of villages. A shared intelligence network. A coordinated defence pact focusing on Jinchuriki protection. Joint training against specific Akatsuki capabilities. When they move, we respond together, not as individual villages waiting to be picked off."
The idea was revolutionary. Unprecedented since the Warring States Period.
Ōnoki: "You expect Iwa to defend Konoha's Jinchuriki?"
Tsunade: "And Konoha to defend Iwa's?"
Mei: "The Mist has been isolated for generations. Trust does not come easily."
Raikage A: "I don't expect trust. I expect enlightened self-interest. If Suna falls, Iwa is next. If Kiri's beast is captured, Kumo's position becomes more dangerous. We are links in a chain. Akatsuki will break us one by one unless the chain becomes a wall." He slammed a fist on the table. "We don't have to love each other. We just have to hate them more."
Indra's POV –
Ōnoki is weighing the cost of isolation versus the risk of cooperation. He sees the threat is real, but old hatreds run deep. Tsunade is a medic; she sees a systemic infection and knows it requires a united treatment. Mei sees a chance for Kiri to re-enter the world stage as an equal partner in a great cause, rehabilitating its image. Gaara sees only survival for himself and his village. The emotional currents are complex, but the logic of the Raikage's proposal is irrefutable.
Jiraiya broke the tense silence. "The child of prophecy… a legend speaks of a child who will bring great change, either to destroy the world or save it. I've long believed it might be Nagato. Then I thought it might be another." His eyes flicked to Naruto, though he wasn't present. "This threat… it feels like the precipice of that prophecy."
Hiruzen: "Obito… Madara Uchiha's legacy of hatred… it has festered and spawned this."
At the mention of Madara, a new, older layer of dread surfaced.
Ōnoki actually paled. "Madara… do not speak that name lightly, Sarutobi."
Raikage A: "Madara is dead. He died at the Valley of the End at Hashirama Senju's hands. But his ideology, his bitterness… it lives on in Obito. And in the Akatsuki's very purpose. We are not fighting a man. We are fighting a ghost's revenge on the world that rejected him."
He carefully steered them away from the possibility of Madara's actual survival. That revelation would cause panic and disbelief, muddying the waters. Obito was a tangible, comprehensible monster. Madara was a mythic one.
Gaara: "What do you propose, concretely?"
Raikage A: "First. A secure, encrypted communication network, built on a blend of Kumo's barrier tech and each village's own cipher systems. Instant alerts.
"Second. A shared intelligence pool on Akatsuki movements. Kumo will contribute our current dossier.
"Third. Joint research into countering specific threats: Kamui's intangibility, the Rinnegan's soul extraction, explosive clay detection.
"Fourth. A rotational, covert protection detail for each jinchuriki, comprised of specialists from other villages. A Suna jinchuriki might have a Kumo sensor and a Konoha barrier expert embedded in their guard detail. It spreads the expertise and makes an attack far more complex for Akatsuki.
"Fifth. We identify and secure the known location of the wild Three-Tails, to control when and where it is reborn."
The plan was bold, invasive, and required a staggering level of transparency.
Mei Terumi was the first to nod slowly. "Kiri agrees in principle. The protection of the Three-Tails is our sovereign duty, but… assistance would be welcome. And we have expertise in silent killing and maritime combat that could be valuable to others."
Gaara: "Suna will participate. We have no choice." His honesty was brutal.
Tsunade looked at Jiraiya, then Hiruzen. Both gave subtle nods. She took a deep breath. "Konoha agrees. The Will of Fire protects all children. This… this is what it must mean now. Protecting all villages' children from this darkness."
All eyes fell on Ōnoki. The old Tsuchikage stared at the hologram of the Akatsuki lineup, his mind racing through decades of war, loss, and stubborn Iwa pride.
Ōnoki: "...The Stone does not bend easily. Nor does it trust. But…" He looked at the young Gaara, at Mei, at Tsunade. "A avalanche cares not for the quarrels of the rocks it crushes. This Akatsuki is an avalanche." He grunted. "Iwa will join this… coalition. But know this: the moment this shared threat is gone, so is the alliance. We will return to being who we are."
Raikage A allowed a grim smile. "That's all I ask. We don't need to be friends. We need to not be dead."
He looked around the table. The Five Kage Coalition—born not from idealism, but from sheer, cold, terror-fueled necessity—was formed.
Raikage A: "We have three years. Maybe less. We start now. Indra, Bee—you will coordinate the initial tech and security integration with the other villages' representatives."
Indra and Bee nodded.
Tsunade: "Jiraiya, you're our lead on Akatsuki intelligence. Work with Kumo's network."
Ōnoki: "Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi—you'll handle Iwa's liaison. Learn what you can."
Mei: "Ao, Chōjūrō—same. Full transparency on our end."
Gaara: "Baki. You will coordinate for Suna."
For the next hour, the details were hammered out—secure meeting points, ciphers, initial resource sharing. The atmosphere remained tense, but a fragile, professional consensus had been reached.
As the meeting drew to a close, Hiruzen spoke once more, his voice heavy.
Hiruzen: "We failed Obito. The village failed him. We must ensure we do not fail the next generation by letting his nightmare become reality. This coalition… it is a start. Not towards peace, but towards survival. Perhaps, from survival, understanding can grow."
It was the closest to an apology and a hope the old Hokage could offer.
The Kage and their guards filed out, one by one, back into the hidden tunnels, each carrying the weight of the horrific truth and the fragile seed of an unprecedented alliance.
In the now-empty chamber, only the glowing crystals remained, illuminating the empty round table—a symbol of division that had, for the first time in history, been used for a purpose other than war.
But in the shadows, unseen by any, a single, white Zetsu clone dissolved into the stone floor, its mission of eavesdropping complete. The message would travel through the earth, to the ancient, plotting consciousness of Black Zetsu.
The Kage know. The game accelerates.
[System Notification: World Event Triggered: 'The Five Kage Coalition' (Provisional). Host's actions (intel gathering, public strength display, defense of sovereign territory) are primary catalyst. Template Synergy: Victor Von Doom – 42% Completed. Reason: Successful manipulation of sovereign powers into a unified defensive framework against an existential threat, establishing host's village as the intellectual and strategic nucleus of the coalition.]
End of Chapter – 36